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Comment by RyanZAG | Hacker News Reader

You know that most of the world's population doesn't tip at all? Given that, it seems kind of strange to assume everyone just knows the appropriate tipping etiquette without being told when getting the coupon or sitting down.

Plus the most active users of groupon are probably doing it to save as much money as possible with coupons. They're unlikely to willingly throw away those savings on massive tips... and from what you hear about frequent groupon users they really don't tip the price pre-coupon.

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I was replying to your comment specifically about tipping customs in the US. If you grow up in the US and go to restaurants it's not unreasonable to absorb tipping etiquette along the way.

You still save money with a coupon, you're not paying full price for the meal. That's no reason to screw over the server who depends on tips for a living. If someone is seriously strapped for cash and needs to save money, they should be cooking at home, not going to restaurants.

Don't get me wrong, I'd happily do away with the whole tipping culture and just have the entire price printed on the menu. But, as long as we have tips, take the time to learn how to do it right.

I've grown up in america and is the first time I've ever heard this and I imagine I'm not alone. It's also kind of difficult since people factor the tip at the end of the meal when they get the receipt, not when they have a menu in front of them.

I hope you're an exception. Tipping on the full amount should be a fairly well-known practice. Also, your receipt will probably show the original price and the final, discounted price. You shouldn't need to remember the menu.

That's a huge assumption. It's something I also have never heard of until reading this post.

I'm personally bothered by the entire tipping culture in the US. Once used to acknowledge that someone has gone above and beyond, now it is just used by businesses as a means to pay below minimum wage (which is too low already). The fact that it is also percentage based this means a person working at a restaurant with higher prices likely makes more money just because I'm charged more for the food. This doesn't seem fair to those workers who are wait staffing at a more affordable restaurant. I can tip above standard percentages at those restaurants, but this isn't going to translate to the whole.

It is also well known that other discriminatory issues factor in to tips (age, gender, race, attractiveness, etc...)

Bottom line, tipping should be thrown out as an expectation and should have zero impact on wait staff wages. Restaurants should be forced to pay at or above minimum wage and menu prices can be adjusted accordingly. As dependent as today's society is on the food service industry, maybe it is about time they unionize and start striking at the local and/or national levels until some laws are changed to treat them fairly.

I've never heard of the idea that you should tip full amount. That sounds like one person's opinion rather than custom. I should provide the disclaimer that I haven't used a coupon when eating a meal, so I may not have had the opportunity to come across it.

It's basically just common sense. The server does the same amount of work whether the meal is priced at $100 or $50.

That goes back to the gratuity pricing being a percentage of cost is a problem in itself. If I go to an Applebees or a private "upscale" restaurant the pricing will be significantly different, but the effort required by the server will typically be similar.

That even applies to the same restaurant. If I order a $10 plate of noodles or a $25 steak the server is still carrying one plate out either way.

I'll add to the discussion that until a bartender friend of mine taught me about this a couple of years ago, I had no idea. I asked a few friends and family if they were aware of this and it was a real mixed bag.

I think there are a lot of people like me who before groupon, never used a coupon at a sit down restaurant in my adult life, and therefore it was never something I ever had to even think about.

Sure, but it is obvious, right? You aren't going to give them no tip because the deal was free after you bought the coupon?

Don't get me wrong, I'd happily do away with the whole tipping culture and just have the entire price printed on the menu. But, as long as we have tips, take the time to learn how to do it right.

This is really the main point. Similarly, you're free to decide that it's gross to shake hands with the people you meet, but you should be aware that you're acting outside of cultural norms.

I'm aware of tipping based on the full amount, and I agree with the practice. But there are other nuances to it that people can quibble about. For example, it's not expected to tip on drinks according to some people.

The bottom line is that tipping is a custom and an etiquette. These things vary quite a lot from location to location. It's surprising to me that someone would assert that there's really only one proper way to do it in a country as big as this.

Emily Post, for example, says to tip only on the pre-tax amount of the meal plus 1-2$ per drink and nothing at all about coupons.

Edit:

Still doesn't change the fact that Groupon has a rather nasty habit of taking advantage of small businesses and generally screwing them over. But that's a mixed bag also. I use Groupon a lot and find them to be a great source of places with generally well-meaning owners who are a good alternative to large corporate chains and work hard to keep me coming back.

My ex-girlfriend used Groupon to find ways to go cheap and took advantage of it with absolutely no intention of ever going back to see anyone a second time. Her repeat business could not be bought with any exceptional level of service.

Ultimately, it's a business decision the owners have to make for themselves. The problem for Groupon as a company is that their largest appeal is for people who are going to be a bad business decision for the owners using their service. It's a bad model, and it's clearly failing, so that means things are working exactly as they should.

For the record: Groupon does remind you to tip on the full price when getting the coupon, now.

I would guess that he meant to say most "American" adults should know better.

What other parts of the world do is irrelevant. When in Rome...

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