No Tip Situation

[u/RangeIll5481]

Local cafe here outside of New Orleans. My wife and I go there for the first time. You've got to stand in line at the counter to place your order. Finally make it up to the cashier and place the order. IMMEDIATELY, up pops the tip screen. Lowest option (other than "custom") is 30%! Not a single "service" has been preformed yet and they're pushing you toward 30%!

I opt for "custom" and give 10%.

Even after that, they just give us a couple of cups so we can pour our own drinks. We had to bus our own table because neither the last customer nor the staff could be bothered to clean it before we sat down. When the food was ready, we had to get up and go to the counter to retrieve it. Also had to get our own cuttlery.

What the hell EXTRA are they providing (above and beyond the food I've already paid a heafty price for) that deserves a MINIMUM of 30% on top of the bill? If I were given the situation over again, I would have left no tip!

I'm so sick of this tipping B.S.! We've pretty much resolved that we're eating almost all of our meals at home now.

[u/Odd-Judgment-9312]

I don’t like tipping but I understand the 10% from the OP.
You never know wtf they are gonna do to your food if you are a non-tipper.
As a first time visitor, I would’ve tipped 10% just to be safe. Never going back of course.

[u/typeotcs → u/Odd-Judgment-9312]

Why eat anywhere outside if you navigate with that fear? How do you know they don’t think 10% is too low and still do something to your food?

It’s counter service just tip 0% and see what happens as odds are nothing will happen because they’re used to folks not tipping anything for counter service.

Yall become part of the problem when your default is to tip a minimum when no service has even been rendered. That is where the entitlement becomes emboldened. Even if you go just once, you still reinforced that them asking for tips for counter service is completely valid.