Hi fellows!
It’s Jiaqi and the article I bring to you guys is Tech Is Allowing Businesses to Overcharge You in Tips from New York Times.
At the very beginning, the author Brian X. Chen, a columnist on solving tech-related problems, emphasized the role that tips are playing in today’s society: “tipping is no longer just a socioeconomic and ethical issue about the livelihoods of service workers,” which is also the reason I chose this topic.
His experience of receiving a glare from the after he chose the “no tip” option while the iPad offers ten to thirty percent tips somehow reflects the majority situation many people faced. Tipping seems to be an unavoidable, mandatory requirement for customers, especially with the help of tech. The default setup of the tech misleads or manipulates people to choose the simplest which tends to be a high ratio of tipping. For example, the options of customized tips and no tips are not easy to find either because they’re extremely small or because they’re always hidden at the very bottom.
Chen, in the end, gave us his suggestion for dealing with “coercion.” According to Chen, we should try to see tipping the same way as we see technology; be aware of the defaults and feel comfortable opting out or tipping in cash to avoid being controlled by these “psychological mind games.”
What I’d like to hear from you are:
- How do you feel about the tipping culture in the U.S.?
- How much will you tip normally, and what factor(s) drive you to choose this amount?
- Have you given ZERO tips ever before? Please share when and why.
- Some owners calculate the tip including taxes while it should be the pre-tax amount. Will you do the calculation prior even if there are percentages and the exact amount accordingly?
Feel free to express any thoughts beyond the questions below in the comments 🙂
4 replies on “Discussion Board”
In my opinion, the tipping culture in America is unique. In many cases, servers rely heavily on tips from customers to supplement their minimum wage salary. Tipping has become an obligatory expense in New York, and I base my tipping amount on the location and the quality of service I receive. For instance, I tend to give a higher tip in Manhattan, where the customary minimum tip amount is 18% to 20%. I have never left a zero tip because I know that servers may inquire about it. When it comes to calculating the tip, I always refer to the check, although some restaurants may have already included a gratuity charge.
Hi Daniel. I haven’t given zero tips before and probably will not do so in the future. The reason is simple, as you said, the tips will count into servers’ wages, and tips would be a large portion of their income. And I think that you check the tipping amount is the right way to avoid being ripped off.
Tipping seems to be an obligatory thing that some people want to get rid of, and so do I. However, I’m kind of getting used to it: this controversial but unique culture makes the people in states’ lives the way it is
When I first came to America, the tipping culture was awkward because there was no tipping culture in Korea. I think the tipping culture is a good culture. Through tips, staff works harder for their guests, and customers can also express their gratitude to the staff for their good treatment. I usually give a 20% tip to staff who works for me.
Same in China, we think the service fee is already calculated into the price of the food or items. It’s also true that tips can act as an incentive to encourage staff to offer the service in a good manner.