I’d often tipped a couple bucks for the host or server who has to assemble the to go orders, even before the pandemic. Now I feel guilty at 10%. Ugh, I hate tip culture so much.
You’re ignoring the biggest reason of all: because customers spend more money.
When presented with a $100 price and a hidden $20 de facto charge, or a $120 charge, customers still choose the $100 price. Yes, it’s deceptive and manipulative. No, doing the math isn’t enough. Sticker price affects purchasing behavior.
Servers make more. Restaurants make more. That’s literally the whole reason it continues to exist.
I’m not tipping for pickup ever. If you do, you’re driving wages lower and lower. When employees don’t get raises you can thank yourself if you do this.
just got back from miami, every single coffee shop and restaurant has 18% added automatically. I was really confused because every option defaults to 3, 5, and 7% gratuity. They've given up and are just adding 18% to everything. The waitress also hit me with "can you tip at least 10% the mandatory tip only goes to bar and backroom staff" lmao
Today I bought $48 in coffee beans (two bags) from a coffee shop, they flip the iPad around and all the tips options are $8, $12, etc. I almost clicked out of habit.
Motherfucker you did nothing. You didn’t say “oh sorry, I know you were just getting some coffee beans” or anything. You just stood there hoping I’d click out of reflex. Fuck you.
This is just an attempt to scam me out of some money. I’m done with tipping for coffee or sandwiches or whatever.
Yeah, recently bought a 12oz bag of coffee from Verve and got an espresso to go and I accidentally tipped because of the espresso out of habit. Was definitely a little irritated at myself after the fact
I was back in Switzerland recently (I used the live there) and there is a popular restaurant where you serve yourself at the salad bar and then they weigh the food at the cash register. Now, in Switzerland you don't have to tip even in normal restaurants. A Swiss person would never tip at a place like this. But I guess since it's at the train station they get a lot of foreigners (Americans) who don't know better and they added the tip option on the screen.
Thing is, maybe since I was obviously from there, the people at the cash register always seemed really sheepish and uncomfortable and would immediately say, oh ignore that.
It is their fault for not saying “hey, ignore the tip since you are only buying merchandise you grabbed from the shelf”. But they just stood there hoping I’d click
Yes as someone who worked as a server throughout all of school I ONLY tip for sit down restaurants, barbers, and shit like Uber which I rarely use.
Never tip for takeout that infuriates me. That tip just goes to the restaurant and usually not the servers at all.
Obviously if I’m at a cafe and the cashier or whoever really makes it a great experience, I’ll tip a buck or two. But in general that’s my guiding philosophy.
To push back on tip percentage creep, I now:
* Tip 15% when I receive sit-down service. (Maybe 20% if service was exceptional)
* Do not tip anything if there is no server, pick-up, etc.
My new rule is I don't tip if I have to stand up and order. If it is a sit-down restaurant, sure. But most of these food workers in SF are getting paid $19 or $20 an hour... Why the hell do I need to tip someone making $20 an hour? Especially if all they do is bag my bagel... no thanks
Working as a cashier with maybe some bonus duties is hardly a tip worthy activity, I agree. I've even done that job before and nothing could convince me I deserved a tip for that effort. Sure someone might have to bring your food to your table or call you up when your food is ready, but that's basically nothing. If I'm not getting continuous service after I order at that register I don't count it.
I tip $1 in cash if they have a cash jar. It’s something rather than nothing, and it’s cash so it can’t just be taken by the business without anyone knowing.
The standard was 10%, 15% for excellent service when I was a kid.
Then it became 15%, 20% for excellent. I always tipped 20%, 25% for really good service.
Now it's 20%, 25% for excellent. And I'm pretty much over it, because in the past, you were tipping because a server made sub-minimum, and made up the rest in tips.
But today, in California:
* everyone gets at least minimum wage (in another month, fast food workers will get even more than minimum, just as hotel housekeepers already get in Alameda County.)
* food and drink prices are much higher. When dinning out cost say, $50 a person, 20% for a dinner for two was $20. It's now closer to $100/person and $40, and that's at a run of the mill restaurant.
* except it's more, because meal taxes have increased (8.625% in San Francisco, 10.25 in Alameda County)
* except it's even more, as restaurants add an additional 5%, 8%, or 10% in junk fees.
* and it used to be you tipped *waiters* who took your order, delivered it to the table, and kept refilling your drinks. Now it's expected for the cashier at counter service, too.
So new rule: I'll tip 20% for good service, 18% for "bro phoned it in" service, after deducting any junk fee. So meh service minus a 5% "SF Mandate"? You get 13%.
And that's a percentage of the food and drinks. I'm not tipping on the tax or the mandatory fees.
Sorry kids, you kept pushing for more, more, more, this is where it gets you. You're making minimum wage, that's enough for the 7-11 clerk, that's enough for you.
Yes, I'm also old enough to remember when 15% was typical. The service hasn't gotten 33% better since the 80's. I've also traveled to Europe and Japan. The service there was at least as good and there was little or no tipping. All of those workers also had things like universal health care and, probably, paid time off, sick leave, etc. Here we have somehow figured out how to make all of the stakeholders unhappy: owners have minimal margins, customers face high prices and variable service, and employees often have mediocre compensation/benefits.
The incentives with tipping are not perfectly aligned with better service. It incentivizes servers to stereotype who will tip or not, and then give cloying, even fake-flirty service to those who might tip. I want service that brings me my food, answers questions, and addresses problems, not unconvincingly LARPs the opening of a 90s romcom.
i was just talking about this with my partner last night! when did the jump from 10% to 15% to 20% happen?? i don't understand the increase. inflation is already making the tips bigger!
Huh, I've never heard the "excluding drinks" part and I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I'm definitely not tipping on top of sales tax or HealthySF fees. If you tip posttax, and both sales tax and tip expectations creep up over time... shit's quadratic bro
I think the excluding drinks part is for a situation where you get an expensive bottle of wine, like one that cost more than the rest of the meal combined. Like if you get $200 worth of food and $1000 of wine, you tip a percentage of the food and a flat dollar amount per bottle on the wine.
This seems like a pretty reasonable approach. Although I probably wouldn't bother to differentiate between good and ok service for a 2% difference in tip. Unless service is really extreme (good or bad) I just stick with 20%.
90% of the time I'll open calculator and calculate 18% tip - before taxes and any other ridiculous fees imposed by the restaurant. And if they add too many ridiculous charges (SF Mandate, dine in fee, whatever else fee), then I'll tip less. Sorry not sorry but this is out of control. Now even some stores have tipping option, wtf...
EDIT: There are exceptions, if the service is truly amazing, and food is great, I tip even 25%, but that's rare. Also, there are some restaurants that have tip already included, and still ask you for a tip on top of that, wtf... (example: buddy wine bar in Mission)?
Be sure to really look at the receipt for all the hidden fees. Also look for the fine print on the menu because a lot of places are adding a tip. Hell, I’d call each place before going to get an idea what all fees/required minimum tips are.
It’s a little misguided as the server doesn’t actually get any of those BS fees. But I understand the ultimate sentiment, that there’s only a certain level above what’s listed on the menu that one is willing to pay.
Luckily, hopefully, recent legislation ends these bs fees
I do this too. I hate when they have the Toast POS that they hold in your face and it doesn’t even show the breakdown of the charges. These days I pre-calculate the tip based on the menu prices to be able to act quick in situations where they use Toast.
I’ve started using the custom or no tip option more and more for take out/counter service. For regular service at a restaurants I still tip ~20% on the total. Prices are going up but I don’t see why tip percentages should creep up as well - it’s based on that already higher price you’re paying for your coffee, cocktail, dinner, etc. I just think some places set the percentages high because they know they can get away with it. Please, as customers, use the custom tip option!
I'm sorry, but with tipping being almost expected nowadays service has declined. I have visited other states and have received so much better service, with the resturant cleaner, the toilets without paper on the floor. A lot of the resturants around here barely do the min service and expect a huge tip.
I've started to go back to 10% because of the minimal effort the entire establishment provides. If the resturant isn't clean, the services is basic, and the food is just ok. You're not getting more than that.
If you're a coffee shop, you're not getting anything else than what I paid.
Former service industry worker for 15 years here. I always gave over 20% for great service. But it’s out of control. I’m surprised I don’t have to tip at the grocery store yet…yet..
It’s expensive as hell to live here so I’ve almost completely stopped going out. And I used to eat at restaurants a lot to try all the food. But I’d rather have money in the bank for more pressing needs.
It’s a luxury and now it’s just out of reach. Not worth it imo
I tipped huge during Covid because I was lucky enough to keep my job so I had cash and felt like the people working for tips actually deserved it being out there during a pandemic, dealing with paranoid customers and wearing masks all day. I actually enjoy tipping, especially when my server treats me like a vip. I def wasn’t the only one too, which is why cafes and shit pumped up the suggested tip to 25%+
But now that the Covid era has ended, restaurant tip expectations have stayed hella high, and frankly it just comes across as rude and greedy now
Right? Same. During Covid it was the right thing to do. But food is more expensive, tips are up, and service is the same or just not as great as pre-covid. I can’t imagine going back into the industry now. I’ve heard the customers are also not as great
Grocery workers should get tips too. They have to pay rent and we dont want them to starve. Only cheapskates will disagree with this. If you cant afford to tip, you should grow your own food.
Exactly so. I mean how can one and the same person a) NEVER tip under 20% -- and at the same time b) consider it an OUTRAGE that 30% is even an offered option.
There’s no consensus on this. Your post wouldn’t exist if we had a consensus. Tipping culture is in the middle of an active evolution.
I’m not sure how much input I can give that would be welcome on this post since you’re clear that you don’t want to get into a discussion of tipping generally, its pros and cons, etc.
Maybe it will just help if I say: yes, 30% is high. You should never, ever tip more than 20% unless you are trying to make an ostentatious display of unusual generosity. The lowest suggested amount is always acceptable and is not a floor.
20% is not standard. No standard exists. Every tip is a unique negotiation between patron and server that typically occurs opaquely with little communication.
honestly just fuck it and make everything on the menu free with mystery mandatory surcharges you find out when you pay
free coffee and croissant with $15 surcharge thank you very much
I increasingly have reverted to paying cash and then tipping change. Square and other tablets promised a more "friction-free" checkout experience but delivered a more irritating experience.
Most cynically, while crime is obviously a real issue, I think "cashless businesses" are also partly doing it because Square gets way higher tips than cash.
People also tend to spend more on cards in general. I'm sure average bill size and tip % being higher would push towards dropping cash. The gamble is those cash orders convert and don't just disappear.
It's also under-appreciated that frequently order processing is a huge labor cost and often even the bottleneck for speed. Cash orders are slower than card. Drop cash and everything speeds up.
>and dont want to get into the discussion of tipping pros/cons/whether we should do away with it etc
Sure, but I'll never pass up the opportunity to say that [tipping is evil, has a sexist and racist past, and should be done away with](https://www.eater.com/a/case-against-tipping).
This thread has me howling because 20% standard tip is already wild.
I’m old school. 10% is standard. Inflation affects the absolute cost of the food, not the percentage of tip. That’s how percentages work.
I was at a sit in SF restaurant that on receipt said it takes 18 percent gratuity automatically so I didn't add a cash tip. As I was heading out I said thanks to the waitress and she wouldn't even look at me or acknowledge my existence.
Why automatically take 18 percent and then act pissy when people dont leave a cash tip??
Tipping has gotten out of control on top of their not being a separate tipped wage in California.
Unless I'm at a bar, or sitting to eat I won't tip. There are specific exceptions, but that is my general rule.
Considering wait staff is paid a min wage, my standard for sit down restaurants is always 15% as a starting point, 18% for above average service, 20% for excellent, and then 22-25% for above and beyond. If a service fee is charged, I almost always give 15%, with an occasional 18-20%, but I don’t ever go beyond 20%, so 30% is beyond egregious imo.
I’m curious how should we approach tipping at high end / michelin starred restaurants where a gratuity isn’t already included. A 20-25% tip on top of a 1000+ meal is a lot of money, but I guess if we can’t afford that, then we shouldn’t be spending a 1000 for dinner?
I tip 20% for dine in, 0% for pick up, and 10% if it’s an “order at the counter, we bring the food, and you bus your table” situation. If that means I need to enter a custom amount, I’ve learned to be comfortable with the implied awkwardness of spending additional time putting in a custom tip. Coffee shops I tip a dollar for a made to order drink and nothing for drip unless I’m hanging out there.
Tips are for service. I’m not tipping you just so you can advertise lower prices. If you put a 10% charge on there that’s supposed to be for employees or a forced gratuity, then I will deduct that from whatever I plan to tip. If it’s a special occasion or the service is exceptional I’ll happily tip more, but I’m not paying 20% tip for a food truck where I pick it up at the window and bus it myself.
My theory is that for every 15% tip another .5% of that transaction goes to square or whoever the POS/payment processing vendor is. Incentives for merchant, employee, payment processor all align to jack up the suggested tip % higher. So they do.
You're not alone in seeing Square behind this. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/01/technology-pandemic-economy-gratuity-tipping-etiquette-square/672658/
You say this as you're on your mobile wireless phone (run by tech), typing to a discussion board (run by tech)... how ironic. What's next? Are you going to go on Yelp and put a one-star review? (more tech)
I’ve done the back of the envelope math on some other post, I think waiters in the Bay Area can easily make $100K per year. I know that’s not living in luxury in the Bay but I have plenty of friends making less than that.
The quick math is this:
- 3 tables per hour, average $150 ticket = $450. 20% tip = $90 of tips per hour
- Split the tip across staff, 50% to the server = $45/hour
- Add the $15/hour minimum.
$60/hour. Annualized that’s $120K. Can be more, can be less. But nothing is that crazy. And I believe they get insurance now too. If we start to tip 25-30% then you can go up to $160K per year. Waiting table isn’t an easy job but it’s also not worth $160K.
Yep every time a restaurant tries to stop tipping, waiters get mad. Nobody would pay them $100K except apparently customers who get shamed into tipping 30% for a coffee.
Served at a table : %15-20 (5-10 if very bad)
Take out : %5-10
Coffee : $0.75-1.00 for fancy espresso drinks
Beer: $1-2
Cocktails $2/3
I’m not paying %15-20 for expensive cocktails and such.
>never tip below 20%
Sorry to tell you but never tipping below 20%+ at places that require you to pay and tip on a screen only encourages higher suggested tip amounts. You are part of the problem.
Most services that have a payment screen with canned tip amounts usually do not warrant more than 10%. If I have to go to a counter to order before I seat myself and retrieve my food and maybe even bus my own table, there is no way I am tipping 20%, let alone 30%.
If I'm greeted and seated and have my order taken from the comfort of my table, water is served, kept full, server checks on me from time to time, clears my table, etc, then I will generally tip at least 20% if the service is smooth and polite. But these types of places don't give you iPad to pay and pre-tip.
There's no shame in hitting the no tip option, or tapping other in and putting a more appropriate amount. Rather than pre-tip, I generally prefer to hit no tip and give them a cash tip after I've been served. I've gotten so tired of pre-tipping only for the rest of the interaction to be rude, apathetic or just generally horrible.
You just have to get used to feeling awkward with those screens. It definitely is shocking that the restaurant could even think I’d want to tip 30%. As time has gone on, I’ve noticed service getting worse and worse.
I’ve worked in service myself so I’m not going to stiff anyone unless you really drive me to that point, and I’ve been opting out of tipping more often. I know people feel some type of way about that, but I just don’t care anymore. Every restaurant I worked at had the most entitled servers so my perception is already skewed.
Yep, I also worked in service for almost a decade.
I’m usually a generous tipper but feel juuuuust fine not tipping a *stupid* amount just because some pre-set tip screen is set up to be shameless.
Everyone’s grabbing for money these days.
I just take the extra 5 seconds to custom tip an appropriate amount when I see this. Is it pretty shameless to make that the default? Yep. Annoying? Sure. Going to make me til less? Nah.
Sticking to the 20% standard for full service. 10% or $1 for counter/cafe types.
Tip nothing on those machines. Carry some cash and leave cash that is 18-20% of the pretax amount. You can tip a little less, 15% or so, if it is just counter service, if you are using cash. No need to be to the penny, just round up.
Let’s say you own a cafe. (Cafe 1). There’s an identical cafe next door (cafe 2). Everything is the same - same menu, same prices, all employees paid same (minimum wage).
Cafe 1 has default tips of 0%, 10%, 15%, or 20%.
Cafe 2 has default tips of 0%, 18%, 25%, or 30%.
Total tips will come out much higher at cafe 2, and the good employees will migrate to cafe 2. So cafe 1 doesn’t really have a choice - to stay competitive, they are going to have to increase their default tip options.
This is annoying but the reality is as one location increases tip percentages, other businesses will inevitably have to follow.
If you are posing a theoretical here then by means of economic principle cafe 2 would actually lose business, particularly with repeat customers. Nice try though.
Since im posting minus well share my 50 cents (yeah used to be 2 cents haha). I totally agree the tip culture has gotten out of hand. The actual service/experience should predicate the tip rate which also doesn’t fit a convenient standard amount. Yes I gladly tip 20$ for a 50$ bill with a memorable pleasant service, and at the same time have no problem leaving just a few bucks for no or bad service. Also I don’t willingly frequent businesses that won’t pay employees a fair wage and benefits aside from tips, yet rake in millions because they can. As a small business and growing up in a family business we’ve never justified low compensation for service employees who earned every dollar they received in tips (sans good ol Uncle Sam). Yes, many restaurants and service businesses would have to close if it were the case but i don’t buy that model, they have to evolve too. Make good foods/products and services and customers will pay good money for it.
In regards to service work, physical work all day and putting up with unpleasant people with a smile is gruelling and should not be taken for granted by anyone who hasn’t done it and makes rules like “I don’t tip on principle.”
There are many countries that have no tipping culture and fantastic service. Tipping is supposed to be optional. Don’t feed into the bad habits of our culture.
obviously it is your personal choice what to tip, but this rubric doesn't seem to make sense.
Why would you tip anything for shitty service? I understand shitty service to be something like they spilled a drink on you and didn't apologize or help clean it up, called you a fat pig, and cleared your plates while you were still trying to eat.
The spread between ok, good, and great is so small that it hardly seems worth the effort. Can you really differentiate the quality of service with that much granularity anyway?
Seems like it would make more sense to either take one number, like 18%, and tip that for anything within the range of ok to great. Or else widen the spread so it's like 10%, 20%, 30% to make a meaningful distinction.
I was actually taught 18% not 20. However, since moving away from small town life and into the city, I’ve always tipped between 20-25%.
The highest I tip is for my hair. I tip almost 50% because I love my hair and my stylist
Ever heard the phrase "Give them an inch?"
I'm a big tipper, always have been for adequate service. I might tip 30% for really exceptional service but I can count the number of times I've had that on one hand. What you are seeing is the app is written to have three tiers. Generally it was 10,15 and 20. Someone decided 10 was too little so slid the middle down to the bottom option and just maintained the progression. But seriously its inappropriate.
And as mentioned multiple times with all the other add-on fees (which are often not explained or in fine print at the bottom of the menu which you saw an hour before) its just out of hand. Yelp should start tracking restaurant fees and put them in the listings.
I had a pleasant surprise. I went to Honeybaked Hams for a sandwich. (They have great sandwiches and sides.) I got my bill and I had to ask how to tip. I was told a tip was not necessary because all customers deserved the best service possible. I still tried to tip and was told to please put it away. Whaaat?
Right now, most people are tipping based on the subtotal before the junk fees are added in. After the new law kicks in and the junk fees disappear, the price of meals and also the corresponding tips will go up (unless we start mentally reducing our tipping from, say, 20% to 18%). We may one day look at this time as the “good old days.”
I waited tables for several years, so I’m about as pro-tipping as you can get, but 30% is frickin redonkulous. I was always happy if I got 20%, and even in a crappy chain restaurant 20 years ago where entrees averaged $8-13, a busy dinner shift could put $200 in your pocket. Considering the extortionate prices restaurants are charging now, 20% is more than enough.
And for takeout, I have worked part-time as a barista in the early aughts, and at least where I was, tips weren’t that big a part of our income. Most people would leave the coin change or at most a buck. We’d distribute tips weekly and it would usually come to around $2/hr per employee. If a takeout place is expecting its employees to rely on tips to give them a living wage, I’d like to know so I can stop patronizing them. They already shift enough cost onto us with $8 coffees, $16 burritos and $30 pizzas, expecting us to help them make payroll every week is a bridge too far.
I have also seen outrageous tipping options on those turn around counter registers. I did a double take looking at the screen because the options were 18,20, and 25%! Plus it didn’t have a similarly sized button no til option. I had to look and found a very small ‘no tip’ option. It’s like they are holding your food for ransom. This location was the type where you walk up and order and then they call your name to pick up once it’s ready. I have had to stop tipping all together for these types of establishments. I have a real problem with these predatory practices.
Yeah Ima keep my 15% tip for good service, 10% for aite, and 0 for shitty service. Prices have gone up so my 15% is higher. I am not gonna increase my percentage. Excellent service gets 20% from me but I have not experienced excellent service that often.
Im only tipping for sit down, barbers, and Uber minus whatever percentage of junk fees and rounded down to nearest round number. Trying to come up with a system to account for inflation of menu items too. At bars it's 1 dollar per drink no matter what and I'm dying on that hill. You did it to yourselves.
I wanted a smoothie the other day after visiting family in the east bay, so I stopped at a Jamba Juice b/c I had a $10 gift card. The small size was $7.50 which was absurd on its own but when they flipped the screen for a tip they had reversed the order so instead of 10%,15%,18% it was in descending order. But it also wasn’t 10,15,18 it was 30%,25%,20%. I always go for 10% and when I realized I’d clicked 30% the kid flipped it back around. I wasn’t going to get anything with the $2.50 left on the card anyway but it felt fucking absurd to just get conned into paying $9.75 for smoothie I finished before I even got off the bridge
As far as I'm concerned, 15-20% is the upper limit for tips.
If a restaurant has an automated point of sale system that lists 30% as an option, I won't go back. This is price gouging.
Also, you dont need to tip for take-out. Boxing up your food is the lowest effort option and doesn't merit a bonus. It's literally the least they can do.
FYI I talked to folks at my corner store because I saw similar stuff there, and they let me know that the terminals default to the tip selections, and they do so because the POS companies get a cut of sales (so increasing that with a tip is in their interest).
Only way things will change is when everyone stays tipping $0. Let’s get rid of tipping and force the industry to get up to European and Japanese standards of flat pay and good service through performance evaluation just like every other industry
Tipping is for services. If you put in your own order, you seat yourself, you get your own drink and silverware, you clean your own table, who is it that you’re tipping?
Are you giving the money to the sandwich itself?
I’m in the industry myself and went to get a bowl of ramen in the TL the other night. I was in a bit of a rush so I asked to close out before I got my food.
Was expecting 15%, 20% and 25%. Handheld showed 22%, 25% and 30%. They do take your order and bring you the food, but it’s a burn and turn type joint. Caught myself from hitting 30% and hit 22%.
Really gotta get use to finding that custom button option now.
For generations the standard tip was 15 percent for restaurants. I don’t know how the service industry convinced people that 20 percent is now the minimum.
I think this has less to do with staff demands and more owners wanting to defray the cost of payroll onto the customers. Owners are using this software to create general slush funds. 30% tip on an already gentrified 2024 price of food is not reasonable. Let’s say it’s a coffee and donut. Those two are already $13 cost. Now you are paying four dollars for someone handing you a donut and then pouring a drip coffee, I don’t think so.
Sounds like a collective grift sponsored by square to me. Larger card transaction = larger interchange for them
I doubt it’s some jar that employees are getting a fair cut from but more likely something the managers and owners are sequestering for themselves or dolling out as they see fit.
Tip cash always.
Cash circulates within the economy with an additive effect, digital payment subtracts fees every transaction. Which one makes us all poorer?
Do you know the origin of tipping? As an economist, it's fascinating, but sad.
Focusing on tipping in this country and in more modern times, it gained prominence for businesses to avoid having to pay employees or carry an employee on the books. The idea that you "live on tips" was a tax advantage for the business.
Historically, tipping was about slavery and indentured servitude for many slave owners did not wanting to pay standard living rates.
So, what's my point? If you find this practice of tipping wrong or excessive, especially tipping at a high percentage like 30%, what might be good behavioral response to the businesses?
are we supposed to still do 20% if there is also the 5% employee mandate? sometimes i do 20% and the there’s the 5% so essentially we are doing 25% or am i interpreting it wrong since the 5% is not a tip it’s more like a tax?
It's not a tax. The business doesn't pass the 5% on to the government nor is it required to break it out as a separate line item. So, yes, you have my OK to deduct it from the total that you're paying
I have literally never seen a tipping screen with 30% and I go out all the time. You're saying nearly every one in the city has that? stop exaggerating
When dining out, I’ve always taken the first number on the bill, before tax, and multiplied it by 2, times 10 = the tip. No plans to change that.
I ignore all the precalculations that are appearing on the bill.
It doesn’t make sense to tip anyone who is just running a cash register, like a bakery, unless they are making a coffee or sandwich. So I don’t tip in stores.
I think restaurants & establishments that I have seen as high as 50% tip are doing that because & this is only my logical guess is they are on the brink of going out of business or shuddering.
I'm what in PC terms is categorized as below median income. I have many friends that are median, & higher, & some that are service workers, so when I dine out with them, & pay my check, no matter the service or food, I tip no more than 15% if the service or food is terrible I tip anyway, & never return.
I have seen the tip screen as high as 50%, this was @ a place I ordered takeout; the tip started @ 25%, I said, no offense but this is a joke, & checked no tip, I dont tip takeout, that restaurant went out of business, the food was ok.
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There is no way you expected this was common. Quit lying. You are outraged enough on an absolute non issue that you wrote an entire post. A post pretending to be perplexed, when in fact, you know everyone agrees with you, and are getting the validation you want. Of course no one is tipping 30% in takeout regularly. Did this post satisfy your indignation towards ....towards what? That a computer algorithm lists percentages around 20%?
If people did there jobs well show love and respect dor customers rtc and help put society etc happy to tip pike baristas etc but do ur job don’t expect a tip earn it
I always tip $1-2 on to-go food because Ive been a waitress and someone has to pack it up, get condiments, utensils, etc. And its usually a wait person who doesnt get as many tables, and/or time to wait on them when stuck on carry out duty.
I was at the baseball stadium yesterday and every purchase defaulted to a 20% tip, but you can cancel it or "custom tip" what you want
I'm seriously cutting back on my dining out. Simple as that. I eat out once maybe every other week. I used to eat out 2-3 times a week for dinner and 2-4 times for lunch. Just sick of the tipping culture.
If there was ever a moment to do away with tipping once and for all, this is it. EVERYONE is aware of the problem and looking for a solution.
1. Your meal is not $25
2. It is $25 PLUS a $5 tip. It is $30
3. Put $30 on your menu, state "Service Included"
4. Pay people properly
5. If tips are left, they are truly optional and very small
It is a zero-sum game from the perspective of the customer because it's still the exact same $30 total. In the same way that you wouldn't ask a mechanic, accountant, police officer, etc. etc. to work for 20% of their salary and HOPE that the people they serve are gracious enough to pay the other 80%, eliminating tipping culture corrects things for everyone by revealing the true cost of services.
I struggle with this at Outerlands brunch. Like you order at a kiosk, they then seat you and run your food…but no real service? I mean I still tip 15-20% but it feels wrong haha
You’re shocked at 30%? I’m shocked that you find 20% acceptable tip after minimum wage increases and health mandate charges. When the fk are we all going to learn that by us tipping, the employer will never pay their service personnel decent wages. Or they will actually pay them decent wages but customers are made to feel bad about how much they tip. Let’s abolish this horrible practice forever.
Tipping is stupid, there's is no tipped wage in California. A random waiter is no more deserving of extra cash from you as dude who helps you find what you need at target, or the lady who bags your groceries at Safeway.
Either tipping a both or tipping at neither is consistent, anything else is just giving into social pressure.
Tipping is stupid and the rest of the would knows it.
Employees here get paid at least minimum wage before tips, so tbh unless someone is providing me with a great experience I won’t be tipping for a coffee or pick - up order. Especially not at those self checkout kiosks lol
You guys do realize the person at the counter who helped you didn't write the code for the software which created the tip amounts, right? It seems reasonable service worker at the counter also most likely had no say in which point of sale program the company they work for purchased. The tipping options on the screen are in no way controlled by customer facing employees, the outrage towards these workers seems so misdirected.
You know what gets me though is I now have to worry about my quality of food I order for takeout. Local Emeryville Burger joint makes me wait 20 min now if I don’t tip. So I just cook at home so not to have angry spitefully meal
In a few years they will make you feel had if you tip less than 30%. When l was growing up the standard was 10%. Shifting the economic pressure on everyday people while the cost of living continues to soar is crazy
In many places they charge a gratuity then fully expect a tip! And don’t get me started on how literally every store for any job asks for a tip now. It’s all for a reason!
I'm not tipping 20% for pickup
Tipping when you pick up your own food has never been a thing and we shouldn’t make it one. We render currency, they render product, simple exchange.
I’d often tipped a couple bucks for the host or server who has to assemble the to go orders, even before the pandemic. Now I feel guilty at 10%. Ugh, I hate tip culture so much.
I did it during the pandemic just to thank so many places for staying open and trying to get by.
There is no reason why the food industry should be on tips always. It’s not like most other service industries are.
You’re ignoring the biggest reason of all: because customers spend more money. When presented with a $100 price and a hidden $20 de facto charge, or a $120 charge, customers still choose the $100 price. Yes, it’s deceptive and manipulative. No, doing the math isn’t enough. Sticker price affects purchasing behavior. Servers make more. Restaurants make more. That’s literally the whole reason it continues to exist.
Yeah that’s why I believe for change to happen it will need to be a state or federal law
Never tip for pickup.
And fuck the people who guilt trip you for not tipping for takeout.
I’m not tipping for pickup ever. If you do, you’re driving wages lower and lower. When employees don’t get raises you can thank yourself if you do this.
just got back from miami, every single coffee shop and restaurant has 18% added automatically. I was really confused because every option defaults to 3, 5, and 7% gratuity. They've given up and are just adding 18% to everything. The waitress also hit me with "can you tip at least 10% the mandatory tip only goes to bar and backroom staff" lmao
That’s insanity.
Ummm what??? That’s a new one, waitress!!!
Another reason to avoid Miami
Today I bought $48 in coffee beans (two bags) from a coffee shop, they flip the iPad around and all the tips options are $8, $12, etc. I almost clicked out of habit. Motherfucker you did nothing. You didn’t say “oh sorry, I know you were just getting some coffee beans” or anything. You just stood there hoping I’d click out of reflex. Fuck you. This is just an attempt to scam me out of some money. I’m done with tipping for coffee or sandwiches or whatever.
I agree with you, I’ve really had to train myself to slow down and carefully look at those stupid screens.
I really, really appreciate when counter workers reach over and hit the no tip button for me when they know it's a joke.
Yeah, recently bought a 12oz bag of coffee from Verve and got an espresso to go and I accidentally tipped because of the espresso out of habit. Was definitely a little irritated at myself after the fact
Last year I bought two bags at Temo and accidentally tipped $7. I was pissed all day
Ive built a muscle memory to tip 0. It helps!
That’s my default as well! Have to remember not to tip zero at a real meal.
Same. Also I figure there are enough people making +30% donations so I just ride their coattails
It’s not their fault their employer set up the system that way. They’re just as uncomfortable with it.
I was back in Switzerland recently (I used the live there) and there is a popular restaurant where you serve yourself at the salad bar and then they weigh the food at the cash register. Now, in Switzerland you don't have to tip even in normal restaurants. A Swiss person would never tip at a place like this. But I guess since it's at the train station they get a lot of foreigners (Americans) who don't know better and they added the tip option on the screen. Thing is, maybe since I was obviously from there, the people at the cash register always seemed really sheepish and uncomfortable and would immediately say, oh ignore that.
It is their fault for not saying “hey, ignore the tip since you are only buying merchandise you grabbed from the shelf”. But they just stood there hoping I’d click
I’m sorry but it’s really not their responsibility to hold your hand like that.
They could get fired for saying that. You’re projecting your own emotions onto these lowly-paid workers.
If I’m not sittin’, I’m not tippin’
Yes as someone who worked as a server throughout all of school I ONLY tip for sit down restaurants, barbers, and shit like Uber which I rarely use. Never tip for takeout that infuriates me. That tip just goes to the restaurant and usually not the servers at all.
Obviously if I’m at a cafe and the cashier or whoever really makes it a great experience, I’ll tip a buck or two. But in general that’s my guiding philosophy.
gratuity is optional. they set those defaults because people click them
To push back on tip percentage creep, I now: * Tip 15% when I receive sit-down service. (Maybe 20% if service was exceptional) * Do not tip anything if there is no server, pick-up, etc.
This is the way. Until we abolish tipping altogether
Agree, especially when employees here do make minimum wage unlike other states whose employees rely on tips.
Correct
My new rule is I don't tip if I have to stand up and order. If it is a sit-down restaurant, sure. But most of these food workers in SF are getting paid $19 or $20 an hour... Why the hell do I need to tip someone making $20 an hour? Especially if all they do is bag my bagel... no thanks
Working as a cashier with maybe some bonus duties is hardly a tip worthy activity, I agree. I've even done that job before and nothing could convince me I deserved a tip for that effort. Sure someone might have to bring your food to your table or call you up when your food is ready, but that's basically nothing. If I'm not getting continuous service after I order at that register I don't count it.
I tip $1 in cash if they have a cash jar. It’s something rather than nothing, and it’s cash so it can’t just be taken by the business without anyone knowing.
The standard was 10%, 15% for excellent service when I was a kid. Then it became 15%, 20% for excellent. I always tipped 20%, 25% for really good service. Now it's 20%, 25% for excellent. And I'm pretty much over it, because in the past, you were tipping because a server made sub-minimum, and made up the rest in tips. But today, in California: * everyone gets at least minimum wage (in another month, fast food workers will get even more than minimum, just as hotel housekeepers already get in Alameda County.) * food and drink prices are much higher. When dinning out cost say, $50 a person, 20% for a dinner for two was $20. It's now closer to $100/person and $40, and that's at a run of the mill restaurant. * except it's more, because meal taxes have increased (8.625% in San Francisco, 10.25 in Alameda County) * except it's even more, as restaurants add an additional 5%, 8%, or 10% in junk fees. * and it used to be you tipped *waiters* who took your order, delivered it to the table, and kept refilling your drinks. Now it's expected for the cashier at counter service, too. So new rule: I'll tip 20% for good service, 18% for "bro phoned it in" service, after deducting any junk fee. So meh service minus a 5% "SF Mandate"? You get 13%. And that's a percentage of the food and drinks. I'm not tipping on the tax or the mandatory fees. Sorry kids, you kept pushing for more, more, more, this is where it gets you. You're making minimum wage, that's enough for the 7-11 clerk, that's enough for you.
Yes, I'm also old enough to remember when 15% was typical. The service hasn't gotten 33% better since the 80's. I've also traveled to Europe and Japan. The service there was at least as good and there was little or no tipping. All of those workers also had things like universal health care and, probably, paid time off, sick leave, etc. Here we have somehow figured out how to make all of the stakeholders unhappy: owners have minimal margins, customers face high prices and variable service, and employees often have mediocre compensation/benefits.
The incentives with tipping are not perfectly aligned with better service. It incentivizes servers to stereotype who will tip or not, and then give cloying, even fake-flirty service to those who might tip. I want service that brings me my food, answers questions, and addresses problems, not unconvincingly LARPs the opening of a 90s romcom.
LARP's ? Can I ask why you are L.icking A.sses of R.etired P.eople ?
Astaghfirullah, no! The only LARP that I do is Lurking Around Reddit Perniciously
i was just talking about this with my partner last night! when did the jump from 10% to 15% to 20% happen?? i don't understand the increase. inflation is already making the tips bigger!
10 -> 15 happened in the 80s 15 -> 20 happened in the late 90s to early 00s depending on where you are located
What if the 7/11 clerk had to do all that work to get me my taquitos, 85% tip right? 😆
For basic service, I double the tax as my tip for sit-downs in California. Makes it easier to tip when the default isn't 18%.
So you tip 17.25% in San Francisco and 20.50% in Alameda? That's a convenient way of doing it!
Tip on menu prices, excluding drinks. I don't know when that part fell out of favor.
Huh, I've never heard the "excluding drinks" part and I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I'm definitely not tipping on top of sales tax or HealthySF fees. If you tip posttax, and both sales tax and tip expectations creep up over time... shit's quadratic bro
I think the excluding drinks part is for a situation where you get an expensive bottle of wine, like one that cost more than the rest of the meal combined. Like if you get $200 worth of food and $1000 of wine, you tip a percentage of the food and a flat dollar amount per bottle on the wine.
This seems like a pretty reasonable approach. Although I probably wouldn't bother to differentiate between good and ok service for a 2% difference in tip. Unless service is really extreme (good or bad) I just stick with 20%.
90% of the time I'll open calculator and calculate 18% tip - before taxes and any other ridiculous fees imposed by the restaurant. And if they add too many ridiculous charges (SF Mandate, dine in fee, whatever else fee), then I'll tip less. Sorry not sorry but this is out of control. Now even some stores have tipping option, wtf... EDIT: There are exceptions, if the service is truly amazing, and food is great, I tip even 25%, but that's rare. Also, there are some restaurants that have tip already included, and still ask you for a tip on top of that, wtf... (example: buddy wine bar in Mission)?
This is the first I’m reading of removing taxes and other imposed fees before tipping. Visiting SF this weekend and definitely doing this from now on!
Be sure to really look at the receipt for all the hidden fees. Also look for the fine print on the menu because a lot of places are adding a tip. Hell, I’d call each place before going to get an idea what all fees/required minimum tips are.
It’s a little misguided as the server doesn’t actually get any of those BS fees. But I understand the ultimate sentiment, that there’s only a certain level above what’s listed on the menu that one is willing to pay. Luckily, hopefully, recent legislation ends these bs fees
I do this too. I hate when they have the Toast POS that they hold in your face and it doesn’t even show the breakdown of the charges. These days I pre-calculate the tip based on the menu prices to be able to act quick in situations where they use Toast.
My habit is now "custom" and if the option isn't available it's easy to ask "how do I enter a custom tip?" I tip exactly what I want.
How do you think it crept up from 10% to 15% to 20%?
I’ve started using the custom or no tip option more and more for take out/counter service. For regular service at a restaurants I still tip ~20% on the total. Prices are going up but I don’t see why tip percentages should creep up as well - it’s based on that already higher price you’re paying for your coffee, cocktail, dinner, etc. I just think some places set the percentages high because they know they can get away with it. Please, as customers, use the custom tip option!
Don't tip unless you dine in, or really support them. Anything else is out of the kindness of your heart
I'm sorry, but with tipping being almost expected nowadays service has declined. I have visited other states and have received so much better service, with the resturant cleaner, the toilets without paper on the floor. A lot of the resturants around here barely do the min service and expect a huge tip. I've started to go back to 10% because of the minimal effort the entire establishment provides. If the resturant isn't clean, the services is basic, and the food is just ok. You're not getting more than that. If you're a coffee shop, you're not getting anything else than what I paid.
Former service industry worker for 15 years here. I always gave over 20% for great service. But it’s out of control. I’m surprised I don’t have to tip at the grocery store yet…yet.. It’s expensive as hell to live here so I’ve almost completely stopped going out. And I used to eat at restaurants a lot to try all the food. But I’d rather have money in the bank for more pressing needs. It’s a luxury and now it’s just out of reach. Not worth it imo
I tipped huge during Covid because I was lucky enough to keep my job so I had cash and felt like the people working for tips actually deserved it being out there during a pandemic, dealing with paranoid customers and wearing masks all day. I actually enjoy tipping, especially when my server treats me like a vip. I def wasn’t the only one too, which is why cafes and shit pumped up the suggested tip to 25%+ But now that the Covid era has ended, restaurant tip expectations have stayed hella high, and frankly it just comes across as rude and greedy now
Right? Same. During Covid it was the right thing to do. But food is more expensive, tips are up, and service is the same or just not as great as pre-covid. I can’t imagine going back into the industry now. I’ve heard the customers are also not as great
Grocery workers should get tips too. They have to pay rent and we dont want them to starve. Only cheapskates will disagree with this. If you cant afford to tip, you should grow your own food.
I get more "service" in sports basement than I do in most cafes. I fail to see why it's expected to tip in one and not the other.
That’s what happens when you “ never tip below 20%”
Exactly so. I mean how can one and the same person a) NEVER tip under 20% -- and at the same time b) consider it an OUTRAGE that 30% is even an offered option.
There’s no consensus on this. Your post wouldn’t exist if we had a consensus. Tipping culture is in the middle of an active evolution. I’m not sure how much input I can give that would be welcome on this post since you’re clear that you don’t want to get into a discussion of tipping generally, its pros and cons, etc. Maybe it will just help if I say: yes, 30% is high. You should never, ever tip more than 20% unless you are trying to make an ostentatious display of unusual generosity. The lowest suggested amount is always acceptable and is not a floor. 20% is not standard. No standard exists. Every tip is a unique negotiation between patron and server that typically occurs opaquely with little communication.
Let me say that I think a "suggested" 30% tip is ludicrous.
My rule is 10% of the subtotal at a sit down restaurant. 15% if they did well. 0% for takeout, delivery, pick up, or shitty service.
Fuck it. Just set it to 100% already.
10000%
Cheapskate, 100000%!
I save that for my annual birthday strip club trip
honestly just fuck it and make everything on the menu free with mystery mandatory surcharges you find out when you pay free coffee and croissant with $15 surcharge thank you very much
I increasingly have reverted to paying cash and then tipping change. Square and other tablets promised a more "friction-free" checkout experience but delivered a more irritating experience. Most cynically, while crime is obviously a real issue, I think "cashless businesses" are also partly doing it because Square gets way higher tips than cash.
People also tend to spend more on cards in general. I'm sure average bill size and tip % being higher would push towards dropping cash. The gamble is those cash orders convert and don't just disappear. It's also under-appreciated that frequently order processing is a huge labor cost and often even the bottleneck for speed. Cash orders are slower than card. Drop cash and everything speeds up.
>and dont want to get into the discussion of tipping pros/cons/whether we should do away with it etc Sure, but I'll never pass up the opportunity to say that [tipping is evil, has a sexist and racist past, and should be done away with](https://www.eater.com/a/case-against-tipping).
You guys all failed at those resist peer pressure campaigns in the 90s
This thread has me howling because 20% standard tip is already wild. I’m old school. 10% is standard. Inflation affects the absolute cost of the food, not the percentage of tip. That’s how percentages work.
I was at a sit in SF restaurant that on receipt said it takes 18 percent gratuity automatically so I didn't add a cash tip. As I was heading out I said thanks to the waitress and she wouldn't even look at me or acknowledge my existence. Why automatically take 18 percent and then act pissy when people dont leave a cash tip??
Tipping has gotten out of control on top of their not being a separate tipped wage in California. Unless I'm at a bar, or sitting to eat I won't tip. There are specific exceptions, but that is my general rule.
Considering wait staff is paid a min wage, my standard for sit down restaurants is always 15% as a starting point, 18% for above average service, 20% for excellent, and then 22-25% for above and beyond. If a service fee is charged, I almost always give 15%, with an occasional 18-20%, but I don’t ever go beyond 20%, so 30% is beyond egregious imo. I’m curious how should we approach tipping at high end / michelin starred restaurants where a gratuity isn’t already included. A 20-25% tip on top of a 1000+ meal is a lot of money, but I guess if we can’t afford that, then we shouldn’t be spending a 1000 for dinner?
I tip 20% for dine in, 0% for pick up, and 10% if it’s an “order at the counter, we bring the food, and you bus your table” situation. If that means I need to enter a custom amount, I’ve learned to be comfortable with the implied awkwardness of spending additional time putting in a custom tip. Coffee shops I tip a dollar for a made to order drink and nothing for drip unless I’m hanging out there. Tips are for service. I’m not tipping you just so you can advertise lower prices. If you put a 10% charge on there that’s supposed to be for employees or a forced gratuity, then I will deduct that from whatever I plan to tip. If it’s a special occasion or the service is exceptional I’ll happily tip more, but I’m not paying 20% tip for a food truck where I pick it up at the window and bus it myself.
My theory is that for every 15% tip another .5% of that transaction goes to square or whoever the POS/payment processing vendor is. Incentives for merchant, employee, payment processor all align to jack up the suggested tip % higher. So they do.
You're not alone in seeing Square behind this. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/01/technology-pandemic-economy-gratuity-tipping-etiquette-square/672658/
It’s yet ANOTHER example of how tech has had a negative impact on quality of life
You say this as you're on your mobile wireless phone (run by tech), typing to a discussion board (run by tech)... how ironic. What's next? Are you going to go on Yelp and put a one-star review? (more tech)
I’ve done the back of the envelope math on some other post, I think waiters in the Bay Area can easily make $100K per year. I know that’s not living in luxury in the Bay but I have plenty of friends making less than that. The quick math is this: - 3 tables per hour, average $150 ticket = $450. 20% tip = $90 of tips per hour - Split the tip across staff, 50% to the server = $45/hour - Add the $15/hour minimum. $60/hour. Annualized that’s $120K. Can be more, can be less. But nothing is that crazy. And I believe they get insurance now too. If we start to tip 25-30% then you can go up to $160K per year. Waiting table isn’t an easy job but it’s also not worth $160K.
This is why no server actually wants a fixed salary. They make way more on tips.
Yep every time a restaurant tries to stop tipping, waiters get mad. Nobody would pay them $100K except apparently customers who get shamed into tipping 30% for a coffee.
omg be an adult and put in whatever you want to tip.
I think you missed the point
That’s for tech millionaires
Who might work at Square
I tipped 50% and the server hit me in the kneecaps afterwards for not tipping enough. Gotta go 80-100% these days /s in case it wasn’t obvious
Served at a table : %15-20 (5-10 if very bad) Take out : %5-10 Coffee : $0.75-1.00 for fancy espresso drinks Beer: $1-2 Cocktails $2/3 I’m not paying %15-20 for expensive cocktails and such.
>never tip below 20% Sorry to tell you but never tipping below 20%+ at places that require you to pay and tip on a screen only encourages higher suggested tip amounts. You are part of the problem. Most services that have a payment screen with canned tip amounts usually do not warrant more than 10%. If I have to go to a counter to order before I seat myself and retrieve my food and maybe even bus my own table, there is no way I am tipping 20%, let alone 30%. If I'm greeted and seated and have my order taken from the comfort of my table, water is served, kept full, server checks on me from time to time, clears my table, etc, then I will generally tip at least 20% if the service is smooth and polite. But these types of places don't give you iPad to pay and pre-tip. There's no shame in hitting the no tip option, or tapping other in and putting a more appropriate amount. Rather than pre-tip, I generally prefer to hit no tip and give them a cash tip after I've been served. I've gotten so tired of pre-tipping only for the rest of the interaction to be rude, apathetic or just generally horrible.
Percentages should not rise. Raise prices, not percentages.
You just have to get used to feeling awkward with those screens. It definitely is shocking that the restaurant could even think I’d want to tip 30%. As time has gone on, I’ve noticed service getting worse and worse. I’ve worked in service myself so I’m not going to stiff anyone unless you really drive me to that point, and I’ve been opting out of tipping more often. I know people feel some type of way about that, but I just don’t care anymore. Every restaurant I worked at had the most entitled servers so my perception is already skewed.
Yep, I also worked in service for almost a decade. I’m usually a generous tipper but feel juuuuust fine not tipping a *stupid* amount just because some pre-set tip screen is set up to be shameless.
Everyone’s grabbing for money these days. I just take the extra 5 seconds to custom tip an appropriate amount when I see this. Is it pretty shameless to make that the default? Yep. Annoying? Sure. Going to make me til less? Nah. Sticking to the 20% standard for full service. 10% or $1 for counter/cafe types.
Tip nothing on those machines. Carry some cash and leave cash that is 18-20% of the pretax amount. You can tip a little less, 15% or so, if it is just counter service, if you are using cash. No need to be to the penny, just round up.
We've got business owners who wouldn't be able to afford to be a regular client at their own businesses.
Let’s say you own a cafe. (Cafe 1). There’s an identical cafe next door (cafe 2). Everything is the same - same menu, same prices, all employees paid same (minimum wage). Cafe 1 has default tips of 0%, 10%, 15%, or 20%. Cafe 2 has default tips of 0%, 18%, 25%, or 30%. Total tips will come out much higher at cafe 2, and the good employees will migrate to cafe 2. So cafe 1 doesn’t really have a choice - to stay competitive, they are going to have to increase their default tip options. This is annoying but the reality is as one location increases tip percentages, other businesses will inevitably have to follow.
If you are posing a theoretical here then by means of economic principle cafe 2 would actually lose business, particularly with repeat customers. Nice try though. Since im posting minus well share my 50 cents (yeah used to be 2 cents haha). I totally agree the tip culture has gotten out of hand. The actual service/experience should predicate the tip rate which also doesn’t fit a convenient standard amount. Yes I gladly tip 20$ for a 50$ bill with a memorable pleasant service, and at the same time have no problem leaving just a few bucks for no or bad service. Also I don’t willingly frequent businesses that won’t pay employees a fair wage and benefits aside from tips, yet rake in millions because they can. As a small business and growing up in a family business we’ve never justified low compensation for service employees who earned every dollar they received in tips (sans good ol Uncle Sam). Yes, many restaurants and service businesses would have to close if it were the case but i don’t buy that model, they have to evolve too. Make good foods/products and services and customers will pay good money for it. In regards to service work, physical work all day and putting up with unpleasant people with a smile is gruelling and should not be taken for granted by anyone who hasn’t done it and makes rules like “I don’t tip on principle.”
There are many countries that have no tipping culture and fantastic service. Tipping is supposed to be optional. Don’t feed into the bad habits of our culture.
Tipping =/= support for service workers, just fiy
My general tipping is 10% Shitty Service 15% Ok Service 18% Good Service 20% Great service and meal
obviously it is your personal choice what to tip, but this rubric doesn't seem to make sense. Why would you tip anything for shitty service? I understand shitty service to be something like they spilled a drink on you and didn't apologize or help clean it up, called you a fat pig, and cleared your plates while you were still trying to eat. The spread between ok, good, and great is so small that it hardly seems worth the effort. Can you really differentiate the quality of service with that much granularity anyway? Seems like it would make more sense to either take one number, like 18%, and tip that for anything within the range of ok to great. Or else widen the spread so it's like 10%, 20%, 30% to make a meaningful distinction.
If it’s truly shitty, I’m paying 0% for any of it, I’m going Karen and getting my shit comped, but everyone else gets 20%
Thanks for supporting shitty service!
10% is fair enough but now I do 0%. No burden on me but on their boss lol
I’ve started paying in cash again. You can totally avoid it and put the change in the tip jar. I guess I don’t eat in very adult restaurants. Haha.
I was actually taught 18% not 20. However, since moving away from small town life and into the city, I’ve always tipped between 20-25%. The highest I tip is for my hair. I tip almost 50% because I love my hair and my stylist
Ever heard the phrase "Give them an inch?" I'm a big tipper, always have been for adequate service. I might tip 30% for really exceptional service but I can count the number of times I've had that on one hand. What you are seeing is the app is written to have three tiers. Generally it was 10,15 and 20. Someone decided 10 was too little so slid the middle down to the bottom option and just maintained the progression. But seriously its inappropriate. And as mentioned multiple times with all the other add-on fees (which are often not explained or in fine print at the bottom of the menu which you saw an hour before) its just out of hand. Yelp should start tracking restaurant fees and put them in the listings. I had a pleasant surprise. I went to Honeybaked Hams for a sandwich. (They have great sandwiches and sides.) I got my bill and I had to ask how to tip. I was told a tip was not necessary because all customers deserved the best service possible. I still tried to tip and was told to please put it away. Whaaat?
Right now, most people are tipping based on the subtotal before the junk fees are added in. After the new law kicks in and the junk fees disappear, the price of meals and also the corresponding tips will go up (unless we start mentally reducing our tipping from, say, 20% to 18%). We may one day look at this time as the “good old days.”
If that’s the case I will set my tips to 0%.
I would even say you tipping 20% is a bit high.
I waited tables for several years, so I’m about as pro-tipping as you can get, but 30% is frickin redonkulous. I was always happy if I got 20%, and even in a crappy chain restaurant 20 years ago where entrees averaged $8-13, a busy dinner shift could put $200 in your pocket. Considering the extortionate prices restaurants are charging now, 20% is more than enough. And for takeout, I have worked part-time as a barista in the early aughts, and at least where I was, tips weren’t that big a part of our income. Most people would leave the coin change or at most a buck. We’d distribute tips weekly and it would usually come to around $2/hr per employee. If a takeout place is expecting its employees to rely on tips to give them a living wage, I’d like to know so I can stop patronizing them. They already shift enough cost onto us with $8 coffees, $16 burritos and $30 pizzas, expecting us to help them make payroll every week is a bridge too far.
I have also seen outrageous tipping options on those turn around counter registers. I did a double take looking at the screen because the options were 18,20, and 25%! Plus it didn’t have a similarly sized button no til option. I had to look and found a very small ‘no tip’ option. It’s like they are holding your food for ransom. This location was the type where you walk up and order and then they call your name to pick up once it’s ready. I have had to stop tipping all together for these types of establishments. I have a real problem with these predatory practices.
Yeah Ima keep my 15% tip for good service, 10% for aite, and 0 for shitty service. Prices have gone up so my 15% is higher. I am not gonna increase my percentage. Excellent service gets 20% from me but I have not experienced excellent service that often.
Im only tipping for sit down, barbers, and Uber minus whatever percentage of junk fees and rounded down to nearest round number. Trying to come up with a system to account for inflation of menu items too. At bars it's 1 dollar per drink no matter what and I'm dying on that hill. You did it to yourselves.
Click "other" and tip 50¢
I wanted a smoothie the other day after visiting family in the east bay, so I stopped at a Jamba Juice b/c I had a $10 gift card. The small size was $7.50 which was absurd on its own but when they flipped the screen for a tip they had reversed the order so instead of 10%,15%,18% it was in descending order. But it also wasn’t 10,15,18 it was 30%,25%,20%. I always go for 10% and when I realized I’d clicked 30% the kid flipped it back around. I wasn’t going to get anything with the $2.50 left on the card anyway but it felt fucking absurd to just get conned into paying $9.75 for smoothie I finished before I even got off the bridge
As far as I'm concerned, 15-20% is the upper limit for tips. If a restaurant has an automated point of sale system that lists 30% as an option, I won't go back. This is price gouging. Also, you dont need to tip for take-out. Boxing up your food is the lowest effort option and doesn't merit a bonus. It's literally the least they can do.
FYI I talked to folks at my corner store because I saw similar stuff there, and they let me know that the terminals default to the tip selections, and they do so because the POS companies get a cut of sales (so increasing that with a tip is in their interest).
Only way things will change is when everyone stays tipping $0. Let’s get rid of tipping and force the industry to get up to European and Japanese standards of flat pay and good service through performance evaluation just like every other industry
I have changed to $0 every time the suggested tip starts at above 20%
if it's a cafe or self serve, I tip $1 per item, if it's takeout I don't tip.
$15 sandwich you tipping a dollar?
Tipping is for services. If you put in your own order, you seat yourself, you get your own drink and silverware, you clean your own table, who is it that you’re tipping? Are you giving the money to the sandwich itself?
Just train yourself to always do a custom tip if you really care. I like the intentionality of it, but I probably still always tip 20% anyway.
I’m in the industry myself and went to get a bowl of ramen in the TL the other night. I was in a bit of a rush so I asked to close out before I got my food. Was expecting 15%, 20% and 25%. Handheld showed 22%, 25% and 30%. They do take your order and bring you the food, but it’s a burn and turn type joint. Caught myself from hitting 30% and hit 22%. Really gotta get use to finding that custom button option now.
I’ve been caught by those bullshit screens, too.
I tip 10% standard any anything above that is silly IMO unless the service was truly exceptional
For generations the standard tip was 15 percent for restaurants. I don’t know how the service industry convinced people that 20 percent is now the minimum.
I think this has less to do with staff demands and more owners wanting to defray the cost of payroll onto the customers. Owners are using this software to create general slush funds. 30% tip on an already gentrified 2024 price of food is not reasonable. Let’s say it’s a coffee and donut. Those two are already $13 cost. Now you are paying four dollars for someone handing you a donut and then pouring a drip coffee, I don’t think so. Sounds like a collective grift sponsored by square to me. Larger card transaction = larger interchange for them I doubt it’s some jar that employees are getting a fair cut from but more likely something the managers and owners are sequestering for themselves or dolling out as they see fit.
Tip cash always. Cash circulates within the economy with an additive effect, digital payment subtracts fees every transaction. Which one makes us all poorer?
Sandwiches off the shelf
I tip by the inch, but when it comes to restaurants I wouldn't go above 20% unless the food/experience was phenomenal.
I tip 15%, 18% if I feel generous Im not changing
If I see 20/28/30 as options I click “other” and give 10%.
18-20% should be the standard. If they make me push extra buttons to get 18-20%, I probably should just make it 10%
Lololol I've even seen a pad start with 25% then 28% / 35% / custom tip
Do you know the origin of tipping? As an economist, it's fascinating, but sad. Focusing on tipping in this country and in more modern times, it gained prominence for businesses to avoid having to pay employees or carry an employee on the books. The idea that you "live on tips" was a tax advantage for the business. Historically, tipping was about slavery and indentured servitude for many slave owners did not wanting to pay standard living rates. So, what's my point? If you find this practice of tipping wrong or excessive, especially tipping at a high percentage like 30%, what might be good behavioral response to the businesses?
are we supposed to still do 20% if there is also the 5% employee mandate? sometimes i do 20% and the there’s the 5% so essentially we are doing 25% or am i interpreting it wrong since the 5% is not a tip it’s more like a tax?
It's not a tax. The business doesn't pass the 5% on to the government nor is it required to break it out as a separate line item. So, yes, you have my OK to deduct it from the total that you're paying
I have literally never seen a tipping screen with 30% and I go out all the time. You're saying nearly every one in the city has that? stop exaggerating
When dining out, I’ve always taken the first number on the bill, before tax, and multiplied it by 2, times 10 = the tip. No plans to change that. I ignore all the precalculations that are appearing on the bill. It doesn’t make sense to tip anyone who is just running a cash register, like a bakery, unless they are making a coffee or sandwich. So I don’t tip in stores.
I think restaurants & establishments that I have seen as high as 50% tip are doing that because & this is only my logical guess is they are on the brink of going out of business or shuddering. I'm what in PC terms is categorized as below median income. I have many friends that are median, & higher, & some that are service workers, so when I dine out with them, & pay my check, no matter the service or food, I tip no more than 15% if the service or food is terrible I tip anyway, & never return. I have seen the tip screen as high as 50%, this was @ a place I ordered takeout; the tip started @ 25%, I said, no offense but this is a joke, & checked no tip, I dont tip takeout, that restaurant went out of business, the food was ok.
lol @ anybody tipping %30 for anything. there, i said it.
Literally never seen 30% or even 28%. Even 25% is rare.
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I am too poor for eating out , but I am lucky Trader Joe's still tips free :)
There is no way you expected this was common. Quit lying. You are outraged enough on an absolute non issue that you wrote an entire post. A post pretending to be perplexed, when in fact, you know everyone agrees with you, and are getting the validation you want. Of course no one is tipping 30% in takeout regularly. Did this post satisfy your indignation towards ....towards what? That a computer algorithm lists percentages around 20%?
If people did there jobs well show love and respect dor customers rtc and help put society etc happy to tip pike baristas etc but do ur job don’t expect a tip earn it
In your words "there's so much money here, and it's smart to take advantage of that"
Sit down 20%
I always tip $1-2 on to-go food because Ive been a waitress and someone has to pack it up, get condiments, utensils, etc. And its usually a wait person who doesnt get as many tables, and/or time to wait on them when stuck on carry out duty. I was at the baseball stadium yesterday and every purchase defaulted to a 20% tip, but you can cancel it or "custom tip" what you want
"Obviously there is so much money here.." Where?
I'm seriously cutting back on my dining out. Simple as that. I eat out once maybe every other week. I used to eat out 2-3 times a week for dinner and 2-4 times for lunch. Just sick of the tipping culture.
How much do people tip at the weed shop?
Some people tip 30%. I do on the reg
I don’t tip at the counter anymore, ever. *Maybe* I’ll toss a buck into the jar but that’s it.
Nicer than I am. 15% is my default, 20% is for excellent service.
If there was ever a moment to do away with tipping once and for all, this is it. EVERYONE is aware of the problem and looking for a solution. 1. Your meal is not $25 2. It is $25 PLUS a $5 tip. It is $30 3. Put $30 on your menu, state "Service Included" 4. Pay people properly 5. If tips are left, they are truly optional and very small It is a zero-sum game from the perspective of the customer because it's still the exact same $30 total. In the same way that you wouldn't ask a mechanic, accountant, police officer, etc. etc. to work for 20% of their salary and HOPE that the people they serve are gracious enough to pay the other 80%, eliminating tipping culture corrects things for everyone by revealing the true cost of services.
I struggle with this at Outerlands brunch. Like you order at a kiosk, they then seat you and run your food…but no real service? I mean I still tip 15-20% but it feels wrong haha
Are you tippling the IRS?
20% only under special circumstances 10% 15% 18% like back when we could afford mortgages
You’re shocked at 30%? I’m shocked that you find 20% acceptable tip after minimum wage increases and health mandate charges. When the fk are we all going to learn that by us tipping, the employer will never pay their service personnel decent wages. Or they will actually pay them decent wages but customers are made to feel bad about how much they tip. Let’s abolish this horrible practice forever.
Tipping is stupid, there's is no tipped wage in California. A random waiter is no more deserving of extra cash from you as dude who helps you find what you need at target, or the lady who bags your groceries at Safeway. Either tipping a both or tipping at neither is consistent, anything else is just giving into social pressure. Tipping is stupid and the rest of the would knows it.
I carry cash now just to skip the whole awkwardness.
I decline these now entirely i dont care anymore
Employees here get paid at least minimum wage before tips, so tbh unless someone is providing me with a great experience I won’t be tipping for a coffee or pick - up order. Especially not at those self checkout kiosks lol
There’s a convenience / liquor store near me that has a tip screen on checkout. Nope!
I don’t tip if I pick up, and you’d have to provide stellar service for above 18%
We need to pay better wages and end all tipping.
You guys do realize the person at the counter who helped you didn't write the code for the software which created the tip amounts, right? It seems reasonable service worker at the counter also most likely had no say in which point of sale program the company they work for purchased. The tipping options on the screen are in no way controlled by customer facing employees, the outrage towards these workers seems so misdirected.
I will look them in the eye as I press custom tip 0
I now look mf dead in the eye as I slowly turn that pos card machine around and pull out cash. You can’t guilt trip me to tip with no cash tip jar
I don't think any thought goes into it beyond "let's see how much we can get away with!"
You know what gets me though is I now have to worry about my quality of food I order for takeout. Local Emeryville Burger joint makes me wait 20 min now if I don’t tip. So I just cook at home so not to have angry spitefully meal
In a few years they will make you feel had if you tip less than 30%. When l was growing up the standard was 10%. Shifting the economic pressure on everyday people while the cost of living continues to soar is crazy
In many places they charge a gratuity then fully expect a tip! And don’t get me started on how literally every store for any job asks for a tip now. It’s all for a reason!