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tipflation, tip creep, and tip fatigue

#121
Sometimes tips only make up for being underpaid (And maybe even then they might not)
But sometimes it means people get a lot extra--so some people who do get tips would prefer to keep things the way they are--and others would rather just get paid a fair wage.
Never going to please them all.

I do tip in a full serve restaurant, unless the service was terrible.
(And that happens--so if the server seems to prefer to hang out with her friends instead of serving those in her section--no tip
The one time this happened it wasn't due to her break--unless she gets very long breaks and the restaurant doesn't cover her tables.)
I don't see any point in tipping in fast food restaurants--I don't see the point--and I have worked in a fast food restaurant.
That's why I will take my food packaging & throw it out on my way out
People didn't do that around here when I worked in one--and I would have appreciated it.
But I didn't expect a tip then and it makes no sense now.

But in places where it makes sense I tip generously for regular service & tip extra for excellent service.
 
#124
My latest gripe with this. I hired someone to come to my house and trim my cats' nails. Facebook ad says she charges $30 for one cat. I ask her how much for two cats? $60. I'm thinking, the drive to and from my house takes much longer than trimming a cat's nails (5 min tops), does the second one really merit full price? But OK, I agreed. Then she gets here, does the job, and hands me her phone with the payment app which shows a default 20% tip. She owns the business and is getting the whole $60, it's not like she's getting minimum wage working for some big company. Sorry, no tip. I will learn to do the nail trims myself.
 
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#126
sleddogn said:
I'd have tipped her. Thats just the world we're in now.
Click to expand...

That's the world that some people want to make it. Others don't.

It used to be that tipping was reserved only for exceptional service. It was a bonus for workers who made an outstanding effort to provide for their customers.

Then, it evolved into a regular practice for any service that was adequate. Not tipping was an indication that the service was exceptionally bad.

The problem with making tipping the standard practice is that it has become the primary source of compensation for many service workers, which means employers have essentially relieved themselves of the expense of providing fair, free market wages to their employees by transferring that burden to the customer. In many states, employers need only pay their workers $2.13/ hr, with the remainder comprised of customer tips.
 
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#127
Jim Nazium said:
My latest gripe with this. I hired someone to come to my house and trim my cats' nails. Facebook ad says she charges $30 for one cat. I ask her how much for two cats? $60. I'm thinking, the drive to and from my house takes much longer than trimming a cat's nails (5 min tops), does the second one really merit full price? But OK, I agreed. Then she gets here, does the job, and hands me her phone with the payment app which shows a default 20% tip. She owns the business and is getting the whole $60, it's not like she's getting minimum wage working for some big company. Sorry, no tip. I will learn to do the nail trims myself.
Click to expand...


When I was a service worker in bars and restaurants, I learned that it's considered poor taste to tip the owner of any establishment. For example, if the owner of a bar is acting as bartender, then it's gauche to tip them.
 
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#128
Tipping the owner is an interesting idea. The two coffee joints we frequent in town are small operations with just a few staff. Neither are related in any way beyond selling coffee. They both have tip jars near the cash register and offer tip choices when paying electronically. At both, the owners are actively involved and assist in making drinks, etc.
When the owner of one is making our drinks, he's said to us before not to bother tipping him since he gets all of the money in the first place. He's even asked us, 'why would you tip me? I already own the place'.

-Mike
 
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#129
Jim Nazium said:
My latest gripe with this. I hired someone to come to my house and trim my cats' nails. Facebook ad says she charges $30 for one cat. I ask her how much for two cats? $60. I'm thinking, the drive to and from my house takes much longer than trimming a cat's nails (5 min tops), does the second one really merit full price? But OK, I agreed. Then she gets here, does the job, and hands me her phone with the payment app which shows a default 20% tip. She owns the business and is getting the whole $60, it's not like she's getting minimum wage working for some big company. Sorry, no tip. I will learn to do the nail trims myself.
Click to expand...

If she had charged you $20 for the second cat, would you have tipped?

I work as a part-time pet sitter through the Rover app. Mainly for fun since I love meeting new cats, but I do get paid. The clients have the ability to tip after the visit(s) if they please. Most do, but some don’t. I don’t really care either way, but if I was living off the job full time, I’m sure I’d care.
 
#130
friskinator said:
If she had charged you $20 for the second cat, would you have tipped?

I work as a part-time pet sitter through the Rover app. Mainly for fun since I love meeting new cats, but I do get paid. The clients have the ability to tip after the visit(s) if they please. Most do, but some don’t. I don’t really care either way, but if I was living off the job full time, I’m sure I’d care.
Click to expand...


When I was younger, I worked several jobs as side hustles to help supplement my meager wages from my entry level day jobs.

I did photography, videography, and provided various services to local bands and other performers.

It never occurred to me to ask for tips and I don't recall being offered any, even though I was regularly complimented for providing excellent service.

I don't know what these jobs are like today, but I'd guess that tipping is probably commonplace, and I imagine that many of the people doing these jobs are either expecting tips from their customers and providing easy ways to pay tips (like prompts in electronic payment systens) or else seriously contemplating doing so.

I think this is an important point (already discussed here) that this is a new paradigm, precipitated by the pandemic economy and its aftermath, where society is on the cusp of creating a new reality for the foreseeable future.

In my estimation, this is an opportunity to reform the service industry by doing away with the hassle, fickleness, and arbitrary nature of tips, and finally making fair and reasonable base wages the industry standard.

But it seems to be a lost opportunity as the trend is clearly in the exact, opposite direction.
 
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#131
hbarcat said:
When I was younger, I worked several jobs as side hustles to help supplement my meager wages from my entry level day jobs.

I did photography, videography, and provided various services to local bands and other performers.

It never occurred to me to ask for tips and I don't recall being offered any, even though I was regularly complimented for providing excellent service.

I don't know what these jobs are like today, but I'd guess that tipping is probably commonplace, and I imagine that many of the people doing these jobs are either expecting tips from their customers and providing easy ways to pay tips (like prompts in electronic payment systens) or else seriously contemplating doing so.

I think this point (already discussed here) that this is a new paradigm, precipitated by the pandemic economy and its aftermath, where society is on the cusp of creating a new reality for the foreseeable future.

In my estimation, this is an opportunity to reform the service industry by doing away with the hassle, fickleness, and arbitrary nature of tips, and finally making fair and reasonable base wages the industry standard.

But it seems to be a lost opportunity as the trend is clearly in the exact, opposite direction.
Click to expand...

Same goes for the white collar workers who learned they could work from home, save time and energy from commuting, spend more time with loved ones, forego the lunches out, etc… and hey, even the business owners had a chance to downsize office spaces or forego them entirely.

Not so much - most folks I know are, at best, flex or are back in the office 5 days a week. Heck, Elon had his spiel the other day that workers are more productive in office and that those demanding WFH options live in la-la-land and that it’s not fair for some workers to stay at home while others need to go into an office.

There was a huge opportunity to transform society in some meaningful ways, but nothing was done. Arguably, I feel like we’re worse off than we were before.
 
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#132
Something to consider about the tipping "culture" is the fact that when tips are put into a communal pool for distribution among multiple workers (which is an extremely common practice in the food and beverage industry) this often leads to conflict among service staff over how the money should be divided.

I've experienced it many times myself and it can get ugly, considering tips are usually the bulk of a worker's take home pay. If one or two bartenders or waitresses are shortchanging other workers and keeping more of the tips for themselves, then this is literally stealing other peoples' livelihoods away from them.

What's even uglier is that it tends to be the more aggressive or dominant workers who are taking advantage of the situation, meaning that male bartenders and waiters are more often stiffing their female coworkers.

Even worse, while tips are supposed to be shared among the "lesser" service staff (such as buspersons, bar backs, dishwashers, etc.. who traditionally receive ¼ to ⅓ share of the tip pool) often times these workers are left out entirely, and it's no accident that in the U.S., these jobs tend to be dominated by poor immigrants who are probably making about $3/hr and and desperately need tips to even feed their families and pay their rent.

The uncomfortable truth is that in these conditions, which are too common, tipping benefits the more dominant workers (who tend to be men) at the expense of women and poor ethnic minorities.

Just something to think about.
 
#134
hbarcat said:
That's the world that some people want to make it. Others don't.

It used to be that tipping was reserved only for exceptional service. It was a bonus for workers who made an outstanding effort to provide for their customers.

Then, it evolved into a regular practice for any service that was adequate. Not tipping was an indication that the service was exceptionally bad.

The problem with making tipping the standard practice is that it has become the primary source of compensation for many service workers, which means employers have essentially relieved themselves of the expense of providing fair, free market wages to their employees by transferring that burden to the customer. In many states, employers need only pay their workers $2.13/ hr, with the remainder comprised of customer tips.
Click to expand...

Given that waitstaff and many other jobs pay much less than the cost of living, anytime a live human is providing service, I tip unless service is awful. Reaching for something on a shelf and handing it to me doesn't qualify as "providing service." My youngest daughter was a server at a family pizza place for 7 years, so with perspective I gained from her experience I seldom tip less than 20%.

I have an exceptional massage therapist; he helps me tremendously with a spine and hip problem. He charges only $80 for his massage, and I always throw in another $20. As I said, he is quite exceptional - and I want to make damn sure he stays in business because I would be worse off without him.
 
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#138
40a557a0d57e013bfb50005056a9545d
 
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