How much do you tip?

[Gloves | 12,251]

27 minutes ago, Mega Tank said:

My understanding is that even what is shown on the App, it won't even be the same for the driver, which is why it's best to tip in cash.

I've been told on certain platforms customers may show a tip pre-delivery and then drop or remove it entirely after delivery. This has made the news as well around here.

Good. I shouldn't be forced to add a tip prior to service being rendered. It's the same scam as the free trial that takes your credit card info and doesn't send a reminder that the trial is ending. 

Drivers on Uber do see whether you've tipped, and will flat out ignore orders that don't have a tip. Then when there IS a tip they come, drop my food on the doorstep, and while walking away when I'm grabbing my food they yell back at me "pleased remember rate 5 stars!" and I'm like "yeah you just lost your tip and earned a zero star rating". 

[Mega Tank | 1,093]

31 minutes ago, Gloves said:

Good. I shouldn't be forced to add a tip prior to service being rendered. It's the same scam as the free trial that takes your credit card info and doesn't send a reminder that the trial is ending. 

Drivers on Uber do see whether you've tipped, and will flat out ignore orders that don't have a tip. Then when there IS a tip they come, drop my food on the doorstep, and while walking away when I'm grabbing my food they yell back at me "pleased remember rate 5 stars!" and I'm like "yeah you just lost your tip and earned a zero star rating". 

But that's called tip baiting. If a delivery person sees a large tip for an order, they'll likely pick that up over others. To then deliver and have it removed is absurd. A quick Google shows apparently there is "Tip baiting coverage" where Instacart may cover up to $10 if the buyer shorts on the tip, but it's just wrong either way.

Also, remember, feedback is important to drivers. It's an automatic 5 stars if they followed instructions, which is something that is harder to do than you think. I put deliver instructions in English, but some don't speak it, so they'll end up going to say the resident entrance, which we can't click people in. Automatic drop in tip right there.

[RH | 5,206]

46 minutes ago, Gloves said:

Good. I shouldn't be forced to add a tip prior to service being rendered. It's the same scam as the free trial that takes your credit card info and doesn't send a reminder that the trial is ending. 

Drivers on Uber do see whether you've tipped, and will flat out ignore orders that don't have a tip. Then when there IS a tip they come, drop my food on the doorstep, and while walking away when I'm grabbing my food they yell back at me "pleased remember rate 5 stars!" and I'm like "yeah you just lost your tip and earned a zero star rating". 

The tip-when-you pay option is the worst case example, currently, of tip-culture gone wrong and straying from original intent. If some of you guys, like @Brickman, saw this when you first came to the US or something like that, I can understand why you'd hate it or be confused. It shouldn't be that way.

I don't drink and my family even drinks water when we dine out.  This is why I try to be generous when we go out because I know everyone's struggling and when we get out the door for $25, I know that $4-5 might not be much, so I might add a buck or two, and I give a minimum of $5.

But at a coffee shop, when I'm paying... no.  You've not even rendered the service and I've never tipped a cashier before, so I'm not starting now.  The flip-side, and unfortunate thing, is if I walk into a coffee shop and it's slow and barista is nice, friendly and some how goes above and beyond, I would be willing to drop some change into the tip jar. But... I hate cash, so I never have the change or singles to be generous. I don't like that, but facts are facts. This is a case where better pay would serve the coffee shop workers better than expecting tips. But that's a unique case, unlike restaurants or bars.

Edited August 16 by RH

[a3quit4s | 4,344]

1 minute ago, RH said:

But at a coffee shop, when I'm paying... no.  You've not even rendered the service and I've never tipped a cashier before, so I'm not starting now

This is exactly my mindset, if I didn’t tip you before the tipping craze took over, I’m not tipping you now. 

[G-type | 2,796]

I think restaurants should go one step further... not only make the service fee at the customers discretion, but why not the food too? just bring out a bill with a few suggested prices and let them pay what they feel like (or nothing at all)

Edited August 16 by G-type

[RH | 5,206]

Just now, G-type said:

I think restaurants should go one step further... not only make the service fee at the customers discretion, but why not the food too? just bring out out bill with a few suggested prices and let them pay what they feel like (or nothing at all)

That's not apples to apples.  The cook is sort of a middle-man, and the skill of the cooking staff effects the value of the food.  Furthermore, having a fixed, guaranteed expense will weed out free-loaders.  Sure, there are no-tippers, and that is a form of free-loading in our culture, but there needs to be a cost.

This is why when you go to a park, they charge $1-2 per car some times.  They aren't making that much money off of that cash.  It's to limit traffic and, there's psychology to the fact that you take better care of something you pay for (and it works.)

Conversely, when you give people stuff for free, they not only have less respect for it (because they've invested no value in it) but with time they start considering it a "right" and "deserved expectation". No one has a right to receive anything, they should have a right to pursue opportunity, but not have it given too them, which is what this suggests.

[wongojack | 314]

Wow, what a diverse and interesting discussion.  I'll keep my comments to bullets since the thread is already so long

Setup

• I am American, but I have lived multiple years in Europe
• I have been a server at a major US chain restaurant (during university) <- tips ARE taxable
• I now have a long-term career and can afford to eat almost whatever I want 

 

Amount of tip

• Math - Doesn't bother me, but I don't care about the cents.  I round up to the nearest dollar
• Restaurants - Between 15 and 20%.  Can't remember leaving 0, but I will go down below 15.

Other types of tips

• Delivery - I use DoorDash.  I don't think you can reduce the tip after delivery. I usually take the LOWEST suggested amount (~15%) and subtract a little to get down to the nearest dollar.  My expectation lower for delivery vs server.
• Haircut - Go to the cheapest haircut place near me and tip them 100% (or more).  This person is earning their tip.
• Cashier - taking my order at a takeaway place 1 dollar per entre/item ordered
• Bar - 1 dollar per drink (in cash if I have it)
• Carwash - I make a point to bring cash and usually start at 10% after inspection <- expect these shared

Do we like tips?

• Fairness - Server in a chain restaurant is the hardest job I've ever had.  The money was NOT great.  It is also quite a stressful job with a relatively high physical demand.  NOT a job that someone should do long term.  Any sane person either gets out or lands at a high-end restaurant.  It is absolutely targeting (exploiting?) a transitional employee.
• Wage manipulation - On the flip side, I don't think we need the gov't to intervene in what restaurants pay their workers.  It seems like it would be easy to predict the outcome of something like mandating restaurants pay minimum wage, but these things have unexpected outcomes.  I don't know if this is the area of the economy to experiment like that.

Not USA

• Europe - I usually round up to the nearest Euro.  Back when cash was more common this was super easy
• Japan - Nothing unless it was like a guide who spent all day with me
• Canada - Don't remember.  I think I just did my same USA behavior
• Undeveloped or developing - Tricky; I try to find out what the custom is and follow it.  Blowing in with huge tips is bad but not sharing ANY wealth is even worse

 

From the pages of Jack@$$ magazine <- self published

Someone tried to convince me once that tips started when Americans didn't want to pay free'd slaves an actual wage.  They could provide a job with no wages to let the freemen get some tips.  I haven't researched to find out if that is true, but I don't think humanity needed someone to give them the idea to say. "I can't hire you, but you can shine shoes in the corner for the tips."  Or even "Would you mind if I stood outside and watched the horses for extra money?"  These things have been going on forever.  Trying to get rid of them completely is impossible.

[Khromak | 837]

I'm American and I've lived the vast majority of my life here but have done some travelling.

I don't drink alcohol but will tip $1 per drink at bars (I typically get soda) even though it's unearned (IMO).

At restaurants I tip anywhere from 5% -> 30% depending on the service, difficulty of orders, length of stay, quantity of bill and various other factors. I see this as a "thank you" for personalized service & going above-and-beyond.

Haircuts are typically $5~10 depending on the quality of the small talk, attention to detail, quality of haircut, etc.

Cashiers are absolutely never getting a tip under any circumstance.

I rarely get delivery, but I typically do around 15% for this. I think it's ridiculous and should be paid by the employer not customer since it's not a customer service position and the driver can't really do anything to stand out, IMO, but I know culturally that these people are wearing their cars out for shit money and tips are the only thing keeping them afloat.

I've never gotten a carwash so IDK what's appropriate there.

 

I have spoken with many friends, girlfriends, relatives, etc. who were tipped employees and even on their worst days they made significantly more money than any other unskilled labor job and every single one of them cheated on their taxes. I feel absolutely no sympathy for people who complain about the quantity of tip given.

I also think that it would be a very good thing if we got rid of tipping entirely like most of the rest of the world and these establishments just paid their employees a good wage. No tipped employee would ever support this though, since they'd stand to lose their inflated incomes and have to pay income tax.

[G-type | 2,796]

2 hours ago, wongojack said:

Someone tried to convince me once that tips started when Americans didn't want to pay free'd slaves an actual wage.  They could provide a job with no wages to let the freemen get some tips.  I haven't researched to find out if that is true

https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/operations/us-tipping-has-complex-controversial-history

 

[Kguillemette | 1,606]

Servers are the sales force of my industry. I want whatever they want. If servers want things to stay the way they are, I'm all for that. In my experience, far more do than don't. If there are nights they pull in over $50,(and lately, that number winds up being much higher on weekends regularly) then so be it. I'm confident in my personality to grow a regular clientele to make that much should I ever need to. Single parents of 3 require real money to survive with, and many do it because they "have" to, rather than because they have any passion for the industry or the business. "Guests," as we largely referring our clientele base these days, have there choice of where they eat and how much they tip. I selfishly hope their choices remain the same.

My honest thoughts on the matter.

 

[Code Monkey | 2,129]

I have a serious question for everyone here.

A few years ago the minimum wage in Canada was somewhere around $10 per hour and service jobs were hoping for a 20% tip. Would you be okay with replacing this 20% tip with a 50% increase in minimum wage?

Exactly that happened because the government increased the minimum wage to over $15 per hour so the entire service industry instantly got a 50% raise. In this scenario, do you still think you need to tip the server in order to supplement their income because it's too low? And if so, why were you only tipping 20% before instead of the now 70% you think is required?

I have asked everyone I know this question and all I ever get is blank stares because logically it makes no sense to continue tipping someone that just received a 50% raise almost overnight.

[JamesRobot | 6,026]

10 minutes ago, Code Monkey said:

I have a serious question for everyone here.

A few years ago the minimum wage in Canada was somewhere around $10 per hour and service jobs were hoping for a 20% tip. Would you be okay with replacing this 20% tip with a 50% increase in minimum wage?

Exactly that happened because the government increased the minimum wage to over $15 per hour so the entire service industry instantly got a 50% raise. In this scenario, do you still think you need to tip the server in order to supplement their income because it's too low? And if so, why were you only tipping 20% before instead of the now 70% you think is required?

I have asked everyone I know this question and all I ever get is blank stares because logically it makes no sense to continue tipping someone that just received a 50% raise almost overnight.

Not sure about Canadia, eh.  But US Fed minimum wage for tipped employees is only $2.13/hour. 

[Khromak | 837]

18 minutes ago, JamesRobot said:

Not sure about Canadia, eh.  But US Fed minimum wage for tipped employees is only $2.13/hour. 

...And if after factoring their tips in they make less than that, they are paid the regular minimum wage, by law.

Nobody in the history of employment has been paid the tipped minimum wage for a single hour of employment, legally. I'm sure it's possible that some employers broke the law and did this somewhere, some time, but it is also absolutely not the norm and also extremely illegal.

[DefaultGen | 5,723]

39 minutes ago, Code Monkey said:

I have a serious question for everyone here.

A few years ago the minimum wage in Canada was somewhere around $10 per hour and service jobs were hoping for a 20% tip. Would you be okay with replacing this 20% tip with a 50% increase in minimum wage?

Exactly that happened because the government increased the minimum wage to over $15 per hour so the entire service industry instantly got a 50% raise. In this scenario, do you still think you need to tip the server in order to supplement their income because it's too low? And if so, why were you only tipping 20% before instead of the now 70% you think is required?

I have asked everyone I know this question and all I ever get is blank stares because logically it makes no sense to continue tipping someone that just received a 50% raise almost overnight.

CA has a $16 minimum wage and people still tip there.

Just set a real federal minimum wage for everyone. Tax tips at 90%. Get rid of this nonsense world we live in where my mechanic is going to spin an iPad around and ask for an extra $200 soon.

[Kguillemette | 1,606]

1 hour ago, Code Monkey said:

I have a serious question for everyone here.

A few years ago the minimum wage in Canada was somewhere around $10 per hour and service jobs were hoping for a 20% tip. Would you be okay with replacing this 20% tip with a 50% increase in minimum wage?

Exactly that happened because the government increased the minimum wage to over $15 per hour so the entire service industry instantly got a 50% raise. In this scenario, do you still think you need to tip the server in order to supplement their income because it's too low? And if so, why were you only tipping 20% before instead of the now 70% you think is required?

I have asked everyone I know this question and all I ever get is blank stares because logically it makes no sense to continue tipping someone that just received a 50% raise almost overnight.

Servers are earning tips at a rate of 20% of their sales, not receiving a 20% bonus of their wages. Assuming a server working an average for 30 hrs a week grosses $300 pre min wage increase, this only changes their gross wages by $150. I have to assume that goods servers pull in way more than $150 in tips. I'm unsure where the number 70 comes from. If you personally find it unacceptable to maintain your current tip standards because of changes in Canada tax law, you are welcomed to do what you feel is fair.

[guillavoie | 1,227]

15 hours ago, Gloves said:

I'd much prefer the cost go up a flat percent than have that same amount have to be factored in by me. I already have to go "OK so this says $20... Plus 15% for taxes..." and I have to then do the same (apparently people want fuckin 20% now...) for a tip. A $20 meal is actually a $30 meal, easily. 

It's even worse on apps like Uber eats. The food is marked up to account for Ubers take, then delivery fees, taxes, AND tip? I went to order some fried chicken the other day. $20 for a 4 piece meal which comes with taters and a pop. It came to $36 in the end, so I just canceled and made pasta instead. 

Indeed, the best way to handle this would be to have it all factored in the menu price so tipping is no longer 'required'.

But let's not kid ourselves, restaurants is a very hard business and the competition is keeping things in a very tight check and balance. You can't rip off people with low quality shit and expect being successful when there's plenty of restaurants doing things right at every corner. If the tipping custom is thrown out the window, owners will have to raise wages of waiters accordingly and in the end it will still be reflected on the cost charged to clients.

[fcgamer | 5,006]

I used to work at a winery in the tasting room and one of the duties was to carry the cases of wine people would buy out to their cars. It always astounded me how carrying a 40 pound case of wine to someone's car rarely got me a tip, yet drop off a few sodas at a table and a tip was expected. 

[Gloves | 12,251]

1 minute ago, guillavoie said:

Indeed, the best way to handle this would be to have it all factored in the menu price so tipping is no longer 'required'.

But let's not kid ourselves, restaurants is a very hard business and the competition is keeping things in a very tight check and balance. You can't rip off people with low quality shit and expect being successful when there's plenty of restaurants doing things right at every corner. If the tipping custom is thrown out the window, owners will have to raise wages of waiters accordingly and in the end it will still be reflected on the cost charged to clients.

That's fine.

There's a difference mentally between a $50 steak dinner, and a $30 steak dinner that ends up being $50. "Oh nice, I can afford the $30 within my budget!" becomes "ah shit...".

It's the exact same mental gymnastics with taxes being separated from the advertised price, and worse yet the fact that everything is $X.99. We see $4.99 and in our heads that's "4 dollars" rather than 5. These are common scummy tactics to make consumers spend beyond their means by making things look at a glance like they are within those means.

A Whopper Meal at Burger King on Uber Eats is $14.36:

Logically, looking at that you might go "nice, dinner for under $20!". Let's ignore that walking into a store it's cheaper than that here - $11.99 for the same thing (plus taxes at 15%, and you're not likely to tip the cashier at Burger King).

Despite having Uber Plus, I'm still being charged a $2 delivery fee for whatever reason. They also default to an 18% tip and even give me a nice little reminder of why these delivery drivers are the cornerstone of our society. If I did this on the app it'd also show me a cartoon image of a delivery person walking uphill in the rain like a superhero and tell me how harrowing it is to be a delivery person despite their showing up at my door in a Tesla.

 

More than $10 extra is being tacked onto my meal. AND the food is going to be cold by the time it gets here despite being a 3 minute drive away. AND the pop will be flat. 

I make my own food most of the time these days. It's egregious out there.

 

[fcgamer | 5,006]

Funny, this story just popped up in my feed.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2n8x6y6lzo

We should be treating the poor delivery guys well. More tips for them, I say!

 

[Mega Tank | 1,093]

34 minutes ago, Gloves said:

We see $4.99 and in our heads that's "4 dollars" rather than 5.

Um no. It's always over. Anyone calculating under doesn't know math.

35 minutes ago, Gloves said:

Despite having Uber Plus, I'm still being charged a $2 delivery fee for whatever reason. They also default to an 18% tip and even give me a nice little reminder of why these delivery drivers are the cornerstone of our society. If I did this on the app it'd also show me a cartoon image of a delivery person walking uphill in the rain like a superhero and tell me how harrowing it is to be a delivery person despite their showing up at my door in a Tesla.

Uber needs to make their money. If I order for delivery on eats it's because I'm trying not to be inconvenienced when on vacation and it's raining or for pick up to take advantage of a buy one get one deal. Sure, the single order is already marked up a few follars from the in store price, but you still get a better deal since you get a second meal.

Also, don't forget some people that run Uber Eats may also be driving Uber, Lyft, Instacart, Shipt any any other service like that.

We recently took an Uber with their Uber Green service, which is for Hybrid/Electric vehicles. The driver was an older retired guy that ran Uber with his Tesla. He claims for him, it was a no brainer. All the safety features and solid warranty convinced him to buy one. It makes sense if you think about it.

[guillavoie | 1,227]

59 minutes ago, Gloves said:

That's fine.

There's a difference mentally between a $50 steak dinner, and a $30 steak dinner that ends up being $50. "Oh nice, I can afford the $30 within my budget!" becomes "ah shit...".

It's the exact same mental gymnastics with taxes being separated from the advertised price, and worse yet the fact that everything is $X.99. We see $4.99 and in our heads that's "4 dollars" rather than 5. These are common scummy tactics to make consumers spend beyond their means by making things look at a glance like they are within those means.

A Whopper Meal at Burger King on Uber Eats is $14.36:

Logically, looking at that you might go "nice, dinner for under $20!". Let's ignore that walking into a store it's cheaper than that here - $11.99 for the same thing (plus taxes at 15%, and you're not likely to tip the cashier at Burger King).

Despite having Uber Plus, I'm still being charged a $2 delivery fee for whatever reason. They also default to an 18% tip and even give me a nice little reminder of why these delivery drivers are the cornerstone of our society. If I did this on the app it'd also show me a cartoon image of a delivery person walking uphill in the rain like a superhero and tell me how harrowing it is to be a delivery person despite their showing up at my door in a Tesla.

 

More than $10 extra is being tacked onto my meal. AND the food is going to be cold by the time it gets here despite being a 3 minute drive away. AND the pop will be flat. 

I make my own food most of the time these days. It's egregious out there.

 

I would be totally turned off by such price too, it is just a Burger King trio ffs, lol! All the surplus getting over each other from the already puffed up starting price doesn't make it worthwhile.

With Uber eats, what I found that work out for me and the family (and we did it a lot in our summer vacation this year), you find an actually good restaurant that offers Uber delivery, you pick just enough plates to feed everyone conveniently and you take care of the rest of the meal from home (drinks, salads, desserts, etc.). The problem in restaurants is that everybody order their plates and drinks and then the bill get really salty. I have two young kids and it just isn't worth it to get them their plates most of the time, even with kid's menu. They want an apple juice and it's like $6, lol. Cut all the drinks in restaurants, the kid's plates that they never eat more than a third of it, the desserts, and suddenly the bill is affordable.

As for the Uber driver tip, that's very hard question honestly. Delivery is usually a standard cost, so I don't think a $36 tip on $200 bill is at play because the default setting on uber is 18%. This said, $1,80 on a $10 bill might be ridiculously low as well...

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,093]

On 8/15/2024 at 10:43 PM, ThePhleo said:

I just double everything on the left side of the " . " then move it down a tenth. It works out to a fractions of less than 20%.

So:

$124.28 = $248 * 0.1 = $24.80

$41.99 = $82 * 0.1 = $8.20

$5.01 = $10 * 0.1 = $1.00

 

Also, I don't tip anywhere that doesn't let me get to pay after the fact. So, sorry Starbucks, I won't "answer your question"

I like your method and will probably adopt it.

I never tip for anything other than at a sit down restaurant. I will never tip for picking up my own food or for someone to hand me my food over a counter.

Edited August 17 by LeatherRebel5150

[fcgamer | 5,006]

6 hours ago, Mega Tank said:

Um no. It's always over. Anyone calculating under doesn't know math.

I think he's referring to from a psychological perspective.

[Code Monkey | 2,129]

Yesterday I bought a scone at a local coffee shop. The guy took my cash (no tip), dug out my change, then used his same disgusting money filth hand to shove into the scone bag to open it up. I wonder if the two were connected.

I tried explaining AHS requires employees to change gloves between food and non-food service but he had no clue what I was talking about.

[Gloves | 12,251]

6 minutes ago, Code Monkey said:

Yesterday I bought a scone at a local coffee shop. The guy took my cash (no tip), dug out my change, then used his same disgusting money filth hand to shove into the scone bag to open it up. I wonder if the two were connected.

I tried explaining AHS requires employees to change gloves between food and non-food service but he had no clue what I was talking about.

My vegetarian wife used to ask the servers at Subway to change their gloves before handling her sandwich to avoid meat contamination and she'd get the most annoyed looks.