Can we talk about TIPFLATION for a minute?

[Lumpy1106]

I don't mind tipping people in legitimate service positions - you wait tables, or you are a doorman, or you drive a taxi - OK, you made my day better with your service and you deserve a tip. But the automated tip every time you buy a bagel - comeon! Even still, I don't mind being generous if it's a small, local, Mom & Pop place with dedicated employees trying to keep afloat. It's the chains I can't stand. Today I went to a Which Wich (and yes, I think we all need to start calling them out) and the automatic tip popped up when I stuck my CC in the reader. Tip STARTED at 15%, and there was no option to leave no tip. Ugh. OK, 15% it is...but then I started noticing things that were not up to standards throughout the store - no small drink lids, the bathroom was dirty, it had no paper towels, I could go on. Nobody ever even came to clean the table I was sitting at - I had to do that myself, and took all my trash with me. Nobody even came out from behind the counter while I was there - at all. In short, they did LESS than nothing and got a 15% tip. This is so wrong.

So yeah, let's start putting these guys on blast, and add to the list as you see fit;
https://www.whichwich.com/?gclid=Cj...J1-ZAHrl0P3_OrXjY2rNNxgVYf3jqnPIaAnedEALw_wcB

 

[lpereira]

There is an option. Tell them you are canceling the order and walk out. Encourage others to do the same. I tip and tip very appropriately for traditional tipped roles.
I'm not tipping for counter service or self service. I'm not tipping a company workers online to pack my purchase up and mail it to me. I have had that one show up. I was ordering shirts. Not even custom. I canceled my order and sent an email. The response I got from someone in reply was the tip was optional. They shouldn't even ask.

 

[PPFlight75]

I don't mind tipping people in legitimate service positions - you wait tables, or you are a doorman, or you drive a taxi - OK, you made my day better with your service and you deserve a tip. But the automated tip every time you buy a bagel - comeon! Even still, I don't mind being generous if it's a small, local, Mom & Pop place with dedicated employees trying to keep afloat. It's the chains I can't stand. Today I went to a Which Wich (and yes, I think we all need to start calling them out) and the automatic tip popped up when I stuck my CC in the reader. Tip STARTED at 15%, and there was no option to leave no tip. Ugh. OK, 15% it is...but then I started noticing things that were not up to standards throughout the store - no small drink lids, the bathroom was dirty, it had no paper towels, I could go on. Nobody ever even came to clean the table I was sitting at - I had to do that myself, and took all my trash with me. Nobody even came out from behind the counter while I was there - at all. In short, they did LESS than nothing and got a 15% tip. This is so wrong.

So yeah, let's start putting these guys on blast, and add to the list as you see fit;
https://www.whichwich.com/?gclid=Cj...J1-ZAHrl0P3_OrXjY2rNNxgVYf3jqnPIaAnedEALw_wcB

I agree this has gotten a little crazy. I tip well in traditional roles and often leave a tip for baristas and such. However, the one that got me scratching my head was the Panera in Philly. There was not an employee in sight when I used the self service kiosk to purchase my coffee and make it myself, but it sure asked me if I wanted to leave a tip. This one was over the top. So crazy!

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Yes it’s insane. I see this everywhere now and I don’t tip unless it’s a traditional tip-for-service interaction. My teen DD recently started part time at Pizza Hut, just stands behind the counter and takes peoples orders and checks them out. She came home and was talking about her tips and I said “tips?! For what?” She said “I don’t don’t know it pops up on the screen and people just click the tip”. She literally does nothing but check people out. Crazy.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I don't mind tipping a bit for counter service, and I do that regularly. But I had one instance where I was buying a fairly large gift card along with just a plain coffee, and the 'add a tip' thing popped up, and without even thinking, I clicked the 15%, so of course then I'm paying a pretty big tip mainly for just the gift card! My fault though for not thinking it through. It was just kind of automatic for me. But, I will remember that in the future. It's one thing to tip for food being prepared and served (whether counter service or otherwise), but I don't think a tip on a gift card is necessary.

 

[GreatLakes]

It seemed to really tick up during the pandemic as though the consumer was supposed to replace the business owner when it comes to providing wages for staff.

I took the traditionally tipped positions but have no problem pressing no tip at places like Subway and Starbucks.

 

[tvguy]

Just pay cash and avoid the whole credit card automatic tip scam.

 

[rotlex]

Just ignore it. I tip at a sit down restaurants, bars etc. I could care less if I see a tip option, jar etc. etc. at a counter service place, or grab and go counter. It's just ridiculous. What's even more insane is now seeing as high as 25% being and "option" for some of them. Please. I'm still stuck in the 15% world.

 

[nw6675]

Even professional settings are starting - I am NOT going to tip my vet. Grooming is one thing. Paying out the wazoo for medical services is another.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I was just mentioning this on a Seabourn FB group. Someone complained that members were created posts every so often asking about tips and how much to do it. While tips can be done (and room stewards and room hosts seem to be the most common IF you opt to tip at all, you're not getting anything different if you do) they aren't required nor expected. I posted that as an American (because they are a minority in the groups were on) I appreciated it because we have a hard time believing it when they say things like a tip isn't required nor expected. Many of the members were trying to give the advice not to tip or at least don't do it so high or in front of everyone because then tips will become commonplace...a comment meant to say that Americans start tipping trends where ones didn't exist before.

Later on I mentioned that during the pandemic it really has exploded in just how many places we're expected to tip here by way of mostly automated tipping selections during the payment process and the percentages seem to keep getting so crazy high. A UK resident on the FB thread confirmed they noticed this when they visited the States several weeks back to their high annoyance. Imagine how we feel!

Steak N Shake is counter service now. Employees don't leave the one area, you pick up your order, you bus your own table by putting the trays and trash over in the bin just like at Panera but they are a tipped place still. It's not that you don't appreciate the workers there and are sensitive to pay but rather they fundamentally shifted their business model such that you're trying to figure out what are you tipping for?

 

[mom2rtk]

Just ignore it. I tip at a sit down restaurants, bars etc. I could care less if I see a tip option, jar etc. etc. at a counter service place, or grab and go counter. It's just ridiculous. What's even more insane is now seeing as high as 25% being and "option" for some of them. Please. I'm still stuck in the 15% world.

There's nothing wrong with 15%. Inflation has hit everything, so tips are based on higher prices already.

 

[tvguy]

There's nothing wrong with 15%. Inflation has hit everything, so tips are based on higher prices already.

And the sign in the door that says "Now Hiring, $25 an hour" doesn't help the case for tipping.

 

[DVCjj]

Just pay cash and avoid the whole credit card automatic tip scam.

Exactly what I now do. I would prefer to charge it but cannot stand what’s going on now. Ridiculous and highway robbery.

 

[ICF]

I was at crumble cookie a couple of months ago, buying a gift card.

I did the entire transaction myself at this kiosk / table thing -- interacting with nobody in the store....and the machine asked if I wanted to tip?? Who the &@&#% was I tipping...myself?!?

100% agree that especially since Covid tipping has gotten over the top nuts.

 

[ronandannette]

And the sign in the door that says "Now Hiring, $25 an hour" doesn't help the case for tipping.

This topic often gets comments about the $2/hr servers make, and I'll take their word for it that it does happen in some locales. But in many, many places, the servers are making a very decent hourly wage (here it's $15/hr minimum, for fast food conter-service). There are TONS of non-tipped positions I can think of that pay less than $25/hr., that are way, way more work or require more training and skill than serving. Auto-tip options on a lot of machines now include a 30% choice. Not in a million years. I'm decent at simple math so I always add a specific amount, calculating 15% rounded up to the nearest dollar. That's plenty unless something freaking spectacular has been done for me.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I would have canceled and switched to cash to avoid any sort of forceful fees. This is why I still have cash, I notice cards can hold consumers captive in weird ways. I got dinner the other night with somet service through Google just because that's what the restaurant uses, it was a small Mom & Pop which is all we usually do. I refused to attach a tip. I do tip well but with cash and straight up into someone's hands. Pffft, no way am I risking an owner swiping someone's tip.

Speaking of the Google service, the restaurant missed some things and couldn't just refund me so THAT won't be happening again.

I despise the hands off garbage, it's why customer service is such trash now. Next time it's in person on the phone or I don't do it.

Speaking of tips, I'm still handing out $5's to everyone that helps me out anywhere anytime, but only if they help.
I keep a bunch of 5's on hand all the time, going strong since 2020.

 

[tvguy]

This topic often gets comments about the $2/hr servers make, and I'll take their word for it that it does happen in some locales. But in many, many places, the servers are making a very decent hourly wage (here it's $15/hr minimum, for fast food conter-service). There are TONS of non-tipped positions I can think of that pay less than $25/hr., that are way, way more work or require more training and skill than serving. Auto-tip options on a lot of machines now include a 30% choice. Not in a million years. I'm decent at simple math so I always add a specific amount, calculating 15% rounded up to the nearest dollar. That's plenty unless something freaking spectacular has been done for me.

Yes there are states in the U.S. that have a sub-minimum wage for people working in tipped positions. I'm in California and here everyone makes at least $15.50 an hour. The only exceptions are in cities that have "Living Wage" laws which run as high at $18.15 an hour. And in California, tips can not be subtracted from the hourly wage.
But market realities right now are such, NOBODY pays minimum wage even to tipped staff, nobody would work for that little.
In extreme cases, a server at a top end restaurant can make over $100,000. Reportedly servers at Club 33 in Disneyland never leave those jobs because they earn a 6 figure paycheck with tips.

 

[nick262]

And to top it off, a lot of them calculate it incorrectly. Tips are supposed to be based on the price of the food/beverage/product before taxes and fees. If you look at the "courtesy" calculations, they are more times than not based on the total after the tax and fees. Big No No.

 

[Genie+]

I ordered from a salad chain last week. When i looked the place up on my phone, it said $5 off order of $25. Of course the 2 salads we ordered were $24.98 lol, so I added a $3 item to the salad. Turns out the location doesn’t do this discount. OK fine. In a hurry so I didn’t edit the order… I’ll eat the extra $3. It had tips starting from 20%, then 25% and 30% (I’m picking up from a food court counter). I hit other and entered $3, which is roughly the 10% I’ll leave for some pick up or counter service orders. Get home, I notice the receipt lists $.50 to the app that ’took’ my order from the company’s website. C’mon isn’t that the cost of business? Lol, I saved the counter worker from 3 minutes of work taking my order anyway. That made me second guess if my $3 tip even went to the employees that prepared my order, who btw were very nice. I agree the extra charges have gotten out of hand. Tourist spots are the worst. Sometimes you’ll see like 5 extra charges following the Subtotal. Too much! Next they’re going to add another for composting the onions I pulled out of the salad.

 

[tvguy]

And to top it off, a lot of them calculate it incorrectly. Tips are supposed to be based on the price of the food/beverage/product before taxes and fees. If you look at the "courtesy" calculations, they are more times than not based on the total after the tax and fees. Big No No.

Yeah, I belong to a Civic Group that meets every other month for lunch. Their banquet policy was 15% tip automatically added to the tab. Our group usually has 50 to 80 attendees and our Treasurer more than once had to have the restaurant recalculate the tip based on the tab BEFORE tax. I had to cover for him one lunch, and the tab came to $1,500, so sales tax added $120, and if you based the tip with that added in, it added $18 to the tip.
That restaurant closed......not for that reason, the owners retired.........and the current restaurant we use charges a flat fee per person, no tip, because it is a buffet and the owner sets it up. Of course nothing is perfect, he is slow is cashing our checks.........he still hasn't cashed the $1,700 check from our April meeting!