4 ms·

It's not always the company. In the case of the USA and their insane tipping customs, a customer coming in with groupon specials is going to end up tipping less

by RyanZAG 11y ago

It's not always the company. In the case of the USA and their insane tipping customs, a customer coming in with groupon specials is going to end up tipping less. Since the whole service at USA restaurants is based around tipping, the employees know they won't really get tipped well so they're very customer hostile.

BashiBazouk 11y ago
Maybe that's an upside. If the wait staff loses it's professionalism that easily, it tells me something about the restaurant...
imgabe 11y ago
I'm sure a lot of people do that, but the appropriate etiquette when using a coupon at a restaurant is to tip on the full price. Most adults who frequent restaurants should know that.
- RyanZAG 11y ago
  You know that most of the world's population doesn't tip at all? Given that, it seems kind of strange to assume everyone just knows the appropriate tipping etiquette without being told when getting the coupon or sitting down. Plus the most active users of groupon are probably doing it to save as much money as possible with coupons. They're unlikely to willingly throw away those savings on massive tips... and from what you hear about frequent groupon users they really don't tip the price pre-coupon.
  - camdenre 11y ago
    I would guess that he meant to say most "American" adults should know better.
  - imgabe 11y ago
    I was replying to your comment specifically about tipping customs in the US. If you grow up in the US and go to restaurants it's not unreasonable to absorb tipping etiquette along the way. You still save money with a coupon, you're not paying full price for the meal. That's no reason to screw over the server who depends on tips for a living. If someone is seriously strapped for cash and needs to save money, they should be cooking at home, not going to restaurants. Don't get me wrong, I'd happily do away with the whole tipping culture and just have the entire price printed on the menu. But, as long as we have tips, take the time to learn how to do it right.
    - homulilly 11y ago
      I've grown up in america and is the first time I've ever heard this and I imagine I'm not alone. It's also kind of difficult since people factor the tip at the end of the meal when they get the receipt, not when they have a menu in front of them.
      - dionidium 11y ago
        I hope you're an exception. Tipping on the full amount should be a fairly well-known practice. Also, your receipt will probably show the original price and the final, discounted price. You shouldn't need to remember the menu.
        bigtunacan 11y ago
        That's a huge assumption. It's something I also have never heard of until reading this post. I'm personally bothered by the entire tipping culture in the US. Once used to acknowledge that someone has gone above and beyond, now it is just used by businesses as a means to pay below minimum wage (which is too low already). The fact that it is also percentage based this means a person working at a restaurant with higher prices likely makes more money just because I'm charged more for the food. This doesn't seem fair to those workers who are wait staffing at a more affordable restaurant. I can tip above standard percentages at those restaurants, but this isn't going to translate to the whole. It is also well known that other discriminatory issues factor in to tips (age, gender, race, attractiveness, etc...) Bottom line, tipping should be thrown out as an expectation and should have zero impact on wait staff wages. Restaurants should be forced to pay at or above minimum wage and menu prices can be adjusted accordingly. As dependent as today's society is on the food service industry, maybe it is about time they unionize and start striking at the local and/or national levels until some laws are changed to treat them fairly.
        Pyxl101 11y ago
        I've never heard of the idea that you should tip full amount. That sounds like one person's opinion rather than custom. I should provide the disclaimer that I haven't used a coupon when eating a meal, so I may not have had the opportunity to come across it.
  - Zarel 11y ago
    For the record: Groupon does remind you to tip on the full price when getting the coupon, now.
  - ams6110 11y ago
    What other parts of the world do is irrelevant. When in Rome...
- Camillo 11y ago
  Well, of course. The service the waiter provides does not change just because you're getting a discount on the food. On the other hand, the service is also the same whether you order two expensive items or two cheap ones, so it shouldn't scale with menu price at all, but it does. Of course, using a percentage of the price does have the advantage of scaling with inflation... but then the percentage itself has increased significantly over the last couple decades, for no discernible reason. Basically, nothing about tipping makes sense, so you just have to learn the thoroughly arbitrary rules.

by RyanZAG 11y ago

BashiBazouk 11y ago

Maybe that's an upside. If the wait staff loses it's professionalism that easily, it tells me something about the restaurant...

imgabe 11y ago

I'm sure a lot of people do that, but the appropriate etiquette when using a coupon at a restaurant is to tip on the full price. Most adults who frequent restaurants should know that.

RyanZAG 11y ago
You know that most of the world's population doesn't tip at all? Given that, it seems kind of strange to assume everyone just knows the appropriate tipping etiquette without being told when getting the coupon or sitting down. Plus the most active users of groupon are probably doing it to save as much money as possible with coupons. They're unlikely to willingly throw away those savings on massive tips... and from what you hear about frequent groupon users they really don't tip the price pre-coupon.
- camdenre 11y ago
  I would guess that he meant to say most "American" adults should know better.
- imgabe 11y ago
  I was replying to your comment specifically about tipping customs in the US. If you grow up in the US and go to restaurants it's not unreasonable to absorb tipping etiquette along the way. You still save money with a coupon, you're not paying full price for the meal. That's no reason to screw over the server who depends on tips for a living. If someone is seriously strapped for cash and needs to save money, they should be cooking at home, not going to restaurants. Don't get me wrong, I'd happily do away with the whole tipping culture and just have the entire price printed on the menu. But, as long as we have tips, take the time to learn how to do it right.
  - homulilly 11y ago
    I've grown up in america and is the first time I've ever heard this and I imagine I'm not alone. It's also kind of difficult since people factor the tip at the end of the meal when they get the receipt, not when they have a menu in front of them.
    - dionidium 11y ago
      I hope you're an exception. Tipping on the full amount should be a fairly well-known practice. Also, your receipt will probably show the original price and the final, discounted price. You shouldn't need to remember the menu.
      - bigtunacan 11y ago
        That's a huge assumption. It's something I also have never heard of until reading this post. I'm personally bothered by the entire tipping culture in the US. Once used to acknowledge that someone has gone above and beyond, now it is just used by businesses as a means to pay below minimum wage (which is too low already). The fact that it is also percentage based this means a person working at a restaurant with higher prices likely makes more money just because I'm charged more for the food. This doesn't seem fair to those workers who are wait staffing at a more affordable restaurant. I can tip above standard percentages at those restaurants, but this isn't going to translate to the whole. It is also well known that other discriminatory issues factor in to tips (age, gender, race, attractiveness, etc...) Bottom line, tipping should be thrown out as an expectation and should have zero impact on wait staff wages. Restaurants should be forced to pay at or above minimum wage and menu prices can be adjusted accordingly. As dependent as today's society is on the food service industry, maybe it is about time they unionize and start striking at the local and/or national levels until some laws are changed to treat them fairly.
        Pyxl101 11y ago
        I've never heard of the idea that you should tip full amount. That sounds like one person's opinion rather than custom. I should provide the disclaimer that I haven't used a coupon when eating a meal, so I may not have had the opportunity to come across it.
- Zarel 11y ago
  For the record: Groupon does remind you to tip on the full price when getting the coupon, now.
- ams6110 11y ago
  What other parts of the world do is irrelevant. When in Rome...
Camillo 11y ago
Well, of course. The service the waiter provides does not change just because you're getting a discount on the food. On the other hand, the service is also the same whether you order two expensive items or two cheap ones, so it shouldn't scale with menu price at all, but it does. Of course, using a percentage of the price does have the advantage of scaling with inflation... but then the percentage itself has increased significantly over the last couple decades, for no discernible reason. Basically, nothing about tipping makes sense, so you just have to learn the thoroughly arbitrary rules.