I chuckled at that too. Maybe the receptionist at an office had a tip jar? Sort of gauche but I've meet some brokers that thought 'rock and roll motif' for their office was classy. Here's my POV. Sex sells. Get some nice firm tittays in my face and I'll tip anywhere.
All these tipping threads (I love them, by the way) have really made me stop and think. I used to be a big tipper all the time just because I get off on being nice to people. But now, I do feel like I'm being taken advantage of. Since reading these threads, I've stopped tipping the iPad flippers. That was a huge step for me. My thing is this - if you spend more than 5 minutes taking care of me, you get a tip. If you were nice to my kids and you laughed (or even pretended to laugh) at one of my many horrible dad jokes, you could get up to 30% of my bill if not more. If you take my order, hand me a number and a couple of cups, then flip an iPad...you don't get a tip from me anymore. I view that as disrespectful to a waiter who just spent an hour busting his/her ass taking care of me and my family. They EARNED that tip - iPad flippers didn't. Delivery drivers get a tip from me. Usually around $5. I tend to tip people who HUSTLE on my behalf. iPad flippers don't hustle on my or anyone else's behalf. They just quickly take your order and move on to the person behind you.
I have no shame not tipping in those kind of places. At most, I'll round out. I've seen some places the college kids have put in the tip jars "for college". I love supporting good causes, etc, but if you are being paid a decent wage, tipping needs to go out the window. The argument use to be, "if you are too poor to tip to go eat a nice meal, then don't go at all". What's the new excuse now? Am I expected to subsidize everyone's wages. I tip my barber 20%, I tip my therapist (massage) 15%, I tip waiters/bartenders 18-25% on average, etc. Now I'm expected to also provide for others just because I have the means? It's gotten out of hand.
I realized how much these companies have changed quite a bit over the last two years during covid and if you want to call it post covid. I think tipping got very out of control when services like uber eats/doordash became almost the norm. These companies have gotten worse and worse too. Now they suggest a default tip in the app and offer a service to pay more to get your food quicker. Ever since they introduced this I've noticed the time's I've ordered its taking much longer to get my food (resulting in cold/soggy food) so I've stopped using them altogether unless I have no real other choice. At this point I only tip if I sit down to eat at a restaurant and there are actual waitstaff waiting on me. The electronic ipads/card readers where all I am doing is picking up food I stopped. I dont mind tipping at all and generally tip more than "required" but the other day I bought a smoothie and they were asking for a tip and said it was a new card merchant so they had to ask. I feel the digital nature of transactions now creates more social pressure to tip. I try to do as many cash transactions as possible for this - 1) less pressure to tip and 2) gives the wait staff a chance to actually get the money off the books.
Depends if the driver is a restaurant employee or DoorDasher. Restaurant employees like from pizza chains or usually Chinese restaurants are based out of their kitchen so I can understand $5. A DoorDasher is moving around a lot more, so they do deserve a bigger tip. The system is backwards, though. I don't like pretipping before service. I understand the bigger tips attract the dasher to pick it up and deliver it quicker, but it isn't always the case. They should get a minimum per order, then the customer is allowed to select the tip amount after delivery. If the customer forgets, then an automatic tip should be added to the minimum to reach a standard percentage.
I’ve been frequenting Street to Kitchen lately (best Thai food in Houston, BTW), and they have this “unapologetic” schtick they adhere to that was somewhat amusing at first (no substitutions (we have no allergies, so no biggie), the whole order has to be made at once, don’t ask for bird peppers/fish sauce with your egg rolls (you’ll be told “NO.”), no split checks per table (even right down the middle), and a whole host of other things. Their current menu is even written in the form of a play that picks on the “Karen’s and kens” of the dining crowd. It’s all cute at first, and it’s SO good to have great Thai food in Houston again, but when you spend a small fortune there, it kinda sucks to be treated like an unknown transient when you show up almost every week (and it’s almost an hour drive for us ….though that’s certainly not their fault). Anyhoo…they automatically charge a 22% service charge on every bill (and TBH, they always tell you). Stupidly, I always add another 15% when I pay. I KNOW it’s my own damn fault, and yet I do it anyway. It’s like I’m some simp cuck in “The Menu 2” hoping to be acknowledged for my support. I KNOW I’M the problem, and yet I seem helpless to fix the issue. BLah blah blah…..bottom line is I know tipping culture is ****ED in America. I’m a huge part of the problem, but I’m really hoping some of you will step up and save me from myself.
With these flat tips based on a type of service like delivery, a lot of people don't adjust for inflation. Recently I've been tipping $10 for delivery due to inflation. That's based on proximity to restaurants, too, since I'm in the suburbs. Fuel, time, wear and tear on vehicle, that's all stuff I think about. If I lived in BFE, I would tip more. If you tipped $5 three years ago, it's time to move it up, folks. Don't be a tightwad.
I love Street to Kitchen and I love that they include the 22% service charge in the bill already. That's a damn good tip, so no need to tip extra unless the waiter was doing cartwheels for me. EDIT: Owner always recognizes when I swing by, I don't go on a weekly basis, but I try to make it out once every two months or so. Weird that you are treated like that.
That's fair. I usually pick one of the suggested options which is roughly $6-9 on a $30 order. But I rarely do DoorDash. The menu prices are inflated and food is usually cold by the time I get it. I'm fine driving the 10-30 minutes to pick up food and the kid tags along to kill time. It's a good break from playing dolls all evening. I have been lucky to be the receiver of multiple GrubHub/Uber Eats lately, though. Free food.
If I'm going to drive, I might as well take my family along and make it a dining experience. I order delivery to not deal with driving. Even with my helicopter there's a travel time overhead.
they know us….I guess I’m just a little b****…..not expecting cartwheels, but when I order a to go meal for my son at dessert time, I guess I’m expecting more than “let me see if they will do it” when we all know damn well they are getting a 22% tip ….:and for me, over 40%.
