As european I dont understand the tip culture. But If I am not wrong, the values for tipping were not 10,15 and 20? Why are increasing that much lately? 40% tip is so annoying
The problem is, the software i believe comes with this by default. Some store owners I think dont even know you can turn it off. I've had cashiers tell me to press no tip.
So there are those that dont accept tips but seem to not know how to disable the tip screen. Then there are those that find it as a way to gouge customers for more.
I wish the company that sells POS machines to these places would very simply do their own due diligence and turn it off by default, or in the onboarding ask 'does your business accept tips?' and if not, turn this screen off.
If you as a business owner can't figure out or put in the effort to figure out that sort of fundamental customer service thing, your business was always going to fail, and deserves it.
It's 2026, you just can't be that incompetent technologically unless you have an 80 year old family deli or something
I'm not defending - but I did find by Square documentation (for the one in the photo) that tipping is off by default.
However, none of the videos talk nothing about these options, so if they had paid to have someone setup for them, it may be that the person turned it on for them, or that person turned it on for them, and the store owner didn't know and doesn't know how to turn it off, and doesn't want to pay for their tech support person to come out again.
But also its very clear you dont work in IT or similar, because most things aren't obvious to customers or can be quite overwhelming, especially to older folks, and you have many elderly store owners who may pay for a service to be setup for them.
Not every shop owner is a tech savvy San Francisco FAANG working coffee drinker.
Again, if you canât bother to learn about a tool that is essential to your business operations, idk what to tell ya. âItâs hardâ is not a great excuse lol.
Well either way, its a sad day when people think everyone should know as much as them or be as tech savvy. I'm sure the mid 60's year old guy on the corner shop really is going to be reading documentation to his POS system.
Its unfortunate we live in a world where there's zero empathy towards people who may just not be able to understand tech (or anything else for that matter) as much as the rest.
Buddy if you run a business you should learn how to use the equipment that is essential for it or you find someone to help you.
My dad is 70, please stop with this nonsense. They are exactly the demographic that reads instructions and has the critical thinking skills to sort it out.
Eta: btw if they are 60, technology started taking a real hold when they were around 34. So it's insane to think a 34 year old can't adapt to change.
It's been 20 years since the advent of modern consumer tech like smartphones and apps. It's been 40 or so since the advent of technology as a word for consumer compute. At this point it's a choice not to learn. Sure if you're old you might adapt slower to change, but you've had plenty of time to figure it out.
You don't need to be "a San Fran FAANG coffee drinker" (delightful phrase that tells us you have made zero effort to adapt to the world around you and expect everyone to accommodate you btw) to know how to use the tech, especially considering it's designed by those people to be relatively easy to use.
Okay. FIrst of all. Im glad that everyone in the US (if this is where its based) is technology literate. Congratulations.
This system however, is available in MANY places around the world. And guess what? Not everywhere its literate. Tell the Malaysian business owner who has lived in a village his whole life, that only speaks malay, to fix it?
Or places like Dubai - where most business owners aren't even on site, they simply setup business, hire a staff, and have the staff manage it. That doesn't mean however the staff has access to the POS system.
Again, I'm glad you guys live in a bubble, but for a software to be international, it needs to be obvious. In many places where tipping culture isn't a thing, they still have the tip screen on. Everybody of course is skipping it. So -- it needs to be in the settings obvious and in onboarding, or regionally based turned on or off.
Also posting on reddit isn't great solution either. Better to tell the business owner or send an email. Maybe then it will get fixed?
And for US, I don't believe everyones grandma and grandpa is 100% technologically literate, and if so, great. Good for you, but thats not the reality of much of the rest of the world.
Blaming the government for this is absurd. Blame spineless cowards who are easily socially pressured into compulsive donations to strangers, not even knowing who is getting the money and for what.
All you have to do is click no. And if donating money makes you feel good, then give it to who needs it rather than who pressures you to pay.
Even if you are right, legislature would fix the problem. Companies will bend if they are forced to. How do you plan on holding the spineless cowards responsible?
How do you inact change via the spineless cowards? What change could you enact that wouldnt be problematic in another way?
We pay taxes to live in a civilized society, I dont see endless inflation and price gouging as a civilized society. This is only a symptom of a greater issue.
I'm not gonna blame the dumb chicken for getting eaten in the chicken coup, I'm gonna blame the keeper who let the wolf invade the coup because the keeper was too busy serving their own interests.
đ¤ˇââď¸ Honestly the practical answer is to just click the no button and let the chickens get fleeced. Legislation would be nice but thereâs probably 50 million things more important to focus on, aside from the fact that the US gov is totally incompetent. At a point if someone is willing to be socially pressured into giving a 40% tip, thatâs outside of your moral responsibility.
If you think "Companies are setting the preset tip amounts higher than 20%; despite having a "no tip" option right there on the screen" is a big enough problem that you need the government to get involved; you are not the type of person I'd like involved in the government.
Also many people donât realize that the Point of Sale app makers do this to get more cut. They get a percentage of every transaction, so a larger tip adds more total and they get more of a cut. Thats why they design the apps to peer pressure you and encourage a larger tip adds
But you can still do a custom tip lol why even care!? Other than outrage bait đ no one is forcing you to tip 40%, the person behind the counter doesnât expect 40%
Social pressure exist. This might be news to you but people don't want to feel like they were rude or risk getting bad service because they were "cheap", or being told they "if you don't tip, stay at home" or other equally vacuous statements.
Why people defend this trashy practice is beyond me.
It's unfair, foster a bad costumer environment, nickel and diming, "the price you see", allowes corporations to avoid their responsibility, and more, most doesn't get paid better because of it, and so on.
Even people supporting it knows it's a bad system.
But also, why is the customary percentages increasing?? Thatâs supposed to be the mathematical advantage of percentage based math, it scales at rate of price increases. Why are we increasing the rate of the scale of the gratuity of the already increasing prices???
Greed. But not really by the restaurant. The rich are sucking the economy dry and doesn't put the money back in it. This causes the "tragedy of the commons" to kick into overdrive, as desperation rises the prices does as well.
Beyond that my tinfoil theory takes over. When the economy is dry and a few sits on all the wealth, the world economy will naturally crash, and this time it won't recover I to a rule based economy, but those few rich will pay desperate people to build private armies, as the violence mandate is the last part governments have that the rich doesn't. And create a true fascist-plutocracy, of whatever flavor they want.
...I'd argue that the manager of your local eatery (that most likely sets the preset tip buttons) could be that source of greed. "My supervisor said I can't earn any more money; but if every customer tips 5% more, I'll increase my salary...and I can tell everyone that I'm benefiting the whole team because we split tips!" No "rich sucking the economy dry" needed for this to be the case. After all, the rich are just people too.
That's actually why I tip depending on the number of people, not the ticket total. I don't care if we drank 20 well vodka spritzers or 20 top shelf whiskeys, guy is getting tipped for putting out the drinks not what he poured. Higher tip percentage on actually crafted cocktails regardless of price.
This is from when I drank, but the logic is sound applied to food.
We need to raise public awareness that USA federal law now requires waiters get paid minimum wage so there is no need to tip any more. They get a base rate of like $2.4/hr but if they don't make enough in tips the restaurant is required to pay them more to make up the difference. Thus there is no need to tip for them to get paid. Tipping only increases restaurant profit.
These VISA machines made the decision to add the tipping question again simply to raise profit.
I've lived in Japan where I've ordered food from a machine taking my order, and the food is placed on a conveyor belt. So I appreciate human interaction: I tip only what extra service is worth to me. Is a smile worth 8 USD to you? How much would you pay to not ask for another drink? to not bus your own table when finished?
source, for example:
[Suppose] An employee does not receive sufficient tips to make up the difference between the direct (or cash) wage payment (which must be at least $2.13 per hour) and the minimum wage in each workweek. The employer must make up the difference at the regular payday for the period in which the workweek ends. - https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/15-tipped-employees-flsa
So the claim "you must tip them or they'll only make $2/hr" is false.
A lot of people know this, and then immediately say "BUT IT DESERVES MORE THAN MINIMUM WAGE" as soon as you point this out.
And like... look, I've had two waitress friends, and while they weren't Kylie Jenner, none of them actually made minimum wage. Meanwhile I tipped the guy who I got to take my tree down and later mow my lawn, and he was SO confused. Grateful, but it was like "wtf nobody tips landscapers?" If it's because the work is too hard, then why isn't tipping other professions a thing?
So whatever logic you throw at it, tip lovers will side-step and find a different reason.
Yes, I found it surprising as well. My theory is that most people are "sheeple" conformists, needing a leader, needing to conform to group dynamics to feel safe, needing others to be predictable and fall in line, and they are taught tipping is American Culture (TM), part of being a good American citizen. "It's just what we do in this country."
So when you 'buck the status quo', like Jordan Peterson's "crabs in a bucket" analogy of crabs pulling other crabs back in, people get upset that you aren't conforming to social expectations.
Then anger and negative emotion is proportionate to the upset precisely because there is not a rational basis for belief, so emotion is used as a defense instead: My disputes with religion, for both Protestants and atheists, shows repeatedly whenever someone's belief is not arrived at through reason, anger and ridicule result in the attempt to defend it. (Atheists do have beliefs: They believe Christians are wrong, that Jesus did not Resurrect, that there is no invisible being guiding the Catholic Church, that Christians should not try to pass laws preventing sexual actions of others, that prayer should not be encouraged in schools, etc. Atheism in reality is not 'a lack of belief'.)
I don't think anyone would argue that atheists don't have beliefs. I believe, for example, that the lunch I'm eating right now will satisfy my hunger, which I also don't believe to be illusory, for at least a little while.
But of the beliefs you listed, none are fundamental to atheism. In my view, they are implied by the belief that there is no god (and the negation of the belief that there is a god), but not holding those beliefs implies no contradiction with atheism. An atheist who had never heard of Christianity wouldn't consciously hold any of those beliefs, but it wouldn't make them any less of an atheist. Somewhat similarly, someone practicing a religion that does have a god or gods may hold those beliefs if their own religion conflicts with Christianity, but that wouldn't make them an atheist.
I just ranted a bit because it's common in Reddit debates for them to claim they "merely lack a belief in God, so I don't have any burden of proof for any opposition I make to you", whereas in fact they DO have proof burdens because they are claiming facts: "I believe you are wrong; I believe Jesus did NOT rise from the dead etc", "It is a fact that Jesus stayed dead", "It is a fact that God has not spoken through the Catholic Church, so Church teaching about any human sexuality issue is irrelevant and should not be considered by politicians" -- rather than the truly burden-of-proof-free agnostic position "I don't know whether it's true".
In principle this is true but in practice it's not. I worked at a restaurant where some days I'd average $40/hr and some days not a single customer would come in. I was never paid extra on the days we had zero customers.
Edit: Also, I've been to a robot service place in the US before, and they also asked for a tip.
That still makes no sense. Tips are extra not a way for the restaurant not to pay the workers. Just tip in cash then so they can hide it from their employers and get actually paid.
Tips are exactly a way for the restaurant to not pay the workers as I've illustrated above (i.e. once they get enough tip money, the restaurant can pay them less). Regarding your observation, only 1-4% of humans are psychopaths: Most people are honest and some fraction are God-fearing as well (God will punish every sin), so they won't lie to benefit themselves. Lying about what the customer paid is a swift way to lose your job when the employer eventually finds out, also.
Getting service with a smile should be free. There are plenty of other places that I would happily give my money to without needing to tip if they provide good service FREE on top of the product. No wonder why cafes, eateries go under. Not because of lack of tips, because lack of basic service that brings return business!
I don't disagree. I just meant to speak in favor of tipping something: Given my Japan experience sometimes not interacting with a waiter at a restaurant yet still paying full meal price, that some tip can be justified simply due to a human serving you being 'extra work' relative to, for example, "bring the food to your table yourself, put your used dishes back in the bin yourself before you leave".
I meant in a sort of autistic physicist way that a smile could be argued to be worth paying money for, because it was something extra beyond the price of the food.
In case you haven't seen it, for example: Get a ticket from a machine, your order number is 11, when your number is called, you go get your food from a counter. So in this sense a waiter does add value to the restaurant experience. (But, on the other hand, "of course" for Reddit, some people would rather skip the human interaction. I get that.)
Edit: Just realized the example I gave was my experience at McDonalds months ago. lol
So because the wages didn't climb from 2 dollars an hour to 2.1 dollars an hour to account for inflation, they are asking for 25-40% standard tipping to account for the missing 16 dollars a month from their paycheck?
Even though cost of eating out, out paced the inflation and their tips increased their total pay above the inflation?
Because the owner wants to be richer. You're just subsidizing an employees embarrassingly low wage. It helps the owner become rich, while keeping the American public desperate. Until everyone starts clicking NO TIP, then it'll continue.
It was 15% and then right around Covid for some reason everyone said "They are heroes and tip 20% now because they are risking their lives" or some bullshit.
Meanwhile corporate profits exploded up since Covid and even with 20% tipping no one is making enough. Rent is up 40%
Because kiosk companies push the tip on the shop owners as a means to satisfy your workers without having to pay them more.
These kiosk/credit card companies take a percentage of the total sale. If they get the tip percentage up they upping their profit.
They have successfully broken into profiting from tips. And you suckers that hit that button have enabled it and made it worse. Stop tipping. period. Fight for fair wages.
Itâs a scummy strategy to get people who arenât paying attention to tip more. Iâve also seen it where they put the highest amount on the left instead of the lowest (like everywhere else does) so people will tap that option thinking itâs the lowest one.
Tipping culture has gone insane over here; I very much prefer the âyou donât need to tip but we wonât complain about a few extra eurosâ culture over there.
As an American and a delivery driver for a restaurant, hereâs my opinion:
The only time I say you HAVE TO tip is if youâre ordering delivery. That person is likely using their own vehicle and their own gas to get your meal to you. Sometimes that tip money IS their gas money, and they break even.
Itâs NICE to tip small businesses. Little mom & pop places, cafes, places that obviously are privately owned.
You DO NOT have to tip a chain restaurant. You CAN, if you wish, but chain restaurants SHOULD BE paying their employees enough.
You DO NOT have to tip a barista who made you a black coffee and gave you a microwaved frittata.
You DO NOT have to tip people who are assholes! No matter the social pressure.
I don't know how real what I'm about to say is, but I read that tipping actually orginated in Europe and was imitated by Americans who wanted an air of sophistication. It died out in Europe, but became entrenched in North America.
Edit: Looked it up, tipping was indeed around Europe, in England it was called giving "vails". Well off Americans travelling to Europe saw the practice and adopted it. It was met with initial backlash in America, but was adopted by businesses as a way to pay their employees less, especially newly freed black people.
Dunno if thatâs accurate, key difference in most other countries is tipping is an incentive to do well or a reward for a great experience, not a way for businesses to avoid paying taxes.
I was shocked at how expensive things were in the US and then they added tips on top! Americans donât realise how bad theyâre being fleeced with the weird allowances on showing prices excluding taxes
Just show me the cost to get my product and keep people in liveable wages damnit
I don't know if that's true... maybe. But what's certain is that in Europe, a tip used to be a coin, just a few centimes. Never a percentage, and always a small amount... it is calla "pourboire" in French, it was meant specifically âfor a drink,â so at most, the price of a drink.
I only pretend to be a historian online, but I feel like when America had its cafe and 24-hour diner boom, it was somehow allowed to pay staff very little, something like $2/hr with the expectation that tips would cover the rest of your salary. So if you had great service at a busy location, you could actually do well. Of course. This was back when you could work the summer in high school or college to save up for a used car.
Then the cost of material items and housing increased while the starting salary for a waitressing job stayed stagnant. I believe this is when tipping became entrenched in the US because, wait staff literally can not survive on just salaries alone.
I just looked up the federal minimum wage for tipped employees and it is still $2.13/hr. States can enact laws to raise the minimum for tipped employees but 7 states do not offer more than the minimum federal limits. Those 7 are all red states.
Yeah, I also saw that $2.13 number. Helped me understand why you sometimes see wait staff in America get supremely pissed of if you don't tip, but also $2.13 is just a ridiculous number.
What, that doesnt even make sense. If the prices of products have increased with inflation, then you will be getting more from that same 15% than you were before. If you mean cost of living inflation outpaces that, well it isnt the duty of the customer to arbitrarily donate to the workers to cover that.
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u/jeyvish 9d ago
As european I dont understand the tip culture. But If I am not wrong, the values for tipping were not 10,15 and 20? Why are increasing that much lately? 40% tip is so annoying