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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

#571

Post by galago »

jacktribe wrote: post #479
kyleee wrote: post #476

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Add some “we don’t accept cash” signs too to be nice to your customers, I’ve seen multiple instances of flustered people getting caught by no cash policies in the last year. It’s the worst once someone has gone all the way through a tablet/GUI menu and made all their purchase decisions only to be awkwardly thwarted at the payment step. Negative bonus points if there is a line of customers behind the pour soul attempt…

We're waiting on some decals for the front door that say just that.

That's a good option, because if there's a shop next door that takes cash I will definitely go there and tip in cash.

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

#572

Post by mikhael28 »

zzzeek wrote: post #71

I can't believe these comments, what is wrong with you people? if you are a highly paid technology worker, when you go to service establishments where people are working hourly and are desperate to work 40-50 hour weeks just to pay their rent and feed their kids, you *tip*. *generously*. the US has an insanely out of control income inequality issue that is very intractible and structural. If you are so fortunate as t…

Buy a plane ticket. Plenty of other countries have the same structural inequality issues, and don't have a tipping culture.

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

#573

Post by qqtt »

4gotunameagain wrote: post #524
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 love how one person opened a coffee shop which basically operates like every single coffee shop in the world apart from the US , and you guys need a detailed write up, charts, flow charts, tips for the secret sauce :)

The point is, that isn't how coffee shops typically operate in the United States, which is what makes it interesting. Operating a coffee shop without tips has special and unique considerations in the United States - chiefly, how to retain talent and employees when conventional wisdom would say it is better paying to get a job at a traditional tip-based coffee shop, which again, are plentiful in the United States. I would say managing employees is the #1 issue when running a small business like this, so the concern is especially relevant (and unique) to the United States market.

It is kind of like how, if a company was trying to tackle health care in the United States, they might attempt to build a system which reconciles many different hospital systems across the country. In other countries, with Universal Single Payer healthcare, this might not be interesting, but in the context of the United States, a system like this could have huge implications.

The market itself is inseparable from what makes a venture like this interesting. It is interesting precisely because of where it is located.

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

#574

Post by nicbou »

kqr wrote: post #561
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…

I would be concerned about any sort of individual bonus directly linked to the service just rendered. That tends to work against cooperation and creativity and problem solving. Only when you are unencumbered by incentives can you afford to experiment and learn from your mistakes and get better at what you do. (See e.g. Pink's Drive for more details on motivation.) It's especially bad if it's based on some variant of…

The rest of the working world is unencumbered by incentives. They still show up.

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

#575

Post by digianarchist »

pseudo0 wrote: post #205
Insanity wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a European living in Canada, the tipping culture took some time to get used to. It's such a stupid/bad system.

Tipping in Canada is extra absurd. The minimum wage for servers and bartenders is the same as for regular workers (eg. $15.50 per hour in Ontario). But thanks to cultural osmosis from the US, 15-25% tips are also expected on top of that.

To be fair that's a recent change in Ontario (2022).

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

#576

Post by mahkeiro »

jjav wrote: post #119
adam_arthur wrote: post #6

Given that even retail stores have added tipping prompts to their checkouts, I'd say yes. Plus many restaurants with placeholder tip icons that start at 25%+ You also don't know what the tip is really going towards in many cases. In the classic restaurant/waitstaff case you can reasonably expect it to go to the workers, in the random knick knack or general goods stores ??? Tipping in general is a system to transfer w…

> Plus many restaurants with placeholder tip icons that start at 25%+ This is the most egregious part of it. Who ever invented that a percentage should inflate? The price is already inflating so a percentage of it goes up. You don't get to inflate both. Tipping was always 10% to 15% if particularly exceptional. Although even that should be made illegal, just include all costs of doing business in the price like nearl…

Inflating restaurant price + inflating tip + tax are on the trend to make US restaurants the most expensive restaurants on earth. A simple Caesar salad is now starting at 16$ and more likely 20$ in a lot of "not that fancy" places. When you add tax and 30% tip, it almost 28$. This is almost or even more expensive than in Switzerland where you waiter earn at least 26$ per hour, and tipping is not expected. Tipping are just here to profit business owner and not the workers (that’s why it’s almost inexistant in socialist country), and don’t get me started on the business adding "don’t forget to pay your staff" on your check.

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

#578

Post by twelve40 »

ssttoo wrote: post #426
freetime2 wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Given that even retail stores have added tipping prompts to their checkouts Really?! Which retail stores?

Few weeks ago facing the tip selection screen at a liquor store here in LA, it clicked for me that this tipping thing has gone too far.

haha you have to tip us for the privilege of fetching your six pack out of our fridge : )

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

#579

Post by mikhael28 »

Jataman606 wrote: post #545
mikhael28 wrote: post #515

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Handling cash is a hassle. It carries risk in terms of losing it, and it takes time to count it and transport/deposit it into a bank. All things that eat into your profit margin, in an industry that has crazy low margin. You a hater.

How much money you lose by counting money and depositing it into a bank?

It takes time to do those things. Time is money. It takes time to reconcile in a double entry accounting system the cash you received in business operations. Software does it automatically.

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

#580

Post by akvadrako »

Jataman606 wrote: post #545
mikhael28 wrote: post #515

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Handling cash is a hassle. It carries risk in terms of losing it, and it takes time to count it and transport/deposit it into a bank. All things that eat into your profit margin, in an industry that has crazy low margin. You a hater.

How much money you lose by counting money and depositing it into a bank?

That depends on many factors of course, but I've seen it ballparked around 2-4%. You need safes, cash registers, insurance, etc.

But credit cards in the US are also like 3% and come with additional risks.

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