4 ms·

>why not just make that the price of the item? It just makes no sense to me! There's nothing stopping them from doing so but it benefits them by being delibera

>why not just make that the price of the item? It just makes no sense to me! There's nothing stopping them from doing so but it benefits them by being deliberately opaque. Also, worth noting is that Americans consider 10% to be a stingy tip.

username90 6y ago
> Also, worth noting is that Americans consider 10% to be a stingy tip. How do you even know this? Who determines what a tip should be?
- skissane 6y ago
  It isn't written down anywhere. You just watch what other people do and copy them. It isn't helpful (for a foreigner) in that you ask people "how much should I tip?" a lot of service staff won't give a clear answer. (They think it is rude to answer or something?) On business trips to the US, I observed what my American colleagues did, and copied their behaviour. I used to always tip 10% until I saw my American coworkers were always tipping 20% so I switched to that. Nobody ever complained when I tipped 10% though. (Maybe they are more tolerant of stingy tipping from obvious foreigners?) (And whether 10% or 20%, it was a business trip so my employer paid for it anyway.)
- hackmiester 6y ago
  It's hard to document such things, but one place to look would be Point of Sale systems that show the most popular tipping options. They usually default to 10, 15, and 20%. I've also seen 15, 20, and 25%. Of course, the merchant can change the setting to determine which options are shown as quick picks. I'm just talking about defaults.
  - Symbiote 6y ago
    My most recent trip to a tipping country was Canada, and the POS systems were often configured to suggest higher tips than the locals were giving. In one case, the waitress apologised and blamed the owner.
- ergocoder 6y ago
  No one. I'll shame everyone who tips less than 30% with the usual arguments. You can google those arguments; it's something like they don't make enough money and etc. In reality, I tip only 15%. For delivery, I don't tip if there's already a service fee. I only tip because I'm scared I'll be assaulted. Yes, some people got assaulted (or verbally assaulted) because the tip less. Also, I don't tip if I won't see that person in real life. That's how tipping percentage is determined. The person who screams the loudest win. It's stupid.
  - yurishimo 6y ago
    Brave. While I don't agree with your method, not tipping for someone who knows where you live for contactless delivery is ballsy. I personally wouldn't risk it.
    - ergocoder 6y ago
      Good gosh. You're right. Maybe I should tip to avoid future problems. Needless to say, I'm loving the tipping system where I should tip to stay alive.
- jandrewrogers 6y ago
  Tipping rules are a convention by social consensus which, to make it even more complicated, is regional and slowly changes over time. Different parts of the US have somewhat different tipping conventions. Even as an American, if you travel to a different part of the country you figure out the local tipping convention by observing other people.
- anonunivgrad 6y ago
  It's a widely known social norm in America. The same way you know to say 'thank you' or 'excuse me', Americans know to tip 20% for acceptable service.
billforsternz 6y ago
Last time I visited the USA I'd just read a John Gruber post where he'd explained tipping is not complicated at all, just tip 20%. He said he always had done this, and that basically all Americans knew this was what you were supposed to do. I enjoyed the trip more than previous trips because I now had this new superpower, I felt like an insider who no longer felt anxious. I would sort of casually and knowingly do the 20% thing, but sadly since it doesn't happen in advance I suspect I was still treated as a foreign guy who wouldn't know how much to tip :(

username90 6y ago

> Also, worth noting is that Americans consider 10% to be a stingy tip. How do you even know this? Who determines what a tip should be?

skissane 6y ago
It isn't written down anywhere. You just watch what other people do and copy them. It isn't helpful (for a foreigner) in that you ask people "how much should I tip?" a lot of service staff won't give a clear answer. (They think it is rude to answer or something?) On business trips to the US, I observed what my American colleagues did, and copied their behaviour. I used to always tip 10% until I saw my American coworkers were always tipping 20% so I switched to that. Nobody ever complained when I tipped 10% though. (Maybe they are more tolerant of stingy tipping from obvious foreigners?) (And whether 10% or 20%, it was a business trip so my employer paid for it anyway.)
hackmiester 6y ago
It's hard to document such things, but one place to look would be Point of Sale systems that show the most popular tipping options. They usually default to 10, 15, and 20%. I've also seen 15, 20, and 25%. Of course, the merchant can change the setting to determine which options are shown as quick picks. I'm just talking about defaults.
- Symbiote 6y ago
  My most recent trip to a tipping country was Canada, and the POS systems were often configured to suggest higher tips than the locals were giving. In one case, the waitress apologised and blamed the owner.
ergocoder 6y ago
No one. I'll shame everyone who tips less than 30% with the usual arguments. You can google those arguments; it's something like they don't make enough money and etc. In reality, I tip only 15%. For delivery, I don't tip if there's already a service fee. I only tip because I'm scared I'll be assaulted. Yes, some people got assaulted (or verbally assaulted) because the tip less. Also, I don't tip if I won't see that person in real life. That's how tipping percentage is determined. The person who screams the loudest win. It's stupid.
- yurishimo 6y ago
  Brave. While I don't agree with your method, not tipping for someone who knows where you live for contactless delivery is ballsy. I personally wouldn't risk it.
  - ergocoder 6y ago
    Good gosh. You're right. Maybe I should tip to avoid future problems. Needless to say, I'm loving the tipping system where I should tip to stay alive.
jandrewrogers 6y ago
Tipping rules are a convention by social consensus which, to make it even more complicated, is regional and slowly changes over time. Different parts of the US have somewhat different tipping conventions. Even as an American, if you travel to a different part of the country you figure out the local tipping convention by observing other people.
anonunivgrad 6y ago
It's a widely known social norm in America. The same way you know to say 'thank you' or 'excuse me', Americans know to tip 20% for acceptable service.

billforsternz 6y ago

Last time I visited the USA I'd just read a John Gruber post where he'd explained tipping is not complicated at all, just tip 20%. He said he always had done this, and that basically all Americans knew this was what you were supposed to do. I enjoyed the trip more than previous trips because I now had this new superpower, I felt like an insider who no longer felt anxious. I would sort of casually and knowingly do the 20% thing, but sadly since it doesn't happen in advance I suspect I was still treated as a foreign guy who wouldn't know how much to tip :(