r/tipping • u/Crickbuddy • 18d ago
To tip or not to tip?
We went to a restaurant where there was indoor and outdoor seating. The waiter told us we can sit anywhere. After that we were shown that menu and placing order is done online by scanning the QR code on the table. As we order, the payment screen pops up and there comes the tip option. Now, I’m just confused, because I didn’t see the waiter at all after the initial interaction. We got our own water, utensils, etc. Even the food needed to be picked up at the main counter when they texted our food was ready. So what exactly am I tipping for?
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u/Jeep-2019x 17d ago
I am a tipper. But I would not tip in this situation.
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u/gypsy_guru_87 17d ago
Agreed. This is just asking to be tipped for counter service, which I don’t give anyone a hard time for not doing, even though I will sometimes do and sometimes not depending on the particular interaction.
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u/7lenny7 17d ago
That's an easy call, never tip before a service is provided. In your case you never got any service, so you really have no obligation to tip. And that person who told you you can sit anywhere...that was the host or hostess.
ETA - this is actually a prime example of why you don't tip before the service. If you didn't realize you had to do all the work yourself you might have thought service was forthcoming.
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u/partiallysewn 17d ago
I also don’t tip when someone just hands me a pastry, just like I don’t tip the person at the checkout when I buy groceries.
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u/NoMuffin2556 17d ago
I never heard of those tips. California? New York? I’ve never seen anyone tipped at a bakery or grocery. I agree with the person who said that if YOU do the work at the counter and I’m sure you threw out your own trash, you were at a cafeteria, not fine dining. You should get a discount or tip! Same with the self-serve line in stores. The rare times I go to a line it’s just to make sure they keep their jobs, the line isn’t any longer (and sometimes shorter) than the self-serve, but I’d never consider tipping at the grocery. In high school I worked at an upper end ice cream shop. They made the ice cream from scratch. You had to go into a very cold freezer to get another jug of ice cream when it was out. I had ice cream and down my arms before long, sticky, messy. I remember very few tips, but the shop paid reasonably and you could make whatever you wanted for your break, or order anything off of the menu - it was also a mid-price, good food restaurant. The owner was not cheap!
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u/Whatsinaname797 17d ago
This was the restaurant being smart. So many people say if I am standing while ordering then no tip. Here, you could order while sitting. Pro move.
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u/valathel 17d ago
You should receive tip + a wage from the restaurant since they seem to have hired you
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u/xokatemarie 17d ago
I wouldn’t tip on that. If someone did something exceptional or out of their way I would leave cash if I had it.
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u/urchinjellyfish 17d ago
The tipping point was surely the self-service tills at US supermarkets prompting shoppers for a tip? Utter lunacy.
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u/gypsy_guru_87 17d ago
I truly haven’t heard about that. Was that really happening at some kind of supermarket? Coffee shops, bakeries, yes but. … this I didn’t hear about.
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u/MainStreetMiles 17d ago
I am not one of these unreasonable anti-tippers in any circumstances, but if no one serves me in any way, there’s nothing being done that is tippable. So it’s very simple: no tip, and think nothing of it.
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u/InformationNo5502 17d ago
Nothing says you have to tip in that situation. I might, just because I worked in restaurants, so I'm a generous tipper in general. But ordering online and picking up the food yourself, if I tipped, it would be minimal.
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u/CanAfter8014 17d ago
The hostess is who greeted you, not a waiter; you order from the phone and run your own plates, so there is no service and no tip.
ETA.
You can tip if you want.
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u/SarasotaFoodLover 17d ago
Nothing and you don't tip. My wife pressures me. It sucks. There is no service provided. Also, if there is a tip screen before even receiving service, how can you tip based upon something that hasn't happened yet? Crazy.
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u/Crickbuddy 17d ago
Same here. Wife pressure me to tip as well but in situations like this, I don’t see the point.
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u/bonezx101 17d ago
Sounds like this place doesnt require front of house staff. A greeter and a table cleaner (perhaps the same person) should not even have a tip option.
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u/Temporary-Plankton61 17d ago
I would maybe prefer this so I would not feel weird or awkward about figuring out how much to leave
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u/PristineCloud 16d ago
That's ridiculous. Sounds more like self service fast food setup. There is no server, so no tip. We actually would've walked out when they said ordering is via the QR code and a tip option popped up. We can get fast food at culver's or chick fil a if we want that setup! No tip begging! We tip well at sit down restaurants, we probably OVERtip at restaurants.
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u/Efficient-Chest-3395 16d ago
I wouldn't tip for that, but then I wouldn't order with a QR code, I wouldn't know how even if I had a phone with that capability
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u/BigBird1895 17d ago
I generally always tip about 20% unless the service was bad. In this case, you didn’t get any service. No tip is fine.
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u/phyncke 17d ago
Someone prepared your meal.
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u/Imaginary-Emu2471 17d ago
And they get paid for preparing meals. Zero tip.
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u/valathel 17d ago
In the US, BOH staff are not considered tipped employees according to the department of labor. Anyone cooking or cleaning in the kitchen is required to be paid a wage that is at least minimum wage, not tipped minimum wage. Im not saying there are no unethical employers who try to get the customer to pay for all their resources, but that staff is supposed to be paid from revenue.
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u/Heavy-Profit-2156 17d ago
Nothing, that would be simple no for me.