I think we’ve completely lost the plot when it comes to tipping.
By @finnactually · Money
Back in my day, you tipped for good service at a restaurant, maybe 15%. Now every single transaction, from a cup of coffee to a pre-packaged sandwich, has a screen asking for 25% and it makes me feel like a villain for just wanting to pay the price on the tag.
The full story
Maybe I'm just getting old, but I remember when a tip was a genuine 'thank you' for a good experience. My dad taught me how to calculate 15% in my head, and it was for the waiter who kept our drinks full and remembered who got which dish. It meant something. Now, I feel like I'm being digitally panhandled everywhere I go. My boyfriend (32) and I went to a food truck festival last weekend, and it was a constant barrage. Every single window, for every single item, you'd pay with your card and then they'd flip that little screen around with the suggested tips starting at 20%. My boyfriend doesn't even blink, he just taps the 25% option every time. they says it's just 'what you do now' and calls me cheap for questioning it. But I wasn't even getting service! I stood in a line, I ordered at a window, I grabbed my own food, and I found my own place to sit. Am I tipping the owner for the privilege of buying their food? I tried to explain to my bf that it feels like the cost of everything is just going up through this weird, guilt-driven backdoor. He thinks I'm making a big deal out of a few dollars, but to me it's the principle of it. It used to be about rewarding service, now it just feels like a mandatory fee that we're shamed into paying for doing nothing more than buying a product. It's exhausting.
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