9 ms·

I've started favoring cash when buying take-out, if paying in person, for that reason. Damn "tip" field showing up all kinds of places tips were never expected

I've started favoring cash when buying take-out, if paying in person, for that reason. Damn "tip" field showing up all kinds of places tips were never expected before. What the inappropriate tip screens could do to be a whole lot more like how the world operated just a few years ago, is to add a "round up to next dollar as tip" option and make that the most prominent. However, are employers using the expanded presence of tip lines & prompts as an excuse to pay workers less, somehow? Seems possible, in which case now I am kinda a dick if I'm not tipping. Wish we'd get rid of the whole damn thing, the anti-tipping movement in the early 20th century had it right. ... OTOH I used the tip % buttons on the CC reader as a way to give my favorite struggling-but-excellent pastry shop extra money when the owner was having such a hard time that she had zero employees. The single time it's been kinda nice to have them.

granshaw 3y ago
You’re not the dick, the employer is.
snarf21 3y ago
But couldn't you have also just given her an extra $20 without it being an integrated and ingrained experience?
- yamtaddle 3y ago
  Yeah, and a tip jar would have done the trick, too. But just handing her extra money would be a bit socially weird—having the tip button or a jar or something takes that factor out of it.
ghostpepper 3y ago
How does an employer being a dick make you a dick?
hosh 3y ago
There was this one time, my Australian friend told me he finally gets tipping. Tipping is not the custom in Austrailia, yet having visited the US and travelled around the world for years, tipping mystified him. He told me he finally got it when he used tipping to establish better service for future interactions. Unpacking it, it’s really about the relationship. What makes those tip fields feel like an imposition and a violation of social customs is because it shifts this from developing a personal connection with a service provider into something transactional. I’d say that, if you feel it is like emotional blackmail, it probably is — the business is exploiting both worker and customer. If you feel that personal connection and sense of community, then tipping is a way of helping support the well-being of someone in the community.
miroljub 3y ago
Unfortunately, American tipping culture started proliferating here in Europe too. Lately, I see more and more "tip 10% / 20% / 30%" screens when paying with the card. Sorry, in Europe tipping 10% is veeery generous, and 30% is a robbery. After talking with few guys, I learned that at such places, the employee usually gets only a small cut of tips, you are tipping then employer instead. Nowadays, I don't have a moral issue giving 0%, 0,00€ tip when paying with the card. If I have some coins in my pocket, I'll tip the person, if not, that's it.
SoftTalker 3y ago
Charitably, I used to assume that they use the same POS or credit card system for carry-out as dine-in, so all the credit card tickets have the tip line. But now you see it in places that are carry-out only, maybe with the excuse that "it's for the kitchen." That doesn't fly for me because tips were always a reward for good service. Handing a bag of food over the counter doesn't qualify as far as I'm concerned. Even if a dining room is provided, if I'm carrying my food to the table, filling my own drinks, etc. then there's nothing to tip for.
croutonwagon 3y ago
I really have no problem hitting 0% without hesitation or remorse. In the off chance someone says something (and it’s happened) I never go back and just move along. It’s not worth a verbal argument over what amounts to an opinion or peer pressure. Just nope, goodbye. Funny thing is, I have been told I’m an overly generous tipper when the service is worthwhile. But the whole charade has me recoiling to a more extreme stance thanks to the likes of stripe and other off the shelf SaaS POS systems.

granshaw 3y ago

You’re not the dick, the employer is.

snarf21 3y ago

But couldn't you have also just given her an extra $20 without it being an integrated and ingrained experience?

yamtaddle 3y ago
Yeah, and a tip jar would have done the trick, too. But just handing her extra money would be a bit socially weird—having the tip button or a jar or something takes that factor out of it.

ghostpepper 3y ago

How does an employer being a dick make you a dick?

hosh 3y ago

There was this one time, my Australian friend told me he finally gets tipping. Tipping is not the custom in Austrailia, yet having visited the US and travelled around the world for years, tipping mystified him. He told me he finally got it when he used tipping to establish better service for future interactions. Unpacking it, it’s really about the relationship. What makes those tip fields feel like an imposition and a violation of social customs is because it shifts this from developing a personal connection with a service provider into something transactional. I’d say that, if you feel it is like emotional blackmail, it probably is — the business is exploiting both worker and customer. If you feel that personal connection and sense of community, then tipping is a way of helping support the well-being of someone in the community.

miroljub 3y ago

Unfortunately, American tipping culture started proliferating here in Europe too. Lately, I see more and more "tip 10% / 20% / 30%" screens when paying with the card. Sorry, in Europe tipping 10% is veeery generous, and 30% is a robbery. After talking with few guys, I learned that at such places, the employee usually gets only a small cut of tips, you are tipping then employer instead. Nowadays, I don't have a moral issue giving 0%, 0,00€ tip when paying with the card. If I have some coins in my pocket, I'll tip the person, if not, that's it.

SoftTalker 3y ago

Charitably, I used to assume that they use the same POS or credit card system for carry-out as dine-in, so all the credit card tickets have the tip line. But now you see it in places that are carry-out only, maybe with the excuse that "it's for the kitchen." That doesn't fly for me because tips were always a reward for good service. Handing a bag of food over the counter doesn't qualify as far as I'm concerned. Even if a dining room is provided, if I'm carrying my food to the table, filling my own drinks, etc. then there's nothing to tip for.

croutonwagon 3y ago

I really have no problem hitting 0% without hesitation or remorse. In the off chance someone says something (and it’s happened) I never go back and just move along. It’s not worth a verbal argument over what amounts to an opinion or peer pressure. Just nope, goodbye. Funny thing is, I have been told I’m an overly generous tipper when the service is worthwhile. But the whole charade has me recoiling to a more extreme stance thanks to the likes of stripe and other off the shelf SaaS POS systems.