Has anyone ever worked in a job where the management puts up signs asking customers to not tip the employees?
My local grocery has a new delivery pickup service. I submit my order online. Later I can drive up, pop the trunk and the employees toss in my bags. Management has signs all over the place asking people not to tip the employees.
Have you every worked in a gig like this? Realistically have you ever turned down a tip from a customer? Do people still try and offer a tip?
I used to have that problem to a degree when I worked as an overnight manager in a hotel.
It was an airport property so we had a driver from 5am till midnight and it went around every 15 minutes on the quarter hour between the hotel and the airport. Between midnight and 5am it was on call.
Technically this was a union job and we were required to put a union member to drive. But none of the drivers wanted to do the shift. You had nothing to do usually, (most people were in by midnight), so your tips were nothing and the pay was only a dollar more than minimum (to account for the night shift). And drivers in hotels could make great money in tips, of course overnight there were very few tips, since the pick ups were scarce
So I said, “I’ll do the pickups, since there are so few” and the union rep at the hotel agreed to overlook this. But because I was management I was forbidden to take any tips.
People would try to tip me, but I’d just explain, “Sorry I’m mangement and cannot accept tips.” They usually understood, if they made any attempt to “force it on me,” I’d say “Sorry, I can’t; why don’t you give it as an extra tip to the driver on your way back or to the waitress if you eat here at the hotel.”
That satisfied them
I worked at places that told me accepting a tip could be a firing offense. None had signs up. The could be fired part was so customers didn’t ever think they needed to tip because it was customary. I would tell the old people that that I couldn’t accept tips. Some still would insist I take the quarter and or dime and buy a soda. Pop was way more than that. I would take it at the point where I was going to have an offended customer if I didn’t. That would have ticked off management regardless of the do not accept tips rule. I’ve had people try to put the quarter in my pocket and it wasn’t because they were anything but insistent.
Work at Albertsons as a teen. The sign at the check out said NOT to tip the baggers.
People don’t normally tip their baggers anyway but the few times they did offer; fuck that! I’m taking it!
What would be the reasoning behind this? Not wanting to do the tax paperwork that allowing tipping would entail, or what?
Well the reason for not allowing management to be tipped is obvious 'cause they have the power to schedule people and could thus schedule themselves into a better slot.
Whenever you have tipped positions, the employees quickly figure out which shifts tend to tip better, and they jocky for those positions.
This is problematic, as in my example with the overnight shift. No one wants to work a shift where tipping is slim to nil. Thus if you don’t schedule to split up prime tip shifts, people will not earn enough and quit. Of course the employees use the “I’ve been here longer I should get my choice of shifts.” Fair enough but by hoggin’ all the good tip shifts, it helps that ONE employee at the expense of the company as a hole.
For the other rule “no tipping to employees” part of it can extend to the fact, employers have a responsibility to account for tips in payroll.
The rules vary from state to state, but in Illinois for example if it is “reasonable” to think an employee is getting tips, you need to set up a system for that employee to report them to the employer. Also you need to report and withhold taxes.
There’s a whole slew that goes with it.
I’ve been in hotels almost my whole life and I’ve worked as an asst controller my last two jobs and I’ve never seen anyone get in trouble, even for blantantly violating tip rules. Of course that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, I am absolutely sure it does. But if I can be in a business for 25 years and never once come across it, then it means your chance of being caught are not very high.
Again I’m not saying it does’t happen where the IRS catches people. They certainly do, but the catch rate must be low.
Another reason companies may say “don’t tip,” again as it encourages in fighting among staff. They all want the tip.
I was a Revenue Manger for a one of the highest class hotels in Chicago. We had a guest, Mr Quinn, who was very wealthy and the LEAST he’d tip was $20.00. Usually it was a lot higher. Carry 2 bags of Mr Quinn’s up to his room could often result in a $50 or $100 tip. Just for carrying the bags. He threw money around and EVERYONE jumped at him to get it.
Now Mr Quinn would stay with us about 180 days a year and he always paid, whatever rate, he didn’t care. So if I was watching the front desk or was manager on duty and I saw even the slightest hint of fighting over him to get a tip, I’d do the job myself and take the tip and give it to the front office manger, to split up for when they had their “Pizza parties or whatever.” I was not gonna have this guy insulted over a couple of bellman fighting to see who gets a tip. Though I certainly can understand them doing such.
OK, now that’s an extreme example but it does show how people will jockey to get tips and how it causes in-fighting.
Old joke:
“Does your company allow tipping?”
“No, Ma’am, but you want to I’ll lie like hell to save you!”
Wal-Mart didn’t allow its employees to accept tips when I worked there from '99 to '01, but the one or two times I helped a customer load their purchases and they offered, I wound up taking it anyway.
My impression as a customer was that it was so customers perceive the additional service offered (taking grocery bags to the car) as a value added service provided by the store, rather than an entrepreneurial way for the staff to “upsell” the customer. The retailer seems to want to position itself as the high-service store against its competitors, not the place where the staff hit you up for a couple of extra bucks.
This is one aspect of my behaviour that has been changed now by this board.
İ do tip. Probably not the fixed % that is espoused by people here but nevertheless to an extent that is greater than before.
For example, when I lived in the UK I didn’t tip because offering a tip could be seen as insulting. A bit like suggesting that you had to pay extra to motivate someone to do their job. When in New Zealand I tipped upto the next $5 (NZ) in a bar and much more in a restaurant, and often had people running out of the establishment thinking that I had forgotten my change.
Here in Italy its hard to get staff to realise that I am leaving a tip. Even if I am out with Italian friends and they see that I have left cash on the table they invariably think that I have forgotten my money.
In Manila I tip always, the cost of living is not comparable to the west and what is buttons to me means that my few dollars tip to a bag packer or taxi dude or waitress is a boost for them. Its always nice to be nice and if it really doesn’t cost a heap then why not?
A sign saying don’t tip would not impact my desicion at all
I worked at an amusement park one summer where we were told very strictly not to accept tips (and I didn’t work in food service). Not many people offered, but a few wanted to give me a few dollars to buy a drink on a hot day or something like that. The reasoning was that it was extremely easy to steal cash and they didn’t want anyone to be able to claim that the money in their pocket was a tip, not stolen.
I once had someone try to tip me when I worked in a bookstore. It was such an odd thing to do that my company didn’t even have a policy regarding tipping. I was shocked and refused it.
I get my hair cut at at a beauty school in town (they’re pretty good, and cheap!) and they don’t allow customers to tip the student hairdressers. Not sure why.
I worked at Disney.
As a contractor I refuse tips of the monetary nature. I’ll gladly accept baked goods or lunch and things of that nature. Always had the policy of refusing tips figure I charge enough on the bill and if they still like me after that calling me in the future is good enough for me.
When working for Home Depot they have a policy against tipping. As a manager turn it down twice and if they still insist accept it and the company would put it towards a charitable donation. Though at my stores we broke the rules a bit and considered the pizza fund for employees charitable enough.
At most businesses the expectation is employees provide the best level of service they can. Allowing tipping discourages employees from providing their highest level of service to all customers. Making the customers aware of the policy relives them from feeling they should tip and also encourages them to provide feedback, positive or negative, on the service to the company rather then just offering or withholding a tip.
I was a reservations manager at a very pricey, upscale spa in the southwest. Our tipping policy was none expected or encouraged; a mandatory “service charge” of 18% was already tacked on to every bill. Nevertheless, I knew that many massage therapists and others with close guest contact often were tipped. Even at the odd interval, myself and my staff were offered tips. I didn’t care too much to receive a gratuity, however, on the principle that the tipper would probably expect me to go much further than the extra mile to procure a room when we were sold out.
Doesn’t mean I didn’t accept the dough, though 
As a new teacher I’ve recently had a student offer me cash… for what, exactly?!? No way in the world I would accept a tip from a student, sorry!
I’ve been tipped at Walmart for bringing things out to someone’s car exactly twice, which I refused both times, and gave in when they insisted. One of the times, I was so severely broke that I took the couple of dollars and became terribly excited at the prospect of being able to buy some dried beans and cook them up to eat that week.
I will tip in only two cases.
ONE. Employees who are paid as people who are expected to be tipped. You know that waitstaff don’t even make minimum wage. As far as I know, people in Starbucks, etc., make at least minimum wage, probably a bit more, but your server in a restaurant doesn’t get that much in the paycheck.
When I worked as a waitress, we got about half the minimum wage. Dishwashers and bussers got minimum wage. The hostess and the bartenders got more than minimum wage, but not a lot more.
Yet, at the end of the night, we were supposed to tip out the bartenders and the bussers (but not the dishwashers) and I don’t remember about the host/hostess.
TWO: People who do a really good job and provide service over and above the call of duty. If someone delivers furniture, and not only puts it together but makes sure it’s in the right place and brings little felt things to attach so the piece won’t scratch my floors? They’re getting tipped.
The cab driver is probably not getting tipped.
The Starbucks barista is not getting tipped.
The cashier at Walmart is not getting tipped.
My hairdresser–I don’t know. She’s expensive. I know she has to pay for her stall, but if I’m already giving her $105 for the haircut, which took her 45 minutes, that seems like plenty to me. (I do tip the people at Cuts Delux who cut my kid’s hair.)
Now, when I worked in retail, I was offered tips a couple of times. Once was when I had to stay open much, much later than usual, to accommodate these people who decided they must have wedding rings, just as the store was closing. At the end of this, the guy offered me $50. I didn’t take it. I wish I had, though.
But I worked on commission, so if someone bought something, that was plenty good enough for me.
I’ve only seen such a sign in places I wouldn’t be even tempted to tip for anyways.
But, then again, I’m the type who can’t even bring himself to even tip waitstaff if they offer bad service. It’s hard enough tipping for standard service, as I feel like I’m just subsidizing their employer’s poor paycheck.
Tipping was seen as grossly insulting when I was living in NZ. It said “Here, peasant, have a few coppers since you are beneath me and must be given treats like a dog for doing things that I find amusing, useful, or pleasing.”
If you ever visit New York City, please keep in mind that your cab drivers deserve a tip. A taxi medallion here now costs upwards of 3/4 of a million dollars. The large majority of the time, your driver is either leasing the medallion or paying off the loan he took out to purchase it. Their profit margins tend not to be great, you know?