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Across the country, quiet complaints are growing about an age-old practice that many say is getting out of hand: tipping.
Some disgusted consumers are posting rants on social media complaining about tip demands at drive-thru, while others are tired of being asked to leave a muffin or a simple cup of tip. Some say they do. coffee at a nearby bakery. They’re thinking: Are we going to tip our doctors and dentists, too?
As more businesses adopt digital payment methods, customers are automatically encouraged to leave a gratuity (up to 30%) in places they wouldn’t normally pay. And while it eased to 6.5% in December, it remains very high, although some say inflation has caused commodity prices to skyrocket, adding to the frustration.
“Suddenly, these screens have been put up at every facility we come across. They’re popping up online for online orders too. And I fear there’s no end to it,” said etiquette expert Thomas Farley.
Unlike tip jars, which shoppers can easily ignore if they don’t have change, digital requests can create social pressure and are more difficult to avoid, according to experts. And your generosity, or lack thereof, can be obvious to anyone with a single glance. screen — Including the workers themselves.
Dylan Schenker is one of them. The 38-year-old earns about $400 a month in tips that help him cover his $15 hourly wage as a barista at a Philadelphia cafe inside a restaurant. Most of these tips are for ordering coffee or Cafe In other cases, such as fulfilling an order. The gratuity helps cover his monthly rent and eases some of the burden while he attends graduate school and juggles work.
Schenker says it’s hard to sympathize with consumers who complain about tipping even though they can afford expensive coffee drinks. He is often demoralized.
“A tip is to make sure that the people providing that service for you get what they owe,” says Schenker, who has worked in the service industry for about 18 years. .
Traditionally, consumers take pride in being a good tipper in places such as: restaurantthey usually pay workers less than the minimum wage and expect to make up for the difference in tips. , are frustrated by automatic tipping requirements at coffee shops and other counter-service eateries.
“People don’t like unsolicited advice,” says Ismail Karabas, a marketing professor who studies chips at Murray State University. on time.”
Chip options displayed on the X-Golf indoor golf card reader tablet (Source: AP)
Some requests come from strange places. Clarissa Moore, 35, who works as a supervisor at a utility company in Pennsylvania, says even her mortgage company has been asked for tips lately. Usually she is happy to tip in restaurants, and sometimes in coffee shops and other places as well. fast food Good point of service. But Moore said he doesn’t believe consumers should be required to tip anywhere they go.
“It makes you feel bad. You feel like you have to do it because they ask you to do it,” she said. You have to think about the position they’re in. They’re either paying for something they really don’t want to pay, tipping when they really don’t want to tip, or they can’t. I don’t want to, so I can’t afford to tip. ”
In their book Emily Post’s Etiquette, authors Lizzie Post and Daniel Post Senning explore ridesharing, such as Uber and Lyft, alcoholHowever, they also noted that it is up to each individual to choose how much to tip at cafes and takeout food service, and consumers should not be embarrassed to choose the minimum tip amount suggested. , writes that there is no need to explain… if they don’t fall, themselves.
Digital payment methods have been around for years, but experts say the pandemic has accelerated the trend toward more chips. Michael Lin, a professor of consumer behavior at Cornell University, said in the early days of the pandemic, consumers were more generous in their tips to show support for restaurants and other businesses hit hard by the pandemic. said to have provided. COVID-19 (new coronavirus infectious disease)Lin said many people really want to help and sympathize with workers whose jobs put them at higher risk of contracting the virus.
According to Square, one of the largest companies operating digital payment methods, tipping at full-service restaurants will increase 25.3% in the third quarter of 2022, while tipping at quick or counter-service restaurants will grow by 2021. increased by 16.7% compared to the same period. Data provided by the company show continued growth over the same period since 2019.
As tipping requirements become more common, some businesses are advertising it in their job postings to attract more workers, although the extra money isn’t always guaranteed. .
In December, Starbucks introduced a new tipping option for credit and debit card transactions in stores, requested by a group that organizes the company’s hourly workers. Since then, a Starbucks spokesperson said nearly half of its credit and debit card transactions include a tip. Tips, along with tips received in cash or through the Starbucks app, are distributed based on the number of hours the barista works on the day the tip is provided. received.
Some customers, like those who have worked in the service industry in the past, want to tip quick service workers, says Murray State University professor Carrabus, and they don’t get frustrated with automated requests. says it won’t. For others, however, research has shown that they may be less likely to return to a particular business if they feel irritated by the demands.
The final tab can also influence customer response. Carrabas said that in research he conducted with other academics, they found that they manipulated payment amounts and consumers were no longer frustrated with tip requests when the check was large. This suggests the perfect time for a coffee shop to ask for his 20% tip. For example, ordering 4-5 cups of coffee instead of a small $4 cup.
Some consumers may continue to ignore tip requests regardless of the amount.
“If you work for a company, it’s the company’s job to pay you to do work for them.”They are already using money to pay their employees. Consumers should not suffer.”
Philadelphia barista Schenker agrees to some extent.
“The responsibility should be entirely on the owner, but that doesn’t change overnight,” he said. “And this is the best we have right now.”
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