I think to tip the bartender because I suspect they are making less than minimum wage (not sure about that) and most likely I will want another drink. Not the same with coffee as I only drink one.
LOL, I thought of this idea just a minute agoā¦but of course management isnāt want to have to answer to that!
My H has said the same thing. If someone is making $20/hr, heās not leaving a tip for a simple take out order or a cup of coffee. If they are still making below minimum wage, he feels differently. But currently there is no way to tell.
I really appreciate the few restaurants in our town that explicitly say that the tip has already been factored into wages and pricing. Sadly, they are few and far between.
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My son is out in a van today to meet our delivery trucks to help unload thousands of cases of beer. Heāll put those cases away, in an orderly fashion, to help liquor store owners and grocery stores. Will he be tipped? Of course not, but he deserves one more than a person that makes $15 per hour and hands you a coffee across a counter.
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I think the tipping screens have increased the confusion. It used to be pretty clear who were tipped vs untipped service workers. I donāt think how businesses determine compensation have changed, so I stick with with my old rules. If you bring food/drinks to me and take my order, you get 15 to 20% depending on service. If you bring food out to me and clear my table, 10%. If you are just taking money and handing over food/drink at a counter, 0.
What is becoming annoying though is the 5% credit card fee which is only described on some hard to see sign. At the very least, it should be in the check presenter.
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Yes, Iām seeing a lot more stores charging a CC surcharge these days.
But some stores have become smarter and instead of posting a ā5% surcharge on credit card transactionsā sign, they put up a ā5% discount on cash transactionsā sign. Customers seem to be totally fine with that 
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Yes, after raising prices 5%!
My friends in retail businesses actually prefer credit card transactions. Easier to track, more secure (not holding a bunch of cash that is subject to both internal and external theft) and credit card data gives you valuable insights into your customer base. It is the really small mom and pops who still cling to cash. There is probably also some under the table motivations for doing so.
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My sons work at a local golf course doing all kinds of landscaping and maintenance. They leave the house at 5am, work in 90+ degree heat and humidity, had to work outside when the air was heavy with the smoke from the Canadian fires, work in the rain, deal with poison ivy, etc. They get paid the same is the kids who work in the air conditioned pro shop and who donāt have to be at work nearly as early as they do. The upside, to my sons, is that they also get off much earlier (2pm) so they have time to play a round of golf after work. That said, neither they nor the pro shop kids get tips.
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Hopefully we arenāt going back to cash transactions. I donāt use cash for anything other than tipping. Cash transactions slow down checkout lines, reduce transaction volume, and increase labor cost. The savings they hoped for may not be realized (unless they promote cash transactions to avoid paying taxes). Also, 5% surcharge seems excessive (and greedy), as credit card transaction cost (interchange fee) is generally well below 3%.
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Cash transactions also attract crime. So many pot shops around here have been robbed or burglarized- because they always transact in cash and have loads of cash on hand.
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I think ours have a police presence.
Yesterday in Chinatown, everything was cash. A few merchants do accept credit cards but I believe cash is their preference.
When my son was interning in NTC several years ago, the food businesses didnāt take cash, just credit.
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Iām sure we talked about this before on this thread but the bottom line for me (and H) is just that we eat out much, much less. And to be honest, we didnāt eat out prior to Covid/Tip-Gate so we REALLY rarely eat out. I was always fine with tipping at a sit down restaurant but not between all the tipping requests, added in tipping, rise in restaurant prices (due to rise in food costs), delivery apps and all those additional costsā¦we feel itās not a lot of fun to eat out!
About the only time we eat out is if we are going out with our kids when they visit or when we are on vacation as a family.
So maybe itās a cycle - rising food costs, rising living costs for staff, less people eating out so restaurants charging more to make $$$ā¦
WE can make the adjustment. And we make the choice to not ārestaurantā very often. We were never more than an eat out/take out once a week family. But our kids. They love to go out, order in. At least a couple times a week. Itās an easy fall back. I hate to think what their dining dollars are each month!!
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As per your and othersā examples, we could do this infinitely.
My son was a lifeguard and had to clear up, test pool water, keep people safe, be pleasant, etcā¦ Goes without saying he never got tipped, but he also didnāt earn serverās wages.
Everybody who does their job is worthy of being tipped, if we break it down. Everybody should be paid a living wage.
Since I started this thread last year, Iāve decreased my tipping. Iāve clicked ānone, other amount,ā etcā¦ I sometimes tip with cash. I am not stingy. Iām just tired of being part of the gimme mentality.
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This thread has encouraged me to be more mindful about tipping.
Prior to the unfolding of this thread I would tip whenever I saw a screen that asked for tipping. And during Covid we started tipping on takeout 20% whereas prior we tipped on take out most of the time but typically only 10-15%.
Now with the onslaught of tipping requests at seemingly almost every cash register Iām at these days, Iāve grown weary and irritated.
So now Iām thinking about it more often and no longer knee jerk reacting with a tip even if I donāt want to but have felt pressured to do so.
I donāt think Iāll start carrying more cash though. I hate carrying cash. Germs, safety, etc.
Iāve enjoyed this thread quite a bit.
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I totally agree! My post was not meant to be about any expectation of tip, just comparing the laborious nature of the work my sons do compared to the other guys who work for the same pay at the same place.
I work for a retail establishment that uses Square for transaction. We have the tipping feature turned off thankfully. There is a small gourmet market on one side of us and a bakery on the other. I donāt know what they use for their Point of Sale transactions but the marketās interface does not allow for tipping while the bakeryās does have the tipping feature turned on. As a result, when Iām in the mood for a bakery item like a croissant, I go to the market as I donāt like being put on the spot at the bakery. The couple of times I went to the bakery I could tell that the sales girl was a little embarrassed by the tipping screen (every time she explains to customers how to skip the tip). I felt a little bad not leaving a tip when all she did was take a croissant from the display and put it in a bag.
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So many times I notice (but trying NOT to notice) how the worker will flip the screen and then try and look the other way - I know itās just a few seconds but how should they react? Pretend to be busy? Look the other way? Stare you down? SO awkward for everyone!
I guess I should pay attention a bit more - and they may all be differentā¦but when they flip it back around can they see your tipping or no tipping choice? Or no? IMO the tipping screen should disappear as soon as the buyer makes their selection.
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Iām sitting here with my 18 y/o daughter and we just had a conversation about tips. She told me there are actually TikToks about the angst of tipping and that most kids her age hate being put on the spot with tipping screens, as workers. And while they appreciate if someone leaves a tip, they also realize itās out of control. Now this is her opinion, so perhaps not a reflection of teens everywhere but she and her working friends donāt like being the ones on the spot.
She also said that 20% is no longer considered a decent tip and is more like the 15% baseline for tips like when I was growing up.
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So 20% is too little? Wow!
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