Do you leave tips?

[Tired]

I constantly feel bad for not leaving tips. Tips are a common thing here in restaurants and cafes, and now we also have all these food and grocery delivery companies, whose workers also expect tips (and applications for those deliveries all the time try to show how important it is to tip them). I really dislike this whole tipping culture itself, cause I feel that because employers are paying low wages to workers, it is on me now to give them money so they can continue living their lives in not poverty, I just feel really bad for the workers who can't find a better job than that.
I am also not rich myself, and I have an SO for whom I am providing as well now, so every time I tip someone I feel bad, but if I don't tip them I also feel bad. I feel bad if I tip delivery guy and he comes being all unpleasant, or if i don't tip someone and the delivery person is some kind older lady. I dunno, I just get so stressed every time i need to order something to be delivered, or when I go out.

 

[Mary Terry]

I generously tip good waiters. I leave a few token coins for bad waiters to let them know that I didn't merely forget to tip them. There is no takeout delivery where I live so there is no occasion to tip a delivery person, and I never tip the overnight couriers like Federal Express, UPS and the United State Postal Service.

 

[Forest Cat]

I don't think you should feel bad about the tipping, you do what you can. If you can't afford to tip all the time, then you have to take care of yourself first and foremost.

Tipping is not a `thing` in Norway, people get salaries for the work they do. So I haven't thought about the pros and cons.

 

[Shevek]

I don't go to restaurants, etc. so tipping is not a decision now.
I won't order from Amazon because one thing they don't offer is a five minute break for the unlucky cyborg who has to pack my order.
When I drove cab, wait staff were consistently good tippers, possibly trying to affect their own luck, but sharing their own tips generously.

 

[FayetheADHDsquirrel]

I don't eat at restaurants.

 

[TBRS1]

Having worked low pay jobs for much of my life, I give what I can now spare to others who work low pay jobs.

 

[Judge]

Tipping has always been a part of American culture as opposed to so many other parts of the world where it's considered "bad form", such as in Western Europe. (Seems travel shows are always emphasizing this, particularly about France.)

Personally I'm very structured about when and who to tip. Twenty percent or a bit over that, and not a percentage from sales tax either. Just the cost of the meal. Though I suspect most people just figure 20% of the bottom line because it's mentally easier.

I no longer go out anywhere with my cousin, and have never been to any establishment by myself, expecting a tip. Been a long time since I included a tip. Though I scoff at the idea of tipping establishments like "Papa Murphy's Pizza". Where they prepare the pizza cold, and hand it over the counter to patrons who must bake it in their own ovens. Seems absurd to tip anyone for simply handing a product over their counter. There has to be considerably more involved for me to tip them, IMO.

 

[Masked Man]

It depends.

When I go to a sit down type restaurant, yes, I tip the service staff (unless the restaurant is a no-tip establishment, which there are a few where I live, although it's not the norm).

I also tip hair stylists/barbers, and other service staff type things.

I do not tip at coffee places, places where I am picking up food only, sandwich spots, etc.

I do not use food delivery apps, so obviously no tips there.

I believe the tipping model has gotten out of hand and it is simply a reason for employers to underpay their employees and, once again, pass the costs on to the consumer.

 

[Outdated]

Tipping is a socio-political hot potato in Australia and Aussies will actively discourage the practice. Australian society is much more unionised and much more socialist that that of the US and we find the whole idea highly offensive on several different levels.

On one level is our pride in the way our health and welfare systems work and that no one in Australia needs to beg. In fact begging is illegal here. The way our housing prices are going through the roof at the moment means some people don’t have a roof over their heads but every single one of them is well fed and looked after.

On another level is the industrial relations side of things, we see the way some things work in other countries and we don’t like it. In the US hospitality staff are taxed for tips even if they don’t receive any tips, and if tipping becomes a thing here then you bet our government will start taxing it the same. We don’t want that.

Again with the industrial relations is that it’s illegal here to hit people with hidden charges. If a business owner forgets to include sales tax in the price then that’s the business owner’s tough luck, we pay what it says on the sticker and not a penny more. Most of us are very touchy about this and find things like credit card surcharges so offensive that we’ve outlawed them. That’s also why our automatic teller machines aren’t allowed to charge a fee. Sales tax (GST) is one set rate nation wide by the way – 10%.

And finally there’s the more socially cohesive attitudes we mostly have in work places. Some places do take tips but you’ll notice they have a tips jar near the till. The money that goes in to that jar will pay for their end of year work Christmas party. If you give a tip to a staff member personally and they pocket it instead of putting it in the jar it starts all sorts of arguments in the workplace. There are also some people that will be offended by the offering of a personal tip and will ask you to put the money in the jar instead. These days many wait staff are tourists on a working visa and they might not be aware of that trap so it’s best not to tip unless someone has really gone out of their way and bent over backwards to help you.

And as @Forest Cat mentioned, our staff are paid a living wage here and have no need to go begging for money from strangers. Casual wait staff in Australia currently have a minimum wage of $30/hour plus an extra 10% on Saturdays and an extra 15% on Sundays and public holidays. Note that that's the minimum wage, if they're worth keeping they'll be paid considerably more.

 

[JayLapointe]

Casual wait staff in Australia currently have a minimum wage of $30/hour plus an extra 10% on Saturdays and an extra 15% on Sundays and public holidays. Note that that's the minimum wage, if they're worth keeping they'll be paid considerably more.

That is an amazing minimum wage. I wish that were the case here. In my province in Canada minimum wage right now is $15.25. The Canadian/Australian exchange rate is pretty much on par. 1 Cad = 1.09 Australian. Studies in my province though show that a "living wage" would be 27 an hour for someone working 40 hours a week. You guys are so far ahead us. Same with most of Europe. North America is still young upstart with a lot left to figure out.


Now when it come to tipping I used to be a bartender so when I'm out a restaurants or places with bartenders I tip them alright. 20-30% typically. Though if the service is genuinely bad, 5%. Now a caveat to that is food counter service. I'm sorry but if I have to stand in a line, order my food off a led board ie McD's, and then I'm carrying my meal out in a bag to eat elsewhere, no you don't get tipped. Likewise everywhere else that now suddenly has tip options at the checkout, like regular stores, I'm hitting 0%. Small independent take-aways I'll tip them if I know the quality of the food is there.

I personally think tipping should be abolished and everyone, not just those in the service industry, should be getting a living wage. Because any employer that is only paying the "minimum wage" is straight up telling their employees from the get go, "I don't value you, and I would pay you less if I legally could". I half joke sometimes that slavery was never abolished in North America, it just got replaced with a minimum wage.

 

[velociraptor]

I constantly feel bad for not leaving tips.

I stopped feeling bad about it. It is the up to the restaurant owner to compensate staff properly, not me. By tipping I'm helping keep a broken and unfair system running long past its best before date.

Further to this, I stopped eating out entirely last year because it's no longer a good value. I can cook better meals for myself than I can get at a restaurant.

 

[Outdated]

You guys are so far ahead us. Same with most of Europe. North America is still young upstart with a lot left to figure out.

Funnily enough, it's thanks to some Americans that we went down the path we have. In the very late 1800s they tried to set up worker's unions and they got branded communists and had to flee the country. Some of them came to Australia and at that time we were going through the process of writing up a constitution and working out how a federation of states was going to work.

These Americans set up workers unions here, Australia was the first country to introduce the 40 hour week. They charged union members dues and that money was used to fund a political party that could compete on the same level as the wealthy business owners and land owners. They were very successful, in fact that's the party that's currently in government in Australia.

 

[Tired]

By tipping I'm helping keep a broken and unfair system running long past its best before date.

These are my thoughts as well, but by just me stopping that not much will change, sadly. It's the same thing in Serbia happening with gypsies. They are making their toddlers drink alcohol, then toddlers stay quiet and/or asleep and they ask people for money for food for the toddler. There is a whole mafia going on with that, and it will continue as long as people buy into it and continue giving money to those people.

Further to this, I stopped eating out entirely last year because it's no longer a good value. I can cook better meals for myself than I can get at a restaurant.

Yes, it's also very expensive to eat out here as well, plus ultra hard to find vegan options, plus I cook just as good if not better... but I do hang out with a lot of people who want to "go out," and going out is never just going for a walk, it must be an expensive restaurant, and because everyone leaves a tip I will look and feel stupid if I don't. Sigh.

 

[Outdated]

That's why begging is illegal in several places in Norway. A nation wide ban on begging is being discussed.

I'm not sure but I think it got outlawed here when we first introduced our welfare system back before I was born.

Here the closest they can come is musical busking and they can earn a fair bit of tax free money (cash) if they're any good, but if they're not good they're just as likely to get moved on for disturbing the peace.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

In the US... if you are being served by wait staff or it's being delivered to your home... tip. If there is no wait staff... no.

If you are visiting the US, it is quite common for restaurants to ask for a tip at the register... before you even receive the food. I refuse to.

 

[Tired]

it is quite common for restaurants to ask for a tip at the register... before you even receive the food.

I really dont get how it came to this point, and why are people okay with that...

 

[Tired]

That's why begging is illegal in several places in Norway. A nation wide ban on begging is being discussed. It is always possible to get help from the state/government, so no one really needs to beg for money on the street to survive. And we have seen too many examples of organised crime groups bringing people to Norway and forcing them to beg for money. It's an industry, they're making millions. Norwegians have a tendency to give if someone asks us to give. It's almost a reflex, saying no would be rude and not nice and that's not good.

Problem of Serbia is that we don't have a government to take care of you when you are poor, it's mostly relatives who are doing that... don't have relatives and money to pay bills? Off on the streets you go. It is also not allowed to beg here, but if you are connected to mafia - then of course you can.
And around 800.000 people here are under the line of poverty, if we believe numbers I just read online. So yeah, I feel this pressure that if I don't add some more money, this person in the near future will be on the street. I don't say that the tip I leave is something huge, but I know that financial security is something I am worried, so I understand that others too. I know that feeding others isn't my problem, but...

 

[Tired]

Tipping is not a `thing` in Norway, people get salaries for the work they do.

This is also something which puzzles me. People work hard on the fields, sometimes, yet no one tips them for that, or for cleaning streets, or for being a game-designer! Why some professions became tip-able and others don't? Strange discrimination... Yet imagine the world where you need to tip everyone!

 

[Outdated]

I really dont get how it came to this point, and why are people okay with that...

A couple of years ago the American fast food franchises all added tipping to the order screens in their restaurants and Aussies got real upset about that one. The boycott cost them millions in just the few months that it was there. They don't do that here any more.

Tipping is supposed to be for extraordinary service, not for someone just doing their job.

 

[UFO]

These pretty much got already mentioned while I was composing the message and had to run to do some stuff before posting...

If tips are paid for a good service... Am I paying for something that I should be getting anyway? If I pay to get better service than non-paying customers, isn't that a bribery? If I am required to pay more than price list indicates to get a service, isn't that an extortion?

If tips are not listed in the receipt and paid outside the cash register, that could be both accounting violation and tax fraud. If I don't know if tips are registered or not, but I pay them anyways, I am risking of being guilty to aiding and abetting of a crime. Also, if the society knowingly allow tips that pass the cash register, isn't that an institutionalized corruption?

If an income of an employee depends on customer's perception of the employee's performance (and mostly likely of appearance, gender, ethnicity etc.), isn't that discriminating? How a society with tipping culture can ensure that all employees are treated equally and fairly?

To be more serious:

I avoid this problem entirely as there is no tipping culture in my country (but if offered, some take the money, some decline, some deposit the money to the company's cash register as "other operational income" in accounting).

But if I am in a foreign country, I am a tourist who has enough money to travel, so I have enough money to pay tips as well. Especially in countries where I can assume that employees actually are poorer than me, and their earnings actually depend on tips.

But I would prefer that there wouldn't be any tipping culture in countries that consider themselves to be wealthy enough to ensure basic standard of living for all, in countries that offer socially equal and fair society, and in countries that see themselves as not corrupted.

but I do hang out with a lot of people who want to "go out," and going out is never just going for a walk, it must be an expensive restaurant, and because everyone leaves a tip I will look and feel stupid if I don't.

This is one of those many issues that make me feel that I don't play with same rules as everyone else . I have had this situation myself. Back then, and still now, I feel fair that if my friends are better of than me, or if they really want to visit an expensive joint more voluntarily than I want, then they should pay more than I do for that fun... I don't think that attitude made me popular, but I think it is justified.