Tipping fatigue

[pierre]

Haven’t wages at a lot of these places gone up due to the difficulty in retaining labor? Maybe not at the local restaurants, but all the national chains?

[spiritrider]

What has and still bothers me is this tip percentage increase. It seems like the "expected" tip percentage increases continually. When there has and continues to be no justification for that.

The price of meals go up continually and thus at the same percentage. There is an automatic increase in the amount of the tip based on food service inflation.

Many years ago, I jumped off that bandwagon. Several years ago I moved to fixed price tips based on the amount and quality of service.

I always thought breakfast wait staff were under compensated, because they were busting their butts off for relatively low cost meals. I now often tip more for breakfast than a simple lunch order.

My dinner tips only indirectly relate to the bill. A meal with appetizers, an entre, orders of alcoholic beverages and maybe a desert get a bigger tip than solely an entre. The price of the meal is largely irrelevant. If you are just handing me food and or drinks at a counter, you get $1/person.

I also factor in how much you are getting paid. If you are getting the tipped employee wage, you get a bigger tip. If you are making minimum wage and especially if you are making ~$15/hour, you are getting less.
P.S. I'm really a pretty generous tipper for especially good service. For bad - mediocre service, not so much. During the pandemic when wait staff were starving, I often left a 20% - 25% tip for take-out and a 40% - 50% tip when in-person.

However, don't ever think you are going to shame at a counter pick-up and/or terminal/tablet defaulted to 20% and hover over me. I have no problem dialing it down or entering a low fixed amount in your full view. If that makes me cheap; "Frankly dear, I don't give a darn."

How ludicrous is it that the automatic censor in 2022 will censor a classic line from a classic 1939 movie. Maybe we can get Elon Musk to buy WCI.

[AR]

If I could find someone like that, I’d probably do it.

Well this person does about 20 hrs a week of general housekeeping and other chores. So shopping is just one of the things that she does.

[Lordosis]

What has and still bothers me is this tip percentage increase. It seems like the "expected" tip percentage increases continually. When there has and continues to be no justification for that.

The price of meals go up continually and thus at the same percentage. There is an automatic increase in the amount of the tip based on food service inflation.

Many years ago, I jumped off that bandwagon. Several years ago I moved to fixed price tips based on the amount and quality of service.

I always thought breakfast wait staff were under compensated, because they were busting their butts off for relatively low cost meals. I now often tip more for breakfast than a simple lunch order.

My dinner tips only indirectly relate to the bill. A meal with appetizers, an entre, orders of alcoholic beverages and maybe a desert get a bigger tip than solely an entre. The price of the meal is largely irrelevant. If you are just handing me food and or drinks at a counter, you get $1/person.

I also factor in how much you are getting paid. If you are getting the tipped employee wage, you get a bigger tip. If you are making minimum wage and especially if you are making ~$15/hour, you are getting less.
P.S. I'm really a pretty generous tipper for especially good service. For bad - mediocre service, not so much. During the pandemic when wait staff were starving, I often left a 20% - 25% tip for take-out and a 40% - 50% tip when in-person.

However, don't ever think you are going to shame at a counter pick-up and/or terminal/tablet defaulted to 20% and hover over me. I have no problem dialing it down or entering a low fixed amount in your full view. If that makes me cheap; "Frankly dear, I don't give a darn."

How ludicrous is it that the automatic censor in 2022 will censor a classic line from a classic 1939 movie. Maybe we can get Elon Musk to buy WCI.

Bleeping out all the good stuff!

https://youtu.be/k_AMQOTPqL8

[Larry Ragman]

Tipping annoys me as a model, but I don’t really imagine it will wash out of our societal approach to service any time soon. During the pandemic I did jack up the amount I tipped in situations I felt tipping appropriate like restaurants, but I did not start tipping in new situations. This thread reminded me that my new norm is 20%. I may purposefully dial that back, especially for large meals. It has been my practice for a while to over tip small meals like breakfasts but I’ll keep that up. To the original question, yes. But I have a thick skin most of the time and just say thank you if I don’t think a tip is warranted (e.g., counter service).

[MPMD]

some good points.

my basic philosophy at this point is as others have said that $5 is a bigger deal to 99% of americans than it is to me.

i usually don't tip at places like starbucks if it's just a chip reader but do if they spin the ipad around to me.

much like the way companies that employ low wage workers use things like medicare as massive corporate welfare, tipping is another example of this. tipping is really unheard of it most of europe. people are paid fairly for what they are doing and neither require nor expect gratuity. the reason we feel guilty not tipping in restaurants is a good reason - powerful restaurant lobbys have successfully created a world where they are allowed to pay servers literal starvation wages. the min wage for servers in my state is $2.13.

i agree that tipping has become divorced from actual service. i would say once a year i give a full tip but mention to a restaurant manager that the service was exceptionally poor.

[Larry Ragman]

i agree that tipping has become divorced from actual service. i would say once a year i give a full tip but mention to a restaurant manager that the service was exceptionally poor.

I once left no tip at restaurant and complained to the manager about poor service. It was awful. He made the waitress come apologize and she was nearly hysterical. (I was younger and missed it at the time, but I am guessing this might have been close to three strikes for her.) My date was embarrassed and since I was still sitting there it was hard to get up and leave. I still won’t go back to that place. Too many other good restaurants in the world.

[MPMD]

I once left no tip at restaurant and complained to the manager about poor service. It was awful. He made the waitress come apologize and she was nearly hysterical. (I was younger and missed it at the time, but I am guessing this might have been close to three strikes for her.) My date was embarrassed and since I was still sitting there it was hard to get up and leave. I still won’t go back to that place. Too many other good restaurants in the world.

was there another date?

yeah i don't always say anything. at the end of the day i'm a physician who waited what i perceived to be too long for my coffee and the server is probably uninsured and wondering about their rent.

at second city the performers used to remind the audience to tip the wait staff bc "they use it for stupid $#%^ like rent... and insulin." pretty good bit esp with the echoes of truth.

[Otolith]

Unpopular opinion but if service is included in the price or there is no service involved don't tip. Carry out, starbucks, dunkin....

If business is hurting financially and/or tipping is a way to provide charity then tip at will.

2 places locally have adopted "all tips go to X charity" this makes it much easier to look at tipping.

[jfoxcpacfp]

Your thread title led me down a totally different thought path. Cow tipping and doctors tipping over due to work fatigue and burnout.🤣 Just being honest. Now I can’t quit giggling. Ok, lol at myself, tttt. But it’s a good way to start the week, yes?

[CordMcNally]

much like the way companies that employ low wage workers use things like medicare as massive corporate welfare, tipping is another example of this. tipping is really unheard of it most of europe. people are paid fairly for what they are doing and neither require nor expect gratuity. the reason we feel guilty not tipping in restaurants is a good reason - powerful restaurant lobbys have successfully created a world where they are allowed to pay servers literal starvation wages. the min wage for servers in my state is $2.13.

I'm assuming that you understand that the servers don't actually make $2.13/hr, right? Some people hear that and think that's what they're paid. Servers are supposed to report their tips (which we know cash tips almost NEVER get reported) and if they don't make their legal minimum wage then the restaurant fills in the difference. The restaurants would like for the consumer to take on some of the responsibility of paying the servers but doing away with tipping and just increasing prices would likely accomplish the same thing but I think the service in the high end restaurants would suffer under this model.

[TheDangerZone]

This is an aside but do you guys tip based on the post-tax total or the pre-tax total? I grew up in a no sales tax state and once I moved, it always rubbed me the wrong way to tip based on the post-tax total.

25% tip example:
Pre tax/no tax: Dinner = $100, tip $25, grand total $125
Post tax: Dinner $100, tax $10, tip $27.5, grand total $137.5

It's like I'm tipping the staff even more simply because I had the privilege of having my meal taxed. Now I understand post-tax total is how most people do it and it's just a few bucks so I follow along, but it's never made sense to me. Maybe someone here has a take on this that does.

[bovie]

Is anyone else getting tired of tipping? I feel like ever since the pandemic started, everyone has just come to expect 20-30% tips for everything. I don't like how there is "tip" option every time you go up to the counter to pick up and pay for carryout. I felt obliged to tip the last time that I was at one of those frozen yogurt places where you make your own yogurt. We recently went on a trip and had to park our car in the hotel valet system. I felt like I had to pay a few bucks just to get my sunglasses out of the car when I realized that I had forgotten them there. I also had to walk around with wallet full of one dollar bills so that I could tip a few bucks everywhere I went. The problem I see with tipping is:
1. People who do tip a "normal" amount are subsidizing those that do not tip. Less then 1/3 of people tip hotel housekeepers. If they are reliant on tips to make their expected wage, they are essentially dependent on 1/3 of people supporting their wage for the 2/3 who do not.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/30/business/hotel-housekeeper-tipping.html

2. Tips require cash. I happened to have a lot of 1 dollar bills that I had accumulated, but very few 5 dollar bills. Nobody uses cash anymore, you can't go to the ATM and request 1-5 dollar bills and I don't think I should have to tip the hotel valet driver 10-20 dollars for daily trips.
3. Credit card machines that ask you if you want to tip make you feel obligated to tip. I don't think that you should be obliged to tip the high school student who charges you for the frozen yogurt you made by yourself. I also don't think that you should be expected to tip every time you someone gets makes a coffee or picks up a muffin for you.
4. Tips have become disconnected from quality of service. I don't know if they ever were connected with quality of service, but I think that most tips are more reflective of the person tipping these days more then whatever the service it is supposed to incentivize.

Haven’t read other responses, but regarding the tipping at the register it’s very simple for me—you don’t get a tip for ringing up an order.

No service, no tip. Doing your job as a cashier is not a service.

[The White Coat Investor]

Is anyone else getting tired of tipping? I feel like ever since the pandemic started, everyone has just come to expect 20-30% tips for everything. I don't like how there is "tip" option every time you go up to the counter to pick up and pay for carryout. I felt obliged to tip the last time that I was at one of those frozen yogurt places where you make your own yogurt. We recently went on a trip and had to park our car in the hotel valet system. I felt like I had to pay a few bucks just to get my sunglasses out of the car when I realized that I had forgotten them there. I also had to walk around with wallet full of one dollar bills so that I could tip a few bucks everywhere I went. The problem I see with tipping is:
1. People who do tip a "normal" amount are subsidizing those that do not tip. Less then 1/3 of people tip hotel housekeepers. If they are reliant on tips to make their expected wage, they are essentially dependent on 1/3 of people supporting their wage for the 2/3 who do not.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/30/business/hotel-housekeeper-tipping.html

2. Tips require cash. I happened to have a lot of 1 dollar bills that I had accumulated, but very few 5 dollar bills. Nobody uses cash anymore, you can't go to the ATM and request 1-5 dollar bills and I don't think I should have to tip the hotel valet driver 10-20 dollars for daily trips.
3. Credit card machines that ask you if you want to tip make you feel obligated to tip. I don't think that you should be obliged to tip the high school student who charges you for the frozen yogurt you made by yourself. I also don't think that you should be expected to tip every time you someone gets makes a coffee or picks up a muffin for you.
4. Tips have become disconnected from quality of service. I don't know if they ever were connected with quality of service, but I think that most tips are more reflective of the person tipping these days more then whatever the service it is supposed to incentivize.

I just set some rules of when I'm going to tip and then follow them. When I do tip, I tip well. If someone comes to my table, takes my order, refills my water, and brings me my food, they get a tip. If I have to go to the counter for anything, they don't get a tip. Tour guides and divemasters always get tips. Uber drivers always get something. Skycaps and bellboys get tips if I use their services. But a yogurt shop or other fast food joint? Nope.

[bovie]

2 places locally have adopted "all tips go to X charity" this makes it much easier to look at tipping.

This is ridiculous. Would essentially guarantee no tip from me, because it’s not a tip.

I can choose my own charities to give to thank you very much.

And certainly more than the $1 as an afterthought adjunct to my bagel.