Do you leave tips in tip jars?

[Cyrano]

We are now expected to leave a tip for the privilege of standing in line to get something to go. The first time I saw one, I thought whoever put it there was nuts. But it has become the norm in many places.

Do you suppose we'll next be seeing tip jars in dry cleaners, shoe stores, supermarkets, banks, and drive-thru windows? Perhaps we'll even start seeing "tip slots" on vending machines

So what do you think? Is it appropriate to leave tips in tip jars?

[islandmkl]

1. if you can spare it, share it...money is tight all over

[Matariki]

2. I've had enough friends in low wage jobs making coffee or food to WANT to tip

[Patsy Stone]

3. There's one at the counter of the local gas station

I think it's so I can tip them for making me go inside to get the receipt the pump wouldn't fork over. :eyes:

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

4. If they are low paid workers I aways do.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

5. They don't get paid enough - I try to tip to make up for it.

n/t

[LisaM]

6. I usually do. I worked as a barista for a while.

I didn't just make coffee drinks for people. I got there early, opened and wrapped the baked goods, toasted bagels and English muffins, cleaned behind the counter, kept all the dishes washed, and mopped up at the end of the day. I also kept the bathroom clean and washed the windows. At the time, I was making $6 an hour, no insurance, and worked 3-4 hours a day. The extra $5 or $6 in tips at the end of the day made an ENORMOUS difference.

[mitchtv]

7. I rarely. tip for counter service

particularly if I have to wait.

[gollygee]

8. I usually drop in the change

like if it's $4.55, I leave the extra 45 cents.

[no_hypocrisy]

9. At the farmers market I always tip the cashier. I know they get paid

less than minimum wage and many customers forego the tipping. I tip whether or not they're cheerful or whatever. I put it down to the price of going there for affordable produce.

[DS1]

10. I'll tip now and then. But NEVER if the tip jar is labeled "Karma"

because that's just obnoxious.

[Runcible Spoon]

11. having worked many service jobs, I tip almost anyone who gives me personal service.

When I worked to support myself at a lunch counter, the tip jars plus my hourly wage came out to about $10, the $3 or so from the jars was really nice because it was untaxed.

I honestly don't see the big deal. Tip if you like, don't if you don't feel it's warranted. While those minions behind the counter would really appreciate your 15 cents change they won't feel stiffed if you don't tip.

As a side note, I've noticed that locally owned and independently operated businesses tend to allow and encourage tip jars, while a lot of the big chains don't allow it. I guess they feel it might make them look as if they don't pay enough and they're employees are desparate and unprofessional, while small business owners are still connected enough to their employees that the tips are really a nice boon for their workers.

[Cyrano]

12. I think the most outrageous one I ever saw was in a family-owned bakery.

Many customers were probably not aware that everyone who worked there was a member of the family.

[bobbolink]

13. ""tip slots" on vending machines" GUFFAW! It's guilt... pure and simple

They know there are a certain number of us who care, and who have sympathy for those who live on the edge.

So, rather than live in a just manner, and pay their employees what they deserve, they put out a tip jar so we can pay *THER* share.

As Michael Moore said, "Who ARE we?"

[Cyrano]

14. You're right about the guilt. I often leave a tip for exactly that reason.

[bobbolink]

16. That's what I was hearing in some of the replies.

It's not wrong, and I'm not critisizing...

What's WRONG is the injustice at the front end of it!

I guess one could even say.... as long as we keep supporting the evil system with tip jars, the workers won't get to the point of revolt.

:shrug:

[readmoreoften]

15. Yes. Unless I am positive that the person serving me is the owner and not a worker.

It's not the cashier's fault that US labor rights have spiraled into the toilet.

[Selatius]

17. You're asking the wrong question. The question is why are workers so poorly compensated nowadays?

Wages haven't kept up with inflation for a long time now. In essence, many have been receiving pay cuts year after year without realizing the cuts. The tip jars are just a symptom of wider economic inequality in our society. Employers who put out tip jars are taking the cheap way out.

[Cyrano]

24. I think you're right. When I was a kid, I was dumb enough to

think that "working hard and playing by the rules" was all that was necessary to succeed in life.

Today, only a fool would believe that.

The truth is that the world is made up of "fuckors" and "fuckees." And a few decades of Republican rule has championed the "fuckors."

I ofter ask myself, "Where are the FDRs of yesteryear?" Perhaps those tip jars are a flashing neon sign that our system is badly broken.

[Selatius]

25. My stance is not a popular one, but I think FDR only won because of the Great Depression.

Without such desperation that people endured in the 1930s, I don't expect people to elect progressives of that kind again. They would elect "safe bets" instead. Many people have simply forgotten what it was like.

[SoCalDem]

59. When they put one on the counter at the bowling alley snack bar

I told the manager (a friend of mine) to pay his people a little more, because it looked tacky..especially when he keeps raising the prices.he did give them a raise..:evilgrin:..(shame works :)..)

the ones who deliver the food & beer to the lanes deserve tips for having to juggle all that stuff and put up with drunks :)

[bigwillq]

18. Sometimes I do

depends if I have any change on me or not.

[AlCzervik]

19. i do.

[originalpckelly]

20. Wait, you mean that isn't money for you to take? You're supposed to put money in there?

WTF?

When did this happen?

[lumberjack_jeff]

34. "If you're one of Jerry's kids, can you take money from the jar?"

:rofl:

[originalpckelly]

43. ...

:spank:

:rofl:

[SoCalDem]

60. When my brother was about 4, my mother saw him with a bunch of money in his hand..at church

He reached into the little velvet bag on the long pole, and just grabbed himself some money :)

[leftofthedial]

21. only when an actual service other than taking my order or taking my money

is being provided


musicians, for example

[catnhatnh]

22. My brother and I own a food trailer at the local airport....

and by established custom an owner should not be tipped-if you own it you're supposed to be smart enough to turn a profit at it (after all-you control the pricing).So we do not have a tip jar.However people often ask if we have one and even after we explain,many choose to tip anyhow.Eventually we went for a concealed jar we put any tips into just to keep the register straight.Oh yeah-and we brag to each other if the food or service brings in a nice tip....It is really nice to be appreciated.The really good ones are when someone eats and then comes back to tip.A few of those can make your day.

[devilgrrl]

23. No. Why should I tip for being rung up at the cash register?

It's not the same job as waiter, Waitress, taxi driver or bellhop. Then I'll tip 20%+.

Why are people in those positions paid so poorly in the first place? Shouldn't that be the question asked?

[gollygee]

26. What about a barrista?

that's what I was thinking of. That's someone who is performing a service. Just for ringing me up at the cash register, yeah I agree there.

[devilgrrl]

29. Anyone that gets me something gets a tip.

Usually 20%

[lumberjack_jeff]

32. The mechanic? The grocery clerk? The postman?

I think our charity is kind of selective.

People should be compensated a fair wage for the work they do, it shouldn't be up to charity to make the difference.

[devilgrrl]

38. Oh for christ's sake! And what do you tip oh wise one?

Since you're obviously so morally superior...

[lumberjack_jeff]

42. I avoid places where tipping is customary.

I tend to patronize businesses who, one can presume, pay their employees adequately.

One needn't pay money for guilt.

[JNelson6563]

27. I saw one recently

that had a little sign on it, "Employee 401k Plan". I don't doubt that it was.

If they provide good service and are nice about it, I generally leave something in the tip jar. If they are unreasonably slow or if they are impolite I don't

Julie

[Igel]

28. On occasion.

Esp. if the counter clerk is harried and overworked; sometimes I tip if the person in front of me was especially rude and moronic.

[EFerrari]

30. Sure. Because those jars are put out by people who

work for minimum wage and usually have no benefits.

What is the problem? As usual, DU is blaming the worker for conditions not of their making.

[Cyrano]

33. DU isn't blaming anyone for anything. This was nothing more than

a question I posted about whether or not people leave tips in jars.

Don't turn a molehill into a mountain.

Then again, those who have to live off those tips don't see it as a molehill.

[EFerrari]

35. Those jars fed my family on many nights. n/t

[Cyrano]

31. How about the person you never see who delivers your newspaper?

My paper gets delivered at 5:00am. I've never seen the person who delivers it.

Around Christmas time, there's always a self addressed envelope in the paper into which you can put a tip and mail it.

I've asked many of my neighbors if they send a tip and it turns out none of them do.

So my question is, do we only give a tip when others can see us do it?

[gollygee]

44. We don't get the newspaper anymore but we used to

and I always got lots of tips when I delivered papers.

We also tip the garbage collector every year.

[rucky]

36. Everybody who's ever worked a counter does.

dunno about the rest of yous.

[porphyrian]

37. Yes, but only in non-traditional forms of currency. -n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

39. Yes. Having had a number of low paying jobs, I absolutely do.

I always try to tip real well.

[conflictgirl]

40. I pay for everything with a debit card and never have cash

Therefore tipping isn't really an option for me unless I go out of my way to have cash on hand for that purpose. Am I the only one?

I had a friend who used to be a barista and she had the attitude that if you could afford to buy a coffee you could afford to leave a tip and if you didn't you were just being a selfish asshole. She had extremely strong beliefs that she was entitled to a tip. Because she made a bit more than minimum wage, I definitely didn't agree. However I do feel that servers making less than minimum wage are entitled to their tips.

I HAVE actually worked the counter in jobs like that myself and I still don't believe that they are entitled to the tips. If people want to give them tips, that's a nice thing and it shouldn't be discouraged, but it shouldn't be expected either.

[devilgrrl]

41. Why aren't people paid better? Isn't it kind of Republican to have to rely on charity?

Huh?

[gollygee]

45. It might be a Republican thing to expect people to rely on charity, but it isn't a Republican thing

to GIVE charity.

[Xenotime]

46. I will only put $0.01 or a nickel in there when I see this.

[BlueIris]

47. Yes. 20% minimum.

It's common courtesy in my neck of the woods.

[RamboLiberal]

48. Yeah if they are making a drink or food order for me

Though I wish employers would pay enough that tips were not necessary.

[Jed Dilligan]

49. I always tip. People who are allowed to take tips

can't survive without them.

[Jamastiene]

50. Yes, I tip when I can.

People who serve you appreciate tips. Trust me. If a waitress or anyone at a restaurant or wherever calls me, "Honey," they are getting the nicest tip I can afford that day. Most people working those jobs have sore feet and backs at the end of the day and get very little pay for the amount of pain they suffer. They deserve something nice to offset that, imo.

[Dorian Gray]

51. I do if the person did something more for me than grab a burger off a

heating tray and pour a soda into a drink. If they do something that is a sort of special request, I'll tip some.

[Fire Walk With Me]

52. Only after doing a bris.

Seriously: Yes, I try to. If you've ever had a job like some where I see tip jars, you'd need it too.

[ruiner4u]

53. Wow...what cheap replies...

I guess I am the only real progressive here since I view tip jars as a cry for help for low wages....


so I give some coin.. I guess I dont follow the model that government should support low wage workers, I try to do it in person...



Very very cheap replies indeed.

[davekriss]

54. YES (nt)

[sakabatou]

55. Yes

Sometimes.

[dysfunctional press]

56. sometimes i do, sometimes i don't.

it depends on what kind of a mood i'm in, and what kind of "service" i receive.
i might throw in some change, but never more than a buck.

[JosephSchmo]

57. If service is excellent ...

then I tip.

[nemo137]

58. change goes in the tip jar.

I have a bunch of friends who work at the coffee shop in the library because they make too much to get work study. On the occasions where they let me pay for my coffee, rather than waving it off with a "no, dude, that's just a cup for regular coffee of the day,"* my change goes in the tip jar. On other occasions, my change and any loose 1$ bills I have go in the tip jar.


*this is generally late in the shift, and I always offer to pay anyway. They don't get paid nearly enough.

[NuttyFluffers]

61. i pine for the day our country becomes civilized to go "high wages, zero tips"

wandering Japan with zero tipping was like a slice of heaven, no extra math. and the standard of living there is, what, 5th highest in the world or something? i wish people would just drop this nonsense, demand better wages, kill the tipping tradition, and finally move on with more important things in life. but America is going through its "crrrazy years," so oh well.

[inanna]

62. Yes, I always try to tip

I used to work at a coffee shop a long time ago, and I know what it's like be broke all of the time. Sometimes those tips were the *only* money I had to buy food with.