Have your tipping habits changed with the rising cost of living?

[SwanBuster]

Have you found yourself having to think more carefully about tipping - cabs, hairdressers, deliveroo etc now that the cost of things are going up?

I do a little ‘roo-ing’ on the side, and I’ve found that despite some of the orders I’ve been doing being insanely ridiculous - huge shops, long distances by bicycle, working out to way less than minimum wage, I’ve been getting very, very few tips.

I’ve always personally tipped when on the other side of the transaction - and still would - but times are getting tighter and wondering if this is one of the first things to go?

Before anyone goes through my posting history - yes, I have a Tesla, salary sacrifice 40k per year into my pensions and still do deliveroo. Ya gotta hustle. Can make an easy grand a year tax free on the side with the trading allowance and get fit and cancel the gym, so why not.

I only tip in a restaurant if I’ve had very good service. I don’t tip my hairdresser and I rarely get a taxi nowadays. I expect people will pay the delivery charge and expect that to be enough.

Since the eat-out-to-help-out when the service was dire, I’ve cut back on tips. I’ll tip for great service, but I’ll get a 10% auto charge taken off the bill from the start.

Delivery drivers I’ll tip £1 cash, and taxis I’ll round up. That’s about it though.

@ConsuelaHammock

I only tip in a restaurant if I’ve had very good service. I don’t tip my hairdresser and I rarely get a taxi nowadays. I expect people will pay the delivery charge and expect that to be enough.

Yeah, I think that is a very reasonable expectation on their part - and it definitely isn’t the responsibility of the person ordering to top up the payment.

But it’s been genuinely eye opening. I cycle rapidly, but a combination of takeaways taking time to prepare an order after I’ve arrived, the ridiculous routes that take you out of the primary ordering zone and the general dearth of people ordering where I am means it’s almost impossible to achieve minimum wage most of the time when you work out the effective hourly rate.

A £2 tip makes a hell of a difference on those type of jobs. The gig economy - wonderful!

@AnotherDelphinium

Since the eat-out-to-help-out when the service was dire, I’ve cut back on tips. I’ll tip for great service, but I’ll get a 10% auto charge taken off the bill from the start.

Delivery drivers I’ll tip £1 cash, and taxis I’ll round up. That’s about it though.

Thank you so much - £1 cash on deliveries is amazing, trust me. Two of those in a hour would be It’s like a 25% inc on the effective hourly rate.

I don't tip delivery drivers as I've already paid a delivery fee. I tip at a restaurant as I have been offered a service, but all a delivery person is doing is literally handing me a meal that someone else prepared.
It's also not my issue how long someone's drive or cycle to get to my property is.

I don't usually top to be honest, no Deliveroo here, just direct from restaurants and as they are under a mile, charge £3 delivery and they charge the same as if I was sitting at one of the tables I don't see the need. I would tip a taxi driver if anyone actually still served my town. I've had to run dp in the car every time he needs to go to the station as they refuse

@rookiemere

I don't tip delivery drivers as I've already paid a delivery fee. I tip at a restaurant as I have been offered a service, but all a delivery person is doing is literally handing me a meal that someone else prepared. It's also not my issue how long someone's drive or cycle to get to my property is.

😂

I strongly suggest you do the job, and then come back and see if you think the service is just ‘ handing over a meal’.

But you’re absolutely right - it’s not your issue to top up the fees. But it is absolutely worth being aware of them being rubbish, and making damn sure you minimise the time it takes to get to the door when the poor git arrives!

Service is very average if not below standard in most cases at cafes/restaurants and I’m eating out a fair amount. This really needs to improve. I do tip but slow/poor/forgetful service will get the minimum. I’d have to be super
annoyed and complain to not tip. Delivery not so much as I rarely order take out and almost always would reheat so not sure what I’m tipping if it’s taken 45-60 mins to arrive with a delivery charge already.

Nope. I would not have a meal out or takeaway rather than have one but stop the tip.

I rarely tipped for those things anyway, only for restaurant services if it was a really good service.

OP - I’d suggest you’re not actually thinking of the the customer in any of your responses or perspective. Some things are ‘table stakes’ ie. they are expected and if it didn’t happen it would be bad, as opposed to somehow ‘delighting’ the customer.

@VangVieng

OP - I’d suggest you’re not actually thinking of the the customer in any of your responses or perspective. Some things are ‘table stakes’ ie. they are expected and if it didn’t happen it would be bad, as opposed to somehow ‘delighting’ the customer.

Then I don’t think you read my responses.

I explicitly said it’s not the job of the customer to top up the rubbish fees.

Most of the restaurants I go to automatically add 12.5% and that hasn’t changed.
I tip takeaway drivers £2 or £3 as most on Just Eat don’t have a delivery charge.
I tip my hairdresser £5 for a £38 cut and £5 or a free fringe trim in between cuts, she only accepts this some of the time.
My tippling habits haven’t changed.

I still tip if service is really good, but I don’t tip at all for bad service. Lots of restaurants service has gone downhill recently so I tip less than I used to, and I haven’t had many good deliveroo deliverers so I rarely tip those.

I always used to tip delivery drivers but I just don’t keep cash anymore , I still tip in restaurants etc .

No, nothing has changed for me. I didn't tip before and I don't now.

@Overthebow

I still tip if service is really good, but I don’t tip at all for bad service. Lots of restaurants service has gone downhill recently so I tip less than I used to, and I haven’t had many good deliveroo deliverers so I rarely tip those.

That’s intriguing - what constitutes a good delivery person in your book? Genuine question.

On an anecdotal side note, the tips I get seem to actually be from people on the lower part of the income spectrum. I’ve never had one from a person in the more ‘refined’ parts of the little town I serve.

OP you could use your Tesla for your delivery job so you get there quicker, you may get more tips then.

I only tip in restaurants if it's exceptional service. I tip my hairdresser because she does me a 'free' fringe trim between cuts too :)

@NeedleNoodle3

OP you could use your Tesla for your delivery job so you get there quicker, you may get more tips then.

The additional insurance is have to pay to legally deliver in a Model S with Ludicrous would be insane 😂

And frankly enough, in an urban environment the E-bike is faster. I’m way under the estimated delivery time every time - the bottleneck is often the restaurant who are not ready when I get there.

I did read your responses and there’s no need to get defensive because you didn’t get the response you wanted. Classic customer service issue.

You’re right, it is not the job of the customer to top up rubbish fees paid to delivery.

This is a massive problem with the gig economy. You’re doing it for some cash on the side, others aren’t and whilst the customer is overall receiving very average service, the profits are only distributed one way.

Oh ok, my friend does Deliveroo and is making good money and good tips. We don’t live in a posh area so this may fit in with your who tips theory.

We don't get Deliveroo and no cabs around here but I've never tipped a delivery driver or hairdresser. I'm still tipping as usual in restaurants.

Ok - but basically it looks like people haven’t changed their habits yet - if they did before they still do, and if they didn’t before they aren’t going to change that 👍