8 ms·

Groupon customers are definitely poor tippers. I've known a number of waiters to complain about it. The problem is they tip on the Groupon price, not the full

by hnsmurf 15y ago

Groupon customers are definitely poor tippers. I've known a number of waiters to complain about it. The problem is they tip on the Groupon price, not the full price, and are thus tipping something like 40% of what they should be.

phillijw 15y ago
Is it possible they are getting shitty service? Tips aren't required.
contactdick 15y ago
That's a good point to consider - it must be hard for a waitress / waiter to swallow that their evening will take a pay cut because their boss has decided to get into social advertising.
- hvs 15y ago
  She/he shouldn't have to. Groupon customers should be tipping on what the full amount would've been without the Groupon.
  - Bud 15y ago
    The onus could just as fairly be applied to Groupon itself as to its customers; shouldn't Groupon be helping the restaurants it does business with, by encouraging/reminding customers to tip servers fairly, and not harm the staff of its business partners?
    - 3am 15y ago
      They encourage that prominently in several places, including this message on the actually coupon voucher: "*Remember: Groupon customers tip on the full amount of the pre-discounted bill (and tip generously). That's why we are the coolest customers out there." I've got no lost love for GroupOn, but this massive pile on/proof by anecdote thing is not a dignified moment for HN.
  - contactdick 15y ago
    Agreed she/he shouldn't have to but from one everyone is saying it sounds like that is the reality.
bdhe 15y ago
The problem is they tip on the Groupon price, not the full price, and are thus tipping something like 40% of what they should be. I am not intimately familiar with the tipping culture (at least in the US), but here are some genuine questions: Is there an inherent reason you tip on the full price? Is it a tax? If tipping is to support staff wages does that mean waiters who serve fancier higher priced food items are entitled to larger wages solely for the fact that their table happened to order a costlier meal?
- abraham 15y ago
  Generally speaking more expensive restaurants have better trained and more experienced servers that are more attentive hence deserving in a better tip. The percentage is really just a hack as a rough estimate of how much work a server had to do. While not always true a meal costing $100 will probably require more work from a server then a meal costing $50.
- mikbetk 15y ago
  Yes, it's a tax thing. A lot of restaurants base your taxes on your gross sales, assuming you will get 10-15% in tips. Coupon deductions are not calculated in this gross.
- patio11 15y ago
  IAmerican tipping culture: there is a near-involiate presumption that wait staff gets tipped N% of the order. Customary practice recently is N is 20. Theoretically, tips are tied to service received. In practice, variation from societal norms is vanishingly rare in polite company. Waiters in higher priced restaurants do make better tips as a consequence of this. That might matter if the culture were designed. It was not, it merely came to be. FYI, apart from suffering social opprobrium, the big reason to always tip is that wait staff are taxed on your imputed tip whether you give it or not. This leads to compelling social justice reasons to tip even if one does not share the culture.
  - ghshephard 15y ago
    Side note - in California 18.5% is the customary practice for tips, though, to make it easy, you can round up to 20%. No service person will complain. If you get lackluster service, you can point it out with a 15% tip. Poor service gets a 10% tip, and, will make it clear you are unhappy. After 15 years of doing this (I'm from Canada, where tips aren't as proscribed, though they are still expected) I find it awkward and socially painful to pay the bill in countries in which there is not a tip expected (certain parts of Australia) - even though the locals assure me that no one will think the less of me.
DocSavage 15y ago
Groupon coupons even have a note to prevent poor tipping: "*Remember: Groupon customers tip on the full␣ amount of the pre-discounted bill (and tip␣ generously). That's why we are the coolest␣ customers out there." In the few groupons I've used, I've tipped more than my normal 20% on the full price because I know I've saved money. Except for the one time when I encountered a waitress that acted like groupons were a hassle. It makes me think that poor tipping is exacerbated by a feedback loop: Waiters give worse service or are less enthusiastic to groupon holders, which leads the groupon holders to tip less thereby reinforcing the waiters' impression.
kelnos 15y ago
That really surprises me. So disappointing. I've always been taught to tip on the full cost, even if I'm getting a deal. This isn't new because of Groupon; gift certifcates/cards and vouchers have certainly been around forever, though perhaps not as prevalent or well-publicized.
freshfunk 15y ago
In defense for consumers, normally tip should be calculated off of the pre-tax subtotal. Most restaurants calculate tip (say if you're in a group of 6 or larger so it becomes compulsory) based on the post-tax total. So tip, as it is, isn't always accurate.

by hnsmurf 15y ago

phillijw 15y ago

Is it possible they are getting shitty service? Tips aren't required.

contactdick 15y ago

That's a good point to consider - it must be hard for a waitress / waiter to swallow that their evening will take a pay cut because their boss has decided to get into social advertising.

hvs 15y ago
She/he shouldn't have to. Groupon customers should be tipping on what the full amount would've been without the Groupon.
- Bud 15y ago
  The onus could just as fairly be applied to Groupon itself as to its customers; shouldn't Groupon be helping the restaurants it does business with, by encouraging/reminding customers to tip servers fairly, and not harm the staff of its business partners?
  - 3am 15y ago
    They encourage that prominently in several places, including this message on the actually coupon voucher: "*Remember: Groupon customers tip on the full amount of the pre-discounted bill (and tip generously). That's why we are the coolest customers out there." I've got no lost love for GroupOn, but this massive pile on/proof by anecdote thing is not a dignified moment for HN.
- contactdick 15y ago
  Agreed she/he shouldn't have to but from one everyone is saying it sounds like that is the reality.

bdhe 15y ago

The problem is they tip on the Groupon price, not the full price, and are thus tipping something like 40% of what they should be. I am not intimately familiar with the tipping culture (at least in the US), but here are some genuine questions: Is there an inherent reason you tip on the full price? Is it a tax? If tipping is to support staff wages does that mean waiters who serve fancier higher priced food items are entitled to larger wages solely for the fact that their table happened to order a costlier meal?

abraham 15y ago
Generally speaking more expensive restaurants have better trained and more experienced servers that are more attentive hence deserving in a better tip. The percentage is really just a hack as a rough estimate of how much work a server had to do. While not always true a meal costing $100 will probably require more work from a server then a meal costing $50.
mikbetk 15y ago
Yes, it's a tax thing. A lot of restaurants base your taxes on your gross sales, assuming you will get 10-15% in tips. Coupon deductions are not calculated in this gross.
patio11 15y ago
IAmerican tipping culture: there is a near-involiate presumption that wait staff gets tipped N% of the order. Customary practice recently is N is 20. Theoretically, tips are tied to service received. In practice, variation from societal norms is vanishingly rare in polite company. Waiters in higher priced restaurants do make better tips as a consequence of this. That might matter if the culture were designed. It was not, it merely came to be. FYI, apart from suffering social opprobrium, the big reason to always tip is that wait staff are taxed on your imputed tip whether you give it or not. This leads to compelling social justice reasons to tip even if one does not share the culture.
- ghshephard 15y ago
  Side note - in California 18.5% is the customary practice for tips, though, to make it easy, you can round up to 20%. No service person will complain. If you get lackluster service, you can point it out with a 15% tip. Poor service gets a 10% tip, and, will make it clear you are unhappy. After 15 years of doing this (I'm from Canada, where tips aren't as proscribed, though they are still expected) I find it awkward and socially painful to pay the bill in countries in which there is not a tip expected (certain parts of Australia) - even though the locals assure me that no one will think the less of me.

DocSavage 15y ago

Groupon coupons even have a note to prevent poor tipping: "*Remember: Groupon customers tip on the full␣ amount of the pre-discounted bill (and tip␣ generously). That's why we are the coolest␣ customers out there." In the few groupons I've used, I've tipped more than my normal 20% on the full price because I know I've saved money. Except for the one time when I encountered a waitress that acted like groupons were a hassle. It makes me think that poor tipping is exacerbated by a feedback loop: Waiters give worse service or are less enthusiastic to groupon holders, which leads the groupon holders to tip less thereby reinforcing the waiters' impression.

kelnos 15y ago

That really surprises me. So disappointing. I've always been taught to tip on the full cost, even if I'm getting a deal. This isn't new because of Groupon; gift certifcates/cards and vouchers have certainly been around forever, though perhaps not as prevalent or well-publicized.

freshfunk 15y ago

In defense for consumers, normally tip should be calculated off of the pre-tax subtotal. Most restaurants calculate tip (say if you're in a group of 6 or larger so it becomes compulsory) based on the post-tax total. So tip, as it is, isn't always accurate.