11th February 2024, 6:14 AM
(This post was last modified: 11th February 2024, 6:20 AM by David. Edited 2 times in total.)
Taking some inspiration from @Different for this thread.Â
Tipping isn't a big thing everywhere in the world, but here in the United States where I live tipping has been a part of our culture for a long time.Â
Now imagine this:
You're at your favorite coffee place, Starbucks. You had just gotten off work and want a nice hot drink to enjoy on your walk back home in the cold weather, but this time you want to spice things up a bit and try something other than your typical order of a Pumpkin Spice Latte. You browse through the menu a bit before you decide to ask the barista at the register if they have any recommendations for hot drinks aside from your personal favorite Pumpkin Spice Latte. The barista, as instructed by their manager earlier that day to start pushing the new Oleato drinks, recommends you the Oleato Caffè Latte. You ask what makes that drink special, and the barista informs you it's infused with extra virgin olive oil. "Extra virgin olive oil?" you say out loud, thinking to yourself how weird that sounds. The barista responds "Yep, extra virgin olive oil! I've even started adding it to the coffee I make at home!" (which is a lie). Based on their enthusiastic response you decide to go ahead and order that in a Grande because you're feeling extra today.Â
The barista says "Great! Is that all?" and you respond "That's all, thank you!" and then you grab your card to pay. "Just one last thing before you pay" the barista says while pointing down to the register. The prompt at the register says "Would you like to tip?" with the options of 10%, 15%, 20%, custom, and a no tip option. You think to yourself "Why would I tip here? I'm not at a sit down restaurant" and you instinctively start to move your finger towards the no tip option. Before your finger reaches the no tip option, you can see the look of sheer disappointment on the baristas face "Oh no, what are they thinking? Am I jerk for not tipping? Maybe they really need the extra tip money..." you say in your head. You then move your finger over to the 10% option, but then think "I can't be that cheap, at least tip the next step up". As your finger moves to the 15% option it goes too far and hovers over the 20% option and you notice the baristas eyes start to light up "Oh no... I can't just pay 15% now, they're expecting 20%!". You decide "Alright, I'll make an exception and tip 20% today", but woops! You accidentally hit the custom option! You can see the barista smiling and then you think "I'm in too deep! If I back out now I'll ruin the baristas day..." so you contemplate what amount to put.Â
You think "I can't do a 25% tip, that's barely anymore than the highest preset option! Hmm, 30%! A 30% tip is perfect! Not too high, not too close to 20%" and enter the amount in. The barista says "Thank you so much!" and you respond "You're welcome, and thanks for the recommendation!" and then proceed to pay. After paying the barista says "We'll have that right out to you!", "Thanks!" you respond. You walk away to sit down then think to yourself "I can't believe I just tipped 30%, I've never tipped at Starbucks before and now I've tipped a higher percentage than I've ever tipped anywhere!". After a short period of time one of the baristas call out your name to let you know your drink is ready. You grab your drink and say "Thanks!" before walking out the door.
"Time to see what this Oleato Caffè Latte is all about!" you excitingly think to yourself. You take a sip and instant regret hits you "This is the grossest thing I've ever drank! How could ANYONE like this?! I tipped 30% for THIS?!". Right after that thought, you notice the barista at the register glancing at you through the window and smiling. You put on a fake smile and give a thumbs up before awkwardly turning around to find the nearest place out of sight you can dump the drink. After you get some distance and are out of sight you dump the Oleato Caffè Latte down a storm drain and throw the cup into a nearby trashcan. "I'm never tipping at any fast-food place again!" you declare to yourself
____________________________________________________
tldr: After ordering at Starbucks but before paying you have to answer a prompt on the register that's asking if you would like to tip. The options are tip percentages of 10%, 15%, & 20%, enter a custom amount to tip, or choose no tip.
Situations like these have become increasingly common in recent years. Tipping at sit-down restaurants has been normal for a long time and makes sense given the amount of service provided, but fast-food type places prompting for tips at the register has gone too far in my opinion. And it's not just fast food places, apparently even GoFundMe asks for tips!
Tipping isn't a big thing everywhere in the world, but here in the United States where I live tipping has been a part of our culture for a long time.Â
Now imagine this:
You're at your favorite coffee place, Starbucks. You had just gotten off work and want a nice hot drink to enjoy on your walk back home in the cold weather, but this time you want to spice things up a bit and try something other than your typical order of a Pumpkin Spice Latte. You browse through the menu a bit before you decide to ask the barista at the register if they have any recommendations for hot drinks aside from your personal favorite Pumpkin Spice Latte. The barista, as instructed by their manager earlier that day to start pushing the new Oleato drinks, recommends you the Oleato Caffè Latte. You ask what makes that drink special, and the barista informs you it's infused with extra virgin olive oil. "Extra virgin olive oil?" you say out loud, thinking to yourself how weird that sounds. The barista responds "Yep, extra virgin olive oil! I've even started adding it to the coffee I make at home!" (which is a lie). Based on their enthusiastic response you decide to go ahead and order that in a Grande because you're feeling extra today.Â
The barista says "Great! Is that all?" and you respond "That's all, thank you!" and then you grab your card to pay. "Just one last thing before you pay" the barista says while pointing down to the register. The prompt at the register says "Would you like to tip?" with the options of 10%, 15%, 20%, custom, and a no tip option. You think to yourself "Why would I tip here? I'm not at a sit down restaurant" and you instinctively start to move your finger towards the no tip option. Before your finger reaches the no tip option, you can see the look of sheer disappointment on the baristas face "Oh no, what are they thinking? Am I jerk for not tipping? Maybe they really need the extra tip money..." you say in your head. You then move your finger over to the 10% option, but then think "I can't be that cheap, at least tip the next step up". As your finger moves to the 15% option it goes too far and hovers over the 20% option and you notice the baristas eyes start to light up "Oh no... I can't just pay 15% now, they're expecting 20%!". You decide "Alright, I'll make an exception and tip 20% today", but woops! You accidentally hit the custom option! You can see the barista smiling and then you think "I'm in too deep! If I back out now I'll ruin the baristas day..." so you contemplate what amount to put.Â
You think "I can't do a 25% tip, that's barely anymore than the highest preset option! Hmm, 30%! A 30% tip is perfect! Not too high, not too close to 20%" and enter the amount in. The barista says "Thank you so much!" and you respond "You're welcome, and thanks for the recommendation!" and then proceed to pay. After paying the barista says "We'll have that right out to you!", "Thanks!" you respond. You walk away to sit down then think to yourself "I can't believe I just tipped 30%, I've never tipped at Starbucks before and now I've tipped a higher percentage than I've ever tipped anywhere!". After a short period of time one of the baristas call out your name to let you know your drink is ready. You grab your drink and say "Thanks!" before walking out the door.
"Time to see what this Oleato Caffè Latte is all about!" you excitingly think to yourself. You take a sip and instant regret hits you "This is the grossest thing I've ever drank! How could ANYONE like this?! I tipped 30% for THIS?!". Right after that thought, you notice the barista at the register glancing at you through the window and smiling. You put on a fake smile and give a thumbs up before awkwardly turning around to find the nearest place out of sight you can dump the drink. After you get some distance and are out of sight you dump the Oleato Caffè Latte down a storm drain and throw the cup into a nearby trashcan. "I'm never tipping at any fast-food place again!" you declare to yourself
____________________________________________________
tldr: After ordering at Starbucks but before paying you have to answer a prompt on the register that's asking if you would like to tip. The options are tip percentages of 10%, 15%, & 20%, enter a custom amount to tip, or choose no tip.
Situations like these have become increasingly common in recent years. Tipping at sit-down restaurants has been normal for a long time and makes sense given the amount of service provided, but fast-food type places prompting for tips at the register has gone too far in my opinion. And it's not just fast food places, apparently even GoFundMe asks for tips!
![[Image: GUEST_d27f3cc4-4884-4e3b-8c1c-a7d95aa028...&fmt=pjpeg]](https://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/GUEST_d27f3cc4-4884-4e3b-8c1c-a7d95aa02812?wid=668&qlt=80&fmt=pjpeg)
