It’s like suddenly being aproached by a beggar at the register. I can’t stand it, it’s so uncomfortable. Anybody else make it a point to avoid these places?
Nope, I tip if I feel they deserve it, and don’t if it’s standard service. Hell, if I ever have another garage sale, I’ll put one up just to see how much more I can make.
No, never. At most it offers a courteous, anonymous option. I’m much more resistent to “gratuity included” bills.
Then again, I’m a very generous tipper who expects latitude to be left up to me. I never fail to leave a least a few bucks for hotel cleaning staff, f’rinstance. The waiter who recently took 20 minutes to fill our drink orders, then waltzed out 40 minutes later with some entrees–minus several he forgot to order–got a deliberate 1% on a whopping bill.
I approach tipping as opportunities for intended kindness, as well as reward for good service. The simple presence of a tip jar is nothing more than a deft mechanism. It’s not a demand, just a graceful means.
Not at all.
If all I got was a regular cup of coffee, I don’t tip. If I ordered soup, sandwich, cookie and a extra-foamy, no-fat, decalf, with caramal latte, I do tip.
I don’t find it particularly uncomfortable at all.
I don’t avoid places that have tip jars either. I generally drop something in them if I feel the people deserved it.If I boycotted all the places that have them I would be missing a lot of good food.
I ignore them, and won’t put anything into them on principle. I tip servers, bartenders, bellboys, etc. well, but I don’t tip counterpeople. The previous professions don’t earn jack from the establishment (I’m a bartender myself) and work almost solely for tips. They are usually paid below minimum wage. Counter people on the other hand are paid above minimum wage.
Another interesting thing to think about is that it is only counterpeople at places that serve food or drink that have tip jars. You never see them in front of bank tellers, hotel front desks, the dry cleaners, convenience stores, etc. Handing me a donut across a counter is no more worthy of a tip than handing me the suit I dropped off the other day.
I don’t boycott establishments that have a tip jar, but I don’t leave a tip either. I think it’s entirely unnecessary here in Australia where minimum wage is significantly higher than in the US.
Are you threatened by the tip jar? Ignore it if you don’t wish to tip, no one is forcing you to give up the money. If I have a pleasant experience, I tip. Are the employees staring you down as you’re paying for your cup o’ joe? That’s truly the only place I’ve ever seen a tip jar… I don’t enjoy lounge acts so the jar on the piano doesn’t get any of my cash.
I take it a step further. If I’m given pennies or other small coinage for change, I make it a point to not put any of it in.
I saw a tip jar at a video rental store in San Francisco and by then I knew things were out of control. A tip for WHAT?! Taking my money?
I make exactly minimum wage. I have been at my job for longer than the “probation period.”
I accommodate people who have dietary restrictions that they take very seriously.
I am “quality control” girl. If you ask for parmesan-oregano bread, but it’s the end of the night and it’s not very fresh, I’ll suggest another one for you. I pick out the ends of the tomatoes. I’ll give you an extra cookie if the one you wanted broke on its way into the bag. My caring makes the difference between a so-so sandwich and a great sandwich.
I ask you how crispy you like your bacon. If you want it to be burnt or still oinking, that’s how you’ll get it.
If you’re not my only customer, and your steak sits there for a minute or so before going into your sandwich, I’ll zap it a little extra so that it’s hot when you eat it.
I can do all this, while silently reminding myself to take the food temps, and checking that my bread isn’t burning, and take you from order to checkout in under 4 minutes.
You might not appreciate what I do. You might not even notice. But some people do, and they drop a quarter into my tip jar. Not that I notice. I’m too busy changing my gloves so that your sub doesn’t end up with teriyaki sauce all over it, and smiling at you as though you were a sight for sore eyes.
Geeze, thanks Lola, now I’m hungry fro Subway and it doesn’t open for another 4 hours or so.
I worked at a Starbucks making something like $6.00/hr. The change that people dropped into that jar raised my pay up to $7-8/hr. Took it from a shitty job to one of my best-paying (sad, eh?).
I’m a good tipper, if folks get my order right (mint French Soda, light on the ice, 2% milk, no whip cream). For a drink that costs $2.50, I’ll toss $1 in the tip jar. Since I tend to go to the same places repetedly, same night of the week, same time, I get people who don’t even have to ask what I want. Maybe that $1 helps with that, maybe not. But I like to think it does.
Besides, I’ve never given anyone dirty looks for not tipping me when I worked at Starbucks. We Don’t Really Care. Unless you order something silly like a 1% half-caf iced mocha with a shot of vanilla and caramel, or something. Or if you have HUGE order (like 8 drinks that are all different).
I knew that not everyone tipped. But the people who DO make it worth not getting pissy if someone decides not to.
I’ve never avoided a place with a tip jar. I’m a bit puzzled by one’s presence at the takeout counter of my local Chinese restaurant, but I’ve never felt compelled to tip. I usually drop in my change at my favorite campus coffee place because I know and like the workers.
Well, I was just in Vegas, and that town seems like you have to tip everybody! Which I do, BTW, since I’m on vacation…
I left a $100 tip for the headwaiter at Delmonico, at the Venetian… great service, yet he didn’t do much… but he was knowledgeable, courteous, and kind. Tipping is a lost art. = )
As far as places with tip jars… it’s a recommendation, not a requirement.
I tip at these places too… my humble beginnings were in food service. Dealing with morons is hard work! = )
Tip your servers well for good service!
It seems a little odd to boycott a place that has a tip jar.
Just don’t put anything in it. How does it hurt you, exactly?
Like I said, it feels like someone’s asking me for spare change. I already feel uncomfortable passing beggars on the street, it’s even worse in an establishment. Plus, I feel more comfortable with rules - a set price and a standardized tipping percentage - then something frightfully ambiguous like a tip jar.
I find ways to make do (due?). I note which branches of chains don’t have them, like the Marvelous Market in Dupont Circle is the only one I know of without a jar. If I want to go to Starbuck’s, I go to the ones in Barnes and Nobles’; they don’t have jars either. I skip yuppy Gifford’s altogether; I make my own ice cream at home anyway. In fact, most of the time I’m unimpressed with out food compared to what I make at home.
I rarely tip into tip jars, but I will if the guy behind the counter is someone I know. I agree it’s like charity. See lola’s post. When I’m making $20/hour full time, and the guy behind the counter is making minimum wage part-time while he’s in college, I can afford to be generous. Especially if someone’s making me an iced milk with hazelnut, and doesn’t wrinkle their nose and go “Ice? With milk?”
I’m not sure I’d equate it to beggars, because these people are doing a very crappy job, probably working ten times harder than I do in white-collar-land, and trying to make my day more pleasant in spite of all that. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
Tips are the best way to see that the money gets to the person who directly affected my life, and thus deserves the cash more than some nameless corporation. My roommate and I once nearly made a scene looking for a tip jar to tip the sushi chef that we sat right in front of at the bar, who treated us like royalty.
Focusing on food and service seems like a better route than basing decisions on a technicality. Tysons Corner has an Asian Bistro with sashimi that melts in my mouth, and chicken kung pao that’s to die for, and a tip jar. I never give them a dime over what they charge me, and never intend to. The service doesn’t warrant it. I can still sleep at night.
I’m on the list of people who don’t avoid places with tip jars.
Sadly, I have had to institute a boycott against the Taco Bell located a couple of blocks from my apartment. The guy at the counter, after taking my payment and handing me back my change, held his hand out and asked me to donate to his college fund. Having worked in fast food myself, I realize that the job sucks and the customers often make it worse, but…what the hell? Usually it’s just the other patrons who panhandle me there…
I don’t boycott places with tip jars, but whether I put anything in the jar really depends on what service I’ve been provided. At the food court where I often eat lunch, I patronize a few of the places regularly, and once a week or so will toss a dollar into the tip jar because these folks do a great job of getting everyone their orders in the most expeditious time possible and with everything just the way we want it. But if I just get a cup of coffee, I’m probably not going to tip, unless the person pouring my coffee is really, REALLY good to me. 