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Comment by mikepurvis | Hacker News Reader

I don't mind tipping in principle, but I really hate the payment terminals that are preconfigured with outrageous options, so it prompts you to pick 20%, 25%, 30%, "other", so you feel like a total sleaze giving a normal 10-15% tip.

It's the worst when I'm picking up takeout from a restaurant that also has tables. Like, am I supposed to tip in this scenario? Do I have to go into "other" to tip less than 20% for being handed a brown bag?

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> Do I have to go into "other" to tip less than 20% for being handed a brown bag?

Yes, of course, you go into other and select 0%. You don't need to tip someone for handing you a bag, and prompting for a 20% tip is shameless.

As a Mexican, every time I go to the Bay area and take a taxi, it amazes me how the taxi payment terminals have the option of 15%, 20% and 30%.

Why would you tip a taxi?

I agree with the preconfigured options part. However it's important to realize that tips often get split between the whole staff. Most of the time you're not just tipping the person handing you the bag but everyone involved in preparing the food.

I still tip the normal amount when I get takeout from a restaurant that has tables.

Is this normal? I never tip for takeout..

It's not normal to tip for takeout, but if you want to, 10% is the standard tip as opposed to 15% for table service. But again, a takeout tip is not expected, especially for a simple order.

A friend is a cook who says that even at decent restaurants, cooks don't get paid much and they get just a minimal share of tips. So when I get takeout, I tip 10-20% and say "Thank-you, here's something for the kitchen." Sometimes I get thanks in return, sometimes just a sour look from a server who expected something more for putting my order in a bag. I have no idea what they'll do with the cash, but hopefully some of it gets to the back of the house.

Does the US not have the Tronc system?

The cash aspect was incidental. "Front of the house" workers here net a significantly higher take-home because they are the ones receiving the tips and what they pass on to others is typically discretionary. Even many of the best establishments will pay cooks subsistence wages. A few restaurants are going tipless, raising prices slightly and discouraging tips, so they can distribute pay more equitably, but then they can have problems retaining wait staff.

This was my understanding as well. If they just ring up the total and pass you food, there's no expectation of a tip.

I do tip from time to time at places where I'm a regular customer. If I get takeout somewhere near work of home ~4 times a month I'll drop a dollar in once every couple of trips.

I usually leave a couple of bucks, but definitely not 15%. That's for bussing the tables and being polite to my party.

I feel like there's a certain segment of people that would probably tip if there was a tip prompt at the grocery store, or at the gas station.

1. There is a weird regionalism in the outer boroughs of New York City where the grocery stores don't hire someone to bag groceries. Either the cashier does it (which I think is totally normal) or there's someone who isn't paid by the store who bags groceries and collects tips in a little cup in the bagging area. I think it's so weird and it's the one place I've never tipped. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen someone actually drop money into the jar in 10 years and the jars only ever seem to have pennies and other change in them.

2. At gas stations outside of New Jersey and Oregon, I had always thought you were supposed to tip when someone pumps your gas for you.

I was in a situation where I was getting takeout from Applebees's several times a week for a few months. I didn't tip in those situations, since I walked directly to the door, grabbed a box, and left. After 2 weeks, as the door closed, I heard the waitress complain "that guy never tips." I was mortified; I hate having that sort of bad reputation, deserved or not.

No one likes tipping, but it's become a moral issue. Something transformative has to happen in America to change the situation.

In that situation I still tip, just less, since my "load" on the restaurant staff is much less, no one had to take me to a table, take my order, bring my order, and clean my table. The tip is for the kitchen and for boxing/bagging up my order in that case, essentially.

I hate that even that is required, though. I would gladly pay an extra 15-20% for the food itself if I didn't have to leave a tip & the staff was paid the "normal" minimum wage, or more.

Yea, I always figured tipping was paying for table service, but who knows. Ambiguity around what it's for and how much is "normal" is just one of the many, many reasons tipping is so idiotic.

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