AIBU to think asking for tips at counter service cafes is cheeky?

[Thepeachboys]

Went for coffee and cake this morning in a niice artisan place in town. You order at the counter and then have to go and fetch your cakes and coffee when they are ready - so no table service but the staff behind the counter are pleasant. They sell artisan bread and cakes so plenty of takeaway items

They ask you on the till if you want to tip them, ok it's easy to press no.

But do they really think people are going to go to a cafe where you take the food and drinks to the table and not the staff and get a tip?

Tipping mechanism can be disabled on these tills, so it doesn't have to be there.

AIBU to think this is cheeky?

Nobody should be tipping anyone at all, regardless.

You are not helping people when you tip. You are not being a kind person.

You are actively hindering them, because bosses won’t increase wages while there are mugs who want to feel good about themselves (but don’t actually care about the problems they’re causing) tipping.

Our local fish and chips shop has a jar at the counter for tips. Just no. Why would you tip at a counter service. Asking for tips is getting silly now

They ask you on the till if you want to tip them, ok it's easy to press no.

So are they actually asking you or is it the card machine?

Bosses in the uk will never increase wages on minimum wage jobs now the minimum wage is so high. Previously better paid jobs have been absorbed into the minimum wage. I don’t think tipping or not tipping will change anything, it’s just a personal choice.

I probably wouldn't tip in that instance. I do usually tip in a restaurant if the service is good.

The ones that drive me mad are the ones that pop up on the card machine asking if I want to donate 25p to charity......no details of the charity etc, just do you want to donate. I always click no

As far as I know, the tip option on many of these POS machines is built in, you can’t turn it off.

I don’t tip anymore, certainly wouldn’t for counter service.

That makes sense because the bar staff at my local pub either apologise for it, tell you to just press no and then tap your card, or some just automatically press no before handing you the machine.

you can turn of a POS till tips section through the settings on the dash board, rather than the till reader itself

“So high” 😂

Minimum wage is a pittance. That’s why someone living solely on that wage qualifies for income support. We can bitch and moan about the welfare bill being unaffordable, but when it props up cheap meals and corporate profits, we’re happy for people to have low wages.

One local cafe always presses no when the tip option comes up before passing the machine over (I don’t know why they don’t disable it), and they do occasionally have full table service and always bring the food and coffee to the table. Didn’t the tip jar used to be just for the few coins you might get as change? Of course now so many people don’t carry cash (me) so some have added it (or not removed) from the machine. And if it defaults to a percentage well that’s just daft.

I don’t think you can on every system. It’s an issue my husband had when trying to find a system for his work. The more flexible ones were really expensive.

The more flexible ones were really expensive.

Zettle you can and is one of the cheaper options, often used by sole traders

SumUp
Square
Clover

all can be changed through the app

Well you do you!

Of course tipping shouldn’t be mandatory but if I want to tip, which I do frequently, I will.

Nearly all hospitality businesses do that now.
My local cafe that I use always has a screen that asks for a tip. I never give it. I probably would if I was loaded though as the staff are really nice.

I agree OP and I hate it, it's very cheeky. I have often been tempted to say hey, I'll tip you if you walk around that counter and put it on the table for me. Collecting from a counter can be tricky especially if you have little kids. Expecting people to do it themselves and then suggest a tip is wrong. I know we can just ignore it but still it makes me uncomfortable.

It’s not mandatory, you select no or don’t leave a cash tip and go on with your life.

All tipping is irrational, when it's somebody doing their job for which they are paid and you've paid the pre-agreed price as the customer.

It makes no more sense for you to tip them for successfully fulfilling their side of the bargain than it would for them to tip you (i.e. give you a discount) for behaving well and respectably and for eating your meal nicely and successfully.

Tipping is basically treating a worker like a charity case.

True, but it's a cheeky imposition, and one that introduces awkwardness, regardless of whether you can say No if you don't want to; you shouldn't be put in that position in the first place.

It also potentially makes things more difficult for ND people or for people visiting from abroad, who may not know/fully grasp that when/where it's entirely voluntary and when it's 'invited' but is really expected as a basic essential. I can guess how well it would go down if foreign visitors to the USA assumed that it was just an entirely voluntary bonus and selected 'no' or 'zero' when prompted.

How would you feel if you were asked by the card machine if you wanted to tip when paying for your shopping at Tesco? Or if you paid a plumber/car mechanic/cleaner/everybody you ever pay for anything for doing the agreed job at the agreed price and he/she asked if you wanted to add a tip?

If I didn’t want to tip then I would just say no, it really is that simple. Tesco is vastly different to an independent cafe.

But it's still a business providing goods and/or services at a clearly stated and agreed price.

Why do you tip at cafes or restaurants and not at most other places - which may equally be small independent businesses? Is it because you've assessed the whole situation - the nature of what they sell, their potential income, customer base overheads, wage levels, profit margins etc. - and you believe that they especially need/deserve your tip... or do you just do it without giving it a moment's thought because you have it in your head that 'you have to tip in a cafe'?

These are fine for a shall business but no good if you need a larger, connected system.

It is a small independent one of business