The Adam Ruins Everything segment on tipping sums up my thoughts pretty well. It's a shitty custom, businesses should just charge more and pay their employees instead of expecting customers to pay their employees. Service businesses being all "we underpay our employees so you should make up for that, but you technically don't have to" is a shitty system and it shouldn't be that way. Unfortunately, it is that way, and if you use services where tipping is customary and you don't tip, you're an asshole. I recently started delivering for one of the delivery apps. My understanding is, the particular app I deliver for suggests tipping 20% on the total cost, and it prompts people to tip, although I don't know for sure because I've never used it on the customer end. I've made 30 deliveries so far. Of those 30, 18 people didn't tip, and all but three tipped below 10%. One guy gave me a 45% cash tip when I made the delivery, and then tipped another $2 through the app. That guy is awesome. Be like that guy. The other two people who tipped decently, they're awesome too. All the other people who tipped, thank you, it's appreciated. The people who don't tip... I'm not going to say you have to tip, and technically I'm not mad about it. However, I would suggest that if you're going to be a cheap ass you should probably go get your own god damned food. So, yeah, if you're in the US or Canada, tip your service people or you suck. Except for @We Are Borg, he sucks whether or not he tips. (I'm guessing he doesn't.)
I always tip generously. I can't do math in my head and even if I could, who wants to think so hard when they are out having fun? So I generally tip about 25 percent because it's simple - half (approximately) of the check amount then cut that amount in half (approx.) - BAM! There's the tip amount. Too easy!
trick question - UPS/FEDEX/ETC never stick around long enough anyway. The doorbell rings, and before you can get up out of your chair all you hear is screeching tires. Hell half the time they don't even ring the doorbell or knock. They just drop the package and haul ass.
Yeah, 20% is for a friendly/competent server that checks on on my table regularly and provides timely refills. Delivery drivers get a dollar, two if it's raining or snowing.
I’ve got a partner that along with their small business picks up 4 shifts serving (cutting down to 3 if their 2 new clients work out) at a (nice) pizza place. Their restaurant has done away with tipping and they love it. They still make a commission on sales (Sunday they made $700 for their double) but they also have a guaranteed $15/h on top of that. Along with health insurance, vacation and sick time and 401k. Not to mention they have a set schedule. That is SOOOO different from when I served back in Alabama.
I never said I deserve 20%, that's the amount that the app suggests. I'm happy with any tip, really. That being said, UPS doesn't use a tipped employee business model. UPS also doesn't hire independent contractors who have to use and maintain their own vehicles and pay for their own gas. For a delivery driver who works for a restaurant, they usually get paid at least $10 an hour, and transporting food from restaurant to customer is all they do. With the apps, it's an additional service for restaurants that do not hire their own delivery drivers. About 45% of the time, all I have to do is drive to a restaurant, pick up the order, and drop it off. Slightly more than what typical delivery drivers do. 50% of the time, I have to wait in line, place the order, and then deliver it. This goes beyond typical delivery. 5% of the time, I have to go to a grocery store, locate all the items, put them in a cart, wait in line, and then deliver them. For simple deliveries, yeah, a dollar or two is good. If I'm doing your grocery shopping for you, though, 20% doesn't seem unreasonable. Although so far, it seems like the simple deliveries people tip better than the ones with extra steps. Anyway, I'm not complaining about people not tipping enough, I'm complaining about people not tipping at all. With the exception of the grocery store deliveries. The first time I don't get a tip for one of those is the last time I take a grocery store delivery.
When I visited the UK in March / April of this year is was sooooo weird to eat out and not even have a tip line on the credit card receipt. I tried to leave a cash tip at a couple of places and I was looked at really funny, as if I didn't understand math and British currency. I finally just realized that trying to tip in a culture where tipping isn't the norm just causes and anxiety and confusion, so I quit. One thing I found interesting is that restaurant bills in the UK were pretty much on par with American restaurant bills once tips are figured it. So, it was pretty much a wash.
I tip wait staff, bartenders, and the lady who cuts my hair. 20% is the minimum but it often exceeds that.
One of my pet peeves is when there is counter service and 10% isn’t an option. It’s like they are daring you to go to the hassle (and hold up the line) while you go to another screen, add up the tip, type it in etc. Challenge Accepted Mother Fuckers!
It is so engrained in me to tip for certain services, that it causes me anxiety when I'm in a country where it isn't customary. As far as tipping goes, I follow something like this: Coffee shop: a buck, sometimes Bartender: $2/drink Counter-serve restaurants (not fast food): $2-3 Restaurants with wait staff: 15% for adequate service, more for better/special service, probably 20% on average Servers at my regular places: 25% or so
If I have something like furniture, appliance, or something similar I'll give the delivery guy(s) $10 or more each, depending on the item.
No. You are expected to tip in the UK. The card reader often asks if you want to tip, the server will let you add more and everyone will be hapoy for you to leave cash on the table!
Yep. I gave the guys who delivered and installed my washer and dryer $50. It didn't take them long, but it was real work.
Not according to every single waitress, hostess, server, barmaid, etc. I saw in England, Wales, and Scotland over 12 days. Man, I tried. The credit card doodad didn't leave any options to tip and when I tried to give cash, it was returned to me with a blush and an awkward smile and a "thanks luv, we don't do that here". Over, and over, and over.
Coffee shop a dollar if it is not starbucks. I don't tip a five dollar cup of crap processed starbucks coffee anywhere. Don't worry, I also avoid starbucks like the plague. I will tip the bartender only a dollar on simple well drinks and something in a bottle. A complicated drink, or something daiquiri I will tip more. If I am tossing money around on top shelf I guess I just toss some to the bartender anyway because why should the house get all the profit. If there is a waiter or waitress bringing drinks I always tip heavy because then they find me so I don't have to wait at the bar. I figure that is paying for express service.
I tip, 10%-15% even though the minimum wage is $12 and will be raised to $15 per hour. At $15 per hour, fuck you, no more tips. This isn’t a shithole state where people only make $3.50 per hour. When people are paid $30k per year to simply walk from the kitchen to my table then all tipping should stop. Even now tipping is only for table service and not for counter service. Delivery drivers do get tipped.
The counter service people try that trick all the time. Just zero it out. No tips for counter service as no service was given.
Tipping makes the fair compensation for labor subject to people's whimsies and nebulous regional customs. It also represents a market dysfunction when prices are not clear up front. And as the video cited, there's no good correlation between the quality of service and what labor actually gets in tips, defeating the theory of the system. And historically it has its roots in capitalists trying to shrug their responsibility toward compensating labor fairly. Most Asian countries don't have tipping as a thing, and that's how I prefer it. If I ran a restaurant I would put up signage saying I pay living wages (because I would) and that all service charges are embedded in the listed prices.
Unambiguously gay guy- 15% 'Personality' Strait Guy (Or my my wife thinks he's hot): 20% Hot chick with a bad personality: 20% Hot chick who makes eyes at me and is working it- About 22-25% Bartender before I'm hammered: 2$ a drink plus 20% on food. COOL bartender who understands 'Quid Pro Quo, Clarise!' (Look out for them and they look out for you): LOTS of money. Usually case by case, sometimes ridiculous. Special: Places like the Grand Hyatt Maui where I know Darlene by name and they always have the Yamizake 12, and she pours me very generous. This is like having a personal masseur. Or something. Just Saying. She makes beaucoup bank when I'm in town, and there's not even any sex involved.
Here's the kind of shit I have to deal with that traditional delivery drivers don't: I was sent to a seafood restaurant that has valet parking and a dress code. Upon trying to place an order, the hostess says "I don't think we accept third-party carryout orders, let me check." Manager comes over, and tells me "We can't take the order unless you pay with cash or a personal card." The delivery app will reimburse me in such circumstances, if I choose to use my own funds to complete a delivery. However, the cost of the order would have emptied my bank account, and from what I've noticed, the type of people who order carryout from restaurants with dress codes don't tip, so I wasn't going out of my way. Then the manager elaborated that the reason for this was because they're not equipped to take online payments. Then I told the manager that the company provided me with a physical card to pay for orders. Manager then told me he needed to check with the bartenders if I could pay with the corporate card. Don't know why the manager answers to the bartenders, but whatever. While the manager was gone, I apologized to the hostess for not wearing proper attire. She gave me a pass because I'm a delivery driver, but informed me that if I would like to dine with them I'd need business casual or better. Manager comes back and is all "We can accommodate you!" so, I place the order. Turns out what the customer ordered was not on the menu. So, I texted the customer and asked if they would like to order something else. I waited the required five minutes and there was no response, so I cancelled the order. Then the app fucked up and only provided me with "this is 100% my fault" reasons for canceling the order instead of the "this is absolutely not my fault and I tried my damnedest" option I needed that's usually there. From the time I accepted the order to the time I cancelled, 45 minutes to an hour had passed, and I was paid nothing for that time. Also, while I was on my first delivery for the day, I was pulled over for driving 44 in a 40, and the cop wrote it up as "impeding traffic," which is zero points on my license while the speeding ticket would have been two, but the fine is $50+ more. I've had one moving violation in the past fifteen years and currently have zero points on my license. I don't give a shit if it goes up to two points, neither does my insurance company. I want the $130 fine instead of the $190 fine. Now I have to go to court. Also, the delivery was for a guy I've delivered to before and I know he doesn't tip. What, like some dude saying "I've got a tip fer ya!" and then whipping out his dick? I'd chuckle and then say "Yeah, sorry, we don't do that here." Although, I've delivered to some decently attractive women. If one of them did something similar, I'd follow it up with "No, wait, um, the opposite of what I just said. Also, this would have been funnier if you'd ordered a large sausage pizza." Sometimes people answer the door naked when they order food because it amuses them, and it's technically not indecent exposure if one is visibly nude but in their own house. If someone does that to me, they're going to be disappointed. Hell, it's possible someone did already and I didn't notice. If a dude comes to the door wearing nothing but a chastity cage, nipple clamps, and a ball gag, on all fours, while his leather-clad mistress rides him like a horse and smacks him with a riding crop, I might offer them high-fives, but anything less won't get a reaction.
One of many memorable scenes from Reservoir Dogs Obviously this was shot in California, because in Florida that waitress would have been making LESS than minimum wage. $2.50 plus tips(this was back when $5.00 was the minimum wage). I rarely eat out, but when I do I always tip. I tip my hairdresser as well. I use to work in the service industry,sometimes graveyard shift. So I know first hand how incredibly demoralizing it can be.
Whenever I've been back in the UK tipping norms have seemed like those here in Australia. So leaving a tip if service was great at a sit down restaurant for example. Far different to the all encompassing US model.