I knew a person who got fired for accepting tips from customers, when you're not supposed to. She was a lead at Starbucks. This was several years ago, back when I didn't drink coffee, so I don't know what has or hasn't changed since then, because I see tip jars at Starbucks' now
Ever since the pandemic, I tip at least 20%. Minimum $10. I did well, so I don't mind spreading it around. I went to Vegas and St Louis and the locals were so happy to have a simple tip of 20%. It helps and if I can, why not?
Honestly, the world would be a better place if the price included the tips and there was no such thing as "waiter minimum wage". Why should I pay more for someone who should be doing their job in the first place? If you're not doing your job up to spec, you shouldn't be employed, let alone getting tipped. Companies just need to pay their employees what they're worth and adjust their prices accordingly.
I love Japan. But for some reason, it's still very much expected to pay with physical cash, in many places, right? Perhaps things have slowly changed, due to wanting to reduce the spread of germs.
I'll tip 20% and even more for a job well done, but NOT for poor service. If a server is busting their ass, I'll gladly hook them up, but I can't/won't reward laziness or inattention. This past weekend, my wife and I went to Disneyland and for dinner, we decided to try Roscoe's because everyone makes such a big deal about it. Well, it was a complete, unorganized sh!t show. We waited almost an hour for a simple order with no drinks. It was busy, near closing and they were apparently understaffed in the kitchen, but there was no manager/supervisor on duty and the staff spent more time joking with each other than tending to customers. When our order was seemingly ready, they gave us the WRONG order, which we had to point out! We ended up waiting another 20 minutes. When the correct order was finally ready, it sat on the counter for about 10 minutes before someone wrapped it up and brought it to us. They offered a half-hearted apology, but I just rolled my eyes because all of the screwing around and carrying on the staff was doing. We made our order to-go and my wife added a tip when she paid at the counter BEFORE we received our food. She regretted it after the first 25 minutes and had to learn the hard way. You NEVER tip before a job is done. Ever. Tips are earned.
Just to add to this I have contested gratuity in my bill twice for shifty service. It required a manager though and a little voice raising so everyone in ear shot heard what I was saying when the manager tried to tell me it couldn't be removed. Normally I wouldn't do something like that but the service was just that bad. Like these waitresses should find another source of employment bad because they aren't qualified for the job bad. I'm pretty easy going and fairly generous with tipping wait staff at restaurants typically 25% on average and 30-40% for really good service, but I'll be damned if I'm going to tip automatically for terrible service. I've got family in the industry so I know it can be hell. Honestly, my experience has been that placed that add gratuity to the bill usually have less attentive wait staff. Even if they aren't terrible it still seems like they don't put as much effort in since they know a minimum tip is guaranteed to them and they don't have to earn it. So, generally I avoid the restaurants that do so now or I only go when I won't trigger the auto-gratuity.
I haven't been to a Starbucks in years, not sure I would leave a tip since most Starbucks here pay over $20 an hour.
Great. You raised & provided an additional response to my question but way much more eloquently that I ever could.
Your story reminds me of something shifty that happened to me years ago. Some work colleagues and I went to a somewhat high-end restaurant in Stanford, CA (ritzy area full of CEO's and tech people) to celebrate someone's birthday. None of us had a ton of cash on-hand, so I used my card to cover the bill and we left a generous cash tip on the table. Well, when I received my card statement, someone took the liberty of adding a $40 tip to the bill. Outraged, I called the restaurant and spoke to the manager and this clown tried to justify and dismiss this action by saying, "Well, a $40 tip is not exactly unheard of." I responded with, "That's not the point! I didn't authorize it, so what your employee did was steal from me. Additionally, we left a healthy cash tip on the table. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THAT?" He ended up refunding the unauthorized amount and gave me a free dinner for two, which I never used. I never went back. Judging by the manager's blasé attitude, this is a common practice at this establishment that isn't routinely questioned.
Yikes. That's crazy. If someone added a tip after the fact without my authorization... especially if I had left them a substantial tip in cash on the table... I'd be damned livid. Don't blame you for never going back even to take advantage of the free meal they gave you.
I dislike places that take your card elsewhere to do the transaction. Your example is the reason why. Down right theft. And also, who knows what else they can do with your card... And I'm not talking about creating lines of powder to sniff.
This is why on a charge slip, I always write "CASH" on the tip blank and then total it at the stated tab. Personally, it annoys me that what SHOULD be a gift to recognize superior service has been culturally (by all parties) turned into an expectation or entitlement. And I say this as a guy who leaves $5 on a $30 tab at my usual sandwich shop, because despite being a national chain this crew knows me and my usual order and frequently has my Monday-morning cheesesteak starting on the grill before I even clear the door. Sometimes even run across the street to the designer cookie shop and bring back cookies for everybody, and usually the last time I'm in before Christmas every year everybody on that shift gets a $5 Starbucks card and a candy cane--they take good care of me so I try to take good care of them in return.
On a side topic: - What's the rules on take home doggy bag? (I'm led to believe serving sizes are generally humungous). - Is it an additional charge?
Minor nitpick, "doggy bags" as in a literal bag are pretty outdated as far as the material used. These days it will usually be a styrofoam, plastic, or card/paperboard box for any leftovers. Generally you can take any leftover food you have left home with you. Drinks and other liquid stuff, possibly not depending on if they have containers for them and individual policy. No one will think it's odd if you ask for a box, and many places/servers will actually ask you if you want one if they think you're nearly finished or around the time you pay. However, if you're doing an all-you-can-eat/bottomless/unlimited thing, in my experience it's usually considered bad form to order another serving and not touch it before asking for a box. I seem to recall a family member getting banned from a restaurant for doing that a lot. In my experience there's not an extra charge, unless you maybe order something extra.
Went to Carl's Jr. the other day and they actually have a tip cup at the drive thru window now. Really?
Some places let you take home a doggy bag, some don't. You simply ask for a box of you have leftovers and if they're the sort of place that does, they'll bring you a little box.
Seriously, WTF? When it's more personal service like a sub shop I can see that, but a frickin' burger assembly line?!
