These Are the New Tipping Rules, According to Lifehacker Readers.
Lifehacker recently asked if our readers tip every time they are asked . Tipping at the point of sale is becoming more and more common, manifesting itself in previously simple transactions like buying coffee, taking away food, or even buying some groceries in the store, so we hope to get an idea of the new etiquette and expectations here. I would like to report that there is a consensus, a set of hard and fast rules about who to tip, when and how much, but it is difficult.
Our readers almost all agree that asking for a tip for previously unpaid services and goods sucks. 1stlewiss summed up this annoyance this way: “Many of my local stores now have a PoS hint feature. I guess they think, because they sell bougie sandwiches (not made by them), craft beer and local baked goods (again, not by them) that you will be tipping. I just bought a pack of chips and a six pack at an overpriced price, and you called. Why exactly do you want me to pay extra? But while almost everyone hates “new tips,” that doesn’t mean people don’t do it.
Mixed reaction to new tip
While some readers were hard-hitting and quick to take the “I don’t tip in places like this” stance – like spanchal257 who wrote “If they make the bare minimum between me and getting the item I want (i.e. getting coffee, and they fill a cup from a dispenser), no reason to tip”, and a radio outlet who wrote: “I tip at regular places/services. What I don’t like is PoS tipping. I may or may not [put] a dollar or change in the tip cup; but at least it’s not intrusive” – many readers take a more subtle view. As platypus222 says, “I often get takeaway food and whether or not I tip varies. Some places feel like you actually do more work for them when you get takeout, others just put your food on the shelf and make people take what is theirs based on an honor system.”
Tipping before service is universally hated.
The aspect of tipping that people especially hate is the decision to tip before any service is provided. This shows up all the time on delivery apps where you tip before your food is delivered. JoshMC2 has their own solution to this modern day problem and a suggestion for Postmates et al.: “I wish they would send a tip opportunity after I get home and eat, maybe a few hours after that some clue hits the my email along with the question “What was the accuracy of the service/order?” kind of poll. I took on the task of creating “what was it like last time?” list and adjust the tip for the next order, which I know can hit the pockets of people who had nothing to do with the previous order, but this is the best I can think of.
The emotional side of tipping
Many users report that the new tip requirements can be an emotional experience, and emotions are not positive. “I find it incredibly annoying that seemingly every place I go to now expects me to tip. Even though I’m annoyed, I usually do it out of guilt,” wrote Panthercougar . “I’m lucky to be making good money, and the implied expectation of tips makes me feel petty if I don’t leave them.”
Usershes-got-a-way agreed and added another nuance to the “tip or not” discussion: “For a while, I would feel guilty if I didn’t tip at pick-and-go places, but I got it. that it sort of reduces the extra work. what real waiters put in if we all suddenly leave the same 20% tip at Sweetgreen as we do at a real restaurant, don’t we?”
How new tips can change old habits
For some of you, the hand-holding business has led to a change in buying habits. Thundercatsrides said again , “I’ve honestly cut back on eating out and takeout orders due to tip fatigue.”
User rank19 laid out a “vote with your wallet” strategy that rewards companies that don’t ask for unreasonable extra money. “1. I tip every 2 times. If the tip request/offer is unreasonable or the prefilled amounts are too high, I don’t go back to this business.”
Full-blown Steve Buscemi in Reservoir Dogs
The simplest solution to all this is to simply never tip anyone; some readers, such asNothingAmazing , are filled with Mr. Pink. “I don’t tip anymore. I’m embarrassed that I’ve ever given a tip, to be honest. Fall for the scam and just do something because “that’s the way it is” or “because everyone else is doing it”. “.
Ultimately, tipping remains a personal decision.
I didn’t muster the mental energy to come up with a set of personal tipping rules, but this seems to be the way forward if you want to avoid the momentary embarrassment of standing at the Starbucks counter thinking “Do I really want to pay extra?”
The reader may lay down his own rules; feel free to accept, change or reject them:
1. Sit-down restaurant – ~20%
2. Fast casual (not fast food) if the kid is with us because I know she’ll make a mess and that’s extra work. 10% or a few bucks depending on the location and what kind of mess I think she’ll leave behind.
3. Pickup – 10% or a few bucks depending on the location and the amount of food ordered. They take time to pack it up and make sure everything is there.
4. Bars – $1-2 per drink, depending on what I order.
5. Tattoos, haircuts, etc. vary, but I tip them.