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Ask HN: Are you still tipping on takeout/pickup orders?
During lockdown times it became custom in the US, at least around me, to tip restaurants even for pickup/takeout orders to support the struggling industry. Things are a lot more normal, there’s not as bad of a shortage.. are people still tipping for non-dine-in and if so how much?
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- whateveracct 4y agoI find tipping always works out
- dontbenebby 4y agoTo a point, if you go above 20% they'll think you're a paypig and you'll get less service, not more.
- cercatrova 4y agoWhat? I've never heard of this concept in my life. What is a paypig and why would it be assumed that you are one, much less that other people know what that is too?
- CharlesW 4y agoI asked ChatGPT, "What is a paypig?" (Not promoting it, was just curious about the Google vs. ChatGPT experience.) "A paypig is a term used to refer to a submissive person who derives pleasure from giving financial gifts or money to another person, often in exchange for attention or humiliation. This term is often used within the BDSM community to refer to someone who enjoys being dominated and controlled financially. It is important to note that this term is not typically used in a positive or respectful way, and may be considered offensive by some people."
- whateveracct 4y ago:|
- dontbenebby 4y ago> :| Yeah, apparently you need to Ask Jeeves every eGold handle you see next to a tip jar at or you'll have some very odd interactions until they figure out you're literally just trying to order coffee, not engage in some kind of... microburst of BDSM. (I don't like to look at the data, I prefer to try to have authentic interactions and let folks surprise me.)
- Eleison23 4y ago
- Ancalagon 4y agoNo. I'm over the growth of tipping culture. I've actually started tipping less as a percentage because it's so in-your-face now, expectations have gotten so ridiculous, and almost every time I go out the service experience is WORSE than it was before the pandemic. And look, I get it, times are tough and inflation is high. But begging for tips instead of pressuring businesses to pay their employees is not the way to go. I've also stopped eating out as much for dine-in food for the same reason. Food prices have gone up enough at my local Chipotle, I don't feel the need to eat out and experience a $30 8oz steak, poorly cooked, from my local Olive Garden or whatever. Edit: Looked at a below comment, if its a delivery driver or a barista or something, yes I still tip as that involves the driver spending most of their time to deliver something specifically for me or the barista hand-making my coffee.
- dontbenebby 4y ago>No. I'm over the growth of tipping culture. I've actually started tipping less What a rude, entitled, antisocial attitude. What happens if everyone collectively decides you can stay home and cook your own food and make your own... drinks? And what specific actions have you taken to ensure those workers are paid at least minimum wage, and that said minimum wage is in line with inflation similar to what is was, oh say, back under the times of Reagan that so many pine for when folks like yourself probably would have had your income above 100ish k taxed at 50%?[1] IMO, if you can't afford both the tip and the meal, stay home, lest someone assume your startup or company is failing and short your stock or refuse to buy your products/services. (And spoiler alert: This poster is not a barista, has never been a barista, and will literally put a bullet their own head before they go to what they endured like ten years of STEM school to avoid.) [1] https://taxfoundation.org/historical-income-tax-rates-brackets/ https://taxfoundation.org/historical-income-tax-rates-bracke...
- cercatrova 4y agoIt is not my responsibility to make sure the worker is paid a fair wage, it is the responsibility of their government and employer.
- spindle 4y agoYou made me very happy by specifying "USA" in the title instead of assuming that all readers were American :-)
- blahblah1234567 4y agoI do, about 10%. That said, I am very sick of getting asked to tip before anything is rendered-- such as at the counter of a cafe where I have coffee or a pastry. Tipping a dollar for a coffee to a barista who lacks any customer service skills is a pain. If they're actually friendly, I don't mind as much. What's worse is a cafe that asks for a $1 tip at a self-service coffee refill station, lol. But yeah, this whole "We're paid a decent hourly wage, but we'll still have our cash register ask for a tip, even before your food arrives at the counter, where you take it to your own table" thing is insane. Tips are meant for restaurant servers -- because they don't make even minimum wage. Tips are't meant for every aspect of the service industry. It gets to become extortive.
- screwturner68 4y agoIt's not the tip jar in front of every damn cash register that honks me off it's the embedding of the tip into the total. There's a place down the street that is very up front about paying their workers a living wage, giving them vacation, etc and that's great and their prices reflect the higher wages -$15 for a sandwich with no sides. But when you order said sandwich the bill is almost $20 (take away). You have to drill down into the app to find where they just add 20% to your bill as a tip so you don't have to go through the extra effort of adding it yourself. Now I worked in service and I over tip but why would I tip someone working a cash register getting paid actual wages, not $2.25/h. They are out of their freaking mind. Same goes for the delivery guys, I'm paying $6.00 for my food to get delivered why are you adding another $8 tip, for $14 I'll drive the 6 blocks and get it myself.
- kylehotchkiss 4y agoI like Chick-fil-A delivery a lot, they mark up the prices a little, fully pay their employees, deliver multiple orders at once, provide the cars/gas/insurance. The tip is actually a tip. Not subsidizing their business.
- dontbenebby 4y ago> You have to drill down into the app to find where they just add 20% to your bill as a tip so you don't have to go through the extra effort of adding it yourself. That sounds more like a gratuity... they do this in America at full blown restaurants, but that's more if you have more than say, 8 people, and they have to be advertised in advance. What you are describing sounds deceptive to me, bu I'm not a lawyer, and no one seems to care about what I think as a consumer unless it's something they already agree with :-)
- cercatrova 4y agoNo, I don't tip if they're doing what's barely required for their job (especially for me specifically going to the restaurant to pick up my own order; it's not like they delivered it to me). Should I tip baristas for making and handing me my drinks too, or cashiers scanning my groceries? No, and so I don't.
- screwturner68 4y agoI was in Newark Airport and all their restaurants have ipads at every table so you can place your order, nobody actually takes your order, you do it yourself. Eventually somebody will throw some over priced and underwhelming food on your table and for your convenience they've already added a 20% tip. There's no attempt at all to provide service, it's just a money grab.
- Raed667 4y ago(Non US) With Deliveroo, I didn't use to pay delivery or service fees, until the arrangement they had with my card company stopped a couple of months ago. I used to order a lot and tip cash. The other day I tried to order: - Pizza: 13€ (9€ if bought directly from an equivalent restaurant) - Service fee: 1,5€ - Delivery fee: 4€ So I'm paying 18,5€ for a 9€ pizza and I'm also expected to tip +20% (~4€) that makes the entire endeavor too expensive and not worth ordering (even before tipping).
- chc4 4y agoYes. I always tip 15%, every time, for everything that has it as an option, even before COVID.
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- andirk 4y agoI tip fat for everything. It's my way of evening everything out a tiny bit.
- birdhouse 4y agoI tip 0 if all you’re doing is handing me over food that I drove to pick up.
- 7174n6 4y agoPanera - Order a cup of coffee, put the credit card in the reader. "Would you like to tip today?" No. The staff literally handed me paper cup. Am I tipping the person who brewed the coffee and put it on the shelf(where I pour it myself)? I just paid 2 dollars for a cup of coffee. Is that not enough? It's so crazy.
- dontbenebby 4y agoDoes the panera worker make minimum wage or 2.75ish then get fired if they asked their manager to pay the difference to bring them to minimum (but harassed by the IRS if they don't declare their tips to try to survive a year or two until they find a non abusive employer)?
- throwaway019254 4y agoMost restaurants around me doubled their prices in the last three years. How can they be struggling is a mystery to me.
- kisqr1ppz 4y agoAbsolutely not. Tipping is a cancer and needs to stop. Tell me what the food costs. Tell me what it costs to deliver. I'll pay that or I won't order.
- dustingetz 4y agotech income and no kids = automatic tip every time i see a tipline and release the burden of having to even think about it ever again
- shyn3 4y agoI used to tip 20+ for dine in. Never tipped take out. Now, I only dine at places with no tips.
- dafelst 4y agoPretty much always, I can afford it and hopefully it makes the lives of the workers better. Of course I would also like employers to pay a livable wage, but I can still tip and do whatever I can to help advance the cause of improving wages, they are not mutually exclusive.
- briga 4y agoI don’t mind tipping 10-15% but complaints against the standard tipping options on payment machines are well deserved. Somewhere along the line business owners figured out they can magically increase revenue by 10% just by upping the pre-selected tipping options. In DC I noticed a mandatory 20% service fee added to bills at restaurants—and they still ask you to tip on top of that! When does it end? 50% tips? 100% tips? Why not just let the restaurant keep your wallet?
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- ungawatkt 4y agoDine in: 15%, more if I mess up ordering or I'm a regular. Dine in includes order at counter and take a number to your seat cafe-style. Bar: $1/beer, $2/cocktail, more if I'm a regular. All counter/self/coffee shop/etc serve: no unless it's big/complicated enough that it's basically a dine-in order. Delivery: 15%, but a delivery fee (from the restaurant) will replace that, I'm not doing both. Doordash/etc fees are my problem for being lazy, and I generally try to avoid using those services.
- jjeaff 4y agoI also try to go with 15% tip as my standard, 18-20% for exceptional service. But I have noticed that receipts and other tip suggestions are starting to pretend that 18% is a bare minimum tip. The tip suggestions on a recent restaurant receipt had calculations for 18, 20, and 25%. It is getting out of hand.
- shsteimer_1 4y agoYes. I tip and tip heavily in almost all circumstances. I consider myself very lucky to have a comfortable job that pays me very well. Tipping is one infinitesimally small way in which I can say thank you to folks who work in the service industry. I’d encourage anyone who can afford it to do the same.
- 8bitsrule 4y agoI'm fond of cash. And it's a handy way of directing the tip at the person who deserves it, in the amount they deserve. How they handle that internally is NOMB.
- ARandomerDude 4y agoI tip because most people who work service jobs are poor. Candidly I won’t notice the difference but the person receiving the tip definitely will. I don’t work at a FAANG (or whatever the term is now) and I don’t make anywhere close to SV money. But I also don’t make $15/hr and I believe in “love your neighbor as yourself.”
- kylehotchkiss 4y agoI came from a fairly Christian background, including university, and remember classes where the professor was always telling us to Tip Generously! It’s good for the mission (you know, evangelizing to strangers) and it just became a huge virtue signaling thing people did in front of each other instead of an actual act of generosity. I personally don’t interpret “love your neighbor as yourself” as generous tipping as the Bible seemed more focused on just plain donations to strangers in need. I don’t think many service employees will have their life changed by 15-18% tips sadly because society just turned that into their paycheck instead of morally requiring their employer to do better :(
- crossroadsguy 4y agoI know OP has mentioned USA. But I’ll chip in. Because like a lot of questionable things this culture is exported everywhere. I am from India and fortunately tipping culture is not prevalent yet, but unfortunately it’s picking up. Tipping is dehumanising for both the server and the served. It often is downright humiliating to the served as well. Even the simple question that pops up in mind — am I giving high enough, is it too high, will I be looked down upon if it ended up being less. Do servers greatly prefer who tip more or “look like” will tip more anyway — yes, they do! I don’t want to be part of this game. Fix the price - let me be done with it. In India, restaurants have something called “service charge” (not service tax) and if it’s there I don’t tip - it’s an official thing. I just don’t. I usually don’t tip anyway. And I understand beyond reasonable doubt it has nothing to do with income disparity. That’s a truth and it’s everywhere - from hospital, grocery store, etc to kid’s school etc that you and the server both might approach. I don’t want to make this habit of “wondering” about tip every time. In fact at the end of the meal it was becoming a not so good experience. My worst experience around tipping was in Paris. I had politely asked “Can I have a shake?” and the young lady on the counter said in a terse loud tone “please!” and baffled I said “excuse me?” and then she pretty much shouted “please!!!” and for some reason my brain worked and I realised it was for demand of a “please” being added in my request. I was really embarrassed and I apologised and asked again with a “please”. She then moved and brought the glass and put in on table with audible force (few people turned towards the counter) while sternly looking at me, with bill. I paid the exact amount. Then she said in semi raised voice “tip?”. I again politely said "no tip" and left. The tip has become a misplaced entitlement. (I asked around. I was told that it was shitty of her to demand a please especially in that manner. My hostel manager said that a Parisian would have had given her “piece of mind”). So I am not even talking about minimum wage and better labour practises (that’s actually pretty shit in India by the way). In fact it should be kept as far away from tipping as much possible! Tipping should have nothing to do with labour practices and minimum wage. Nothing!! One of my favourite places here is a cafe that mentions “We do not accept tips!” and guess what that’s the only place where I have not seen entirely or many new staff if I don’t visit for 2 or a even full 1 month.
- kylehotchkiss 4y agoI was recently in Dubai having lunch and the server handed me the card reader with a tip prompt and handed it to me :( these stupid mobile payment terminals made it a one-click option to enable and spread the tipping concept far and wide beyond North America I sort of like India’s service tax that can be removed if desired (didn’t the government recently mandate restaurants must remove that when requested?)
- pempem 4y agoMaybe a more interesting question, especially for those that are tipping to support service workers through a tablet at the counter, is how much of that tip employees are even getting...
- blindriver 4y agoDoordash has started automatically suggesting ridiculous tip amounts. One time it recommended $10 tip on a $20 delivery. I now pick up my own meals by myself now instead of using Doordash because the cost is more than double now, and I refuse to pay that much. Their greed has removed the entire idea of food delivery from my head now.
- egberts1 4y agoMost recently, some small merchant website started asking for tipping for your shopping. Desperate times. My rule, if you hand delivered stuff to me, either you already got paid via shipping fee or you'll get tipped. Oldest form of gratitude, making it complicated should be duly and overtly shunned.