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Tipping at self-checkout has customers crying ‘emotional blackmail’

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51–60 of 161 posts

Re: Tipping at self-checkout has customers crying ‘emotional blackmail’

#51
post #7

At the Ferry Building in SF there is a grocery store that also has a cofee shop counter. They use the same POS system for checkout as for coffee/pastries. The grocery side asks for tip on checkout. You bring the groceries, they ring you up, you have to bag them yourself. Then they ask for tip. Makes me furious. “If you could just answer the quick question on screen …” And of course the default options are 15, 20, 25.…

I’m even starting to see 17, 21, 30 in some places

I’m hopeful this kind of naked greed will finally push it all over the edge.

Re: Tipping at self-checkout has customers crying ‘emotional blackmail’

#52

Do I get to pay less if the service is crappy? If no, then why should I get pressurized to pay more, even when the service is just what I expected? My appreciation for the great service will be reflected in my repeat patronage. Obviously there can be exceptions e.g. if I don't have any plans to revisit, say when I am traveling or someone going wayyy above and beyond their role etc. My company pays my bonus when I hav…

Simply, its not a bonus and its not for service. Its so the employer can pay less when business is slow.

Re: Tipping at self-checkout has customers crying ‘emotional blackmail’

#53
post #33

Tips are for table service. That's it. When you go to Starbucks, ask for a product, then make payment for that product, and the little POS machine basically says "hey, can we have extra money?" it's systematized panhandling.

This is where my own internal rubric for tipping starts to break down. The delineation between "sat at a table and got service", and "payed at a counter to be handed something prepared" has a middle grey area for things that are made on-demand for me, by someone behind the counter, to my specification. - In your Starbucks example if they grab a pre-bottle something is that service? - Pulling a latte from a latte mach…

Decision tree:

* Did you sit at a table and a waiter/waitress took your order, then the waiter/waitress brought the food to you, which you ate at the table, while the waiter attended to your needs? Then you leave a tip

* Else: Then you don't leave a tip

Re: Tipping at self-checkout has customers crying ‘emotional blackmail’

#54

I took my wife out to a fancy steakhouse over the weekend and remembered what "service" is supposed to be. Our waiter poured my wine, cut up our steak table side and served us, cracked pepper over our salad, went above and beyond in every way to ensure that we were comfortable and satisfied. I gladly tipped him 20% on $300 and would do so again. On the other hand, I left $10 on top of a $50 takeout order at a local I…

It's like that in Spain, tipping is not expected at all, it's a reward at best for exceptional service. Just bringing the food and checking on you is not exceptional, that's the job. But sadly, US-style tipping is being imported slowly and some touristic places will now "wait" to enter the amount on the card machine at the table.

Re: Tipping at self-checkout has customers crying ‘emotional blackmail’

#55
post #14
post #3

I think the whole "tipping at checkout" thing makes no sense at all. The tip amount depends on quality of service -- a terrible coffee and burnt pastries will means no tip, while delicious food, good service and clean tables means big tip. But how can you tell what the experience is going to be if you just entered the store and only ordering? You can't. That's why you should never tip at the self-order kiosk, but you…

>>> a terrible coffee and burnt pastries will means no tip, while delicious food, good service and clean tables means big tip. what? NO a terrible coffee and burnt pastries means REFUND. delicious food, good service and clean tables means WHAT I JUST PAID FOR. did you really pay the normal price of a good (let's say a chair) if it's broken? why do you pay for a substandard service then?

[deleted]

Re: Tipping at self-checkout has customers crying ‘emotional blackmail’

#56

I took my wife out to a fancy steakhouse over the weekend and remembered what "service" is supposed to be. Our waiter poured my wine, cut up our steak table side and served us, cracked pepper over our salad, went above and beyond in every way to ensure that we were comfortable and satisfied. I gladly tipped him 20% on $300 and would do so again. On the other hand, I left $10 on top of a $50 takeout order at a local I…

In Vegas I was asked for a tip when buying smokes from a stand in a casino. Why do shop keepers at regular shops get tips?

They are free to ask and you're free to refuse

Re: Tipping at self-checkout has customers crying ‘emotional blackmail’

#57
Even worse is "pre-tipping" like in UberEats. As you place an order you're asked if you'd like to tip your driver before you get your delivery.

I typically add 10% cuz if i don't my Uber rating goes down and i get less rides when i need them so it's more than blackmail. It's extortion. As well as a reason not to have one-app-to-rule-them-all

It infuriates me when i add a tip and the driver f ups. I've had the wrong food delivered. Or delivered 20 minutes after the far end of a delivery estimate window.

Uber will refund you on the food that didn't get to you but don't refund your tip.

Re: Tipping at self-checkout has customers crying ‘emotional blackmail’

#58
post #43

I took my wife out to a fancy steakhouse over the weekend and remembered what "service" is supposed to be. Our waiter poured my wine, cut up our steak table side and served us, cracked pepper over our salad, went above and beyond in every way to ensure that we were comfortable and satisfied. I gladly tipped him 20% on $300 and would do so again. On the other hand, I left $10 on top of a $50 takeout order at a local I…

I always understood the rule as unless there's food being brought to you at a table with tableside service, you are not to tip. Feel free not to leave the $10 next time for your takeout order.

If I have to wait in line, I do not tip.

Re: Tipping at self-checkout has customers crying ‘emotional blackmail’

#59

I took my wife out to a fancy steakhouse over the weekend and remembered what "service" is supposed to be. Our waiter poured my wine, cut up our steak table side and served us, cracked pepper over our salad, went above and beyond in every way to ensure that we were comfortable and satisfied. I gladly tipped him 20% on $300 and would do so again. On the other hand, I left $10 on top of a $50 takeout order at a local I…

You're looking at it a bit backwards.

This is not "employees are greedy, want money for nothing". This is a case of "employees barely paid enough to get food each week, survive off tips".

People forget that minimum wage comes out to around $15k a year. Even $15 an hour is only $30k. In almost all of the country, that's not enough for the cheapest rent, upkeep on a cheap car, food, taxes and other bills.

Excessive tips are the only way a lot of people working in the service industry survive at all.

I hate it, it's a sucky system. I would much rather have their wages be higher and the base product go up a bit in price and then remove tipping from most of these industries altogether. But that's just not happening.

Re: Tipping at self-checkout has customers crying ‘emotional blackmail’

#60
post #12

I'm not american, and when I got to new york for some holidays I just found how bad is the tipping status here. It's awful. It's basically a legalized bribe.

Bribe dictionary definition:

> persuade (someone) to act in one's favor, typically illegally or dishonestly, by a gift of money or other inducement

That's not it.

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