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Originally Posted by Clare Quilty
And what if instead of the way tips work now, they made little robot hitlers that beat you up and just stole your money?!!
I know what you're trying to do, but it's not the same. My "far-fetched" examples were logical extensions of what they are doing. Food trucks used to be no tips whatsoever, usually cash only, and even when they accepted credit cards, there was no tip line. Then they started tip jars for cash and tip lines on credit card receipts.
Now this one food truck has a guy literally leaning out of a window, towering over you, holding out an iPad in front of you, while you tap on the tip buttons beneath him, with his hands still grasping the tablet and his face looking at you while you "tip". And the suggested options basically imply no tip, low tip, medium tip, high tip. Except that their corresponding low/medium/high numbers of 15/20/25% are higher than full-service restaurant suggested tip options.
With this in mind, my "far-fetched" example of a server asking if you want to leave a low or high, bad or good tip, is not so far-fetched. Nor is a regular FF restaurant asking for tips. Wouldn't be much of a stretch for FF places to start putting out tip jars, then tip lines on CC receipts, then low/high/etc.
They don't do this today, but these are the lines that our culture has today. These lines are much farther along than decades ago, where full-service restaurant tips might be 10% for good service and non-existent elsewhere. Nowadays, there is cultural pressure for much higher tip percentages, with increased direct pressure attempting to obligate patrons to give more. So my examples are not just hyperbole, but an eventual extension.
But yes, robot Hitlers that rob you is a good attempt at a cop out.
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But yeah, basically I think this is sort of obnoxious, but I find the tone of morally outraged righteous indignation more obnoxious. This square up software and tip screen is not difficult to negotiate if you can do basic math and aren't easily cowed by a 22 year-old in a Misfits t-shirt. And if you accidentally tip $14 on takeout and don't bother to fix it, you can either afford it or you are Dids.
So businesses trying to trick and pressure people is just a little bit obnoxious, but people complaining about their douche-baggish tactics are worse. Got it. Way to take a stand.
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In general, I find it kind of amusing how we live a culture and economy that encourages zero-sum capitalism where any edge a business can find is fair game,
This is not true. Businesses get in trouble, complained about, sued, etc all the time. Not all edges are fair game. See the tobacco industry. [in before, OH NOES, he compared tipping to nicotine addiction! No I didn't, I just pointed out the falsehood of your statement.]
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but if someone puts a tip jar on the counter or presses an edge w/r/t making more gratuities, break out the fainting chair. I guess it's b/c people already hate the culture of tipping , which is fair enough really.
Exactly. Tipping is a horrible practice that people have argued against ever since it was instituted. It has been racist, elitist, sexist, classist, illegal, un-American, un-democratic, and "the vilest of imported vices".
There is a lot of material on Google about this, as well as tipping reform being attempted yet again currently, mainly in regards to fine dining as well as legislation. I think El D has linked some previously regarding various restaurants' attempts to eliminate tipping and levy either service or all-inclusive charges.
Regardless, attempts to expand tipping (and at higher than standard levels, for far less service, at that) via pressure, shaming, and trickery should obviously be fine to level contempt at. These "odious" attempts are immoral and should be unacceptable.