Has Tipping culture gone too far?

originally posted by: cmdrkeenkid
a reply to: SeaWorthy

I've never seen it compulsory to tip anywhere. Where have you?

If there is a tip line on the receipt, and I don't feel it requires a tip (such as a buffet restaurant) I'll write $0.00 in it. Fun fact: You don't need to write anything in the tip line. You can write in $100 or $0 every time on every line. All that matters is the amount on total line.

One
if you don't tip or even don't tip what people call the % acceptable now
you can see on threads right here People will cause a stink!
Many talk about calling names yelling following the customer out the door.
Is this voluntary?

Two
Mandatory tipping is a tip which is added automatically to the customer's bill, without the customer determining the amount or being asked.

This you could refuse again if you want a big mess ruining your night out.

The origins of tipping for service are from an old pay model, where the workers like a waiter or waitress got maybe $3 an hour, $2 if I think back a bit, and the tip was actually part of their pay and still is in some cases. A good waiter or waitress who gave excellent service of course did well with tips and the bad servers got very little in tips.

I recall one waitress I knew in the 1970s that routinely made over $100 a shift in tips at a time when a $5 an hour job was a good job and you made $10 an hour if you were highly skilled.

People have changed and no longer appreciate good service and begrudge paying for it. We've become a rude bunch of people who demand excellent service for no money and people think those who serve them don't deserve to get paid. They act like those who provide them service are slaves or no better than slaves. The truth is they are more indispensable than many of the people they serve. Lazy office workers, actually think they are more valuable than hard-working people.

There may come a time when we all find out that in the end, the lowest paid people are the most important people. A corporate exec has little value in reality compared to the person who fixes his car. The world can get by fine without executives but would fail without the low-paid, undervalued workers who do everything. I have zero patience for people with clean fingernails who demean the real workers who serve them. Let's face it, the most worthless people on the planet tend to make the most money while doing little for it.

a reply to: JAGStorm

i thought you were gonna talk about cow tipping.

originally posted by: SeaWorthy
One
if you don't tip or even don't tip what people call the % acceptable now
you can see on threads right here People will cause a stink!
Many talk about calling names yelling following the customer out the door.
Is this voluntary?

Yes, this is still voluntary. Also, that is harassment. If the establishment treats its customers in such a way they certainly were not deserving of a tip anyway. If you lack the intestinal fortitude to handle such a situation that is no one's fault but your own.

Two
Mandatory tipping is a tip which is added automatically to the customer's bill, without the customer determining the amount or being asked.

I will concede that you have a point there. If it's on the menu or posted in the restaurant that X% of tip will be added to a bill (usually something I've only seen associated with larger parties) it can be argued that is a contract and you are obligated to pay. However, if it is not stated on the menu or within the restaurant please see my point above.

It's greed.

Tip when appropriate and the service calls for it.

Otherwise, don't feel bad at all.

I use to add a $1 for food I went to go pick up, sincw then, I stopped. Why tip when I'm picking up my own meal?

If I had ordered it thru delivery or a third party, then it becomes appropriate to tip.

Stick to the basics my people.

a reply to: SeaWorthy

I refuse to use those places that want to automatically add the tip. If I see the words "tip included," I ask the waiter/waitress about it (I want someone to know why what is about to happen happened). Then I just get up and walk out. If they're very, very lucky they might see me darken their door again in a few years... f not, they may never see me again.

I consider myself a good tipper, but by damn, I tip for service. If I go to a restaurant, I expect the food to be brought to me; I am already paying for that. If it is brought out with a smile, a little attention to detail, and a pleasant attitude, that is not something I have paid for... so I tip. The whole point of tipping one's waiter/waitress is to reward excellent service. As soon as that tip becomes part of the price, it is not a tip but a service fee... and I can serve myself at Wendy's, thank you very much.

If someone wants to make a big deal out of my tipping, they just lost a customer... likely permanently. And they still won't get a tip (unless they try to chase after me, then the tip will be the advice "don't do that. It's painful"). So far that has not happened to me.

Call me old-fashioned.

TheRedneck

a reply to: JAGStorm

When I was young I was a waiter for a little while. At the end of the shift all the servers had to add up their tips and we gave a fixed percentage to the rest of the staff: busboys, cooks, dishwashers, hostesses. If it weren't for them we wouldn't have made the tips so it was right to share, at least imo.

One thing I noticed though was that men working as servers typically make much better tips than women do. I know there were times when my service was lacking compared to some of the women working but at the end of the night I had nearly twice as much as they did in tips. I never figured that out but I was happy to take the money...

I've noticed a lot of service providers are using the total cost of the purchase, items+fees+tax, in their recommended tip percentages.

This is wrong IMO. At a restaurant I tip 18-22% of the cost before taxes and fees depending on how the service was. Otherwise, service industry folks will always support increases in fees and taxes. F that.

a reply to: JAGStorm
That’s why I don’t use delivery services.

a reply to: VierEyes

Yes, Very true.
We dont tip taxi drivers either.

We don't have a tipping culture here in Australia, workers are just paid a decent minimum wage. I really think the American tip model is awful, especially because of the room for exploitation with the sorts of things you see on kitchen nightmares.

We also have public health, although the last party was pretty hell bent on getting rid of that. I really feel for you guys, you've basically obliterated all your decent institutions like public healthcare, unions, etc

a reply to: Brigadier

re: "decent" unions

Umm, unions can be a good thing for workers ... ideally. Reality in the USA was that they got corrupted very quickly. The union bosses do well, the workers ... hit and miss.

Not sure about your "public healthcare" comment. The way I've seen it work is that people can get treatment. The rub is in the costs and payment. People with little money can get treated; those with property of some kind or money are expected to pay; out of pocket or via insurance. Now, having lived in Europe a long time, I've compared both systems. In many parts of Europe, the waits for treatment under the social medicine scheme are so long as to be tantamount to a death sentence. Their systems are straining, and those with -money- go for private treatment, which is expensive, but which is delivered in a timely fashion. From what I've seen, it is six of one and a half dozen of the other when it comes to comparing the U.S. and European approaches. Perhaps the Australians struck a better balance than either Europe or the States.

Cheers

a reply to: JAGStorm

I hardly make any purchases online but recently I did - and at checkout there was a tip box!
ONLINE??
That was bizarre to me.

originally posted by: Buvvy
Tried accupuncture for the first time at the recommendation of a colleague. It is covered by my insurance so I gave it a try. I was absolutely shocked to see a tip line on the credit card voucher when I checked out.

a reply to: JAGStorm

wow.

i give my guy a cup of cold water.

lol.

did it work for you?

a reply to: TheRedneck

I agree with you fully on that. Tips should be merit-based. But then I think all pay should be merit-based.

originally posted by: musicismagic
a reply to: VierEyes

Yes, Very true.
We dont tip taxi drivers either.

So the culture there does not favor rewarding workers who go the extra mile? Seems counterproductive to me. That would encourage mediocrity.

originally posted by: Blaine91555

originally posted by: musicismagic
a reply to: VierEyes

Yes, Very true.
We dont tip taxi drivers either.

So the culture there does not favor rewarding workers who go the extra mile? Seems counterproductive to me. That would encourage mediocrity.

They have an entirely different work ethic, and far from mediocre. They go above and beyond routinely.

a reply to: Brigadier

The unions destroyed themselves with corruption and quite frankly, in many professions it got to where non-union pays more and has better benefits. No need for unions in most cases now. Perhaps in unskilled, entry-level jobs.

Australia
Ranking: 20
GDP per Capita: $51,680

United States
Ranking: 7
GDP per Capita: $63,416

Source

It would seem to be the case that US workers do better overall.

Tips are just rewards for better service. What's wrong with saying thank you to someone who goes the extra mile and works harder? Capitalism relies on that while Socialism relies on mediocrity and doing just barely enough since there is no reward for hard work.

Contrary to political propaganda, health care is available for pretty much everyone in the US one way or another. We have charitable organizations that fill all the gaps pretty well. Americans are very giving people. Medicare and Medicaid provide better healthcare than most of the world enjoys. We have excellent hospitals and clinics and we don't have the wait times other countries suffer through. I can schedule a surgery a week or two in advance no problem and I'm in Alaska. Don't believe the politicians when they get to lying about it. That's just a Democrat's talking point.

a reply to: VierEyes

Negative reinforcement has been known to not work for a few decades. There is a huge difference between performing because you want to and doing it because you're afraid not to. I prefer the positive reinforcement model. Better quality of life overall IMO.

a reply to: Blaine91555

There may come a time when we all find out that in the end, the lowest paid people are the most important people. A corporate exec has little value in reality compared to the person who fixes his car.

That is a very narrow view of the world. Both positions are important. We begrudge the Corporate executive because they make a lot of money and it's cool to be mad at that these days for some reason.

Are there a bunch of slimebag executives, sure. There are also some that are only executives because they have sacrificed all else in favor of their work. I have yet to meet one high executive that wasn't an absolute workaholic to the level most people can't even comprehend.