Has Tipping Gotten out of Control?

[Perspektiv]

Tipping culture has always been prevalent in many western countries. The norm, even.

Covid-19 changed this culture. In many places where tip jars were the norm, some establishments are now suggestively requesting tips by letting a prompt upon handing you a POS machine for you to tap your card or pay, but while being forced to accept a tip percentage or hand the machine back to the clerk after the "shame" of clicking "no tip".

Some will ask you directly if you want to tip, and how much, prior to running your payment, putting the pressure on the consumer.

Some jobs require your tips, in order for staff to make ends meet, simply as they are paid incredibly low.

Is this part and parcel with a changing retail landscape.

Has tipping gotten out of control?

[Perspektiv]

1 hour ago, Contrarian said:

I'll still smile, but I won't hesitate to press 'skip' on the tip option.

I've done this at a cafe, only to have the barista's attitude dramatically change after looking at what I had selected when checking my payment.

I shouldn't feel shame, but its incredibly effective. As if they are smiling and giving you great service even if just making your Subway sandwich, you will feel pressured to tip.

[reason10]

On 4/9/2023 at 1:08 PM, Perspektiv said:

Tipping culture has always been prevalent in many western countries. The norm, even.

Covid-19 changed this culture. In many places where tip jars were the norm, some establishments are now suggestively requesting tips by letting a prompt upon handing you a POS machine for you to tap your card or pay, but while being forced to accept a tip percentage or hand the machine back to the clerk after the "shame" of clicking "no tip".

Some will ask you directly if you want to tip, and how much, prior to running your payment, putting the pressure on the consumer.

Some jobs require your tips, in order for staff to make ends meet, simply as they are paid incredibly low.

Is this part and parcel with a changing retail landscape.

Has tipping gotten out of control?

I learned this a long time ago. The term 'tip' is an acronym of To Insure Promptness. Ironically it was originally a European tradition; these days canoes tip more than Europeans.

I've seen those little pads where you put in your bank card and tap the amount you want to tip. Admittedly, it takes away from the personal effect of handing someone cash. But it also spares the customer from having to figure out the proper amount according to the percentage of the bill. Impersonal, but not altogether bad.

As far as jobs requiring one to tip in order for staff to make ends meet, I might as well straighten out that LIE once and for all.

Florida's minimum wage is $11.00. The minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13 an hour. Tipped employees, however, have been known to knock down a ton of money in tips per night. I knew a bartender getting about $900 a week in tips. He was making more than the bar manager.

There are those liberals who believe this tipping system is kinda racist, in that blacks and other minorities allegedly suffer in this process. Of course, that is total bullshit. Then again, I wonder about what these liberals think about salespeople, who have to rely on COMMISSION and not a regular wage. What if a salesperson doesn't make any sales, after showing up for work for a regular week?

Tipping is not at all part of the retail landscape. It's mostly for service industries: Restaurants, bars, musicians, haircuts, cab drivers, golf caddies, banquet staff, etc. One doesn't shop at Walmart and hand the cashier a tip, for example.

I can't speak for other states, except that they are all inferior to Florida, when it comes to an expanding economy. Here in the Sunshine State, tipping has not gotten out of control. The better tips come during tourist season. A lot of the successful tipped employees pay their bills months ahead of time, in order to prepare for the lean months. Then again, some tipped employees head north for the summer.

I wouldn't change a thing in the private sector. I WOULD kick Democrats out of elected office, since their policies lead to inflation and skyrocketing gas prices. Those items create more victims than anything else.

[impartialobserver]

I would say not. No real difference between expectations now versus in 2019. 

[reason10]

On 4/11/2023 at 2:26 PM, impartialobserver said:

I would say not. No real difference between expectations now versus in 2019. 

Don't forget, Unelected Joe's Gestapo IRS has been ordered to target VENMO accounts that go above $600 for audits. That's an average week's worth of tips for a bartender or waitress.

'Don't tell me the Bidens are for the poor or middle class.

[Perspektiv]

On 4/11/2023 at 1:34 PM, reason10 said:

There are those liberals who believe this tipping system is kinda racist, in that blacks and other minorities allegedly suffer in this process.

Ugh. I hate people like this. Worked with a few. Everything was racist. Even paper, because it's white. Especially paper.

Recycling paper is the school supply version of blackface.

I remember hearing professionalism was racist. 

As a black man, I used to joke with people, retorting: "is it because am black?" to watch their panic as I let them know I was joking. 

[reason10]

18 hours ago, Perspektiv said:

Ugh. I hate people like this. Worked with a few. Everything was racist. Even paper, because it's white. Especially paper.

Recycling paper is the school supply version of blackface.

I remember hearing professionalism was racist. 

As a black man, I used to joke with people, retorting: "is it because am black?" to watch their panic as I let them know I was joking. 

You can have a lot of fun with such stuff, especially at the expense of limp wristed low information liberals.

[herbie]

Last night went for dinner and the tip option on the debit machine started with an 18% minimum. I never do that, always tip with cash. It's for the server, NOT the kitchen staff, the cleaner, or thru the debit machine where the owner just steals it.

[Aristides]

3 hours ago, herbie said:

Last night went for dinner and the tip option on the debit machine started with an 18% minimum. I never do that, always tip with cash. It's for the server, NOT the kitchen staff, the cleaner, or thru the debit machine where the owner just steals it.

Most restaurants pool their tips. The server is the pointy end of your experience. 

[CdnFox]

On 4/11/2023 at 10:34 AM, reason10 said:

The term 'tip' is an acronym of To Insure Promptness. Ironically it was originally a European tradition; these days canoes tip more than Europeans.

Side note - that is a COMMON belief but actually wrong.  It comes from a word from the old english thieves cant or thieves language, a sort of colloquialism mix of weird terms and such designed to make it hard for non theives to follow what was being said.  The term 'tip' meant to 'share something'.  Evetually it made its way to regular english use as a term for paying a gratuity, presumably 'sharing' a little of the profit with the person who helped you or the like.

And i have to say - given some of the recent "tip" demands i've seen i certainly have gained new appreciation for it's Thieves origins. I go pick up a pizza at the pizza place and the options on the card reader start at 15 percent? For walking the pizza from the oven to the counter? It sure FEELS like robbery.

[Perspektiv]

14 hours ago, CdnFox said:

For walking the pizza from the oven to the counter? It

I at first felt guilty during covid. You know, times are hard  businesses are struggling. So I tipped. It was my way of supporting local business, since we can afford to go to cafes regularly, and eat out occasionally. 

Now, if you haven't adjusted your business for the current times after 3 years, this unfortunately isn't my problem.

Bump prices 2%, or assess the added hit and do the math. Factor in the higher staff pay, and don't make it my job.

Better yet, teach staff that going above and beyond is how you earn a tip. Tips must be earned.

You're not doing the customer a favor by showing up to work. They are doing you a favor, for choosing to patron your business, and not a competitor's. 

I walked into a KFC in December  and the employee barely glared at me and made me wait a few minutes, before approaching me with an annoyed: "yeah?".

So I placed my order. I seemingly ruined his day by asking him how he was doing (based on the glare and the non answer), then he hands me the POS machine. I don't tip, as dude is being a jack***.

He looks down in taking it, then gives me an even more irritated look, like I spat in his face.

Get another job. 

My job isn't to tip you. Its to buy the s*** you are selling me. My job is done. Do yours, which is to serve your customer.

[Perspektiv]

If you stuck my frosty in a machine and handed it to me with a resting b**** face look on your face, sorry, but this isn't tip worthy.

Today's youth are going to have a miserable time in their careers. 

[Perspektiv]

1 hour ago, Contrarian said:

My concern is that one of them might retaliate by tampering with the food in the back at a fast food restaurant.

I'm always cordial with them, if they did that and I caught them, I wouldn't use the police to get even. But the slight would get settled, that's for sure.

[herbie]

18 hours ago, Aristides said:

Most restaurants pool their tips. The server is the pointy end of your experience. 

And when the wife worked at the pub, they weren't allowed to see those electronic receipts. The Boss "said" how much got put into the tip pool, and even the Boss got a cut, and the bookeeper.

So I always do cash, the server can decide to toss it in the pool or slip it in their pocket.

[ExFlyer]

2 hours ago, Contrarian said:

? Customers are being asked to tip even at self-check-out. Some say it's 'emotional blackmail.'

Full Article: 
https://news.yahoo.com/customers-being-asked-tip-even-201531776.html

Ha! Was just gonna post that.

That'll be the day I tip at a beer fridge  at a ball park LOL

[Perspektiv]

I love that word. "Tipping fatigue".

[herbie]

On 5/9/2023 at 10:17 AM, Contrarian said:

are being asked to tip even at self-check-out

Relating to what I mentioned before, a new union contract on Vancouver Island has been won in which the employer must now reveal  the tipping collected electronically so fair distribution can be confirmed.

[CdnFox]

24 minutes ago, herbie said:

Relating to what I mentioned before, a new union contract on Vancouver Island has been won in which the employer must now reveal  the tipping collected electronically so fair distribution can be confirmed.

I feel like the line is blurring between 'tips' and 'commission sales'.

[herbie]

No blur when it comes to your income tax. AFAIC if I "give" you money, they've no right to tax it. If I'm charged $50 for a repair and I give the repairman $55, the extra $5 was gifted, just like a parent giving money to their kid to buy a car or house, or winning a lottery or game... non-taxable.

 

[CdnFox]

5 hours ago, herbie said:

No blur when it comes to your income tax. AFAIC if I "give" you money, they've no right to tax it. If I'm charged $50 for a repair and I give the repairman $55, the extra $5 was gifted, just like a parent giving money to their kid to buy a car or house, or winning a lottery or game... non-taxable.

 

That is true in most cases - if it's a gift then it's not taxible and i've known a few who were able to take advantage of that for their career (christian speakers can if they play their cards right).

But - revenue canada some time ago ruled that a "tip" is not a gift. It is considered to be 'additional' payment for the services they rendered to you and therefore taxable.  In fact - they started assuming if you were wait staff personelle you MUST get tips so if you didn't report any they just tacked on 15 percent extra income to your taxes.  I had a friend who was quite furious and it did make headlines at the time. 

What i hate is when the restaurant says there's an "automatic tip" and they just shove the tip on the bill and expect you to pay it

[sharkman]

In BC, the minimum wage is going up to 16.75/hr on June 1st.  On that day I will stop tipping all except dining in restaurant meals, for old times sake.  Our various governments rip us off in so many ways and there is a limit to what a budget can take. 

You want to make more money?  Go to school, the army, or some other organization in which you can get marketable skills. 

[reason10]

On 4/22/2023 at 9:23 PM, Aristides said:

Most restaurants pool their tips. The server is the pointy end of your experience. 

Actually, the way it works the servers tip out the bus staff. That's expect. And it's strictly voluntarily. The wait staff knows that if they don't take care of the bus staff, those tables don't get cleared fast enough and it hurts their tips in the long run.

[TreeBeard]

On 5/12/2023 at 1:43 PM, herbie said:

If I'm charged $50 for a repair and I give the repairman $55, the extra $5 was gifted, just like a parent giving money to their kid to buy a car or house, or winning a lottery or game... non-taxable.

No, tips are taxable income.  Just because it isn’t claimed in their taxes, or is difficult to enforce, doesn’t mean that it’s not taxable. 

[herbie]

That's why I give it to the repairman and not the company they work for.

CRA can send their goon squad to hunt it down and collect.

[TreeBeard]

On 6/3/2023 at 12:19 PM, herbie said:

That's why I give it to the repairman and not the company they work for.

CRA can send their goon squad to hunt it down and collect.

You don’t think people should pay their taxes?