4 ms·

Yeah, I'd prefer to not pay the service fee, or the tip, but realistically by not doing so you're screwing the delivery folks, who get deliberately underpaid by

Yeah, I'd prefer to not pay the service fee, or the tip, but realistically by not doing so you're screwing the delivery folks, who get deliberately underpaid by companies like Instacart. If there was an organized effort, and it was actually sending a message, then great, let's all do it! But really all you're doing is stiffing some poor underpaid delivery person.

angry-hacker 10y ago
True, but if more people would do it, no one would start working for them in the first place and they would be forced to raise the salaries.
- sidlls 10y ago
  That isn't how it works. The folks talking these "gig economy" jobs do it because they don't see other options being viable. They aren't casual upper-middle-class folks with reasonable incomes looking to fill their idle hours with side-work doing grocery shopping. The presence or absence of tips may influence some, but not all, and I'd speculate not the majority.
jasonpeacock 10y ago
Where I live (Seattle) we've passed minimum wage law increases ($15, on a 7yr schedule) that has already resulted in many restaurants adding an automatic & non-optional 20% gratuity to checks, where the fine print says it will be shared between front & back staff. So yes, there's an organized effort and it's making a (slow) difference in shifting the culture of companies under-paying their employees and expecting customers to make up the difference.
- inimino 10y ago
  How does that work? It seems like raising the minimum wage would make it less necessary for restaurants to add a gratuity, not more.
  - alex8022 10y ago
    The gratuities are usually counted towards the minimum wage, i.e. Hourly wage: 5$/hr, Gratuities: 10$/hr.
    - inimino 10y ago
      I see, thanks. In that case the customer sees the gratuity on the bill and then presumably doesn't feel the need to tip? So if I understand correctly this is kind of a way to run a no-tipping restaurant located in a place where tipping is part of the culture.
      - finnh 10y ago
        Yes. There is no tip on top of fixed-service-fee restaurants in Seattle.
  - strictnein 10y ago
    They do it instead of raising the prices on their food.

angry-hacker 10y ago

True, but if more people would do it, no one would start working for them in the first place and they would be forced to raise the salaries.

sidlls 10y ago
That isn't how it works. The folks talking these "gig economy" jobs do it because they don't see other options being viable. They aren't casual upper-middle-class folks with reasonable incomes looking to fill their idle hours with side-work doing grocery shopping. The presence or absence of tips may influence some, but not all, and I'd speculate not the majority.

jasonpeacock 10y ago

Where I live (Seattle) we've passed minimum wage law increases ($15, on a 7yr schedule) that has already resulted in many restaurants adding an automatic & non-optional 20% gratuity to checks, where the fine print says it will be shared between front & back staff. So yes, there's an organized effort and it's making a (slow) difference in shifting the culture of companies under-paying their employees and expecting customers to make up the difference.

inimino 10y ago
How does that work? It seems like raising the minimum wage would make it less necessary for restaurants to add a gratuity, not more.
- alex8022 10y ago
  The gratuities are usually counted towards the minimum wage, i.e. Hourly wage: 5$/hr, Gratuities: 10$/hr.
  - inimino 10y ago
    I see, thanks. In that case the customer sees the gratuity on the bill and then presumably doesn't feel the need to tip? So if I understand correctly this is kind of a way to run a no-tipping restaurant located in a place where tipping is part of the culture.
    - finnh 10y ago
      Yes. There is no tip on top of fixed-service-fee restaurants in Seattle.
- strictnein 10y ago
  They do it instead of raising the prices on their food.