Pressing "NO TIP" when paying your barber is one of the most awkward interactions
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ArtHands
Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
I dont understand the tipping culture in US. Doing a good job is expected of them, its professionalism.
I can understand leaving a good feedback to their supervisor about their performance or saying thanks, but not tipping. Its the job of their company to issue monetary reward for good performance.
I can understand leaving a good feedback to their supervisor about their performance or saying thanks, but not tipping. Its the job of their company to issue monetary reward for good performance.
Daffy Duck
Member
Is getting paid not enough?
I'm from the UK and have never tipped a barber and always received and exceptional service.
I love how OP just cherry-picked a quote that agreed with him and posted it in the OP.
Tip your barber you savage.
StopMakingSense
Member
This has been explained many times in this thread. In the US, barbers and stylists are usually independent contractors that generally a) don't earn a wage b) earn a small percentage of the cutting fee and c) pay to rent their chair space.
Tips are a fundamental aspect of their actual take home pay.
My tip for you is not to get concerned about the tipping culture of the States. They do their thing, we do ours.
In the UK, tipping isn't really the norm anywhere. Even in restaurants your tip may be just going towards the establishment rather than the waiter since their isn't a proper universal system (if you are concerned you can ask who the optional service charge is going to and you can choose to remove it from the bill and then give it to the waiter directly). If you want to tip your barber either by rounding up to the nearest pound or 10% they're not going to complain, but it's also not required.
McBradders
NeoGAF: my new HOME
I'm from the UK and ALWAYS tip my guy. Dude is touching my skaggy-ass hair and making small talk with me about my kids and career in videogames dude deserves a break.
As mentioned, most barbers in the USA rent a chair within a salon / shop and get small percentages of the cut, most of it goes back into the business especially if it's owned by the barber or barber's family.
Tipping lets the barber know you did a good job, and it gets you remembered in the future. I've had free haircuts as a result of being a longtime customer.
Daffy Duck
Member
TTOOLL
Member
Well technically you're not expected to tip at pubs and bars in the UK.
Isn't that like putting a band aid on a deep wound? Shouldn't the workers be paid fairly?
Herr Schwarz
Banned
Sounds like there needs to be some serious reform with tipping culture.
Relying on the philanthropic tendencies of the average Joe to make a living reminds me of old school republican trickle down economics.
Let's rely on our charitable altruistic God fearing natures. Fuck off with that shit.
Just give me a fixed price otherwise it's just a tax not a tip. Instead of real punishment by law, if you don't tip it's social shaming.
It's the "Service Sector Economic Structure is Inherently Flawed, But Who Really Gives a Shit" tax
I wouldn't perpetuate that shit ever, I didn't mind tipping people in Mexico as I rationalised that they're in a developing country so a bit of charity makes sense.
Because that's what tipping is, charity. Charity given awkwardly because you know despite working hard they can't make a living wage.
So change the system, its undignified.
Relying on the philanthropic tendencies of the average Joe to make a living reminds me of old school republican trickle down economics.
Let's rely on our charitable altruistic God fearing natures. Fuck off with that shit.
Just give me a fixed price otherwise it's just a tax not a tip. Instead of real punishment by law, if you don't tip it's social shaming.
It's the "Service Sector Economic Structure is Inherently Flawed, But Who Really Gives a Shit" tax
I wouldn't perpetuate that shit ever, I didn't mind tipping people in Mexico as I rationalised that they're in a developing country so a bit of charity makes sense.
Because that's what tipping is, charity. Charity given awkwardly because you know despite working hard they can't make a living wage.
So change the system, its undignified.
witchedwiz
Member
No it's not..
You want to tip? Be my guest..
I don't..
If someone is underpayed, which is the general consensus, they ask for more or quit..
That's how it works in most jobs..
Op, don't worry you did nothing wrong.. It's the tip mentality that is simply spreading too much, and people think that if you don't tip you've a bad person, which is wrong on so many levels it's not even funny..
blame space
Banned
hmm 🤔
Maleficence
Member
Jesus christ this thread is depressing
PdotMichael
Banned
not an American here.
Are there laws in the USA which would stop shops and companies to force their staff to also give them the received tips?
Are there laws in the USA which would stop shops and companies to force their staff to also give them the received tips?
AnkhWeasel
Member
Non-tipping countries: where the tip is customer loyalty.
These threads always show who the cheap asshats are on GAF.
You not tipping isn't going to change tipping culture in America. It just screws someone over and makes you look like a jerk. I'm just always dumbfounded when I see people who don't understand this.
For the record it's not even expected to tip that much. I usually tip $5 on a simple men's cut and have been told by multiple people that work in hair that that's fine.
You not tipping isn't going to change tipping culture in America. It just screws someone over and makes you look like a jerk. I'm just always dumbfounded when I see people who don't understand this.
For the record it's not even expected to tip that much. I usually tip $5 on a simple men's cut and have been told by multiple people that work in hair that that's fine.
How About No
Member
I mean, they better not "fuck up" the service that I paid for.
Throwing money away to show you're not an asshole, damn and here I am being a nice person.
I don't think the work/tip ratio can really be rationalized. Say you eat at a nice place on a double date. In total, you spend $100 on food. The typical tipping amount would be $15-$20. But that is paying somebody $15-$20 to take your order, bring your food, refill your drinks, and perhaps take some simple requests. These are all extremely menial tasks that nobody would pay $15-$20 for in a vacuum.
We don't tip waitera because they've done work that we personally feel deserves that amount of money. We do it because society has built the expectation to tip them since their workplace pays them shit. I tip too, but I don't try to rationalize that they've actually done something to deserve that kind of money from me.
And they'll keep taking care of you. You did the right thing.
It isn't throwing money away.
Because tip based wages allow people to make above minimum wage in the service industry. I work a tip based job, I love it and I make great money, a set wage would be a pay cut for sure. Most people tip where I live, like 90 percent.
BattleMedic
Member
I'm in the UK. I pay with a note and tell him to keep the change which is a couple of pound, I probably wouldn't tip if I had to find the money myself but I think a lot of barbers price knowing this.
highrider
Banned
Good service is a lot more than that. Granted, at Applebee's you might have pretty basic service, but at a fine dining restaurant a skilled and confident server is integral to the experience.
Wrong, always tip for pickup. God there are some heartless people on GAF.
Most of the time, people don't need a lot when they're just trying to have a nice meal. Let's not over-complicate this. What are the things most people want when they go out for a nice meal? To be seated promptly, have their order taken promptly, have their food brought in a good time. Have their drinks refilled enough. Maybe they have some minor particular requests, but it is typically not much work to oblige. You make it sound like having a nice meal is some big ordeal that people have to work above and beyond to ensure it happens.
Sure, the volume of customers may make this hard for a waiter to maintain. But the individual actions done for a single customer/party isn't enough work to justify the amount of the tip.
Costa Kid
Member
The argument of many in the thread is that it's pity money. They work for barely anything so it's only moral to tip. In my opinion, that system makes no sense. I think that if you got minimum wage, people would still tip but they wouldn't be forced into it just to pay your wage if they received mediocre service.
I eat out for lunch and dinner pretty frequently so this would bother me a lot if I lived in the US. I have never felt compelled to tip in Europe but sometimes I receive awesome service from genuinely friendly people and I'll definitely tip them then.
Again these are just my thoughts as a non-American.
You Are Viewtiful
Member
I used to be anti-tipping (theoretically, I always tipped in practice), but I've come around to it. It gives an incentive for people to work harder for better tips. The only people who ruin the system are those who don't tip on principle/stinginess.
Brit here, I never tip unless someone provides exceptional service. As an example, the last time I tipped was about five years ago at a Pizza restaurant when the server approached my table and one slice slipped off the plate and onto the floor. They made me a whole new one to take home and I knew it was probably coming out of my waiter's paycheck. So I decided to make up the difference for them.
As far as regular tipping goes (barbers, restaurants, etc.), if you want more money, charge me more and I'll decide if your service is worth it. I'm not made of money. I really can't afford to be guilted into paying extra fees.
Sounds like employers in the US can sidestep minimum wage by having their employees make up the difference in tips because patrons are just guilted into paying it. What a stupid broken system. Apparently, you're an asshole for not wanting to support that anymore?
As far as regular tipping goes (barbers, restaurants, etc.), if you want more money, charge me more and I'll decide if your service is worth it. I'm not made of money. I really can't afford to be guilted into paying extra fees.
Sounds like employers in the US can sidestep minimum wage by having their employees make up the difference in tips because patrons are just guilted into paying it. What a stupid broken system. Apparently, you're an asshole for not wanting to support that anymore?
It's not pity money though. They could include the service fee in your meal price and pay a flat wage to workers, but instead the customer can choose how much to pay in order to reward great service, and give the money directly to the server.
BTW I posted in this thread earlier that tipping hairdressers/barbers was "normal" in the UK - I meant that it is even done in the UK, not that it's widespread. And further, I find women more likely to do that than dudes. But I'm bald as a coot so what do I know.
It's not a broken stupid system. The vast majority of americans understand that tipping is paying someone for a service, and not tipping is taking advantage of a system designed to reward hard work.
People who work in tip based jobs (such as myself) love it. If you come to the US and don't want to tip, go right ahead because the majority of patrons understand and gladly engage in the system, they will make up for your ignorance.
StopMakingSense
Member
This "workers need to be paid fairly" shit is so annoying too. Tip based workers are paid fairly, and rewarded for great service. Tips allow people to make much more than minimum wage, and the entire service industry has been based on this model for decades. It's not going anywhere.
Rellik
Member
Yep. Thank fuck I don't live in a country where tipping exists.
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