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Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

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Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#391

Post by MisterBastahrd »

BirAdam wrote: post #231
godelski wrote: post #30

One thing I've never understood is the argument for tipping. It has always been "because servers are being paid less than minimum wage." Which the issue with that is that that varies state by state. Most west coast states do not have a separate tipped wage[0]. So the question is, why do we tip at all on the west coast[1]? Worse, it seems to be expanding and increasing in size[2] The followup argument is often "well t…

Not saying it’s good or bad, but I used to know some people who made 6 figures a year on tips straight out of high school and stayed in the food business because of it. I never did… I’m not a particularly friendly or warm person. But, those people do actively defend tipping and they expressly do not want salary/wage systems.

I have a friend with no education who has been a server and bartender. When he is able to work as a server, the money flows in. He's currently working at a Brazilian steakhouse where the standard tip for a table of 4 is $36 before counting money spent on drinks, meaning that after splitting up the tips with other servers and the backroom staff, he's still making well over $70 an hour on a slow day.

Of course, when he was between serving jobs, he was working at a doggy day care for $12 an hour.

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#392

Post by napolux »

dang wrote: post #216
jacktribe wrote: post #99

I've just opened a coffee shop in Los Angeles last month, and we don't take tips. We only use self-ordering iPads (I've custom coded an iOS app w/ Stripe Terminal for it), and we don't accept cash either. We've had a few customers baffled by the no-tipping policy, and still insisting that they leave a tip. Some even left cash on the counter or on the table. We had to chase a few of them down to return their money. Al…

You should write a longer piece about your coffee shop! and the process behind it. If you do, you should submit it to HN - and if you do that you should email us (hn@ycombinator.com) because we might put it in the second-chance pool ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26998308 ).

i knew about this, but I wonder how many spam tentatives you get to this address

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#393

Post by freejazz »

bmitc wrote: post #339
barbariangrunge wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish you would take cash. Every other method of payment gets tracked and is used to profile people

That is a pretty fringe worry of tracking that places a major burden on the business. While I am no fan of the amount of tracking going on, I'd say this is pretty far down the list. You're still tracked when you pull out cash. Credit cards have quite a bit of protection on them.

>That is a pretty fringe worry of tracking that places a major burden on the business.

Taking cash? It's illegal in NYC not to... Not sure how fringe that is.

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#394

Post by napolux »

csomar wrote: post #281
dang wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should write a longer piece about your coffee shop! and the process behind it. If you do, you should submit it to HN - and if you do that you should email us (hn@ycombinator.com) because we might put it in the second-chance pool ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26998308 ).

I wonder if all these laid off engineers will end up opening small businesses and using their skill to cut one or two employees. Maybe we'll finally get a push toward real automation.

interesting view

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#395

Post by csomar »

jryhdtjtdhy wrote: post #364
csomar wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if all these laid off engineers will end up opening small businesses and using their skill to cut one or two employees. Maybe we'll finally get a push toward real automation.

Because then those engineers will no longer be out of a job, but some other people with a smaller skillset will be! And all will be good, because we finally had a push towards real automation!

Thankfully, life is not a zero-sum game (I mean it is, but we are just converting energy into complexity).

Some of these engineers will open other types of businesses and employ these people. Or maybe these people will go back to trades, because you know, these are much needed skills.

Based on your logic, we should still be using horses.

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#396

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

rhplus wrote: post #359
PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an extra fee, sure, but the salient quality is that it's an optional fee, which a price increase is not. I'm not condoning it, just clarifying what strikes me as the central point.

OP states that it was a non-optional fee, a hidden surcharge.

OP discussed an apparently mandatory "cost of living fee" and tipping, which is optional. The overall discussion based on TFA is about tipping.

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#397

Post by freejazz »

viraptor wrote: post #361
dgfitz wrote: post #342

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please correct me if I’m missing something. You’re describing a map where the key is a note and the value is, a linked list of banks? I’m not clear what the point is that you’re trying to make.

I believe what they're saying is - we have the capability to track every physical banknote as it leaves/enters the bank and attach it to the person who deposits/withdraws it. There may be extra steps in between, but if you're tracking a transaction / relationship type which happens twice or more, you can expect that the person on the record is the person you're after or can point you at them. But I don't know why the…

It also assumes that money doesn't change hands multiple times before going back into another bank.

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#398

Post by parallel »

ddyevf635372 wrote: post #306
jacktribe wrote: post #99

I've just opened a coffee shop in Los Angeles last month, and we don't take tips. We only use self-ordering iPads (I've custom coded an iOS app w/ Stripe Terminal for it), and we don't accept cash either. We've had a few customers baffled by the no-tipping policy, and still insisting that they leave a tip. Some even left cash on the counter or on the table. We had to chase a few of them down to return their money. Al…

There isn't any tip in New Zealand and Australia. Everybody get proper salary. The service is always exceptional. How is that possible?

People do tip in Australia, it's just not expected. Tipping a genuine act of generosity to reciprocate exceptional service.

The correlation between service quality and tipping is an interesting one, why does anyone do a good job in any role without some kind of incremental reward for effort. Do office workers always revert to 'just enough to not get fired' or are they playing a longer game for promotions and bonuses?

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#399

Post by EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #384
tptacek wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People keep asking "why should American restaurants be different?" The answer is simple: because they choose to set these terms. Restaurants are far from the most idiosyncratic businesses customers interact with. Buy a plane ticket sometime! Different businesses have different pricing structures.

They did not set the terms. There is no clear disclosure that you will need to pay more than the listed prices to get your food as you should. Also, if you go to a counter service business, and the point of sale system asks you to tip, again, the terms were not set prior to engaging in the transaction. In another comment, you write: > You're going to have bad relationships (and experiences) with American restaurants…

Did you see that sign "Welcome to the United States" when arriving at the airport? That was the clear disclosure that from this point on, every restaurant price is [menu price] * 1.3. Just keep that in mind when ordering.

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#400

Post by patrick451 »

jacktribe wrote: post #99

I've just opened a coffee shop in Los Angeles last month, and we don't take tips. We only use self-ordering iPads (I've custom coded an iOS app w/ Stripe Terminal for it), and we don't accept cash either. We've had a few customers baffled by the no-tipping policy, and still insisting that they leave a tip. Some even left cash on the counter or on the table. We had to chase a few of them down to return their money. Al…

> and we don't accept cash either.

I would not patronize your business.

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