Do you think the tipping culture changed (talking about the USA)?

[grantorinounforgiven]

Random. I read about this recently and started realizing that I do tip in more places than I used to, say 5-6 years ago. I mean, for types of services I wasn't tipping in the past, not talking about the amount of a tip. Talking to a few friends, we all agree on this. What would you say, did things change, are we expected to leave a tip in more places than before?

 

[rgd1101]

they might be asking at different place more now then before, but no

 

[Wolfshadw]

I think the culture around the service industry has become more known to the general public. It's understood that to the people who work in this industry, tips are part of their pay. They are expected to provide a service that is courteous, professional, and reflects well upon themselves as well as the company that they work for. We, as customers, are supposed to recognize this and assist these hard working people by leaving a tip.

Now there are some who believe that in order to receive a tip, the people working need to do more than just doing their jobs in a kind and professional manner. Some people believe that these workers need to go above and beyond the call of duty to earn that extra money. For the record, not something I believe in, but hey. That's them.

As for me, if I'm sitting in a restaurant and enjoying a meal, then yes. I leave a tip. If I'm at a coffee shop and I see a tip jar at the counter, I'll probably drop the coinage I get back from paying into that jar (and maybe an extra dollar if the coinage is small).

The odd thing for me, is that even though I now pick up my Domino's Pizza from the store (where I used to have them deliver it). In stead of giving the driver a tip, I leave a tip at the counter. Funny thing is though, the last couple times I was there, there was no tip jar.

-Wolf sends

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

many states have even started to implement minimum wage into the service industry.
in these settings, the server/busperson/bartender/etc better be providing exceptional service if they want any sort of decent tip.

for example, in Florida the service person is supposed to start @ $8.98 an hour and figure in tips to equal the $12 an hour state wage.
if you are getting $5-20 extra per person or table served, that can end up being way over the minimum standard.

 

[kanewolf]

Random. I read about this recently and started realizing that I do tip in more places than I used to, say 5-6 years ago. I mean, for types of services I wasn't tipping in the past, not talking about the amount of a tip. Talking to a few friends, we all agree on this. What would you say, did things change, are we expected to leave a tip in more places than before?

The use of non-cash payment has made it easy for all sellers to solicit. As Nancy Reagan said "Just say no" ...

 

[punkncat]

Put simply, if I am standing at a counter to order, I don't tip. Period.

If it is a place I sit down I start at 20% and move up or down based upon the service and attitude of the wait staff. I tend towards being very generous with good servers and also a level of loyalty in that I will seek that server again on the return to the establishment.

 

[kanewolf]

Put simply, if I am standing at a counter to order, I don't tip. Period.

If it is a place I sit down I start at 20% and move up or down based upon the service and attitude of the wait staff. I tend towards being very generous with good servers and also a level of loyalty in that I will seek that server again on the return to the establishment.

Do you tip pizza delivery? What about take-out? Tip or no?
Personally I don't use ANY delivery so that is not a situation I have to deal with. I do tip on to-go orders (pizza or otherwise).

 

[USAFRet]

One of the things I dislike is tipping prompts during the order.

If I give you the tip up front, there is less reason to give good service.
If the pizzas is late/cold..."eh, so what, I already got my tip"
And if you don't put that tip in upfront, the drive may assume you're not tipping at all. There have been a couple of nasty stories on this.

And if I'm ordering something to go pick up (Subway)....what am I tipping for?


Another thing I'm not liking is the disconnect between store and delivery.
Used to be, the pizza place had their own in-house drivers. If there was an issue, there was one belly button to push, the store manager.
Now, a lot of places are outsourcing that delivery to DoorDash. Even national chains like Pizza Hut.
If there is a problem, each side can point at the other. With me in the middle, standing there with a cold pizza.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

my girlfriend ordered a pair of shoes from WalMart the other week.
their delivery person dropped the box at the door and they sent a txt message with an image of the box sitting there, as is expected these days. no doorbell ring, no knock, no nothing extra.

now every time she's logged into the WalMart app on her phone it asked her to provide a tip for the delivery driver.
i finally took the phone a couple days ago and just entered $0 for the tip.

i have never been in a situation with USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, Amazon package delivery where a tip was ever even mentioned in the service.
and i've been through thousands of outbound/inbound packages in the last decade alone.

 

[punkncat]

Do you tip pizza delivery? What about take-out? Tip or no?
Personally I don't use ANY delivery so that is not a situation I have to deal with. I do tip on to-go orders (pizza or otherwise).

I didn't stand at a counter for pizza delivery...but, since you mention it I also don't order delivery pizza. My SO can't eat it due to a food allergy. This is compounded in a way since (for instance) Pizza Hut fired all their drivers and now use those mobile food delivery people. The last pizza I tried to order had add on fees coming to 70% of the pizza cost just for that service to bring it a couple of miles to me. Never again.

On take out orders, I also don't ever do this, but the possibility of said would be according to the type of place they are. McD, no, Olive Garden I would write in a small tip, probably 10%.

 

[Wolfshadw]

One of the things I dislike is tipping prompts during the order.

If I give you the tip up front, there is less reason to give good service.
If the pizzas is late/cold..."eh, so what, I already got my tip"
And if you don't put that tip in upfront, the drive may assume you're not tipping at all. There have been a couple of nasty stories on this.

Trust me. I dislike it as well, but the other side of this is, if you don't tip up front, what's to hinder them from spitting in your coffee or giving you that "special" sauce on your food (just a paranoia of mine).

This is generally why I don't order out any more. I've learned to cook at home, most of the things that I would normally order out or have found suitable replacements in the grocery store. I mean, having worked at McD's 40 years ago, it's not that hard to recreate a Quarter Pounder with Cheese (though I use 1/3 pound patties) or a Sausage McMuffin w/ Egg and hashbrown patty and it costs a heck of a lot less.

But then, 25 years ago, I'd have said there isn't an adult in the civilized world that doesn't know how to make a hot cup of coffee/tea. Today, I'm not so sure.

-Wolf sends

 

[USAFRet]

Trust me. I dislike it as well, but the other side of this is, if you don't tip up front, what's to hinder them from spitting in your coffee or giving you that "special" sauce on your food (just a paranoia of mine).

This is generally why I don't order out any more. I've learned to cook at home, most of the things that I would normally order out or have found suitable replacements in the grocery store. I mean, having worked at McD's 40 years ago, it's not that hard to recreate a Quarter Pounder with Cheese (though I use 1/3 pound patties) or a Sausage McMuffin w/ Egg and hashbrown patty and it costs a heck of a lot less.

But then, 25 years ago, I'd have said there isn't an adult in the civilized world that doesn't know how to make a hot cup of coffee/tea. Today, I'm not so sure.

-Wolf sends

That spitting is what I was alluding to.

Pizza is literally the only food I get delivered.

 

[kanewolf]

That spitting is what I was alluding to.

Pizza is literally the only food I get delivered.

Many restaurants now seal the bag with sticky tape to help eliminate the issues with delivery services. I see this even picking up to-go orders from chains.

 

[punkncat]

Trust me. I dislike it as well, but the other side of this is, if you don't tip up front, what's to hinder them from spitting in your coffee or giving you that "special" sauce on your food (just a paranoia of mine).

This is generally why I don't order out any more. I've learned to cook at home, most of the things that I would normally order out or have found suitable replacements in the grocery store. I mean, having worked at McD's 40 years ago, it's not that hard to recreate a Quarter Pounder with Cheese (though I use 1/3 pound patties) or a Sausage McMuffin w/ Egg and hashbrown patty and it costs a heck of a lot less.

But then, 25 years ago, I'd have said there isn't an adult in the civilized world that doesn't know how to make a hot cup of coffee/tea. Today, I'm not so sure.

-Wolf sends

That spitting is what I was alluding to.

Pizza is literally the only food I get delivered.

The movie "Waiting" isn't a comedy, it is a documentary. Anyone who has worked food for a while understands the things that go on. The fact remains, never "mess" with the wait staff or the cook until you are finished eating, or decided not to eat there.

I worked at McDonalds for all of a month and a half, the last two weeks of that being to come in late just before close and clean things. Might have been something to do with a fry basket almost being the shape of the front end managers head. After the horrors I saw there, I went probably a decade or more refusing to eat there. I actually do like their sausage, egg, cheese biscuit so I hit that on a rare occasion.
To this day I have an issue with cole slaw due to a discovery at Chick Fil A while working there for a school program. I won't go into deets on that one.

 

[BFG-9000]

Put simply, if I am standing at a counter to order, I don't tip. Period.

The funniest is when it's actually a self-serve kiosk and the robot asks for a tip

Although some people thought this was pretty scary on Halloween

 

[80251]

Hell even strippers want tips these days!

 

[grantorinounforgiven]

Put simply, if I am standing at a counter to order, I don't tip. Period.

If it is a place I sit down I start at 20% and move up or down based upon the service and attitude of the wait staff. I tend towards being very generous with good servers and also a level of loyalty in that I will seek that server again on the return to the establishment.

Used to be exactly the same for me, I can't figure out how/when it changed.

 

[Rokinamerica]

Still pretty much the same for me. 20% (like PunkinCat) is my starting point (goes up or down depending on quality of service) if I am sitting, less if delivery, none if I am walking in, picking up and walking out.

I worked at a restaurant in the 70's while in high school as a cook. While all staff started at minimum wage, wait staff had a $ amount factored in as an hourly tip, so they in fact made a significant percent less per hour from the store.

Fortunately, the good ones made a significant amount more than the rest of just in tips, compared to our paycheck. My girlfriend at the time was able to live well on tips and bank her entire check (she still lived with her parents since we were in school). Seeing how hard she (and all the wait staff) worked made me appreciate and respect how hard it really is, and ever since my tipping has reflected their effort.

 

[theo88]

I do not feel much has changed for me, although this has been mentioned in my family several times. Most of my wider family members think that tipping culture has changed and they are not expected to leave a tip for services they haven't in the past. I found interesting research in the [scammy looking site] on this topic, taking into account different demographic groups. Respondents with lower incomes seem to be most likely to report tipping at fast/casual restaurants. and those with at least a bachelor’s degree say they always tip in all scenarios they were asked about. There are more factors, like age, that could be relevant here in certain cases (obviously, I find statistics quite interesting). I was thinking about the people I know, and honestly, for most of the things I read, I was able to find several examples among the people I know. Anyway, I do feel that sometimes the tipping is imposed in a very ugly way, and makes me want not to tip even if I probably would (hope this makes sense).