Having lived in Austria for 27 years and in the USA for 25 years, I find the system in the USA a better approach to customer service for both the employee and the customer (and maybe the employer).

It’s more expensive for the customer (but “hidden” from the official price list, like taxes, hence it psychologically doesn’t look very expensive vs. Austria/Europe) but the service, in general, is *WAY* better. Like on an other planet better. Vienna even prides itself on their “grumpy waiter” culture. And so does Paris.

And while the official wages are ridiculously small, a 15%-20% cut of revenue is a super sweet deal that a European waiter can only dream of. My niece is one example who barely made a living waiting tables in Austria but is doing really well financially here in Dallas (and yes, she is smart enough to be (fake) friendly to every customer and makes (real) sure that the customer is happy because 20% of revenue $$$$$).

Over here people get a decent wage , so you don't have to tip but you can if you want .
Also , I saw at TPF Todd Tuckey saying how much some food was and then he said plus tax , down here the price is the price , everything is included .

Years ago when I was in a service industry job(yes a server at a long defunct steak house), the wage was $1.15 per hour, and the rest was from tips. The servers who were consistently positive and professional, generated the biggest %, of per table tips. In those days ALL TIPS went into a tip pool, and the bussers(individuals who cleaned the tables for the next sitting) shared(although at a lower % than the servers) from that pool. We were all young and narcissism was a foreign political tool. While the superior performers may have run their pie hole's, we got along, and all made out well by and large! As a 56 year old consumer now the potential to make good for all, is even greater(regardless of the split structure), because the majority of people who even show up for a shift is perverted. Good service can get rewarded now, more than ever, in our lifetime's!

You realize you last tipped Pinside on 5/31/14 right? Not that I have recently either, but I'm not on here bashing people about their tipping habits.

Ouch!

They honestly should get rid of tipping here in the US. Make the employers pay a fair and decent wage instead of the customer paying the employees salary. Not sure what the salary would be but probably different depending on where in the country you are. That Jackbar guy could certainly pay $40k/yr per employee. Then I suppose tipping would be more for excellence in service instead of a way to pay an employee for a low salary.

Wait you want rich executives to pay people more? Hahahaha. Sorry we spent a lot of money buying politicians so we wouldn’t have to do that.

Hell to the no I just got a contract working right next to 3 amazing eateries and this town doesn’t have a ShitBell

Tipping for me is part of building a relationship with a service provider and also just being a good person.

A lot of the people I tip regularly are part of my life on a regular basis: dog walker, restaurant staff, delivery folks, etc... Tipping helps me build a good relationship with them where they don't mind providing me a good service.

We are all humans trying to make it, and as pinball people I feel like most of us have been very lucky and established good lives for ourselves. Passing some of that on to others is never a bad thing in my book.

You are wrong a friend of mine sold a bunch of my stuff here years ago and donated portions to pinside.

Just went to a sport’s restaurant and they had a small tablet to pay the bill, I couldn’t see the itemized bill but just the tip choice so I picked my usual 20% which was the lowest option.

Anyway I got a printed receipt just to see because we were on happy hour and half price items.

I was happy to note the tip was based on the food and beverage not on the tax amount. I really don’t think I should tip on the tax amount but a lot of folks do tip on the whole amount I think.

I can think of a hundred reasons where a tip is not deserved but whatever. I stopped trying to justify every tip a while back. A few dollars does not make much difference to me but might make a difference to someone else. My teenage kids work in fast good. Once in a rare while one of them gets a tip and they get pretty excited about it. They put up with a lot of **** at work and a tip or even just a compliment goes a long way.

It's gone from choosing to tip or not to having it documented to the establishment that you refused to tip or not.

I don’t know your situation. Maybe you went above and beyond in the situation you’re describing.

In general though here on Pinside:
Market sales fees are separate from red-heart ‘tip’ fees. The marketing fees should not be optional (although I suspect a fair share of pinsiders make every excuse to avoid them).

The red-heart donations are your optional tips.

We all evidently spend a ton of time here. Kick in the modest tip every year. (Yeah, I’ve been delinquent here and there too)

i even donated for another Pinsider once to get a red heart... im just enjoying watching people defend their no tip opinion, im amused, so thank you all

Theres a big difference between going out to eat and tipping the wait staff, your bartender, delivery driver, barber, ect, and being asked for a gratuity at the POS where its never traditionally been done. Suddenly they are asking for a 15% tip at subway when you check out. Tons of other places. That I am just not OK with. Plus these companies are raking in millions or billions in profits every year and want me to subsidize their employees wages. How about you pay them better? The Recent point of sale tipping phenomenon is what I have an issue with, and tons and tons of other people do too. Some companies are starting to realize it and scale back. Yes, it is "requested" and not "expected", except it is expected, and your chances of getting rude/poor service or your food mishandled is extremely high if they see you didn't leave that "requested" tip.

That is 100% the problem. This country created these positions as the replacements for the industries that all left and went to Mexico, China, Vietnam and Taiwan.

Every damn intersection in any populated area has 2 gas stations, 6 fast foods, a coffee house, a drug store, a tire store, and 4 big box stores. Of the 300 jobs created by these places, less than 10% of the positions offer a quality of life wage.

Some places actually add an additional surcharge on your food bill that is for employees healthcare. I was in California and iirc it was 10% of the bill and it’s not optional. I mean give me a break.

In the last few years it does seem like tipping has been introduced to many business segments. With record low employment it has been extremely difficult for certain businesses to find employees. Where I live we joke about job openings-if you can fog a mirror exhaling-you are hired.
That being said I have been more than generous with tipping and I want the business I patronize to stay in business. Too many good mom and pop shops have had to close and now I am stuck with Olive Garden and Chilis on every corner. Having tips in these types of establishments helps maintain employees and keep the doors open. Amazon has helped kill retail-I don't want local businesses to fail because they can't pay their employees a decent wage. Places selling burgers, etc. have to sell a ton just to stay in business. Not all burger places are like In-N-Out with a constant line around the building and starting employees at $20 an hour. You do have a choice to eat in or eat out. If you eat out-I feel it is a given to tip. Now there are a few instances that I get annoyed with tipping. One is the giant tablet that Starbuck employees now hand you at drive thru. I feel Starbucks should not offer this through the drive-thru. I don't want to handle some germ filled tablet while the employee stands over you waiting for your tip-it is just weird. Another recent experience I had was a week ago in Las Vegas. I was at a Foreigner concert and decided to go buy the wife a margarita. I stood in line and noticed the margarita was $32. I thought wow that is excessive but hopefully it is a good Patron margarita? Well after the bartender poured it she asked for $41 for the total. I said to myself-wtf-$41 for a margarita? She replied yes there is a $9 service charge as well. I did not see a sign for a service charge and the bartender did not disclose any service charges. I was hoping the margarita would at least be a good one for $41 but no it was really shitty with stock well Tequila. I do not care for service charges-smoke and mirrors-just be upfront and charge one price.

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During covid I started tipping during pickup at local/family owned places, but not McDonalds etc. I've continued since then.

Ordered a pizza from a place a mile away last night, x-large w 2 toppings was almost $40 delivered. Delivery was $5, then there was also a space for a tip (pay online while ordering) so I added a tip too.

Thoughts on tipping AND paying a delivery fee?

Actually thinking I need to start carrying cash again in my wallet for this exact example. Do I want to handle your giant germ filled tablet or hand you some cash?

What about that Domino’s promotion where they tip the customer $3 (actually it’s a coupon for next purchase) to pick up the pizza but then ask you to tip them when you get to the store.

I love happy hours, especially if there are things like 2 for 1 drinks and cheap food. I always get great service at my local places - because I tip based on the regular price, not the discount price on the receipt. Since I’m getting a deal, I add a little more than usual to make up for the cheap bastards that just tip on the reduced price.

I was really pissed a couple of weeks ago when dining out. It was one of those places where you pay on a machine at the table, and it suggested tip percentages and the amounts each equaled to. I'm pretty good at math to start with, but something caught my eye really quickly this time. It just so happened that our meal was almost an even amount, say $60. The suggested 20% tip showed $13. Wait, 20% of $60 is $12 - simple math. What I figured out is they were calculating tip amounts on the total AFTER applying sales tax. In other words, they wanted me to tip them on the percentage I paid to the government. Made me so angry, I tipped what I consider to be them minimum of 15% calculated based off the pre-tax amount.

Why do I read every one of your posts like a voice over from Harvey Keitel? Is it just me?!? Oh, and I agree 100%

Being devils advocate-How do guys afford 10k pinball machines? Well by not being stupid with their monies. Do you really think a $5 cup of coffee that should be $1.50 deserves a dollar tip? I usually tip .50 for a cup of coffee-helps me buy 10k machines.

On another note I do hope Starbuck employees unionize and get a fair wage so they don't have to present a giant tablet for tips(just a thought).

I worked in restaurants a long time, and I stand by this: It's ridiculous the tip on to go food. The first place I saw this was a Jersey Mike's. I can understand maybe doing it some in COVID because restaurants were hit hard. But everyone is taking advantage of it today. absolutely no reason to tip on anything to go, they aren't doing you any service other than backing the food.

You guys eat out a lot.

I disagree. They are doing a service-someone has to bag it up and prepare it to go. Second is the employee bagging your items is probably struggling just to make ends meet in this highly inflated economy. Now the question is-do they deserve 20%? That is debatable but I always try and leave at least 15% for to go orders. Like I said if you can afford to eat out-it is now part of the transaction and until unemployment levels drastically alter-this is the new norm.

I usually give them a buck.

I mean, they pump my fuckin gas for me!

So you were mad at Applebee's for their software/policies, and decided to screw the server who had nothing to do with it in revenge.

Well played! That'll show 'em!

Pure class.

I would still like to see a Poll.
Do You all think You should still tip for poor service ?
I ask for certain Servers at my favorite places and they remember what me and my wife want
and my tipping habits are probably why they do.
Good service gets a great tip.

I always tip on the post tax amount. We are literally talking about spare change here people. And if I give the waiter/waitress an extra $1-2, I don’t care and hope it makes their day. Are you guys serious?

Unless it's a complete disaster, that is clearly their fault, yeah. Even mediocre service gets the old school 15 percent.

Service has to be really bad to justify screwing your server. You are basically asking them to work for free because they forgot to bring you your tabasco on the first ask, or brought you the wrong entree. Their hourly pay just goes to taxes.

It's a lot like code updates; most of us will put away the pitchforks as long as there's some attentiveness/concern shown on their part.

It is kind of funny/different in Europe. Yeah, you don't tip, but you tend to not get jerked off either. Nobody is starting the meal smiling and saying "I'm becky and I'll be your server tonight!" They don't stop by as much and you sometimes have to go out of your way to get their attention.

It's fine with me, but I have a feeling a lot of mollycoddled Americans wouldn't be too happy with it.

yeah I can't really afford either of those things and if I do get one its a very rare treat.

Typing is a skill that is still better than pushing a button with a picture of a big mac.

Hence, they earn an hourly wage to perform such work.

And those dining at their restaurant are not? They should be doing their best to keep and attract customers. Personally, I don't eat out much given the inflated prices (even for fast food these days), and expecting me to pay extra for basic services doesn't do anything to attract me to your establishment. You can easily flip your statement and say that people who are currently eating out for whatever reason are also struggling. The fact they they dine out anyway is what allows others to even have jobs (which many are already being replaced by technology).

BTW, it is not my responsibility to ensure the financial security of others. I worked my tail off starting in high school working extended hours, multiple jobs, etc. to earn what I needed to survive. I expect nothing less from others. There are situations where tipping is expected and proper, but there are also situations where it is incumbent upon the server to provide basic services without any expectations other than it is their job which they are being paid for by their employer.

I don't care how you personally choose to tip, as that is your discression. What I do care about are presumptuous profitable corporations putting the burden unduly on their customers instead of taking care of their staff.

So is inflation to blame or the common worker. Yes I do feel it is my responsibility to help support low hourly wage employees. I value having a place to visit and would rather tip a little extra to have them stay in business and survive. Can a small mom and pop afford $20+ an hour in addition to all the over burdensome expenses? Are landlords forgiving and give out subsidies to help-nope. Houses have doubled, cars have doubled, and yes so has the cost of food, etc. My wife and I often joke to our children on how lucky they are. We both grew up hardly ever getting to eat out and if we did it was a real treat to do so. Nowadays people are more selfish and self entitled and they EXPECT things to be a certain way-but again that is not the case today.

You are making my point. The customers rent/mortgage, car payments, fuel cost, grocery costs, etc. have all increased significantly at a higher rate than income. The vast majority of people have far less expendable/discretionary income. If they do choose to patronize any establishment where tipping is expected, then they need to consider such but they are under no obligation to pay someone extra for those services the company provides as part of the general experience of doing business with them. If someone chooses to do so, then there is nothing wrong with that.

People are tipping Kaneda $5 a month to complain about pinball machines so take that for what you will lol.

I will admit I got ridiculed in another thread about leaving a tip for pinball delivery services. I joked that I would put together a goodie bag with candy and Coca-Cola for the delivery guys. I have since then started to tip $10 plus my usual candy and Coca-Cola goodie bag-so at least I am willing to listen to others and quit being a cheapskate. I thought well I am paying over $500 for this service and they are only dropping in my garage-does that deserve a tip? The answer is yes

Well as usual we all agree,Good stuff.

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In the end, I really don’t think all tipping requests are quite equal.

I appreciate that tips are critical income to some low income workers supporting families.

At some high end restaurants, the wait staff is already pulling in good income compared to professional positions, and the 37% increase over the last two years in their take home is IMO a bit ridiculous. I take international visitors out for work regularly…many of the tips we leave are multiples of what I gross in the same amount of work time. Good for them…but don’t lump them in with low income earners.

And the 16 year olds living in affluent suburbs working in Rita’s for $14/hr probably don’t also need an extra 20% of gross sales.

If you’re blessed with a good income, be generous! If for you that means tipping everyone big %s.…go for it. Maybe also consider donating to charities for individuals that are in much greater need…so many good places to be generous…the workers at Rita’s may not be the biggest priority.

This is another good example of the charitable request made at retail locations.

Sir would you like to round up today to help save red headed children or save a foster pet?

I politely reply-Thank you, but not today

I give to charities of my choice that I know are reputable and do good things.

I do not like being asked in line while other patrons stand behind you. Am I being viewed as a cheapskate because I do not want to round up to charity?

Its tough when your country has more than 1,000 people.

…pretty sure there was a Southpark on that!

"Not today, thank you." "However, I would like to round down and I will make a donation in your business's name in that amount to my favorite charity."

What a racket. The company gets its customers to make donations which they in turn donate to charity in the name of the business and take the tax ride off for themselves.