4 ms·

Personally I like tipping. I think people should still be paid well, but let me tip on top of it if I wish.

thomasahle 9y ago
It's actually somewhat infantilizing to tip someone, unless they need it to be paid. You would never give a lawyer, consultant or someone else "respected" in society "2 dollars to buy something nice". Tipping is a very in the face sign of inequality and really needs to die (as soon as the inequality is gone of course).
- sokoloff 9y ago
  It must be considered in relation to the size of the transaction; I have given gifts of bottles of wine or Scotch (and in one case, an Echo) to professional service providers who have done a notably good job. I don’t tip a lawyer $2 on a $2000 matter, but a $75 bottle of Scotch is proportionally similar (in fact, a bit smaller) and not at all inappropriate.
  - undersuit 9y ago
    So why not tip your waitstaff with a bottle of beer? That sounds appropriate right?
    - sokoloff 9y ago
      It is not uncommon IME to tip a bartender by offering to buy them a beer or shot.
    - stordoff 9y ago
      "And one for yourself" is a common phrase in the UK. It's not the norm to tip in pubs/bars though, and it's a literal offer of a drink (or equivalent tip). Also, from briefly working in a bar, I found that flashing cash around in the expectation of better service is a good way to get ignored -- developing an actual rapport with the staff, or just being friendly, works far better/is more valued.
- Amezarak 9y ago
  It's interesting that this opinion is shared by pretty much zero servers. Servers (I was one) love tipping because, generally speaking, though there may be ups and downs, you are making tremendously more money than you would be otherwise (in the kitchen, for example) and often tax-free. A lot of complaints about the "awkwardness" of it pop up in threads like this, which just makes me wonder if the increasingly transactional nature of society makes people less socially developed. Otherwise, many of the comments are about "helping" the servers, who, I assure you, do not want this "help."
  - thomasahle 9y ago
    > Otherwise, many of the comments are about "helping" the servers, who, I assure you, do not want this "help." I would imagine you are right, in that the servers don't imagine they would earn as much without tips. But what if the choice was between earning as much as they do now (after tax), but predictably every month and without having to suck up to anyone? Maybe some servers think trying to get extra tips are part of the fun of the job, but I don't see that this is a widespread opinion.
    - Amezarak 9y ago
      > But what if the choice was between earning as much as they do now (after tax), but predictably every month and without having to suck up to anyone? This is such a weird way of framing it, I don't really know what to say. As a server, I never "sucked up". I just tried to be personable and helpful, because I like helping people. Now that I'm a programmer am I "sucking up" because I am being personable and helpful with the customers here? Am I "sucking up" to my boss when I show up for work on time or stay late to help the team? It's hard for me not to see in this mentality some kind of aversion to normal social interaction or maybe some kind of pride. Unless you are already self-sufficiently wealthy, you're "sucking up" to someone. If anything, I could be (and sometimes was!) much ruder to a customer than I would have ever been to someone responsible for a multi-million dollar software contract or my direct supervisor. And yeah, sure, if you could somehow guarantee me that I would make the same amount of money, except consistently on a daily basis, I don't see any problem with that...but why would servers deserves drastically higher wage than kitchen staff or management? Or are we going to mandate a massive hike in the minimum wage and simply suck it up now that going out costs much more, because now the cost of non-server labor dramatically increased? I'm all for a hike, but we're talking about a massive hike.
- TallGuyShort 9y ago
  To be honest I've never had a lawyer or doctor do a job for me and leave me thinking, "oh wow, you really went above and beyond for me and did a great job that left me in a great mood all day!" I had a guy in London who parked our car and carried our luggage up to our room exceptionally fast and spent several minutes giving us great recommendations on where to eat and how to make the best of our time in the city. Tip.
- rokhayakebe 9y ago
  Your concern seems to be with the amount which appears to belittle the person who is receiving it. You have to keep in mind the amount is in proportion to how much you are paying for a product/service. I guarantee you NO lawyer on earth is going to reject a 15% tip let alone 30%. Next time you go to a Starbucks or a bar give a 100% to 200% tip and see if the barista/bartender is offended.

It's actually somewhat infantilizing to tip someone, unless they need it to be paid. You would never give a lawyer, consultant or someone else "respected" in society "2 dollars to buy something nice". Tipping is a very in the face sign of inequality and really needs to die (as soon as the inequality is gone of course).

sokoloff 9y ago
It must be considered in relation to the size of the transaction; I have given gifts of bottles of wine or Scotch (and in one case, an Echo) to professional service providers who have done a notably good job. I don’t tip a lawyer $2 on a $2000 matter, but a $75 bottle of Scotch is proportionally similar (in fact, a bit smaller) and not at all inappropriate.
- undersuit 9y ago
  So why not tip your waitstaff with a bottle of beer? That sounds appropriate right?
  - sokoloff 9y ago
    It is not uncommon IME to tip a bartender by offering to buy them a beer or shot.
  - stordoff 9y ago
    "And one for yourself" is a common phrase in the UK. It's not the norm to tip in pubs/bars though, and it's a literal offer of a drink (or equivalent tip). Also, from briefly working in a bar, I found that flashing cash around in the expectation of better service is a good way to get ignored -- developing an actual rapport with the staff, or just being friendly, works far better/is more valued.
Amezarak 9y ago
It's interesting that this opinion is shared by pretty much zero servers. Servers (I was one) love tipping because, generally speaking, though there may be ups and downs, you are making tremendously more money than you would be otherwise (in the kitchen, for example) and often tax-free. A lot of complaints about the "awkwardness" of it pop up in threads like this, which just makes me wonder if the increasingly transactional nature of society makes people less socially developed. Otherwise, many of the comments are about "helping" the servers, who, I assure you, do not want this "help."
- thomasahle 9y ago
  > Otherwise, many of the comments are about "helping" the servers, who, I assure you, do not want this "help." I would imagine you are right, in that the servers don't imagine they would earn as much without tips. But what if the choice was between earning as much as they do now (after tax), but predictably every month and without having to suck up to anyone? Maybe some servers think trying to get extra tips are part of the fun of the job, but I don't see that this is a widespread opinion.
  - Amezarak 9y ago
    > But what if the choice was between earning as much as they do now (after tax), but predictably every month and without having to suck up to anyone? This is such a weird way of framing it, I don't really know what to say. As a server, I never "sucked up". I just tried to be personable and helpful, because I like helping people. Now that I'm a programmer am I "sucking up" because I am being personable and helpful with the customers here? Am I "sucking up" to my boss when I show up for work on time or stay late to help the team? It's hard for me not to see in this mentality some kind of aversion to normal social interaction or maybe some kind of pride. Unless you are already self-sufficiently wealthy, you're "sucking up" to someone. If anything, I could be (and sometimes was!) much ruder to a customer than I would have ever been to someone responsible for a multi-million dollar software contract or my direct supervisor. And yeah, sure, if you could somehow guarantee me that I would make the same amount of money, except consistently on a daily basis, I don't see any problem with that...but why would servers deserves drastically higher wage than kitchen staff or management? Or are we going to mandate a massive hike in the minimum wage and simply suck it up now that going out costs much more, because now the cost of non-server labor dramatically increased? I'm all for a hike, but we're talking about a massive hike.
TallGuyShort 9y ago
To be honest I've never had a lawyer or doctor do a job for me and leave me thinking, "oh wow, you really went above and beyond for me and did a great job that left me in a great mood all day!" I had a guy in London who parked our car and carried our luggage up to our room exceptionally fast and spent several minutes giving us great recommendations on where to eat and how to make the best of our time in the city. Tip.
rokhayakebe 9y ago
Your concern seems to be with the amount which appears to belittle the person who is receiving it. You have to keep in mind the amount is in proportion to how much you are paying for a product/service. I guarantee you NO lawyer on earth is going to reject a 15% tip let alone 30%. Next time you go to a Starbucks or a bar give a 100% to 200% tip and see if the barista/bartender is offended.