Tipping at Fast Food Places

[Hermann]

That's because you order at the counter vs a sit down.

There is just no need to tip when you are doing the work. WalMart even asks for tips up front on deliveries now. It's just stupid. Again people wanting money when they haven't done anything to prove they deserve a tip.

 

[Hermann]

Many places, like the Dickey BBQ I ate at yesterday, request the tip when ordering, not after the meal is prepared or eaten.

Dickey's has a outlet here. The BBQ is not cooked there but at a different store in the metro. The location here has been known to have less than 10 customers a day (info sourced from former employee), I guess they survive on catering. Went there once, saw the request for tips upfront and never went back. The food was below average.

 

[burbguy82]

That's because you order at the counter vs a sit down.

so why tip, no personal service ,no waitress, you probably get you own drinks. Why tip, just becuase?

 

[Pew]

There is just no need to tip when you are doing the work. WalMart even asks for tips up front on deliveries now. It's just stupid. Again people wanting money when they haven't done anything to prove they deserve a tip.

so why tip, no personal service ,no waitress, you probably get you own drinks. Why tip, just becuase?

I'm not, I'm just saying tips are asked at the counter because the restaurant is counter-ordered

 

[SaberOne]

When I was a kid, my first job was mowing lawns. Later, I transitioned into the restaurant scene, starting as a dishwasher and eventually becoming a cook. I witnessed firsthand how hard the waitresses worked to take care of customers, relying heavily on tips. This experience made me a generous tipper throughout my life. However, I find it off-putting when electronic displays present tipping options in an intrusive manner. Under these conditions, I always refuse to tip, as it completely undermines the genuine spirit of tipping.

 

[Hermann]

I'm not, I'm just saying tips are asked at the counter because the restaurant is counter-ordered

Why even ask for a tip up front if you are not providing any service outside the counter. I guess they figure a certain percentage will be sensitive people who will tip for nothing.

 

[Pew]

Why even ask for a tip up front if you are not providing any service outside the counter. I guess they figure a certain percentage will be sensitive people who will tip for nothing.

Don't know, don't care. It's not my money, I've got bigger things to worry about than a stranger not/tipping at counter service.

 

[wpod]

This is why I still do my Dave Ramsey cash envelope system for "dining out". Use the cash from that one and leave it for my server. When the change comes back, I take it, and additional cash, and give it directly to my server. Now if they share it with others, it's beyond my control, but at least they get the entire tip instead of what scraps an unscrupulous owner will give them after CC "fees". I use my debit card for all other transactions involving counter service or drive-thru and do not tip.

I did Dave Ramsey before Dave went bankrupt.

 

[KrisZ]

Since most people pay with a credit/debit card, I bet the tips are now part of the business profit strategy. There is no way they distribute that money only among the employees.

 

[Pablo]

Since most people pay with a credit/debit card, I bet the tips are now part of the business profit strategy. There is no way they distribute that money only among the employees.

I always wonder about that!

 

[ATex7239]

I always wonder about that!

Mark my words, one day you’re going to be at the self check out kiosk at a big name box store (Target, WM, HomeDepot, etc.) and there will be an option to leave a tip. It’s coming.

 

[Pew]

Since most people pay with a credit/debit card, I bet the tips are now part of the business profit strategy. There is no way they distribute that money only among the employees.

That violates the FLSA:

Credit Cards: Under the FLSA, when tips are charged on customers’ credit cards and the employer can show that it pays the credit card company a percentage on such sales as a fee for payment using a credit card, the employer may pay the employee the tip, less that percentage. For example, where a credit card company charges an employer 3 percent on all sales charged to its credit service, the employer may pay the tipped employee 97 percent of the tips without violating the FLSA.

However, the employer cannot reduce the amount of tips paid to the employee by any amount greater than the transactional fee charged by the credit card company, regardless of whether or not it takes a tip credit. Doing so would be a keeping violation under section 3(m)(2)(B). Additionally, this transactional fee may not reduce the employee’s wage below the required minimum wage, including the amount of any tip credit claimed. Under federal law, the amount due the employee must be paid no later than the regular pay day and may not be held while the employer is awaiting reimbursement from the credit card company. Note: Some states may have more protective laws regarding tips charged to credit cards which do not allow the employer to deduct credit card fees from employees’ tips.

 

[ATex7239]

That violates the FLSA:

I would imagine the strategy is less about “stealing” the money and more about using tips as a way to subsidize low wage workers without having to dig into their own margins to do so.

 

[burbguy82]

as it completely undermines the genuine spirit of tipping.

It cannot be better said. I agree 100%

A tip is a reward for work, whether it be good or bad. I would leave a penny, heads up, sometimes with a message if the service was bad. Unknowingly, giving a "tip".

 

[Pew]

I would imagine the strategy is less about “stealing” the money and more about using tips as a way to subsidize low wage workers without having to dig into their own margins to do so.

Not really, a traditional tip does not share tips and the restaurant. A non-traditional tip is called a tip pool and can be shared out to non-tipped employees, usually bussers, dishwashers, and bar-backs. There are legal limits to how much can be put in and the restaurant still has to make sure their employees are getting paid no less then minimum wage after tips are claimed for the night. There are stories how owners won't pay their server's wages or tips and that is very illegal.

 

[Bud]

Since most people pay with a credit/debit card, I bet the tips are now part of the business profit strategy. There is no way they distribute that money only among the employees.

This is exactly the reason I pay for my meal with my CC and hand the tip to my waiter in cash. I want to make sure they get it.

 

[KrisZ]

That violates the FLSA:

Just like any law, there are ways around it.
And I’m pretty sure the electronic cash registers make it much easier to manipulate the book keeping.
It’s much harder to work around a physical receipt where the customer specified the tip amount and signed the receipt, but with the fully electronic registers and touch screens, there is no physical copy.

As and example, the register could be programmed to only show tips that are 15% or lower in the books, and if a larger tip is selected on the screen, like 20%, 25%, the system would only register 15% as a tip and the rest could go as something else.

 

[zzyzzx]

Since most people pay with a credit/debit card, I bet the tips are now part of the business profit strategy. There is no way they distribute that money only among the employees.

We are bound to have someone here who works at such a place or knows someone who does and can verify or refute this.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Since most people pay with a credit/debit card, I bet the tips are now part of the business profit strategy. There is no way they distribute that money only among the employees.

This is what creeps me out with paying by CC when dining out. I usually try to tip in cash, with "cash" written on the tip line.

Who knows what the waitress is going to key into the machine for the tip and even then you don't always see it immediately on your CC transaction and have to wait until a billing statement.

Also, I always take pictures of the merchant and customer CC receipt with my phone before I leave.

 

[4WD]

I would imagine the strategy is less about “stealing” the money and more about using tips as a way to subsidize low wage workers without having to dig into their own margins to do so.

That’s what I assume and tip them all …
Some are a small franchise owned place.