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Do you guys tip at Starbucks?

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If so, a dollar or the change from a purchase?

If not, why not?

I am just curious about this. A coworker of mine thought I was crazy for tipping a whole buck today for a coffee of the day. Is it really that big of a deal? People at Starbucks work hard. I don't see any reason not to tip them.
 

darscot

Member
I don't drink coffee but my view on tipping is you should do it as much as possible. I've had shit jobs were I needed tips and now I have a job were I can afford to tip. I don't normally give change to pan handlers though. Also I tip men as much as women and it pisses me off when guys wont tip other guys.

"You have to spread it around a little." John Gotti
 
I am with you on that. I used to wait tables and deliver pizzas back in the day. It really makes you want to tip people with shitty jobs.
 

aoi tsuki

Member
i always tip when i get coffee. A dollar is usually the amount. Usually, i'll tip more or less depending on how well the drink was made and how complicated my order was.

As someone who works at a cafe, i try not to look at tips as a requirement for people who buy drinks. But it is rather annoying when people come in, order something not on our menu, get their drink and say it's better than Starbucks!" and leave without tipping. Repeatedly. i bust my ass twice as hard making as everyone else making drinks for others as i would make them for myself. i know how it is when the person behind the counter pushes a button, steams the milk till it's hot, stirs everything together in a cup, and hands you a lukewarm cappuccino with no foam that tastes like complete ass.

A tip, again, is not a requirement. But it's a way of showing appreciation.
 

Boogie

Member
Tip for coffee? Umm, no.

But I will put my change into the container for Tim Horton's children's charities.
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
I live in a tip free country, and starbucks trys to pull that shit with a little container that says "tipping is sexy". Yeah, sexy like your grandmas fuckers, no tip for you.

I swear America thrives on bumming you out at the cash register. Over here, you pay what the price tag says.
 

xsarien

daedsiluap
Sometimes, usually it's along the lines of "You need to stop burning the espressos." (Not that I even go there that often, it's usually only in case of an emergency caffeine fix.)
 

aoi tsuki

Member
Boogie said:
Tip for coffee? Umm, no.

But I will put my change into the container for Tim Horton's children's charities.
You can kick my ass with your 1337 martial arts skills, but i can piss in your coffee and tell you it's our new Kenya AA-Sumatra blend.

Just kidding. i'd never do something like that to a customer, unlike some people.
 

nitewulf

Member
at starbucks i usually just get a regular coffee, which is like 1.72...so no, i don tip for coffee. restaurants i tip at of course...never really thought about tipping for a cup of coffee, seems weird. and again, i usually dont go for the fancy stuff.
 

Liono

Member
Tipping for overpriced coffee? Yeah, OK.

Seriously, I hardly go there-- but if you want to tip no one's stopping you, but you better not make others feel guilty for not doing it.
 

Boogie

Member
aoi tsuki said:
You can kick my ass with your 1337 martial arts skills, but i can piss in your coffee and tell you it's our new Kenya AA-Sumatra blend.

Just kidding. i'd never do something like that to a customer, unlike some people.

Heh, I wasn't even aware that there was such a thing as tips jars at coffee places. I only ever get coffee at Timmy's.

100% Canadian, representin'.

if you ignore that they're owned by Wendy's :lol
 
No.

I just get the regular coffee. I'm not getting some sort of fancy pants treatment. That's how I rationalize it. :X

I just make the fancy shit at home and save $4.

And from what a friend who worked at Starbucks told me, you're not exactly employed at a reduced rates with a heavy reliance on customers tipping. The seemed to have no problem offering me $8 and hour. While it's not beaucoup bucks it's a nice kick up from minimum wage at $5.15.
 

aoi tsuki

Member
The Take Out Bandit said:
No.

I just get the regular coffee. I'm not getting some sort of fancy pants treatment. That's how I rationalize it. :X

I just make the fancy shit at home and save $4.

And from what a friend who worked at Starbucks told me, you're not exactly employed at a reduced rates with a heavy reliance on customers tipping. The seemed to have no problem offering me $8 and hour. While it's not beaucoup bucks it's a nice kick up from minimum wage at $5.15.
Starbucks employees probably make the most of any chain coffee house though, and it's definitely more than i make. If i didn't have additional employment, i'd be much worse off than my coworkers.

:lol at the people justifying not tipping by saying the coffee's expensive. Employees don't set prices. But i agree that the coffee, especially at Starbucks, is overpriced given the quality of it. If you can find a good local coffeehouse, please support them. i pay less than half the price of Starbucks for better coffee.
 

goodcow

Member
The only place I tip is at Subway near my job because I do the office orders and they're often large. (I keep all the SubClub stamps for free food :))
 

Dilbert

Member
I give them the change for a drip coffee, and up to a dollar for an espresso drink.

Then again, I'm fairly biased -- I worked in a coffee shop when I was in college, so I have some special sympathy for the employees there.

I tip delivery drivers quite a bit, too.
 

Liono

Member
aoi tsuki said:
:lol at the people justifying not tipping by saying the coffee's expensive. Employees don't set prices.

That's not it at all. People just don't want to pay a dollar extra on top of what they already charge for coffee. It's not even worth it. Like someone else said, I'd much rather tip people flipping burgers.
 

theo

Contest Winner
BlackMage said:
What the fuck? I'd rather tip the poor bastard cooking my Cheeseburger.

you are dead on, man.

i wouldn't tip at starbucks if they held a gun to my head. they are expensive enough as it is.
 

BlackMage

Banned
With the exception of waitressing (or jobs similiar to it) and people who do deliveries, I don't see the point at all in tipping those who are doing nothing more than what they were hired to do. They aren't getting shafted in pay anymore than that guy working at Panda Express or Blockbuster or some clothes retail job. If you're gonna tip someone at Coffee Bean or Starbucks then you might as well tip every fucking person who provides you with customer service. Otherwise, you're a god damn hypocrite.
 

Tsubaki

Member
Frankly, they should get rid of the tipping system in general.

For optional places like Starbucks and whatnot it's cool. Give 'em a tip if you feel up to it, or if they're friendly or whatever. But restaurants? Why is there an -expectation- that you give tip. Moreover, why is there a 18% mandatory gratuity fee at some places?

It's not about the money. It's about who deserves it.

Why is it that I get so much better service in places that do not accept tips (ie Japan, China, etc) yet I'm forced to give extra money to a lamer who isn't do their job right? Makes no sense.
 
If you can find a good local coffeehouse, please support them.

I try. I really try.

The problem is the damned place keep really shite hours. 7AM - 4PM.

It's a combination of Winter hours and my neighborhood having gone to shit. All the fuckin' thugs, whores, and drug dealers.

A gang of jackasses walked in one day and tried running a scam on them while one of the bastards tried lifting the tip jar.

If my financial situation doesn't start to look up; I'll have to consider vigilante action in my fucking neighborhood. You want to move here and ruin the fucking place? Beat up old folks and rob establishments that have been here longer than you? Prepare to be beaten and strung up from a telephone pole.

So yeah, hopefully I can find decent work soon. Coz I don't want to be sent to prison. :p
 

chimpychi

Member
no..they're getting paid already to do their job...until I too can have a tip jar on my desk for doing MY job then I'm not giving them a nickle either...
 

Archaix

Drunky McMurder
BlackMage said:
With the exception of waitressing (or jobs similiar to it) and people who do deliveries, I don't see the point at all in tipping those who are doing nothing more than what they were hired to do. They aren't getting shafted in pay anymore than that guy working at Panda Express or Blockbuster or some clothes retail job. If you're gonna tip someone at Coffee Bean or Starbucks then you might as well tip every fucking person who provides you with customer service. Otherwise, you're a god damn hypocrite.

Waitstaff and delivery people are also doing exactly what they were hired to do.

Why, exactly, do you see a difference between what they do and what any other customer service worker does?
 

White Man

Member
I go to cafes like 6 times a day. If I tipped all the time I'd be broke. I tip at my favorites, though. If I'm going to be hanging around and reading, I only tip for the first drink.
 

Myllz

Member
3707R.jpg


I tip...for no man.
 

Bigfoot

Member
Archaix said:
Waitstaff and delivery people are also doing exactly what they were hired to do.

Why, exactly, do you see a difference between what they do and what any other customer service worker does?
Waitstaff and delivery people deal with a lot less people in an hour than people at Starbucks. If a cash register employee at Starbucks got $1 for every drink sold, they would be rich.
 

BlackMage

Banned
Archaix said:
Waitstaff and delivery people are also doing exactly what they were hired to do.

Why, exactly, do you see a difference between what they do and what any other customer service worker does?

Maybe because the federal minimum wage for tipped positions (i.e. waitstaff) is $2.13 because most of the money they make are made through tips. And also, In a lot of cases, people are using their own gas money to deliver your goods, not to mention adding mileage on to their automobile which requires more maintenance of said vehicle.
 

Archaix

Drunky McMurder
Porthos said:
Waitstaff and delivery people deal with a lot less people in an hour than people at Starbucks. If a cash register employee at Starbucks got $1 for every drink sold, they would be rich.


That makes...absolutely no sense.

Anyway, when you tip a delivery person/waitstaff member, they get all the money to themselves. Where I work, when we get a tip it is split between everybody on shift. I'm not saying people should tip food/customer service workers, I just don't see why people create this ridiculous standard where tipping delivery/waiters is required, and tipping other people giving you food is absurd.

I don't feel compelled to tip anybody in general. If they do a better than expected job, then I do.

edit: Okay, Blackmage. That can work. The argument doesn't hold everywhere though. In PA, for example, waiters and waitresses get paid minimum wage if their tips don't meet the limit. So if they receive tips that don't make them average out 5.15 an hour, they get that extra money in their check.
 
Tipping needs to stop in favor of just raising wages for those who wait. Seriously, it's so much better in Japan. I simply hate having to think how much I need to tip some dude.

Plus why the FUCK would I tip for Starbucks coffee? If I'm forced to go into that place for coffee they should be tipping me.
 
tip for coffee? are you nuts?

do you tip the guy in the grocery storey when you buy a pack of gum too?

tip the guy at the toll booth?

i tip in seated restaraunts with waiters, little home cooked 'soul food' restaraunts and when i get food delivered...
 

Lambtron

Unconfirmed Member
I have never and will never set foot in, give my business to, or drink coffee from Starbucks.

Second Cup > * by the way, vanilla bean latte is HEAVEN.
 
At coffee places and other places like them I usually will put whatever change I have in the tip jar. Sometimes more if my purchase deems so. Ive got no problem with it.
 

Macam

Banned
Sometimes; as something of a coffee addict, I tend to tip more frequently (and more) at local coffee houses than Starbucks, simply because I appreciate the alternatives and the better coffee. Starbucks lacks free WiFi, later hours, and they really do need to stop burning the espresso; but they're convenient and have their moments, so I'm not opposed to tipping just because it's a major chain. That said, Seattle's Best Coffee shits all over Starbucks.
 

aoi tsuki

Member
Liono said:
That's not it at all. People just don't want to pay a dollar extra on top of what they already charge for coffee. It's not even worth it. Like someone else said, I'd much rather tip people flipping burgers.
Again, i see the tip as appreciation, especially for using active listening skills when i order something out-of-the-norm. When i frequented Starbucks, i tipped all the time. Usually change for a regular coffee, a buck for an espresso drink.

And for the record, i have tipped the cooks at fast food places and restaurants when they cook my food the way i want it. i know they're getting shit wages at a lot of those places. i drop the bartender a tip when i get a drink. In general, i'm a great tipper. And a poor boy.

Edit: Starbucks burns the coffee to keep their low-quality beans uniform from location to location, despite changes in the regions from where they get the beans. When someone burns the office coffee, everyone wants to know who burnt the coffee. When Starbucks does it, it's "strong" or a "special blend". Someone get Penn and Teller on the horn...

The only good coffee they have are their seasonal blends. It's been years since i've been to a Starbucks, so i have no idea what they have now. The only reason i'd go to Starbucks again is to flirt with the female staff.
 

jett

D-Member
catfish said:
I live in a tip free country, and starbucks trys to pull that shit with a little container that says "tipping is sexy". Yeah, sexy like your grandmas fuckers, no tip for you.

I swear America thrives on bumming you out at the cash register. Over here, you pay what the price tag says.

Same here. Frankly, americans tip for EVERYTHING.
 

spliced

Member
I hate all tipping, but at places like Subway and Starbucks I figure so many people don't tip it's not gonna have any bad consequences for me. At restuarants and for pizza deliveries I don't trust what they are gonna do to my food if I didn't tip, the same way I try to always be very nice when going thru drive thrus even if the punks are idiots I don't want crap in my food that shouldn't be there.

I hate how some service people earn part of there living from tips, they should raise prices to pay for the employees and not have to rely on tips.
 

Tarazet

Member
At the places I've worked at, I've never been allowed to take tips, and I never have. Similarly I don't tip for food unless a) someone is physically coming to me to serve me, or b) if a) is not true, if the food is so much better than I expected that I feel like it was a bargain.
 
No tip when ordering a regular coffee - you're just pouring something into a cup. Once the order gets all elaborate I always tip. Come to think of it, I mostly tip when ordering a regular coffee too. That damn jar out there makes you feel like a cheap ass if you don't. Ever notice how many stores now have tip jars out next to the register? F'ing annoying.

The worst tactic now used is when you buy something and the clerk asks if you'd like to donate $1 to some charity. Its not like I dont want to donate to worthy causes, but there's that mentality that you're a cheap ass by saying "no" - pisses me off.
 

slayn

needs to show more effort.
mandatory tipping has always pissed me off. I think tipping is a good thing, but you should only give tips to people that go 'above and beyond' the minimum requires for the job.

I don't drink coffee, but if I did I would prolly not tip for basic menu stuff. But if it was something particularly difficult and/or something I requested not on the menu and it was particularly good, I would tip.

as for sit down resteraunts, all that is really required of them is to take my order and deliver food. If thats all the did, I wouldn't want to tip though I probably would since I'm in the US and the god damn guilt for not tipping is engrained in me. I don't want to do it, I just do it not to get yelled at/feel guilty. It sucks. When I DO think waiters should be tipped is if they go out of their way to make your evening a much more positive experiance and succeed in doing so. That deserves some extra money. Its not something a starbucks employee can really accomplish so they shouldn't expect a tip for trying to make my 2 minutes a better experiances vs the 2 hour long experiance a waiter has to deal with me.

Theres no way we can ever shurg off the required tipping engrained in us in the US, but I think service would get a LOT better if tipping wasn't mandatory AND people were told to tip all service people that they felt deserved it (and only those that deserved it). People would actually try to be better at their job to get tips. Sure there would be the assholes who would take this as an excuse to declare all service shitty and never tip anyone But I think it would be more than countered by the people that feel their tip actually means somethign and will feel good giving money for a particularly good experiance.
 
I don't really go to a Starbucks, but I go to a Barnes and Noble Cafe all the time to study which I guess is a mini-Starbucks, and I don't really tip them; there's no jar or anything, plus I pay with credit card and it's not like they have a "tip" area on the receipt to add anything. I know the employees all right by this point, and they don't seem snippy or anything.

On the other hand, I hit up a local coffee shop sometimes, and I do tip there a lot.
 
Archaix said:
That makes...absolutely no sense.

Anyway, when you tip a delivery person/waitstaff member, they get all the money to themselves. Where I work, when we get a tip it is split between everybody on shift. I'm not saying people should tip food/customer service workers, I just don't see why people create this ridiculous standard where tipping delivery/waiters is required, and tipping other people giving you food is absurd.

I don't feel compelled to tip anybody in general. If they do a better than expected job, then I do.

edit: Okay, Blackmage. That can work. The argument doesn't hold everywhere though. In PA, for example, waiters and waitresses get paid minimum wage if their tips don't meet the limit. So if they receive tips that don't make them average out 5.15 an hour, they get that extra money in their check.


did you not read the post like 3 above yours? For the most part, waiters/waitresses make like $3 an hour, well below the minimum wage, because tips are FACTORED in to their wage. Tipping the guy at Starbucks is completely different.
 

john tv

Member
No tipping in this country, baby.

Tipping is bullshit, IMO. People get paid wages for a reason. They should do their damn job and be happy about with the pay they're receiving. Greedy bitches!

(rant off)

EDIT: I should say, I don't mind tipping people with shit jobs who did a really nice job of serving me, but by no means should tipping be required. That's so ridiculously lame.

Do people tip in Europe, BTW?
 
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