Well after 8 years time to have an opinion again…I guess. Covid now gives everyone a gripe and opinion or they need to voice something! Well I saw an article blurb as I started my browser this morning about tipping. The AP ariticle is how tipping is getting out of control and the social impacts of not or doing so…
As the article says the social impact of looking like a miser or not caring showing to the establishment and the people behind you that see the ‘NO TIP’ on the screen is almost a shaming issue.
The next part of the article goes on to tell about a guy who depends on his tips to support his grad school, etc and that if people can afford expensive coffee they should be able to afford to tip. Well to his point I agree. The problem, or at least with me is that in these establishments you pay first, prior to the service or order being fulfilled. I have felt the shame and pressure to not look like a jerk and so I have ‘pretipped’. When you are forced or in a manner of speaking, shame/forced to tip at the outset prior to the service you many times don’t get what you think you tipped.
My thinking has been, hey they will see I tipped and give me great service with a smile. Well, most times the preparer or the people either don’t see that you tipped, don’t care that you tipped (it is expected, you owe or they have to split with everyone on the shift so makes no difference in their life) and my service level a lot of the times has been worse or we’ll assume the same as what it would have been tip or no tip.
So the take away is, tipping is something you do to show gratitude for a job well done. I agree with the article in that many places that now ask for tips, it is offensive. In the places where tips have been the norm in the past, it has gone way beyond the old standard of a minimum of at least 15% and that norm is 20% or more now and it should be that staff is paid nothing $3/hour in a $15/hour world so they should get tips. The problem is the people in the $15/hr plus world feel some entitlement for tips, well do a great job and you will be rewarded for it. So the tip is work hard to do a great job at whatever you do, if the job doesn’t pay enough make the investment in your education, work ethic or whatever it takes to have the job that will reward you for you work, not pay you for what you feel you are entitled. Finally lets change the paradigm and if need be add a kiosk, tip jar or whatever at the order pickup point and then ask for a tip for a job well done. Service should come with a smile not a smirk on expectation of tipping, not tipping or getting under tipped at a job you accepted without promise of a tip.