For those of us in North America, we’ve all been to a cafe and ordered a beverage to go, only to be met with that familiar “Choose tip amount” prompt…
Then comes the dilemma: do I tip?
My gut reaction is to tip 12% and save face — “I don’t want to look like a cheapskate”. However, I have never been to this cafe before. Do I really need To Insure Prompt Service after filling my travel mug with joe? Yet, in the back of my head, I know that their employer is paying them as little as possible, guilting patrons like me into filling the gap in their wages.
I’d indignantly prefer to use my tips on the cafe I frequent, the baristas I know, or the times I choose to and not because I was asked. Perhaps withholding it and “voting with my money” for the business owner to pay their staff fairly instead is the best choice.
But they’re underpaid.
As you can tell my monologue, I have yet to find an answer to constantly being asked to tip in situations where I would not have of my own accord.
In the US: Big franchise / chain -> never ever tip. The employees are disposable and I’m not going to reward a system that makes billions while paying nothing to its employees. I’m not worried about them holding a grudge or whatever because they already can’t remember me from one visit to the next, it’s so impersonal and unfriendly anyway. The kids behind any counter never remember me. Even when I still gave a fuck and tipped and was cordial, they never remembered me. I guess we all look the same.
But also over the past few years I’ve been to fewer and fewer large franchises and they’ve gotten more and more aggressive.
Small restaurant -> I always tip. I grew up as an immigrant in an immigrant restaurant so I relate to these people. They also remember me, my family, and engage in small talk, ask how my parents are doing, etc.
Overseas: Restaurants/stores: never. (they almost never ask for a tip but it’s starting to become common in the UK). But always carry cash on the streets because there’s always somebody who needs it.