Over the past few years, there’s been an annoying trend of tipping creep in fast casual places like Starbucks, Chipotle, Panera, Potbelly’s, etc.
With Chipotle raising wages, is there a prayer that this will quash this annoying trend? These are employees making $9 an hour plus, now heading to an average of $15 an hour. These aren’t people making $2.36 an hour and depending solely on tips for their pay.
For me, it makes it a lot easier to not feel guilty and not tip in those types of places. I do understand it’s still an lousy job even at $15 an hour and customers can be assholes.
Good question. I used to throw in a buck or two when picking up carry out, which ended up being 10% or less. I figured that was fine for a pickup order, as opposed to dining in, where I would always give a 20% tip unless something was very wrong with the service.
But during the pandemic, I’ve been a little more generous, especially with our favorite local places that we might have dined at in past days, but now exclusively pick up, like our favorite Thai place- we pick up but still pay them a full 20% gratuity.
But what about picking up a pizza? If I have them deliver I still pay a good tip, but picking up, I’ll usually just throw a dollar into the tip jar, which on an average $20 pizza order is a mere 5%. Am I being cheap there? And where’s the cut-off for “casual fast food” that shouldn’t expect any tips? Why is no tip jar out or tip ever expected at McDonalds or Taco Bell, but is for Panera or Chipotle?
Speaking of Starbucks, a local grocery store has a Starbucks inside it and they actually not only NOT have a tip jar, they refuse tips, saying it’s store policy (meaning the grocery) to not accept them. It always feels weird, and I’d feel compelled to at least offer a tip each time unless the person behind the counter recognized me and therefore knew I knew the policy. But leaving a tip is so ingrained-- sometimes I’d just “accidentally” leave my change on the counter.
As with that Starbucks you mentioned, this is often a corporate/management decision. Some places expressly forbid any kind of tip jar. Publix (a big regional supermarket chain) has signs telling its customers that tipping is not allowed.
Anecdotally, I’ve also been tipping a lot more than normal during the pandemic, and for stuff like takeaway counter service (which I previously didn’t tip at all, or tipped minimally). I don’t know yet whether I’ll keep doing it or not when things settle down. I hope that the pandemic era has cemented a bit more respect in peoples’ minds for service industry workers, and I further hope that this translates into better wages rather than increased subsidization by customers in the form of bigger tips.
I would expect so. Many full service restaurants in our community are adding a service charge to the bill from 20-25%, and doing away with tipping all together.
I think before tipping cools down, there will have to be some sort of public awareness that the wages are higher than they previously were.
That said, I’m not a huge fan of tipping relatively well paid fast casual restaurant workers who provide counter service. I’m not exactly sure what I’m tipping for- with a wait-person, I’m tipping them for their service- taking my order, bringing my food, drinks, etc… and fielding any requests for napkins, condiments, etc…
At fast casual places, I’m tipping for them to what… take my money? Hand me a cup and point at the soda fountain? I’m usually a bit perplexed as to what that money is for. I usually end up doing it anyway, to not look like a dick, but it’s usually some nominal amount like a buck or two, not 15-20% of the amount. It feels like I’m tipping someone who is making well more than the $2.36/hr tip wage, for basically doing nothing more than their job.
That’s always been my stance. I fully acknowledge that customers can be assholes and it’s a hard job that I don’t want to do. But, they’re paid at least $15 an hour here and the job is to make burritos at Chipotle and that’s all I’m asking them to do.
So I don’t carry cash, so I never have anything to throw into the tip jar.
For picking up a pizza or Chinese at the counter, I never tip even though there’s a line on the receipt. Why would I tip for them handing me a pizza over the counter where I wouldn’t for the McDonalds’s worker handing me a sack with a burger and fries?
Now that Pizza Hut will carry it out to the car for contactless curbside, I wonder if I should be tipping for that. (anyone have any input? If so, the same as delivery- $4 or 15%, or should it be less?)
I see tipping creep as having accelerated during the pandemic.
I hesitate to contribute to a topic that can easily take a nasty turn but…
I mostly agree but the argument for tipping to go orders at, say, a Chinese restaurant is that “someone” had to take extra precautions to package and prep your order for transportation, which can be relatively burdensome.
I’m happy to tip when extra effort is required. I’m much less likely to tip at Starbucks for a drip coffee where the barista really didn’t add any value to that transaction (if I were one of those annoying social media pests who orders ultra-complicated drinks, then YES I would absolutely tip for that!)
I doubt it’ll have any effect, really. You don’t really know what those workers are earning, after all.
I mean, chances are they’re earning minimum wage or perhaps a dollar or two more if they’ve been there a bit and the employer wants to retain them, but the tip jar seems like a no-lose situation for the place. If people contribute, cool; if not, it’s not like the employer is making up the difference.
Why would you tip the same as delivery? You have to get dressed & leave your house. You’re using your gasoline & wear & tear on your car. I wouldn’t even consider tipping unless they had to come outside in crappy weather, otherwise it’s no different than a fast food/fast casual place where you order at the counter & they give you a big plastic # to put on whatever table you decide to sit at & they bring your order to you. I’m doing that because they want me to, I can wait at the counter & carry a tray to wherever I end up sitting.
I’ll tip if there’s a space to write it on a debit card purchase. It might not always be 20% but I’ll tip if it’s expected. I figure that people need the money, and that money circulates through the broader economy, so tipping helps the tipper, too.
My tipping has dropped off dramatically during the pandemic. I don’t tip for carry out since there is no service that I want to encourage higher levels of. I do tip my delivery drivers 15-20% depending on the price of the meal. With COVID the dollar value of our delivery meals has gone up and I have trouble understanding why my delivery driver gets $20 when we order pizza but $40 when we have a steak dinner since it’s not like they are carrying more bags or anything.
Now that I’m back in restaurants I find myself tipping a bit heavier and we did a 20% tip for lunch the other day when the server came to the table 3 times: take our order, drop off food, bring bill.
I agree completely, if I am going to the steak restaurant, I am going to have a high expectation of the service and expect the server to be able to discuss the menu and the wine/cocktails (unless they have a wine steward), I get none of that from some delivery person.