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Back when I used to tend open bars, I’d do something I called “priming the tip jar.” Throw a five and some ones in and folks seemed to be more willing to tip. P
by sixstringtheory 7y ago
Back when I used to tend open bars, I’d do something I called “priming the tip jar.” Throw a five and some ones in and folks seemed to be more willing to tip. Probably mostly because it didn’t just look like an empty glass sitting right-side up–it made it obvious it was a tip jar without having to put a tacky “Tips” sign on it.
- taneq 7y agoBuskers do the same, priming their hat or tin or whatever to show what they feel an appropriate donation would be. They also regularly ‘groom’ their donations so as to not look too successful.
- perl4ever 7y agoWhat do you suppose someone is doing when they have a box for "donate to save the animals" or similar, and they never empty it even though it is stuffed full of money? Some sort of manipulation that escapes me, or something counterproductive? I noticed today that they put a piggy bank on top.
- taneq 7y agoSome of those boxes are placed and maintained by the charity, not the owner of the location. So if the charity hasn't been back to empty it for a while, it might fill up. I doubt it's deliberate.
- lonelappde 7y agoThat's rare. Usually it's actually just that the charity is selling "ad space" and the venue keeps the donations in exchange for paying a fee to the charity. It's a weird system.
- joncrane 7y agoHa, I used to do the same thing when I drove an airport shuttle for a hotel while I was a bellman. Thanks for stirring up a crazy memory!
- Vinnl 7y agoHa, I used to do the same as a child when I took part in the yearly charity run. I had to ask everyone in the street to contribute either a fixed amount or an amount per lap - so I made sure to get my parents to sign up for a (relatively high) per round amount as my first sign-ups, then hope the next ones to take part would do the same.