I was finishing up another of my too many 3D printing orders and one of the final screens before I hit Payment asked if I would like to leave a tip to help support that 3D “modeling team.” It suggested amounts of 10, 15, 20 percent or Other.
Ummm … No. I just paid you guys $50 for literally 7 very tiny pieces of resin, which I am going to have to wait at least a month for. Yes, I wanted these items, and Yes, I am balancing paying what I feel is exorbitant prices against my diminishing scratchbuilding abilities to produce the kind of model I envision.
But … a TIP??? I’m going to be nice and not mention the company by name, but I will be thinking long and hard before using them again.
What I find shocking is that some food delivery people are demanding upwards of 30% tips, lest they not deliver your food, or even worse, eat some or all of it. Tipping culture and entitlement in the US have gone out of control.
My answer is simple: I don’t use them. But wow so what, are we now going to have to tip online hobby shops, lest they omit parts of your order or send it out whenever they feel like it?
I’ve noticed that on some fast food apps when you place an order to go, there is a recommended tip amount for 20%, 18%, 15%, or custom amount.
I understand at a sit down restaurant where the server comes and takes your order, brings you drinks, refills said drinks, brings the food and busses the tables, but they are literally assembling the order as if they took it at the counter (which they didn’t have to take your order) and putting the bag on a rack to slowly get cold until you get there.
To me, that seems odd.
If I walk into my local chain pizza place and order a pizza for $20, I sit and wait and then they hand me my order. If I use the app and order, they ask if I want to add 20% tip to the order. It seems like less work for them and then get a tip for doing less.
I came from the food service industry and spent several years behind a bar. Naturally I survived on tips. If and the key word here is IF I gave good service I expected 15-20%. Tipping is out of control today. I cosnider myself a good tipper (20-25%) when I’m getting waited on and the service is good. When I order to go and I’m picking the food up it’s ridiculous to tip these kinds of amounts. Maybe a buck or two tops. The delivery guy/gal gets a good tip. They delivered the food.
I feel over the last few years the service industry has gotten worse. People used to take pride in delivering a good restaurant experience. I don’t see that much anymore. Servers feel entitled for 20-30% for average to bad service. The other day at lunch I had a $28 tab. I paid with two twenties. The service was ok. The server took the money and never came back for my change. When I asked for the change I got a stare that suggested I’m a worthless slob. Im not one to complain or write an on-line review. I just won’t come back.
I don’t know much about tipping, as it’s not a widely accepted practice in Oz. Wrongly or rightly, we have a strong welfare culture with a minimum guaranteed basic wage, medical and unemployment benefits for all.If it occurs here it’s usually in restaurants, or in an incident where you either feel that you’ve received excellent service, or are in a good space and feeling generous. However, with the significant cost of living increases in recent times, I suspect that it may be a dieing practice. However, for Australians traveling overseas it can be a very confusing issue, but tipping a model company???
The increased sense of entitlement that underlies the expanded expectation of receiving tips emerged long before the lockdowns. I remember first seeing tip jars on the counters of takeout places 20 years ago, at least. I don’t tip for that kind of thing.
I give a 20% to 25% tip for good service at a restaurant, whether it’s an informal place, like a deli, or a fancy place. If someone brings me my food, they qualify for a tip. But if I call in an order, and pick it up myself, there’s no tip earned there.
I also don’t leave a token tip, if the service was poor. I’ll tell the waiter when I settle up, why I didn’t leave a tip.
I tell the person that I’ve worked in customer service in one form or another for all of my working like, and even before. So I can provide more detail than just, “the service sucks”. “Here’s what you could have done better…”
Both Dodgy and the Baron make clear and right on points. The tipping custom has largely become just an automatic way of increasing the cost of restaurant dining. Less about recognizing a wait person for good service, more about expecting a customer to pay for bringing the order, which they are going to pay for anyway.
That said, ideally the tips are divided among all of the employees, cooks, dishwashers, bartenders and waiters. They are not considered high income persons, I like to think they will genuinely believe their efforts are appreciated.
I’m a retired international commercial pilot, unless I was staying the night in a country that discouraged tipping I always left a few $ for service staff, the tips might just be a major source of their earnings. Staying in hotels anywhere I left a few bucks on the bed when leaving, I was very appreciative of a well attended and clean room, I could easily afford it and it could brighten someones day just a bit, or in some cases a lot.
I kept in mind that service being a bit slow, or an order not perfectly done, could easily be the result of the place being extremely busy, the staff might be a bit overwhelmed at the moment. A nice tip was still very much in order. My job sometimes involved bad weather or traffic related delays. We could do nothing more than our very best to deliver the best service possible, under difficult circumstances. So I understood the value of a gratuity left for someones efforts.
Even now I consider leaving tip jars in places around the establishment to be offensive and more than a bit nervy, it appears the business is, in a way, demanding customers to pony up more money. I never put a tip on the credit card, I have little doubt that often the full amount of the tip is not given to the employees.
I can agree that expectation for tipping has gone overboard. There are a few restaurants that I’ve been to that do not have table service you order at the resister and pick up the food and they ask for a tip when you pay and place the order. I’m not going to tip before I get my food the last time I wrote $0.00 on the receipt the cashier looked at me and huffed.
There are very few restaurants that I go to and they are all family owned. I generally give those places a 25%-30% tip since they give me very good service and exceed my expectations.
I think this tendency has come from the trendy coffee retailers. You order a cup of overpriced coffee, they write your name on the cup and they expect to be tipped for pouring a cup of coffee.
Now fast food workers are expecting this type of compensation for taking your order, handing you an empty cup, and putting your food in a paper bag.
I met a friend for breakfast yesterday and during bill payment this thread crossed my mind (as yet another peeve to add to this thread-list).
The ‘bill’ came in the form of a tableside payment device (which I like, and like more when the server leaves instead of hovering over-shoulder…which is a separate peeve). I noticed their new default tip choices now start at 22% and go up from there.
Another ongoing trend to gripe about. The highest low I’ve seen so far is 25% somewhere, which really annoyed me.
I have heard on good authority from a former waitress, if you are not satisfied with the food or service, just leave a penny on the table. It signifies to the waiter/waitress that you did not like the food and/or service and did not forget to leave a tip, but refused to leave one. I was told that if it was the service, the waiter/waitress would change their ways. If the waiter/waitress knew it wasn’t them but the food, they will inform the owner that the cook is causing their loss of tips.
“You don’t want to see a penny on the table”, was passed on from one waiter/waitress to new hires (at least when she was working).
I don’t like punishing all the employees when it’s one or two bad ones. People who previously couldn’t hold jobs at Walmart or McD’s are working at restaurants, factories, etc.
I went to a restaurant with my wife today. It was mostly empty because they didn’t have the staff to wait the tables. Food was good, but the waitress was overworked trying to handle so many tables.
I have no job, so I can’t afford to go out, let alone tip people.
One thing you could do is leave what you think is a respectable tip for that person and a note advising them to find a better job because you can tell they are a very good worker and can do so much better in another field.
Starbucks has a device for using a credit card. When the card is inserted, a screen appears with tip options: 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, No Tip. I pick “No Tip” because I am not leaving a tip to someone that poured me a black coffee!!! What’s next, tipping at Mc D?