discussion Tipping is getting out of control

[SmittenCake]

especially in the hippie liberal areas with their gentrified new restaurants are on one side of the street while the other side is vacant, derelict buildings. Probably because the Hispanic and Black families were rounded up and told to vacate the area as their homes were being renovated to accommodate the future affluent inhabitants.

 

i step into this one spot and the food is already overpriced and the portions are small. All the lady did was take my order and she switches the tablet to my view and I'm being asked to select a tip option of 15-30%

there is not a 0% option

 

even when i go somewhere after placing an order online for carryout, I'm being asked to tip

 

 

[Thin White Duke]

Anything over 10% is ridiculous, expect for maybe huge gatherings/parties where you have the poor waiter running around all night, but that's it.

[Popboi.]

Tips of 15-30% are crazy. 10% should be the norm if any

[suburbannature]

Just now, Thin White Duke said:

Anything over 10% is ridiculous, expect for maybe huge gatherings/parties where you have the poor waiter running around all night, but that's it.

15-20% is standard. 
 

I tip higher for good service (delivery, hair stylist, waiters) but the trend of fast food workers flipping iPads around for tips is insane.

[Yawn]

ATRL's fav topic! 

 

[Domination]

There was a coffee place near me where the tip screen was literally $2/$3/$4… like on a $4.50 coffee, ma'am…

[SmittenCake]

1 minute ago, suburbannature said:

 

I tip higher for good service (delivery, hair stylist, waiters)

or the sexxi Arab / Bangladeshi men who sell perfume and massage you at the mall

 

 

 

[Maneater]

I live in the UK, I don't tip 

[Thin White Duke]

3 minutes ago, suburbannature said:

15-20% is standard. 

Damn, is it really? Guess it depends on country too, but generally waiters are paid well here and don't depend on tips to survive. 15-20% would be viewed as extremely generous.

Edited October 23 by Thin White Duke

[May]

1 minute ago, Maneater said:

I live in the UK, I don't tip 

while i hate the UK im so grateful we have absolutely zero tipping culture. could not imagine paying 20-30% extra

[Bloodflowers.]

I don't tip here in Europe but I also noticed they're trying really hard to get Americanized with this capitalism bs tipping culture when I am trying to buy a simple sandwich with my credit card and it asks me for a tip for the cashier lady. MA'AM FOR WHAT??! but we are not having it 

 

 

[Gorjesspazze9]

30% tip?! wtf do they think this is? Beverly Hills?! 

[LustSpell]

Has been for a while now. I'm not tipping someone at a register doing their job.

 

The way employers successfully managed to push paying workers a healthy rate onto the populace should be studied and made illegal. 

[suburbannature]

4 minutes ago, SmittenCake said:

or the sexxi Arab / Bangladeshi men who sell perfume and massage you at the mall

 

 

 

And what about it 

 

[SmittenCake]

Just now, suburbannature said:

And what about it 

 

nothing

 

i was just adding on

 

 

 

[Vermouth]

12 minutes ago, May said:

while i hate the UK im so grateful we have absolutely zero tipping culture. could not imagine paying 20-30% extra

Joyous isn't it? It really is.

Eating out in the US is frankly, very expensive, requires metal arthimatic gymnastics, and is full of hassle, as you have to put up with the awful false friendliness, whilst deep down knowing they couldn't give a damn, and are just trying to get you through the sausage machine as quickly as possible, so they can get their tip and get the next one in, to fling their starter at them before you've time to breathe, and shove the main in asap too at the speed of light.  Ever heard of chilling out guys and conversation over a long meal? Ah yes that would require the alcohol not to be three times the price it is everywhere else, for dreadful quality.

 

(Yes I know servers have a pathetic minimum wage compared to other countries and live off tips and it's not their fault of course, but the whole experience is generally cr*p compared to the rest of the world).

 

And whilst I'm on my soap box:  tour guides, barbers,delivery: it's like everyone is hustling to stick their hand in your pocket all the time for just doing a job. Boils my p*ss.

Edited October 23 by Vermouth

[Vermouth]

9 minutes ago, Bloodflowers. said:

I don't tip here in Europe but I also noticed they're trying really hard to get Americanized with this capitalism bs tipping culture when I am trying to buy a simple sandwich with my credit card and it asks me for a tip for the cashier lady. MA'AM FOR WHAT??! but we are not having it 

 

 

Quite right. 

[Archetype]

I grew up in northeastern US and tipping anywhere between 15% - 25% has always been normal since I was a child.  It was always considered standard to tip 20% unless service was bad, and 25% if you're in a large group and service was great.  
 

Granted, waiters in the US do not get paid well, and tips are their main form of salary.  
 

However, service in the US is usually very good and servers are accommodating.  I find that service in the Europe is generally not good, especially in France, where locals have to practically beg a waiter to come over and take their order or get a menu.  The only countries where I've experienced consistently good service in Europe are in Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Italy.

Edited October 23 by Archetype

[Joey307]

I tip for haircuts, servers, bartenders, delivery drivers, drag queens, but that's pretty much it. 
 

I get that it's an added expense that employers probably could cover instead, but it's just how the system is and I'm not gonna screw over someone who's doing me a service. If you're broke, whatever, that's fine but don't make it someone else's problem. 

[Trent W]

I only tip waiters and sometimes barbers (when they do an extremely good job)

 

I think that tipping people who are already doing their job like cashiers is sending the wrong message

 

People who unnecessarily tip are really doing more damage because the owners think that they can get away with paying extremely low wages

[Vermouth]

6 minutes ago, Joey307 said:

I tip for haircuts, servers, bartenders, delivery drivers, drag queens, but that's pretty much it. 
 

I get that it's an added expense that employers probably could cover instead, but it's just how the system is and I'm not gonna screw over someone who's doing me a service. If you're broke, whatever, that's fine but don't make it someone else's problem. 

Totally get this view.

 

However, I don't want the system spreading to the U.K. I'd far rather we pay people about the equivalent of about $15 minimum wage to pour beer in a pub ( as we do ), and if the price list says £5 a pint, £5 is what you pay, simple as.

[Reginald]

50 minutes ago, SmittenCake said:

or the sexxi Arab / Bangladeshi men who sell perfume and massage you at the mall

 

 

 

[superglowy]

I don't mind the 'do you want to donate a £1 to charity options', but outside of a waiter at a restaurant, I ain't tipping any of them. Hell naw.

[Joey307]

31 minutes ago, Vermouth said:

Totally get this view.

 

However, I don't want the system spreading to the U.K. I'd far rather we pay people about the equivalent of about $15 minimum wage to pour beer in a pub ( as we do ), and if the price list says £5 a pint, £5 is what you pay, simple as.

I get that but I'm a server/bartender here in the US and we do have a… unique but working approach to the tipping situation. 

 

A lot of smaller businesses (not Chili's, not Buffalo Wild Wings, not Olive Garden) run on extremely tight budgets. They literally couldn't afford to pay servers if they wanted. But even if they could, they're greedy and don't want to. As an added bonus tipping encourages servers to sell more stuff, or more expensive stuff which lines the pockets of the restaurant. Restaurants like tipping. 

 

Servers and bartenders do NOT want tipping to go away because it outdoes what regular wages would pay them. The tips plus their small hourly could easily average $30 and up an hour even in cheaper restaurants. Waitstaff like tipping. 

Customers, even if they don't realize it, like tipping too because without it prices would skyrocket far above what they're paying with tipping included. And if the server was paid the same hourly rate regardless, they'd have no motivation to go above and beyond to create great customer service. 
 

Also, assuming you didn't eat/drink it, most restaurants, at least chain ones, will take stuff off your bill if you simply didn't like it, even if it was made correctly. Without tipping that'd be gone, and comparing to Europe, you guys don't take stuff off the bill. 
 

Is it perfect? No. Does it work? Yes. 

Edited October 23 by Joey307

[Vermouth]

38 minutes ago, Joey307 said:

I get that but I'm a server/bartender here in the US and we do have a… unique but working approach to the tipping situation. 

 

A lot of smaller businesses (not Chili's, not Buffalo Wild Wings, not Olive Garden) run on extremely tight budgets. They literally couldn't afford to pay servers if they wanted. But even if they could, they're greedy and don't want to. Restaurants like tipping. 

 

Servers and bartenders do NOT want tipping to go away because it outdoes what regular wages would pay them. The tips plus their small hourly could easily average $30 and up an hour even in cheaper restaurants. Waitstaff like tipping. 

Customers, even if they don't realize it, like tipping too because without it prices would skyrocket far above what they're paying with tipping included. And if the server was paid the same hourly rate regardless, they'd have no motivation to go above and beyond to create great customer service. 
 

Also, assuming you didn't eat/drink it, most restaurants, at least chain ones, will take stuff off your bill if you simply didn't like it, even if it was made correctly. Without tipping that'd be gone, and comparing to Europe, you guys don't take stuff off the bill. 
 

Is it perfect? No. Does it work? Yes. 

I think it works in an American context. Fair enough. Given $30 an hour I can see why wait staff don't want it to change!

 

That said it means customers are paying way more for wait staff than in Europe - which tends to end up on the cost, so not such a great deal for customers. Which is kind of why I don't want the "American context" to become "our context", because I can see eating out getting as expensive as it is in the US ( and believe me the US is waaayyy out of whack with the rest of the Western world here).

 

In fairness, if something is clearly bad, checks will get adjusted in Europe (happened to me in Ireland six months ago where a lasagne had had a catastrophic experience in the oven!).
 

Again the "create great customer service", I get works in a US context, but it's just so wearing and overbearing for most foreigners ( who aren't your main customers so also fair enough really😁), even those of us whose native language is English so interacting with the locals isn't a linguistic effort. 
 

To me at least ( and I suspect I'm not alone ) it's just so much nicer and chilled to have the whole experience dialled down, slowed down, and to kind of know what you're going to pay just by looking at the menu.

 

Horses for courses I guess.

Edited October 23 by Vermouth