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"Add a Tip"

Ghost of LL

By Ghost of LL
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Ghost of LL

Ghost of LL 15539

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A couple months ago, @Brisketexan and I were at Velvet Taco.  I order a couple of tacos.  NBD.  I really like Velvet Taco.

So I tap with my Visa--you know the drill.  And I get the now-ubiquitous screen: "Add a Tip?"  And the default is 25%.

Fuck that shit.  You get zero because I was so offended that it would default to 25%.  But then I sat down, and it occurred to me--why would I be tipping anything?  This is a counter-service place.  You order at the counter; you pick up your order at the counter; you pour your own drink; you clear your own table when you're done.  There's literally nothing that a waiter/waitress does at a sit-down restaurant that is done at Velvet Taco.  All of which is to say that none of the employees should be tipped workers.  So why are they asking for tips?

And now that I'm sensitized to it, I can't help but observe the bizarre and absurd proliferation of the "Add a Tip" screen to every transaction.  I'm now asked to add a tip at food trucks and tire-repair shops and newsstands.  It seems about the only place that has the decency not to solicit a tip is the fucking McDonald's.  

This seems to be a post-pandemic phenomenon.  But whatever the cause, I'm fucking sick of it.  And I've become pretty reactionary in my posture on it.  Counter-service places get no tip.  They're almost certainly not compensated as tipped employees.  And I have very serious suspicions that they're not actually getting the tips anyway.

But am I way off on this?  Is there some new societal norm that I'm alone in rejecting?  And if so, what's the basis for this new clause in the social contract?

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Ghost of LL
Ghost of LL

A couple months ago, @Brisketexan and I were at Velvet Taco.  I order a couple of tacos.  NBD.  I really like Velvet Taco. So I tap with my Visa--you know the drill.  And I get the now-ubiquitous

Ghost of LL
Ghost of LL

I guess I don't share your sense of humor.  Because they're two separate things. 1) People who work in fast food (or any other service industry) deserve a living wage.  And by the way--that's the

NWBuck
NWBuck

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mdmost

mdmost 43014

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I don't think so. I'm tired of it as well. It's one thing when you're expressing doing something to further my enjoyment of your establishment. For instance, I get coffee beans at a local shop. I've been doing that since 2006. I will always tip them a dollar on a $13 bag of beans because they will grind them for me. I feel that's a fair trade for the extra work that employee has to do. Now when I go there, the ipad they hand me has percentages and they're all 18-25% options. If it were 10%, that's fine as that's close to what I normally spend. There is an option to put an other amount, so I will tap that and do the standard $1 I've always done. When I go with my kids, they want things like a muffin or a cookie. All things that are made well in advance and not hand crafted while we wait. So if I went with the 18-25% option, I'd be tipping on all of those items. That's ridiculous to me. I want everyone to have a good wage but that's just silly to expect the customer to add on that much extra money every time for something that's not exactly cheaply priced like a $5 cup of coffee or a $3 muffin. Yes, I'm paying for taste and convenience but that's baked into your initial price.  Also, am I expected to tip on the same bag of beans if they do nothing for me and I take them home and grind them myself? They aren't grabbing them for me. I do that in the walk-up area of the shop. They make these beans in massive batches so I'd imagine the person roasting the beans off site is getting a wage. Are those tips going to him or her?

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Not a cat

Not a cat 5674

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Same.  Call me old man yelling at clouds but I too refuse to tip for plain old counter service.  

Another thing I noticed recently is I went to a restaurant the other day and saw our waiter exactly once.  He brought us waters at the beginning, I scanned the code to order, runner brings food out, I paid via the app.  I still tipped 20% out of habit and knowing that he still lives on those tips (unlike counter service folks) but damn if it didn't feel like my service kind of sucked.

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Not a cat

Not a cat 5674

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2 minutes ago, Red Five said:

I was at the gummy store on Saturday. I picked out my gummies and took them to the counter to pay. I was asked if I want to leave a tip. Um, for what? I think I did all the actual work. 

Friend and I were in Amsterdam in 1991 and had no idea if we tipped in the hash bar so we threw a few guilders on top.  Dude looked at us like we were insane and handed the extra back while shaking his head at the stupid Americans.  I actually think we offended him.  

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rage-a-holic

rage-a-holic 4432

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Fuck tipping counter workers. Are you gonna bring it out to my car when it's ready and clean my windshield? No, you're not. You're gonna spend 15 seconds ringing me up, turning around and handing me a bag. And you deserve $3-$6 for that? Fuck that shit.

I delivered pizza and chinese food during HS and freshman year at UT. I can't count how many times I would run up 4 flights of stairs in a scary apartment complex to bring someone hot food 20 minutes after they ordered, just to get stiffed. 

You want tips, go fucking earn them.

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conVINCEd

conVINCEd 21469

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Counter service where everything is DIY: no tip

Takeout from a full service restaurant where you pick up the order at the bar and someone bagged it up nicely:$5

Curbside: the greater of 15% or $5

Dine in at a full service restaurant: 20-25%, maybe more if the service is exceptional, which doesn’t happen very often these days.

The thought of tipping at a tire repair shop made me spit out the water I was drinking. 

 

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Ghost of LL

Ghost of LL 15539

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12 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

Counter service where everything is DIY: no tip

Takeout from a full service restaurant where you pick up the order at the bar and someone bagged it up nicely:$5

Curbside: the greater of 15% or $5

Dine in at a full service restaurant: 20-25%, maybe more if the service is exceptional, which doesn’t happen very often these days.

The thought of tipping at a tire repair shop made me spit out the water I was drinking. 

 

I think these all make sense, and ought to be adopted as a societal norm.  Because right now, I'm getting the hairy eyeball from counter-service workers when I don't tip.  And that causes me in turn to be pissed at them because it strikes me as ludicrous that they would expect a tip (much less feel entitled to give me the hairy eyeball for not tipping).  And ultimately, that's bad for the business.

And yeah--I still suspect that the business is, more often than not, skimming off the tips.

As to the tire-repair shop, there's obviously like one or two software makers for that POS software, and I think the tip screen may be the default.  I think that's why you're now seeing it in some truly random places.

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deadshank

deadshank 24653

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38 minutes ago, rage-a-holic said:

Fuck tipping counter workers. Are you gonna bring it out to my car when it's ready and clean my windshield? No, you're not. You're gonna spend 15 seconds ringing me up, turning around and handing me a bag. And you deserve $3-$6 for that? Fuck that shit.

I delivered pizza and chinese food during HS and freshman year at UT. I can't count how many times I would run up 4 flights of stairs in a scary apartment complex to bring someone hot food 20 minutes after they ordered, just to get stiffed. 

You want tips, go fucking earn them.

Roy Williams just doxxed himself.

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Ghost of LL

Ghost of LL 15539

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27 minutes ago, futureman said:

which workers are the ones who get like $2.37/hour and rely on tips?  is that strictly reserved for wait staff at sit-down restaurants?  can I assume that anyone working a counter is getting about $12-15 at least?

A tipped worker under the FLSA is a worker who "regularly and customarily" receives more than $30/month in tips.  So perversely by tipping these counter-service people, you may be lowering their compensation by allowing their employer to cut their hourly pay.

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conVINCEd

conVINCEd 21469

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12 minutes ago, Pam Cummings said:

The only time i ever tip is when i actually eat at the restaurant. Putting my food in the bag is not the same as waiting my table.

 

Fucking jerkoffs.

At most of the places we get takeout from the bartender or a someone from the waitstaff puts the orders together.  That’s why I tip.

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rage-a-holic

rage-a-holic 4432

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21 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

A tipped worker under the FLSA is a worker who "regularly and customarily" receives more than $30/month in tips.  So perversely by tipping these counter-service people, you may be lowering their compensation by allowing their employer to cut their hourly pay.

I doubt any employer is going to open himself up to a lawsuit by suddenly switching their employees' hourly pay to $2.13 from minimum wage. The employer would first have to prove/document that the employee is receiving more than $30/month in tips ($20 in Texas); if all the tips come from a tip jar or a shared counter register, who's to say what was doled out to each employee?

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locodos

locodos 5388

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I just purchased some fancy ass sneakers online (local stores didn't have the color I wanted)  During checkout, on the fucking internet!, the shopping cart prompted me to Add a Tip and had the usual 18%,20%, etc...

 

Lol Nope! 

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texasdago

texasdago 7576

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7 minutes ago, locodos said:

I just purchased some fancy ass sneakers online (local stores didn't have the color I wanted)  During checkout, on the fucking internet!, the shopping cart prompted me to Add a Tip and had the usual 18%,20%, etc...

 

Lol Nope! 

Seriously?

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locodos

locodos 5388

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48 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Seriously?

Brown's Shoefit Longview

https://www.longviewshoes.com/

Put something in the cart and proceed to the payment step...viola!

15 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

I would have cancelled the transaction and let them know why

I'm 100% with you, but they were the ONLY place I could find the size and colors I wanted.  So I just declined to tip and shared it here for your lulz.

 

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Macanudo

Macanudo 13005

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29 minutes ago, locodos said:

Brown's Shoefit Longview

https://www.longviewshoes.com/

Put something in the cart and proceed to the payment step...viola!

I'm 100% with you, but they were the ONLY place I could find the size and colors I wanted.  So I just declined to tip and shared it here for your lulz.

 

Buster Brown's have gotten that hard to find, huh?

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GreenspointTexas

GreenspointTexas 9662

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4 minutes ago, Post Oak said:

 

I tip all the time.  These people aren't making a lot of money and if they get my order correct and are friendly enough Ill throw them a few bucks. 

 

I struggle with the dichotomy of this statement and what the rest of the thread already brought up

 

i usually tip $1 on most stuff i would never tip on just to be nice.

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Foosters

Foosters 17860

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26 minutes ago, Post Oak said:

 

I tip all the time.  These people aren't making a lot of money and if they get my order correct and are friendly enough Ill throw them a few bucks. 

 

Same. I also do it so perhaps I will be spared when the revolution hits

States With the Lowest Minimum Wage Vs. Cost of Living - Self.

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Wiler77

Wiler77 1567

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Had to take my son's bike to the shop in Colorado after a couple of rough days of downhilling.  Didn't need anyting massive.  Bleed the bakes, make a few adjustments, etc.

It took 3 days, and when I went to pay it has "suggested tip" on the screen.  Bottom rung was 15% for "ok service".

Huh?  There's already a labor charge on top of hardware.  So tipping is expected for "ok service".  Fuck. That.  Your business is parts and labor.  I paid for both.  It's not like they cut me to the front of the line.

I had a moment like the OP.

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elfenix

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8 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

A couple months ago, @Brisketexan and I were at Velvet Taco.  I order a couple of tacos.  NBD.  I really like Velvet Taco.

So I tap with my Visa--you know the drill.  And I get the now-ubiquitous screen: "Add a Tip?"  And the default is 25%.

Fuck that shit.  You get zero because I was so offended that it would default to 25%.  But then I sat down, and it occurred to me--why would I be tipping anything?  This is a counter-service place.  You order at the counter; you pick up your order at the counter; you pour your own drink; you clear your own table when you're done.  There's literally nothing that a waiter/waitress does at a sit-down restaurant that is done at Velvet Taco.  All of which is to say that none of the employees should be tipped workers.  So why are they asking for tips?

And now that I'm sensitized to it, I can't help but observe the bizarre and absurd proliferation of the "Add a Tip" screen to every transaction.  I'm now asked to add a tip at food trucks and tire-repair shops and newsstands.  It seems about the only place that has the decency not to solicit a tip is the fucking McDonald's.  

This seems to be a post-pandemic phenomenon.  But whatever the cause, I'm fucking sick of it.  And I've become pretty reactionary in my posture on it.  Counter-service places get no tip.  They're almost certainly not compensated as tipped employees.  And I have very serious suspicions that they're not actually getting the tips anyway.

But am I way off on this?  Is there some new societal norm that I'm alone in rejecting?  And if so, what's the basis for this new clause in the social contract?

i'm adding tip in the payment link with bills that go out to clients.  20/25/28, with no option to not add a tip

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Neonmoon

Neonmoon 38130

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9 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

A couple months ago, @Brisketexan and I were at Velvet Taco.  I order a couple of tacos.  NBD.  I really like Velvet Taco.

So I tap with my Visa--you know the drill.  And I get the now-ubiquitous screen: "Add a Tip?"  And the default is 25%.

Fuck that shit.  You get zero because I was so offended that it would default to 25%.  But then I sat down, and it occurred to me--why would I be tipping anything?  This is a counter-service place.  You order at the counter; you pick up your order at the counter; you pour your own drink; you clear your own table when you're done.  There's literally nothing that a waiter/waitress does at a sit-down restaurant that is done at Velvet Taco.  All of which is to say that none of the employees should be tipped workers.  So why are they asking for tips?

And now that I'm sensitized to it, I can't help but observe the bizarre and absurd proliferation of the "Add a Tip" screen to every transaction.  I'm now asked to add a tip at food trucks and tire-repair shops and newsstands.  It seems about the only place that has the decency not to solicit a tip is the fucking McDonald's.  

This seems to be a post-pandemic phenomenon.  But whatever the cause, I'm fucking sick of it.  And I've become pretty reactionary in my posture on it.  Counter-service places get no tip.  They're almost certainly not compensated as tipped employees.  And I have very serious suspicions that they're not actually getting the tips anyway.

But am I way off on this?  Is there some new societal norm that I'm alone in rejecting?  And if so, what's the basis for this new clause in the social contract?

You are not way off. I’ve reached this conclusion recently as well. Like what the fuck I am doing with this bullshit. “Just a few questions”. Yeah, you literally punched three things into a touch pad. This shouldn’t even be a job. There should be two jobs, the person making the food and the person organizing the orders. 

Sadly, I still guilt myself into tipping the lowest choice these days. Even though I know I’m getting scammed, I still convince myself the person working needs the money more than I do. I hate myself 

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closetohumping

closetohumping 17455

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10 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

A couple months ago, @Brisketexan and I were at Velvet Taco.  I order a couple of tacos.  NBD.  I really like Velvet Taco.

So I tap with my Visa--you know the drill.  And I get the now-ubiquitous screen: "Add a Tip?"  And the default is 25%.

Fuck that shit.  You get zero because I was so offended that it would default to 25%.  But then I sat down, and it occurred to me--why would I be tipping anything?  This is a counter-service place.  You order at the counter; you pick up your order at the counter; you pour your own drink; you clear your own table when you're done.  There's literally nothing that a waiter/waitress does at a sit-down restaurant that is done at Velvet Taco.  All of which is to say that none of the employees should be tipped workers.  So why are they asking for tips?

And now that I'm sensitized to it, I can't help but observe the bizarre and absurd proliferation of the "Add a Tip" screen to every transaction.  I'm now asked to add a tip at food trucks and tire-repair shops and newsstands.  It seems about the only place that has the decency not to solicit a tip is the fucking McDonald's.  

This seems to be a post-pandemic phenomenon.  But whatever the cause, I'm fucking sick of it.  And I've become pretty reactionary in my posture on it.  Counter-service places get no tip.  They're almost certainly not compensated as tipped employees.  And I have very serious suspicions that they're not actually getting the tips anyway.

But am I way off on this?  Is there some new societal norm that I'm alone in rejecting?  And if so, what's the basis for this new clause in the social contract?

As a former waiter I agree.  Why tip if I have to clean up my own stuff, grab my own food, refill my own drink?

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Mitch Cumsteen

Mitch Cumsteen 18550

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There's a Vietnamese place I frequent that slyly charges you a 12% fee for dining in. Like, you don't have a choice. This is a counter service place. And then when you pay they automatically come to the usual 15% - 25% tip screen so they double fuck you by multiplying the tip percentage based on the total that has the already non-optional included 12% bump. What the hell? Just raise your fucking prices. Don't actively try to deceive and fuck your customer. 

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DalTxHornFan

DalTxHornFan 3112

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6 hours ago, conVINCEd said:

What’s with tipping on haircuts and massages?  I pay a pretty reasonable hourly rate for those services and don’t think a tip should be necessary, but society has decided that we should tip them.

I tip my long-time barber around 50% each time I get a haircut and 100% at Christmas.  Why?  Because she is really good at what she does, is always on schedule, and doesn't waste my time.  Plus, she's fun to talk to and attractive, so she's got that going for her, which is nice.

 

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Anastasis

Anastasis 23481

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Our tip culture has gone off the rails. And in our largely cashless environment seems like it's just a skim for the managers and business. I still press the button though for counter service because I am just happy that there are people making sandwiches or whatever behind the counter. We really need to reboot American tip culture. 

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Chico_SA

Chico_SA 521

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10 hours ago, Pam Cummings said:

The only time i ever tip is when i actually eat at the restaurant. Putting my food in the bag is not the same as waiting my table.

 

Fucking jerkoffs.

Look, I know they don't have to refill your glass or ask you if you are ok, but there is someone plating your to go food into Styrofoam and making sure it is ok. In fact, that might be their main job on any given night.  A small tip shouldn't be out of the question.  Small tip.  I worked at an old diner in SA (I-10 Diner) in college. My job was to get wine and beer for waiters, make shakes and get deserts, and plate up to-go meals.  I also took to-go orders at the bar. Waiters always tipped me out and the non-assholes who ordered to go tipped me a little. 

But.... I do agree with most of what was stated in the first couple of posts. 

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immamac

immamac 42889

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I've started Tipping based on time spent at a place rather than a pure percentage. If I don't spend any time getting service or taking up a money making opportunity for the place to make money - no tip. 

I like to supplement ~7.50/hr if it's full service, but not necessarily "dining out" - example at a bar or a counter service hybrid type place. 

Dining out it's 10% mandatory, 15% for meh service, 20% normal, 25% for great service and rarely 30% for exceptional experiences. 

Was reading today that apparently gen z just doesn't tip at all. Fuck it maybe I should join them. 

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tx 3 putt

tx 3 putt 77274

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10 hours ago, locodos said:

I just purchased some fancy ass sneakers online (local stores didn't have the color I wanted)  During checkout, on the fucking internet!, the shopping cart prompted me to Add a Tip and had the usual 18%,20%, etc...

 

Lol Nope! 


to be fair, Barbie outfits are a hot item

 

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