Is 25 Percent the New Normal?
Are you feeling “a bit of tip creep”? asked Hilary Stout in The New York Times. As more merchants switch to electronic payment systems, customers in coffee shops, hair salons, and taxicabs are increasingly confronted with requests for “higher and higher gratuities.” When baristas swivel around the iPad payment system at swanky coffee shops, 20, 25, or 30 percent tips are the standard options; riders paying with plastic in the back of New York City taxicabs have to manually enter any tip less than 20 percent. Alimento, an Italian restaurant in Los Angeles, now even includes two gratuity lines on diners’ checks: one for the servers, one for the kitchen staff.
Our tipping obligations are beginning to get out of hand, said Perry Stein in The Washington Post. I’m all for tipping my barista, but when the order is a $4 cup of coffee, and the gratuity options are $1, $2, or $3, it feels as though we’re moving into “absurdly generous” tip territory, “particularly considering that baristas, unlike waiters and bartenders, generally make at least minimum wage.” New technology is playing a big part in shaping our behavior, said Robert McGarvey in Main Street.com. “Before, you might have tossed the loose change from your transaction into a jar and patted yourself on the back for generosity.” But the “close proximity” of the iPad-swiveling cashier and the “pre-set tipping options” put pressure on customers to open up their wallets and tip generously.
As well they should, said Matt Buchanan in TheAwl.com. Until we’re “ready to join other civilized nations in abolishing tipping” in exchange for wages people can actually live on, here’s the formula for coffee-shop tipping: “a minimum of one dollar per drink.” And “if you cannot abide by this, drink Diet Coke.” Even if you don’t frequent upscale coffee shops, said Lucia Peters in Bustle.com, this is a good time to brush up on your tipping etiquette. At tablecloth restaurants, tip 15 to 20 percent of the pre-tax bill; at buffets, it’s 10 percent. Give 10 to 15 percent for delivery, and $1 to $2 per drink or 15 to 20 percent of your tab at the bar. If there’s a tipping jar, throw in a dollar if you’re a regular, you had a complicated order, or your server went “above and beyond for you in any other way.” Finally, don’t punish a server “for things someone else screwed up.” Instead, “tip as you would normally, and if there’s an issue of any sort, talk to manage ment about it.”
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