My pet theory is that tipping became more common by almost accident. As the proliferation of various kiosk-based credit card processing machines took place (Square, etc.) where a little screen gets shared with a customer, the 'tip' step was either so easy to be turned on by the store/merchant OR it was even defaulted to on when the merchant applied for their credit card processor account and then the merchant just kinda left it that way; not enough people complained loudly enough or cared to do so, and so it stuck. Repeat tens of thousands of times across stores that opened or switched their CC processing over the years, even for places that didn't traditionally accept tips, and there you have it. Tip tip tip everywhere.
Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes
951–960 of 1001 posts
Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes
#952There has been a deplorable profusion of dark patterns in restaurant checkout UIs, such as offering preselected tip amounts set along a 18-20-25% scale (standard used to be 15%), making it quite difficult to leave a custom tip, etc. Add to this various "surcharges" and other mandatory fees added for this or that (my favorite: mandatory "resort fees" for hotels - seriously why is that not just rolled into the price of…
Fortunately it is still possible to choose the tip amount. I just move it to 15%.
if they have 15% available I choose that
If they don't I do a custom $0 tip and tell the restaurant why I did it
Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes
#953A few days ago I got dinner delivered, and I added a $5 tip through the app (which came out to about 22%). When the delivery person came, he expressed disappointment about the size of the tip, which really surprised me. As much as I know that it would be better for businesses to pay better wages rather than tips being expected, I also know that the system being unfair isn't any consolation to workers who are just try…
It's hard to say. I would argue that yeah, that baseline tip %age is creeping upwards in the US at least, though the rate at which is hard to quantify. There seem to be a lot of social factors at play that are continuing to put upward pressure on that number. I was taught 15-20% a decade or more back, but that feels to be closer to 25-30% now. Delivery app tip culture is a fascinating rabbithole in and of itself. /r/…
Thanks for the insights!
> It's hard to say. I would argue that yeah, that baseline tip %age is creeping upwards in the US at least, though the rate at which is hard to quantify.
I misread this at first and thought that it was saying the recommendation was to tip at a percentage equal to your age, which I found intriguing. It's certainly a lot easier for me to afford a 29% tip right now than it would have been ten years ago when I was 19, and that trend probably holds for most people, but age isn't _that_ accurate a proxy for wealth given that everyone gets old, but most people don't become rich.
> I wish we in the US could collectively agree that this culture of tipping is (imo) a net negative for everyone involved. But with an economy looking over an uncertain horizon, and the recent bottom-to-top wealth transfers facilitated by the chaos of covid, I think the simple act of throwing a few bucks to the service worker will remain the average American's daily act of "helping the little guy" regardless of how real that benefit truly is.
I strongly agree with you that tipping is overall worse for both workers and customers compared to guaranteeing proper compensation and then adjusting prices to reflect this in lieu of tips, but even as someone looking to "help the little guy" it feels like I don't have any significant ability to improve the situation, and I ultimately don't think it's right for me to withhold tips to try to pressure companies to pay their workers better. It just doesn't seem like it should be my choice to weaponize someone else's misfortune, even if I think it might help things in the big picture.
Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes
#954Earlier 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 knew about this, but I wonder how many spam tentatives you get to this address
What's a spam tentative?
Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes
#955Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are other tipping cultures outside the USA, you know? Tipping is very common in the Balkans and other countries that were influenced by Ottoman culture, for example. While it is not expected, many coffee shops all around Europe also have tipping jars. It's really not common in much of Europe at least for people to actually discourage tipping (though they may seek to refuse what they perceive as exorbitant tips)…
I have lived in Istanbul for a decade now and while many of us do tip, and tipping is rarely expected. The expectation is higher than foreigners, but if you live here, you end up eating at the same places over and over, and that expectation goes away fairly quickly. When I first moved here I realized I was tipping 3-5x what a local would, because I was tipping American standard. Tipping is mostly expected when there…
I haven't been to Turkey, so I don't know how the culture evolved there. However, in former Ottoman-controlled states that I've been to (and especially in Romania, where I was born and live), tipping (as well as small bribes, which are both called bacșiș here, same word as bakshish, though that is changing somewhat recently) is quite prevalent and expected in many settings. At the very least, in any setting where you are served by someone while sitting down, even if it's just drinks at a bar, you are expected to tip (typically 10% being seen as a tip for cases where you were happy with the service).
Tip jars are perhaps a more recent phenomenon, but they are now almost ubiquitous in all places that serve anything, event at a counter or to go - including club bars, coffee shops, even many fast food places.
Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes
#956Was really shocked to go through my normal Starbucks drive thru recently and was verbally asked “are you going to leave a tip?” and they thrust the card reader in my face which starts with a $1 tip as the first option you see on the left hand side. You have to hunt for the “No”. Of course Starbucks knows their target, those that feel too embarrassed if they don’t leave a $1 tip. (I paid). I tell myself, not again. Th…
Jeez, are people really this spineless? I'm assuming you also get roped into paying for some random dude's mixtape outside a grocery store?
Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes
#957I recently saw a "3% cost of living" charge at a restaurant (in California). This same restaurant provided suggested tips of 18, 20, and (I think) 25%. At a certain level I think this is just dishonesty. They want to raise prices, but they know some people will stop coming, so they try to hide it in extra fees instead. I don't mind tipping per se, but the hidden fees and tip inflation make me think that if this keeps…
I deduct 2x the added charges from the usual and customary tip and leave a note on the receipt. The goal is to incentivize the servers to agitate against the restaurant.
I particularly detest sneaky 'charges' that are not embedded in the prices.
Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes
#958Earlier quoted context omitted.
> swapping gigs at this or that restaurant to work with this or that regional manager This or that restaurant or this or that regional manager could give them a fair wage and incorporate their labour cost in the prices of the items on the menu. I just had a chat with an AWS customer support agent earlier today... should I send them $10 for their service? Next month they could be working for GCP (or this or that) supp…
> This or that restaurant or this or that regional manager could give them a fair wage They do... usually by way of appropriate schedules or other logistics of the job which delivers access to the richest streams of tips. This is why the good servers follow them. The conversation around tips and it's appropriateness is largely blind to the other aspects of the hospitality industry. Real people with real jobs respondi…
> usually by way of...
How about by way of a bank transfer?
Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes
#959I stopped going to Starbucks because of this. Simple Americano (espresso + hot water) is $3.50. They ask for tip on the pad, customary at least $1. This adds up to about $5 with tax, for a medium coffee. It's not sustainable. I maybe getting old and still live in times when the same Americano cost me $1.69.
Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes
#960There has been a deplorable profusion of dark patterns in restaurant checkout UIs, such as offering preselected tip amounts set along a 18-20-25% scale (standard used to be 15%), making it quite difficult to leave a custom tip, etc. Add to this various "surcharges" and other mandatory fees added for this or that (my favorite: mandatory "resort fees" for hotels - seriously why is that not just rolled into the price of…
Don't forget: - Asking for a tip for takeout orders - Asking for the payment including tip before you've received service, often via one of those stupid QR menus that does who knows what with your order data that is now tied to your phone - Not having 20% as a tip option, but something like 18%, 23%, 27% - Looming over your shoulder while you enter the tip I want servers to make a livable wage. I'm willing to pay mor…
> - Looming over your shoulder while you enter the tip
I'm with you on the rest, but I find this one dramatically exaggerated by a certain type of person. If you're paying by card, the server is going to be around, waiting for you to finish so they can give you a copy of the receipt.
I find that there is a certain type of person will always describe this as "looming" or "guilted" or feel "social pressure".
Your feelings are legitimate, but the logic behind them is not. While there is definitely pressure to tip (and tip more and more), I've never met a server who would actually act in any way outwardly disappointed by 1) tip of 15%, 2) no tip on takeout, 3) no tip on counter service.
While some people will say "you SHOULD tip 20%" (or more), the actual staff will consider anything beyond the old standard bonus.