4 ms·

I feel so aggravated that nearly every single place I visit asks for a tip or 'donation' now. I take some solace in the fact it's not just me getting old and g

I feel so aggravated that nearly every single place I visit asks for a tip or 'donation' now. I take some solace in the fact it's not just me getting old and grumpy for once, and nearly everyone is saying the same. I'm hoping this will be the trend that -finally- ends tipping culture in the US. When everyone asks for a tip, nobody gets a tip.

candiddevmike 3y ago
For me, I just round up to the nearest dollar and call it good. For anything where a tip was expected pre-2017, it's between 5-15%, typically 10%. I'm tip fatigued and this is what I am comfortable paying now. Pay your employees better.
bsder 3y ago
> I feel so aggravated that nearly every single place I visit asks for a tip or 'donation' now. A lot of this was done by the credit card processors in order to increase their rake. I don't tip on machines unless I'm in a resaurant (and I probably shouldn't there--either). If I'm going to tip, I give cash because I can't count on any of what I put into the machine getting to the person I intend it to go to.
- nickjj 3y ago
  > A lot of this was done by the credit card processors in order to increase their rake. I can't speak for every terminal supplier but store owners often do have the option to turn it off. But it becomes problematic when it ships with tips enabled by default and there's strong messaging from your terminal vendor's rep to keep it enabled. You end up having to go out of your way and against the grain to disable it.
malshe 3y ago
I am totally with you. The other day I bought shaved iced for my child which took perhaps 1 minute to make. I was already paying $5 for a really tiny cup and then another $1 that showed up as the suggested tip on the card reader. The employee was looking directly at me and I couldn't see the option for "No Tip" fast enough. So I had to click on $1. That $1 didn't mean anything to me until then. It was suddenly a tax I was paying for not being Larry David :) The businesses who think that are striking a balance between good customer service and paying fair wages don't realize that the consumers are leaving with a bad taste in their mouths.
- marcus0x62 3y ago
  I especially love the dark pattern whereby the “suggested tips” are shown in descending order from left to right, trying to take advantage of people’s instinct to pick the first (presumably lowest) option.
  - etrautmann 3y ago
    Sometimes with 35% or 40% in that default spot on the left… madness
- JohnFen 3y ago
  I've simply stopped going to businesses that abuse their customers in this way. Most recently, a fast food place near me changed their POS system such that if you want to leave less than a 20% tip, you have to engage in three extra button presses that are reasonably well hidden in the UI, leading me to just hit the 20% button in order to stop holding up the line. They're the latest on my "will never do business with them again" list.
  - red-iron-pine 3y ago
    3 buttons will not hold up a line that much. you just punked out, and then refused to go back because you couldn't press the "other tip amount".
  - marssaxman 3y ago
    Buying a bagel from a shop with a POS like that was the breaking point for me: I will never go back, and tipping nudges have now lost all persuasive force. I have returned to the tipping conventions I grew up with (which are still unreasonable, of course; the entire practice needs to end).
- soupfordummies 3y ago
  Most businesses are increasingly using one of a handful of different POS systems (square, toasttab and clover). I imagine the tipping options are set up by default on those systems and it requires a (probably already very busy, maybe non tech savvy) manager to manually go in and find the options to change or disable. The workers are probably NOT happy about the extra tips going away. Nobody really wins no matter what here. I guess I blame the new crop of POS POS vendors? IDK
adriand 3y ago
As a privileged white collar tech worker who makes far more money than just about any service worker, I happily respond to requests to tip by tipping. It is a privilege to be able to!
- daneel_w 3y ago
  What?
- mahastore 3y ago
  The issue here is not even request to tip , but rather hostile behavior when not tipped to the satisfaction of the service worker.
  - enterprise_cog 3y ago
    I dine out way too much, date a service industry veteran, and know many other service industry workers. Never have I experienced that, seen that, nor heard of any of my friends saying they did that (even for no tippers). In fact, they’d all say doing that would be incredibly unprofessional. So I am curious what region you are in that you experience such hostility.
    - MauroIksem 3y ago
      I've seen the same thing and I'm in Colorado in HCOL area.
    - 1123581321 3y ago
      If you ever do see it, you’ll notice an involuntary component to the reaction. Not easy to self-report and there’s no incentive to try to. Chicago area, both urban and suburbs.
- piva00 3y ago
  It's a privilege, you might leave with a sense of being generous but in the end you also feed into a culture of systemic abuse and exploitation. I really dislike traveling to the USA and being forced to tip because employers don't pay enough, it feels really, really wrong.
mahastore 3y ago
Yep the waiter that served us the other night in a Mexican restaurant showed sufficient displeasure at the $50 tips we were giving him and clearly said he expected more. He hardly spent anytime talking to us (a party of 10 people) or making suggestions etc and did nothing out of normal , neither did he spent a lot of time on our table. I am not sure if they feel it is right to ask for more tips nowadays but I am afraid it also shows the general decline in affordability. Or the restaurants themselves are in really bad shape and not able to support the waiters fully? Either way it leaves a bad taste and if this continues even lesser people will go out for dining.
- Our_Benefactors 3y ago
  What was $50 as a percentage of your meal? Typically for a party of 10 the 18% gratuity is automatically tacked on to the bill, so there should be no room for discontent from the server. It’s common to see this disclaimer on menus “for a party of 6 or more a gratuity of 18% will be added to your final bill.”
  - JohnFen 3y ago
    > “for a party of 6 or more a gratuity of 18% will be added to your final bill.” Which, of course, means it's no longer a gratuity, but an additional fee. It irks me when restaurants lie in this way.
    - chung8123 3y ago
      It is also taxed vs tips are not taxed if they are a gratuity.
      - JohnFen 3y ago
        Tips are taxed, in the US, anyway.
    - apple4ever 3y ago
      Agreed and I never tip more if it's automatically added. Tips are meant to communicate good and bad, and if I have no say, then I won't exercise it.

candiddevmike 3y ago

For me, I just round up to the nearest dollar and call it good. For anything where a tip was expected pre-2017, it's between 5-15%, typically 10%. I'm tip fatigued and this is what I am comfortable paying now. Pay your employees better.

bsder 3y ago

> I feel so aggravated that nearly every single place I visit asks for a tip or 'donation' now. A lot of this was done by the credit card processors in order to increase their rake. I don't tip on machines unless I'm in a resaurant (and I probably shouldn't there--either). If I'm going to tip, I give cash because I can't count on any of what I put into the machine getting to the person I intend it to go to.

nickjj 3y ago
> A lot of this was done by the credit card processors in order to increase their rake. I can't speak for every terminal supplier but store owners often do have the option to turn it off. But it becomes problematic when it ships with tips enabled by default and there's strong messaging from your terminal vendor's rep to keep it enabled. You end up having to go out of your way and against the grain to disable it.

malshe 3y ago

I am totally with you. The other day I bought shaved iced for my child which took perhaps 1 minute to make. I was already paying $5 for a really tiny cup and then another $1 that showed up as the suggested tip on the card reader. The employee was looking directly at me and I couldn't see the option for "No Tip" fast enough. So I had to click on $1. That $1 didn't mean anything to me until then. It was suddenly a tax I was paying for not being Larry David :) The businesses who think that are striking a balance between good customer service and paying fair wages don't realize that the consumers are leaving with a bad taste in their mouths.

marcus0x62 3y ago
I especially love the dark pattern whereby the “suggested tips” are shown in descending order from left to right, trying to take advantage of people’s instinct to pick the first (presumably lowest) option.
- etrautmann 3y ago
  Sometimes with 35% or 40% in that default spot on the left… madness
JohnFen 3y ago
I've simply stopped going to businesses that abuse their customers in this way. Most recently, a fast food place near me changed their POS system such that if you want to leave less than a 20% tip, you have to engage in three extra button presses that are reasonably well hidden in the UI, leading me to just hit the 20% button in order to stop holding up the line. They're the latest on my "will never do business with them again" list.
- red-iron-pine 3y ago
  3 buttons will not hold up a line that much. you just punked out, and then refused to go back because you couldn't press the "other tip amount".
- marssaxman 3y ago
  Buying a bagel from a shop with a POS like that was the breaking point for me: I will never go back, and tipping nudges have now lost all persuasive force. I have returned to the tipping conventions I grew up with (which are still unreasonable, of course; the entire practice needs to end).
soupfordummies 3y ago
Most businesses are increasingly using one of a handful of different POS systems (square, toasttab and clover). I imagine the tipping options are set up by default on those systems and it requires a (probably already very busy, maybe non tech savvy) manager to manually go in and find the options to change or disable. The workers are probably NOT happy about the extra tips going away. Nobody really wins no matter what here. I guess I blame the new crop of POS POS vendors? IDK

adriand 3y ago

As a privileged white collar tech worker who makes far more money than just about any service worker, I happily respond to requests to tip by tipping. It is a privilege to be able to!

daneel_w 3y ago
What?
mahastore 3y ago
The issue here is not even request to tip , but rather hostile behavior when not tipped to the satisfaction of the service worker.
- enterprise_cog 3y ago
  I dine out way too much, date a service industry veteran, and know many other service industry workers. Never have I experienced that, seen that, nor heard of any of my friends saying they did that (even for no tippers). In fact, they’d all say doing that would be incredibly unprofessional. So I am curious what region you are in that you experience such hostility.
  - MauroIksem 3y ago
    I've seen the same thing and I'm in Colorado in HCOL area.
  - 1123581321 3y ago
    If you ever do see it, you’ll notice an involuntary component to the reaction. Not easy to self-report and there’s no incentive to try to. Chicago area, both urban and suburbs.
piva00 3y ago
It's a privilege, you might leave with a sense of being generous but in the end you also feed into a culture of systemic abuse and exploitation. I really dislike traveling to the USA and being forced to tip because employers don't pay enough, it feels really, really wrong.

mahastore 3y ago

Yep the waiter that served us the other night in a Mexican restaurant showed sufficient displeasure at the $50 tips we were giving him and clearly said he expected more. He hardly spent anytime talking to us (a party of 10 people) or making suggestions etc and did nothing out of normal , neither did he spent a lot of time on our table. I am not sure if they feel it is right to ask for more tips nowadays but I am afraid it also shows the general decline in affordability. Or the restaurants themselves are in really bad shape and not able to support the waiters fully? Either way it leaves a bad taste and if this continues even lesser people will go out for dining.

Our_Benefactors 3y ago
What was $50 as a percentage of your meal? Typically for a party of 10 the 18% gratuity is automatically tacked on to the bill, so there should be no room for discontent from the server. It’s common to see this disclaimer on menus “for a party of 6 or more a gratuity of 18% will be added to your final bill.”
- JohnFen 3y ago
  > “for a party of 6 or more a gratuity of 18% will be added to your final bill.” Which, of course, means it's no longer a gratuity, but an additional fee. It irks me when restaurants lie in this way.
  - chung8123 3y ago
    It is also taxed vs tips are not taxed if they are a gratuity.
    - JohnFen 3y ago
      Tips are taxed, in the US, anyway.
  - apple4ever 3y ago
    Agreed and I never tip more if it's automatically added. Tips are meant to communicate good and bad, and if I have no say, then I won't exercise it.