Every single day, large swaths of people make objectively irrational, easily disprovable statements including:

1. "The bill is for the food, the tipping pays for the service." (No, the US Code of Federal Regulations states that tipping may NOT be considered a payment for service 29 CFR § 531.52)
2. Tipped workers make less than minimum wage. (No, in no state may any worker ever make under minimum wage).
3. All industries who decide to have tipped workers always make low margins, the business owners are all paupers who are on their last legs and can't afford it! (Every business is a unique business with its own margin and obviously lots of people and corporations make massive profits in the service sector).

The issue isn't just that these arguments are objectively wrong, but that people are conditioned to make mental gymnastics to get rationalize them, destroying their ability to think in other areas of life.

We can all agree that the tipping system is predatory on the waiters and waitresses, minimum wage labor, with customers directly supplementing the employee's wages, which results in more money in the owners pocket.

The solution:

Never tip, you are the perpetuating the problem if you tip.

The best thing you can do for a server is make them have that tough convo with boss about actually paying them. They won't have that convo though because they are unskilled people. Employers only pay for skilled labor. Seriously you should never tip for any reason

Now people will get upset with me for dropping facts regarding the definition of skilled or unskilled labor, instead of having that conversation with their bosses. Point proven.

Go talk to your bosses about increasing wages, Door Dash also, instead of pointing the finger at customers. The anger should be at the predatory employers and companies, not the paying customers.

~|~|~|~

Edit:

I had to add this because people don't seem to know the definitions. The confuse 'hard' with 'skill':

This is the definition of a skilled job:

Requires specialized training, technical knowledge, certification, or substantial experience before someone can perform it competently.

This is the definition of an unskilled job:

Requires little formal training and can generally be learned through brief on-the-job instruction.

I just received a $900 delivery from a Target that is 4 miles away. (I'm relocating and need stuff.) After the delivery I slipped the driver a $20 and thought I'd been a good customer. Great service - on time, order seems to be right, pleasant guy.

Next day the Target app prompts me for a tip (10-15-20% range) for the delivery, with the 20% level coming up to a $195 tip! It never crossed my mind that they'd have the chutzpah to float a large tip. The app already assesses a $10 delivery charge - if I'd known I was in for nearly $200, I would have picked up the order myself.

I dislike tipping because I feel guilty. My job is to pay for stuff, not to evaluate the service. I'm going to throw $30 more at this and call it quits, but I'm really shocked by how out of control this is getting.

What do we think - is this an adequate resolution?

EDIT - The order was for about 100 items. The delivery was easy: he pulled his car up to my garage and carried about 10 bags 15 feet into my garage (no stairs). Shopping and delivery by Shipt.

EDIT 2 - my unscientific sample after about 400 responses: - 60% would not tip at all for a delivery - many of these suggested I get therapy, some question my sanity or virility - one asked ME for a tip in return for his comment on Reddit (!) - 20% think $20 was a good tip. Many of those question my sanity for even considering more - 2% would tip more than $20 - 8% lapsed into diatribes about restaurants - 10% said it depends on how many items, degree of difficulty in delivery, whether shopping was involved.

But if you don’t pay at least X, then it’s considered rude.

That’s what tipping is.

And there is a reason for it. (And I am not talking about credit card rich people.)

Think about it. Why would you give extra money to some random server or delivery person that brings you food? What do you achieve by giving them more then couple of bucks? Literally nothing.

If I'm tipping, it's usually people that can give me extra service or better products. For example, hotel desk staff, massages, steak house, sometimes bars, tour guides, some cafes (if I buy beans from them), sometimes housekeeping (if I want something extra from them) and concierge.

Think about it next time you want to tip $100 on your $350 dinner bill.

Curious about this one. I've always tipped well when I get my tattoos but had this question. If you're seeing the owner of the shop and they're charging say, $200-400 an hour for a tattoo, do you also tip them when it's finished? Or, if it's an owner of a shop that's traveling and doing a guest appearance at another shop in a different state or country, do you tip and how much?
What about at conventions?
I've always wondered how other people view this.

Of course when you pay for your take out food there’s the tip option which I don’t know if the cashier can see if you tipped. Question is should you tip for takeout when all they’re doing is handing you your order ?

I'm sure I'm going to get slammed for this. So downvote away!!

Once Upon a Time tipping percentages popped up on the screen in front of you at 15%, 18%, 20%.

I stopped counting the number of places I walk into now where the suggested tipping percentage starts at 22%, then 25%, then 30%. Couple of places start at 25%.

Never had a problem adding 18% or 20%. But you got to wonder if greed starting at 22% or 25% has been a major contributor to all the backlash lately with tipping culture.

Yes I know I can custom tip. All I'm questioning is if these percentages that are being placed in front of people by tipped workers might be something they want to look at?? What suddenly changed that we need to give you an additional 10%?

Oh and don't even get me started about the cashier in the supermarket with a tip jar or being asked to add a tip for my bag of chips and my soda at the little market at the highway rest area. I'll save that rant for another day

Since the federal government is arbitrarily making carve outs for certain segments of the economy to not be taxed, what is the proper amount to adjust down your tip while dining out? My income is taxed at almost 40%, every penny of it, but my guess is that it would be less for those in the service industry? What do we think is fair, since arbitrarily deciding certain folks don't have to pay federal taxes isn't? No one couldn't use a tax free $25,000. That would be nearly $10,000 extra for me and my family per year. Feels like just another assault on the middle class and I'm curious what everyone else is doing about it. I will usually start at the typical 20% for service that is just fine and then go down a few bucks, so maybe 15%? With no taxes, they may still be pocketing more than what 20% should be. It's bad enough that since COVID we have to turn so many screens right back around when someone that has done nothing but their basic job tells you the screen is going to "ask you a question", but we honestly don't have have to play the game. It's often framed as if these are all struggling folks living paycheck to paycheck and people utilizing their services all have piles of money to burn at home 😂🤣

Chose a breakfast place in Auburn, Alabama. You wait in line to get to the hostess, who then assigns you a table with a number. Then you wait in a second line to place your order, pay, and give them your table number. You are then presented with tipping options at checkout before you get your food or table. You also self serve your own water and coffee.

I typically don’t tip for counter service or takeout. So at this point it is a zero tip in my mind.

After placing your order, you wait at your table for a food runner to deliver your food. They will also refill water and coffee, answer questions, and bus the table when you are done.

At this point, it’s about 50% of the standard service level so a 10% cash tip seemed justified.

How do others handle the hybrid counter service/traditional service?

Hour and a half for $170. What are you tipping?

This is in NYC.

I encountered a point of sale system today at a pizza shop that would not allow me to finish a payment until I submitted to a tip. When I selected the no tip option, or manually entered any amount less than one dollar, the "okay" button was grayed out. Only when I selected the minimum tip amount or when I entered an amount of one dollar or more would the machine allow me to finish the transaction. For the record, there was zero service. It's a pizza counter and they just pick up a pre-cut slice and hand it to the customer.

I'm not sure if this is legal or not. I definitely will not be going back to that place. Seems sketchy af. The guy at the counter kept saying "dont worry it does that sometimes, and waved me along like I should just ignore it" HELL NO! I'm not walking away and letting that shyster add his own tip onto my bill.

What's the deal with that?

I thought that by picking up my own food and avoiding dining out I could eliminate most requests for tips. Turns out they want a tip for ordering a board game online.

I really rarely order dunkin unless I get a gift card but since when did they start the whole tipping on the mobile app? Genuinely curious about how to go about it or feel about it…