Has tipping gotten out of hand?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i honestly have doubts that many of these businesses even pass on those tips to the employees.

If the employees are not paid a tipped wage, why would tips go to them? Essentially, that would be a bonus. Paying bonuses would be extra work for the employer.

[Anonymous]

Mist interesting to me was a thread here about some businesses do not even give those non cash tips to the employee at counter service places. I cut way back after that

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I’m not giving a tip for someone who reached behind the counter to hand me a pre-made pastry.

During covid I happily tipped all workers, but those days are over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mist interesting to me was a thread here about some businesses do not even give those non cash tips to the employee at counter service places. I cut way back after that

I always ask after that and make sure I tip directly and in cash.

[Anonymous]

No. 20-22% is still standard. They can ask for whatever they want. You can do your own math and leave what you want.

[Anonymous]

Here’s my quandary:

While I don’t think fast-food should be tipped, if they’re now asking for tips does that mean they’re now on the sub-minimum tipped worker wage scale? If someone is working for tips, I don’t want to stiff them, but if I’m just getting counter service or even prepared items for grab & go, I don’t think I need to pay over and above the minimum wage they should be getting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i honestly have doubts that many of these businesses even pass on those tips to the employees.

Agree. When I eat out, I always charge the meal, but try to tip in cash. I don't know if this is appreciated by servers, but I don't trust restaurant owners to pass along the whole tip if I charge it. Ditto for hotels. I always leave $5, for a night in a hotel, for housekeeping. It's not much, but I appreciate their efforts and am thankful for a clean room at check-in. Now Hilton has the option to tip electronically. This is a hard pass for me since I have no faith in Hilton corporate forwarding the tip to housekeeping.

Last bit on tipping... I am now completely comfortable declining the tip/selecting no tip at coffee shops and counterservice restaurants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think those predetermined tipping amounts are aspirational. I feel absolutely zero shame in clicking "Custom Amount" and putting in whatever percentage I want to tip. So because of that no, I don't feel like it's out of control. Just because they ask doesn't mean I have to give.

+1

[Anonymous]

Tipping is a horrible practice that puts the economic costs of working on the poor laborer instead of the wealthy owner. The worker goes to work without knowing for sure how much they will be compensated. It allows restaurants to pay sub-minimum wage to their workers.

Why does tipping exist? Tipping in Europe was born in the middle ages, a master-serf custom where servants would receive an extra gratuity for excellent performance. In America, it started on Pullman trains shortly after slaves were freed. There were a lot of black men needing to work and not many people were willing to hire. So the head of Pullman trains, let the black men ride the trains and serve the people, with the freed slaves hoping to get tips to live on. It exemplifies economic inequality.

“Tipping, and the aristocratic idea it exemplifies, is what we left Europe to escape. It is a cancer in the breast of democracy,” wrote William Scott in 1916.

[Anonymous]

I don’t eat out much but when I go to a counter service restaurant and I’m presented with the tip screen, I have zero problems with entering $0.00 or no tip.

[Anonymous]

We've been complaining about tipping for years. Head to Beauty forum and it's multiple top posts "how much to tip my stylist..."

But the restaurant lobby is too large and wants it to stay over an actual wage.

[Anonymous]

Re the question above, my kid worked as a barista at a high end bakery in Georgetown and never actually received a single tip that was from a credit card. For cash tips (there were very few), it was better: they counted and divided at the end of the shift but they inexplicably had to include their shift manager, who was salaried. So some people are doing quite well in this hyper-tipping culture, but it isn’t the people making minimum wage at the coffee counter. I would never add a tip on a counter iPad. If you don’t have cash, don’t tip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you go to Europe, the common practice is to round up the bill to the next Euro and if service was good to great, you may give an extra Euro or two, but no pressure.

In Asia, no tipping. It's based on honor, the thinking being 'you don't need to tip me to do my job well'.

Here in the USA, you are presented with the bill on a tablet that defaults for starters to 25%!

WTH?

Never seen a bill on a tech device or with gratuity demanded. Maybe stop going to places like that?

Did you last visit a restaurant in the Nixon administration?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Re the question above, my kid worked as a barista at a high end bakery in Georgetown and never actually received a single tip that was from a credit card. For cash tips (there were very few), it was better: they counted and divided at the end of the shift but they inexplicably had to include their shift manager, who was salaried. So some people are doing quite well in this hyper-tipping culture, but it isn’t the people making minimum wage at the coffee counter. I would never add a tip on a counter iPad. If you don’t have cash, don’t tip.

Thanks for sharing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Re the question above, my kid worked as a barista at a high end bakery in Georgetown and never actually received a single tip that was from a credit card. For cash tips (there were very few), it was better: they counted and divided at the end of the shift but they inexplicably had to include their shift manager, who was salaried. So some people are doing quite well in this hyper-tipping culture, but it isn’t the people making minimum wage at the coffee counter. I would never add a tip on a counter iPad. If you don’t have cash, don’t tip.

Thanks for this. I always ask but I suppose if ol' manager is hovering by of course they'll say they get the e-tips.