In today’s service economy, 2/3’s of the GDP, workers who are compensated for their labor are asking for a tip, extra. A part of me wants to applaud this, you don’t g-e-t if you don’t a-s-k but the consumer in me is left feeling cheap, on the spot, or pissed off; especially since I’ve spent many years as a server. I read an article yesterday that a gentleman was asked if he wanted to add a 20% gratuity at self-serve checkout! It was at O’Hare Airport in Chicago where he paid 4x the normal cost of a sandwich, drink, and did the work of an employee. Personally I refuse to use self-checkout. Why? I don’t work here!
If the retailer offered me a 5-10% discount then I would consider it, I mean it would still be netting them positive over an employee. I kind of view it as I’m an Uber driver, self-contractor of sorts. But the 5 times a year I visit Walley World, I notice that all the customers that go through do-it-yourself lines are then confronted by the gestapo to check their receipts. I find this appalling! Wait, you’re not here to help me to my car with all this Chinese merch but instead are softly accusing me of shop lifting after I checked myself out, correct?
When the minimum wage employee tries this bullshit, I walk right past them without recognition, they hold no authority over me. I waited in the long line to talk with Shelia, worth it, as she checked me out, longer than it took me to shop; check the tape. And before the carousel of grey bags was put into my oversized cart the total read over $100 and it asked me to donate to some charity. A better sales approach would be helping paying customers to their cars and then ask for their receipt to make sure they didn’t forget anything behind. You get a name, vehicle type, a digital copy of what they bought, and have started to build a relationship with Gary, worth more than the data. Boom! You’re welcome, Wal-Mart.
Working as a server we always loathed the Europeans, for they are not used to tipping and look down on the business owner for not providing for their employees. They ask, “Why should I pay your employees,” a valid point. For Americans, I was taught if someone takes care of you, you take care of them in a restaurant. Then I heard the story behind tipping, T.I.P.S., stand for, To Insure Proper Service. Traders on Wall Street needed their lunch in a hurry and started giving extra to guarantee their speedy return. Today, it feels more like we are expected to give more for what we pay for as an unwritten rule to the consensus because if we don’t, what will they say, think, or act towards us? But this is a corporation cutting labor costs.
I’ve read that the younger generation would rather have the gratuity built into the menu because young people are cheap. Why? They don’t have a lot of money and they probably have a sense of resentment for not being compensated for their job. The debt of a young person is extraordinary and I remember.
But I can’t stand tipping at Starbucks, “It’s just going to ask you a question,” says the employee at the drive-thru, 10%, 15%, 20%, or no tip reads the POS. Honestly, it makes me feel bad to not tip, and that’s not a response you want from a consumer after visiting your business. I make $2.13/hr. as a sever in N.C., (which is crazy because a decade ago while in Florida, they raised it to $4.25) the Starbucks worker is earning at least $15/hr. and isn’t going out their way to make sure my experience is above satisfaction. But hey, sometimes they do. If we have a real human interaction, I’m willing to pay for that! Too bad it’s not more often, because it’s expected.
Here’s how we solve this problem, instead ask me by name, “Steven, we’re glad to see you back at our Starbucks for (repeat my order) my name is Stephanie, our goal is to beat your expectations and if we have, please reward us for it, if not I’ll take care of you immediately because if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have a job.” What a close! I realize that’s a lot to ask of a service industry worker because it’s uncomfortable for most people I’d assume but it’s fair. I don’t feel obligated and you feel proud. It makes our next experience much more pleasurable, which in turn has me back sooner than later. Boom! You’re welcome, Starbucks.
Everybody deserves a little extra here and there but with the constant bombardment by the time I wait on reservations for dinner they’ve been juiced more than once. From a consumer perspective ‘do I feel better about taking care of my server or bartender as much as the coffee barista’ or are they becoming more on par; like a Chipotle or Jersey Mike’s, where workers make 7x’s a server or bartender? I suppose I feel the tip for a job well done is eroding. When I go out of my way with, you’re modified order from hell and do battle with the kitchen, I let you know, and an agreement has been made. Ordering a coffee for $4 doesn’t constitute additional funds. The masks make it harder for me to interact and want to tip, (It shows separation, and if 3 out of 4 employees are suffering from an already serious condition my apologies, but they were under 25. Ah to be 25).
Why doesn’t a self-serve kiosk ask me, “Steven, we’ve seen you’ve spent ‘X’ amount of dollars this month would you like 10% cash back today?” If the consumer is the reason a business makes profit from sales, it’s an investor as such and dividend here and their builds loyalty to a brand. People won’t forget about the time you gave back big, real, because it is an outlier but what if it wasn’t? And I’m not talking about points and rewards as you sell my data off! I’m saying, kickback! Grease the wheels baby. Make me tell my circle about the $50 cash I got from Home Depot for those jobs I did last month at self-serve, ‘In my hand!’
Or we can maintain the status quo. I mean do we really want to rock the boat, because we enjoy telling stories about how we got screwed. God, forbid I take that away from you one upping my experience at Wendy’s, jeez Pauly, weasel. I suppose I’ll ask my barista next time what their feelings are because I don’t want that emotion resonating and causing a response in my morning. I want to feel welcomed and taken care of, while reciprocating back the appropriate love.
