Stop Tipping

[youbet]

Many Americans are seemingly upset by non-Americans in the USA who either don't tip, or tip less than whatever arbitrary percentage (currently 25%?) is in vogue there. Yet those same people often insist on tipping/overtipping in Europe, Australia, Canada, etc., because "that's just what I'm used toextra amount that we demand, or we will poison!

That cuts both ways of course.

 

[Scrapr]

thought about this thread tonight. A group of 6 of us went to a larger Brew pub for dinner before we walked next door for improv theatre. Waitress split out our bills nicely. As expected mandatory 20% tip for parties of 6+. So we get our receipts to sign and they have split everything out perfectly including the mandatory tip. Right below the Total line? Tip space and below that a Total.

I wonder how many people double tip

 

[Teacher Terry]

I was telling my husband about this thread last night while we were eating out. He grew up in a single parent household and his mom was a dealer in a casino making minimum wage. They depended on those tips and he is a good tipper unless the service is horrible.

 

[Chuckanut]

My Area:
Tipped jobs = non tipped jobs minimum wage
$11+ an hour.

Note: I live in an area where tipped employees make the same minimum wage as non-tipped employees. I think that makes a difference in how we look at tipping and perhaps we should each mention it at the start. If the guy who hands me the muffin over the counter was making $7 an hour, I would feel better about the tip jar. The screen? Forget-About-It.

Overall, employers should pay their people a descent wage and leave the customer's out of it.

 

[ERD50]

I was telling my husband about this thread last night while we were eating out. He grew up in a single parent household and his mom was a dealer in a casino making minimum wage. They depended on those tips and he is a good tipper unless the service is horrible.

Please realize that most of the posters here who are saying they are opposed to the system of tipping are not suggesting the worker should be harmed in any way by eliminating the system of tipping. What we are saying is it is the business's business to set the pay for their employees.

The business should just charge us what is needed for them to support their business. They obviously need to pay whatever is required to get the kind of employees they need, like any other business. Leave us out of it!

And please don't assume that everyone expressing a dislike for the tipping system is a lousy or zero tipper. I will continue to tip well while the system is in place. But I'd like to see the system dismantled.

OP does is saying to stop tipping, but remember that he is Canadian, and his video says that servers there make a minimum wage of $11/hour, which is different from the US. And it also claims there is significant (Canadian) tax cheating going on with the tips they get.

-ERD50

 

[68bucks]

I'm a 20% tipper or better. If I have a meal like breakfast that ends up with a $10 bill I'll at least leave a $5 bill. I'm doing all right and the majority of people waiting tables need it worse than me. If you tip well at a place you frequent you get better service, more attention. It's a nice perk sometimes. Now if the service is poor I will cut the tip a bit. I don't tip on how the food was though the servers don't cook it. Bring me cold food though and you will probably get a smaller tip.

 

[ERD50]

Quote:
Originally Posted by ERD50
Because I know I'm not going to change the system by myself, one non-tip at a time.

That one is hard to understand. Do you also fall in line with other marketing ploys such as a car dealer trying to sell you useless after-market add-ons? Or an appliance dealer trying to charge you for delivery when the competition doesn't? Etc.? The absolute only way for consumers to deliver the message for what demand is, is to vote with their dollars one consumer at a time. It's not unlike voting in a political election. We each do it one voter at a time (with exceptions in Illinois of course!)

In what way is this hard to understand?

I'm realistic, I know I'm not going to change the system one no-tip at a time, and since the system is in place, I'm going to follow along.

I don't agree with the system of many of the Federal tax deductions we were allowed to take, but I take them, because I know I'm not going to change that system myself either, other than through , maybe, my vote. We play the hand we are dealt.

But this is a discussion forum, so I am sharing my view on the subject. That's different than expecting I can change it. At any rate, I think discussion is likely to have a greater (though still tiny) effect than me stopping to tip.

I don't follow your other examples. I don't buy the useless add-ons from a car dealer, but in no way do I expect that to change their behavior. But since I don't buy them, I don't pay for them either. There is no expectation there. And I haven't found a new car dealer that doesn't, so I don't really have a choice. We play the hand we are dealt. I think someone else mentioned, that's like telling me I shouldn't go to a restaurant that offers me dessert if I don't want it - just say 'no' if I don't want it, there is no expectation for me to pay for it.

But there is an expectation that a server gets a tip, it's built into the system, and built into the pricing of meals (they would be higher if tips were banned), so I go with it. Just because I dislike a system, and express that dislike, doesn't mean I'm on a mission from god to fight it. I haven't started a blog and a 501(c)(3) named "Ban the tip!".

-ERD50

 

[W2R]

Yesterday I got my hair cut at Supercuts. It was absolutely pouring rain, and the whole time I was there they didn't have even one other customer. The stylist said it had been that way all day. Since there was nobody waiting, she took her time and did a superb job with my hair so I am pretty pleased.

Instead of my usual 15% tip consistent with being the Scrooge-like cheap penny-pinching unsympathetic tightwad that I am, I impulsively gave her a 44% tip. It's the Christmas season, after all. I think that today at lunch I will leave a higher tip also.

 

[RobbieB]

I just tipped a delivery guy $20 -

 

[Teacher Terry]

Serving is a busy demanding job constantly on your feet. If I had a choice between minimum wage jobs with no tipping I think I could find easier work. Tipping is a built in incentive for good service. Plus people would balk at much higher food prices. When my check is small then I certainly tip much more than 20%. No matter how small the check the servers still have to run around just as much.

 

[ERD50]

Serving is a busy demanding job constantly on your feet. If I had a choice between minimum wage jobs with no tipping I think I could find easier work. ...

Yes! And if that's the case, the managers will need to start paying more to attract the talent he/she needs. Or make the job easier (think "total compensation"). That's how a free market works.

It's not about making more or less (why is this so hard to get across?), it's about having management do their job, so I can just enjoy my meal, and not do mini-performance reviews every time I go out to eat.

... Tipping is a built in incentive for good service. ... .

Questionable. I get good/great service in places with no tipping. Explain that.

It's really the manager's job to make sure staff is treating customer's well. If they aren't, I can (and have) complain (or compliment) to management, or taken my business elsewhere, if a competitor provides better service/value.

... Plus people would balk at much higher food prices. ... .

People love a sale! Just mark everything up 20%, then declare they are getting a deal, as we no longer allow tipping!

I know of several stores where it seems you can't pay full price on anything, even if you tried. Everything is marked down. I'm pretty sure the management has decided a $100 item with a 20% 'SALE" sign moves better than an $80 item.

... When my check is small then I certainly tip much more than 20%. No matter how small the check the servers still have to run around just as much.

I've done that - it's another one of those things that makes the whole tipping system a pretty stupid way to do it.

Again, I think management can figure this out, and will provide the appropriate hourly wage and and maybe incentives to keep the level of staff they want.

 

[Archman]

thought about this thread tonight. A group of 6 of us went to a larger Brew pub for dinner before we walked next door for improv theatre. Waitress split out our bills nicely. As expected mandatory 20% tip for parties of 6+. So we get our receipts to sign and they have split everything out perfectly including the mandatory tip. Right below the Total line? Tip space and below that a Total.

I wonder how many people double tip

Not me.

 

[Archman]

I tipped my barber today 25%.'Cause it's Christmas .

 

[W2R]

I tipped my barber today 25%.'Cause it's Christmas .

I think that today at lunch I will leave a higher tip also.

I tipped my waitress twice as much as usual at lunch today, for the same reasons. 'Cause it's Christmas! Merry, merry...

 

[sengsational]

Single $5 coin tip challenge

I wonder if the server would think that they got $5 if you left them one of these (it's about as big as a dime and worth $140):

 

[youbet]

I wonder how many people double tip

Yeah, that can be an issue and needs to be watched for. Last week DW and I attended a holiday lunch with a bunch of retired MegaCorp geezers. At 71 yo, we were about the youngest in the group. When our individual (or couple) checks came, they included a 20% tip, which was expected and fine IMHO. But the line for adding additional tip was there. As usual, I paid cash for DW and myself. I carry small bills when we go out so I can tuck approximately the exact amount of the check into that little folder-dealy -thingy they give ya, so no extra tip from me. But when I stood up and got everyone's attention and pointed out that there was a 20% tip already on the checks, most were surprised and hadn't noticed. Most would have double tipped as they filled out the CC info.

 

[youbet]

I tipped my barber today 25%.'Cause it's Christmas .

I tipped my barber $100 last week cuz (1) it's Christmas, (2) he runs a single chair shop that makes you feel you're back in the 60's with vintage Playboy mags in the rack, beer in the fridge and old guys hanging around BSing and (3) I don't tip during the rest of the year. I do bring him walleye filets when we return from fishing trips though.

 

[youbet]

I get good/great service in places with no tipping. Explain that.

Sure. You are a card carrying commie. You get good/great service without tipping yet choose to tip. Welcome to the commune Comrade ERD50!

 

[Archman]

I tipped my barber $100 last week cuz (1) it's Christmas, (2) he runs a single chair shop ,,,,,,,,,,.

You tip the owner?

 

[Helena]

One thing that's affecting American wait staff is the prevalence of credit cards. Waiters can't hide their income from the IRS if you put it on a credit card. So consider perhaps paying the bill on the CC but leaving a cash tip.

When I patronize a restaurant with servers who expect tips, I always tip well in cash.

But most of my favorite go to places to eat out require no tipping.

.

 

[youbet]

You tip the owner?

Well, I guess he owns the business. But the business is strictly him. He rents the little shop and has no employees. He's been my barber for 42 years.

Your barber has to work for someone else? One of those franchise joints?

It's my choice. I understand you prefer to walk another path.......

 

[Helena]

I tipped my barber today 25%.'Cause it's Christmas .

I only get my hair cut once a year... but my cash tip is usually more than the nominal cost.

.

 

[haha]

Few pet peeves about tipping..

- Carry-out - (e.g. PF Changs recently)..the person behind the counter literally hands me my order, prepared by the kitchen staff. There is IMHO no real "service" being provided to tip on. Yet, there's always a spot on the cc receipt for tip and if you leave it blank, it's easy to feel like a cheapskate shorting the person..

- iPads / other tablets at checkout - I was in a bakery recently, and their payment system was an iPad that you sign..once again, a spot for tip. In a bakery where all we were doing is picking up a couple of muffins from the girl behind the counter? She literally did nothing aside from take 2 muffins out of a jar and hand them to us. UGH.

- Winery - ditto..iPad at checkout. Spot on the screen to add tip (little slider graphic that conveniently showed what 15%, 20%, etc was). Seriously? Again not doing much aside from handing us a couple glasses of wine..

I don't mind tipping for ACTUAL (and good) service - but the expectation that you're going to get a tip for handing me something (carry-out, muffin, etc) is getting out of control.

Usually I just draw a line through the tip space, but if I really am sensitive that day I just pay cash and keep holding my hand out to indicate that I want my change.

Ha

 

[Chuckanut]

But most of my favorite go to places to eat out require no tipping.

.

Not to worry. A package of tip jars is being distributed to them as you read this. Make sure you buss and clean your table when you leave, OK?

 

[mystang52]

Few pet peeves about tipping..

- Carry-out - (e.g. PF Changs recently)..the person behind the counter literally hands me my order, prepared by the kitchen staff. There is IMHO no real "service" being provided to tip on. Yet, there's always a spot on the cc receipt for tip and if you leave it blank, it's easy to feel like a cheapskate shorting the person..

- iPads / other tablets at checkout - I was in a bakery recently, and their payment system was an iPad that you sign..once again, a spot for tip. In a bakery where all we were doing is picking up a couple of muffins from the girl behind the counter? She literally did nothing aside from take 2 muffins out of a jar and hand them to us. UGH.

- Winery - ditto..iPad at checkout. Spot on the screen to add tip (little slider graphic that conveniently showed what 15%, 20%, etc was). Seriously? Again not doing much aside from handing us a couple glasses of wine..

I don't mind tipping for ACTUAL (and good) service - but the expectation that you're going to get a tip for handing me something (carry-out, muffin, etc) is getting out of control.

DW is an avid X-Files fan, and made me watch one episode. The 2 stars, Scully and the other one, went to some automated Sushi place. Never saw a live person, so he chose to not leave a tip. He kept getting automated reminders asking for a tip, and ultimately gets attacked by a bunch of drones. IIRC he finally gives in and leaves a tip (via cell phone of course).