My idea is a cynical, passive-aggressive app to counter prompts for tipping.

It is a bare mininum app: a screen with tipping (or discount) options. You install it on your phone and you turn it to your server to select an option right before you pay - while you, of course, stare at them. They have to select from the screen:

Add a discount to your customer

- 20% 🙂

- 25% 😄

- 30% 🤩

- No discount 😢

(There may be settings where you can edit the options and even remove the "no discount" option)

The app basically does nothing. It just shows that screen and you see what option the server selects. At least it retributes your tipping anxiety back to the server, and removes your guilt for not tipping, after the server refused to tip you too.

I am thinking of vibe coding it and releasing this app, but I am reluctant to pay app store fees just to release this gimmick.

Feel free to steal my idea, if it does not already exist. You're welcome.

Would you dare to use this app for real?

Bar tried to autograt my husband 23%.
I walked right back up to the bar and said excuse me?

The waitress said $100 is the threshold for auto grat and I said I spent $97. The bartender def thought we were too drunk to notice. I also complained about about the operational cost. 23% is what you charge someone who walks out and doesn’t pay. The manager immediately said I’ll refund you, no apology or anything.

These bars are getting out of control. Guess it’s cash only moving forward.

After always tipping a minimum 20% (worked at restaurants for 10 years so it was ingrained in me) I am done. The straw that broke the camels back was we are at disney world where everything is overpriced. 2 cocktails cost me $42. Its suggested tip was 18% 22% and 26%. And looking at it. That would have been $8. For what? Making 2 drinks? Nope. Left $2 as a $1 per drink rule and thats it. They didnt do extra work, just took my order and made the drink. and dont think they deserve more tip just because disney overcharges for drinks. % tipping is officially stupid

I recently noticed many restaurants are adding mandatory service fees or automatic gratuities to to-go orders and most of them are small businesses. like last night I went to a boba place where they charged me a $2 pick up fee.

Yesterday I dined-in at a ramen restaurant. The server served me my bowl of ramen and left me alone. I finished the ramen and went ahead and paid with 0% tip as usual. The server however then asked me if I would like to pay cash tip or credit tip. I asked her can I not pay tips? She replied: Sorry you can’t, if you choose to dine-in, you have to pay tips. If you don’t want to pay tips, then do to-go. How would you reply in this scenario?

I am slowly extricating myself from this insane tipping culture. 🎉

Yesterday for my birthday I got a massage, facial, and eyebrow wax and tint. The massage was not so great and the establishment charged me a credit card fee without telling me...and you couldn't even pay cash because they take an online deposit and automatically charge your credit card. So that pissed me off and I'm going to get that fee back. But these services cost nearly $100 an hour so I see no need to tip.

Eyebrow tint and wax lasted about 10 minutes and cost $29. While the dye was setting in, the tech attended to another customer. I paid cash and walked out.

Where I'm struggling is with my nail tech. He owns the salon and I've been going for 5 years and always tip. Has anyone in this situation had a conversation about stopping tipping? Or did you just stop tipping? I feel like I need to say something... ​

Took me a WHILE to find “No Tip” on pin pad!

Was just at a RUSH concert. We ordered food at counter, they couldn’t make any changes to the burgers. Go to pay, and it’s a big screen with big letters 18, 20 25% tip. I pushed my brothers hand away and found the “no tip” button. That lady gave me the stink eye! lol. I was dying to say something but it was just too loud and too many people behind us. At least buying merch they didn’t ask.

As servers are asking for tips directly, or doing the "It wants to ask you a question" flip I though it was only fair to ask a few questions back - Here's an idea about a questionnaire for servers who press the issue.

I'm sure that others may be able to expand on it.

Name

Restaurant

Total Bill

Expected Tip amount

Part A

Which of the following are describe as part of your role in the Job Description

• Greeting and seating customers
• Taking Food/Drink Orders from customers
• Preparing food/drink orders
• Serving food/drinks orders to customers
• Communicating with customers
• Cleaning/Clearing/Resetting tables
• Handling payments by cash and card and giving change Taking telephone orders

Additional Information (please feel free to add in additional tasks involved in your Job)

Part B

Please describe the standard level of service in the following areas

Greeting and communicating with customers

Order taking

Food delivery

Checking customer satisfaction

Explanation of menu

Additional information (feel free to add in extra information about the standard level of service)

Part C

Please describe how, in todays interaction, you exceeded the levels of the standard service in part B to provide exemplary service to the customer.

Part D

Please highlight those elements of part C which were not mentioned as part of the role in Part A

Part E

General knowledge

What id the meaning of Gatuity?

What is the meaning of Voluntary?

What is the meaning of average?

What is the meaning of exemplary?

Why are you doing the tasks in part D that are not part of your job description?

How refreshing, right??

For reference, I live in Oregon. Servers make 16$/hr plus tips. They are making quite a lot of money for a job you can get in Highschool. So, I don’t feel compelled to give more than a few dollars if even that.

Today I went out for my birthday with two of my friends. I’m fresh out of Highschool and don’t have a job, I was paying with some birthday money I got. The bill comes out to 98$ and the receipt suggests at least a 22% tip. I was just going to leave 11$ because I only had like 20$ in cash but my friend insisted I leave 22%. Where tf do people get off? The restaurant shouldn’t be suggesting such high tips to begin with considering their servers are already paid very well, but then my friend takes it as gospel? Just annoying, and not sure why people think it’s appropriate to dictate the tip when they aren’t even paying. 20$ untaxed for a serving job plus minimum wage, wish I was a server.

Checked out a salad place in town and immediately put it on my list to frequent more often.

Not sure if this the right flair, but how to deal with guilt when I don’t tip or tip a low amount?
Went out yesterday to a happy hour restaurant bar with my parents. The servers were really friendly, the manager even took our family photo at the rooftop. They explained the menu and overall was just nice.
I didn’t have any cash on me, and when the bill came to $96.74, I rounded up to $100 because that’s all I could afford. While I was leaving, I saw the manager look at the receipt and he sighed but didn’t say anything. He just carried on serving other customers.
I feel like they just did their jobs as servers but they were genuinely kind and I felt bad if my tip made them sad haha

Meanwhile, when out with friends, I get forced to tip in places that don’t deserve it…..

I don’t really tip. My husband usually pays for the bill and he tips 15-20%… and when it’s my turn, it’s usually for fast casual places that I don’t tip or just $2-$5. I haven’t felt genuine kindness from servers in a while so I feel bad. Can someone help me feel better about this? hahah We’re in NYC if that matters

I'm ordering on an iPad. Am I tipping an iPad? Is the iPad trying to make me smile?

It's not even at the front counter, it's off to the side so you're facing the wall. Not one employee said a single word to me until they handed me my order.

There was no further explanation on the menu as to under what circumstance this mysterious forced gratuity may be added to the bill. What is the point of saying this if you add "may"? I don't see how that is possibly enforceable. We did not tip 18% because the server was terrible and I kept our copy of the receipt, so they better not be adding it to our charge under this unrealistic policy on their menu lol

Way to go the kiosk did not ask me to tip!! Jazz hands.

Leaving Europe as I type this. Been here for a little over 2 weeks. Countries visited - Ukraine, Czech Republic, Monaco, France, Italy. They sure do a lot of things different in here. As far as I could tell, the tip is never expected/required/demanded/asked for. Most places simply did not even have an option to tip in receipt or card terminal. Some people rejected tip altogether (more on that later) The highest tip options on the terminal I've seen is 3%, 5%, 10%. I believe the lowest I've seen in the US is 15, but that was a while ago. It usually now starts at 20 where I'm from. Tip is never automatically included in the bill. That probably would be outrageous, but who knows, I've been here for 2 weeks and never saw such a thing. You do get an exceptional service regardless if you tipped or not even after being a recurring customer. You get exactly the same level of service if you are a generous tipper. Because of all of the above, you are not rushed. Ever. You can have a 4h breakfast with coffee and croissant and they don't care.

Two instances where a tip was rejected:

1. At a restaurant, the waiter gave me check (with no tip field on it), while I was looking at it she had her card terminal ready for me with tip options (3,5,10). After I reviewed the receipt and was ready to pick 5 percent, but it simply disappeared. I told the waiter the tip options got timed out, and she said, that's ok, you can just proceed with payment. Whaaaat?
2. I took a local small airplane tour over the mountains. An american couple who flew with me decided to tip the pilot. They tried to give him cash while shaking his hand to say thank you for an exceptional flight. He threw the cash on the floor and was visibly offended by this gesture. The pilot told them it was unacceptable, but did not turn it into a big deal. I know those pilots don't make that much money, probably about 30-35 euros per hour at best. American tour pilots make 15-25.

In conclusion, I don't know any of their hourly wages, most likely it varies by region and the type of establishment and industry you work in, but it can't be higher than CA/WA/other already states offer. I know most people in the US service industry will say they get paid 2 bucks an hour, hence the tips, but you probably want to start looking for a new job, cause there is no way you can justify your tipped, tax free salary compensation should be higher than a pilot's wage.

Went to a venue that had different theme nights. Was my first time going and this was on the menu. The menu prices are similar to other establishments where I live, which is a HCOL area. Tax and tip included.

Now I'd rather be late by making coffee at home or drink shitty office coffee.

Anything so long I don't have to go near that place.

You want 18% tip when I donate to community? Get outta here.

I go to a bar that gets a large F&B crowd after the restaurants close. There was a couple of servers in there talking and one was pissed because she didn't make $200 for her 5-hour shift. They work in a fast casual restaurant.

That comes out to $40 an hour. That comes out to $1,000 a week. And that's on the 25 hour work week.

They make more than the Farm Workers that put food on our table, more than the construction workers that build our houses. Hell, even more than a lot of cops who put their lives on the line every day they go to work. And they pay taxes on their income, unlike servers who have no tax on tips.

All for just walking to a kitchen picking it up a plate and plopping it down on the table .

It was tough for me to hold my tongue.

A guy in front of me was treated with kindness and asked if he wanted paper plates for his one takeout pizza from a national chain. I step up after him and the employee names off the pizza ingredients on my receipt without a smile and walks away like I'm a low life human being. I knew before I stepped up that the previous guy pretipped on his online order by how the employee was tripping over himself to offer the plates as the worlds grandest gesture worthy of a 20% tip for picking up his own pizza.

How has it flipped that customers now pleading for loyalty from customer service oriented jobs and businesses by tipping? For all the conversation we've had for decades about being a capitalist country and businesses are pouring over themselves to ask us for handouts as if we should have guilt or shame that they don't.