Interesting article on U.S. Tipping

[Blackcrusader]

Social contract - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"Social contract arguments typically posit that individuals have consented,"

Thanks for proving my point. I have not consented to being obliged to tip for services I have already paid for in full.

You have not answered this below..

Show me anywhere on any bill that there is such a social contract that customers have agreed to.

 

[Lorenzoid]

"Social contract arguments typically posit that individuals have consented,"

Thanks for proving my point. I have not consented to being obliged to tip for services I have already paid for in full.

You have not answered this below..

Show me anywhere on any bill that there is such a social contract that customers have agreed to.

Dude, at least quote the entire sentence: "Social contract arguments typically posit that individuals have consented, either explicitly or tacitly, to surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority (of the ruler, or to the decision of a majority) in exchange for protection of their remaining rights or maintenance of the social order." If English is not your first language, I certainly do not hold this misunderstanding against you. Tacit consent is unwritten, and that's what I'm talking about.

I have given this some thought over the years, for no other reason than I find the tipping phenomenon and how it differs around the world fascinating. As I see it, the way it works in the US is that by walking into a US restaurant I am tacitly consenting to play by the unwritten rule on tipping--I might call it a social contract among tipped employees, their employers, and we the people who live in US society and pay for their services. For the benefit of foreign tourists, every guide book will mention US tipping practices. To summarize my theory on tipping in the US, it's an unwritten rule that a full tip is expected of the customer in places that employ so-called "tipped employees" because the tip is factored into the employee's wages. This is plain to see in the case "tipped employees," who are paid an hourly wage below the regular minimum wage. If the customer doesn't pay it, the employer is legally obligated to make up the difference, but that doesn't mean the customer was not expected to pay the tip--and most customers do pay the tip. But I believe even well-paid tipped employees are paid a wage that factors in the employee receiving tips. So in every case, if I don't leave a tip I'm not playing by the rules. It's clear that most of us do, sometimes reluctantly, choose to play by this rule and leave a full tip. We may grumble about the seemingly huge 20% tip that's typical in the US, but the system seems to work at least well enough that few people have made an effort to change it. It seems to me that the even with paying the 20% tip the customer doesn't end up paying more for the same service than they would in a non-tipping country in which employees are fully compensated through wages and benefits.

 

[Rob9876]

@Lorenzoid Tacit consent is merely silent consent, but still requires actual mental consent (being born or located in the U.S. does not equal consent). I, and clearly others on here, do not consent to your assumptions about tipping.

And the actions of myself and others indicate that we don't agree with your underlying assumptions of this alleged "tacit agreement." I do not agree to automatically tip everyone regardless of the quality of their service to me. I do not agree that 20% is expected -- at restaurants I usually give 15% for good service, more for exceptional, less or zero for bad service. I do believe that a tip is a gratuity that has to be earned, and is not automatic. We are, clearly, not in agreement (tacitly or otherwise).

If you want to argue that there is peer pressure in the U.S. to tip for good service, then that is different. But I do, respectfully, believe that your theory about a tacit agreement obligating customers to tip 20% even for bad service is reaching quite a bit.

But you tip as much as you want. I'm going to bow out of this discussion now, as it seems to be heading where all internet discussions about tipping go, and I'd rather read about diving.

 

[Marie13]

I get my groceries delivered via Amazon Fresh. I had one driver recently totally disregard the delivery instructions to use the buzzer so I could let him into my building and to drop the bags outside my first (ground) floor unit (close to the building entrance). He called instead, yelling at me to let him in. I hit the button to buzz him in. I went out to the building entrance and in the time it took me to walk from my unit, he had just thrown my groceries inside the building entrance and was driving off. He didn’t get a penny for a tip. If you screw up, you don’t get a tip.

 

[brsnow]

At the end of the day not every customer is a good one or even a desired one. Two way street.

 

[Angelo Farina]

I get my groceries delivered via Amazon Fresh. I had one driver recently totally disregard the delivery instructions to use the buzzer so I could let him into my building and to drop the bags outside my first (ground) floor unit (close to the building entrance). He called instead, yelling at me to let him in. I hit the button to buzz him in. I went out to the building entrance and in the time it took me to walk from my unit, he had just thrown my groceries inside the building entrance and was driving off. He didn’t get a penny for a tip. If you screw up, you don’t get a tip.

Do people delivering Amazon goods (or other online purchased goods) expect to be tipped? My understanding was these people are paid through an app-based system, and the way of rewarding a proper or bad service is rating their score through the app.
Never given a penny to people delivering items to my home... And I must say that none of them ever did seem to expect anything, except the "top score" on the app.
Isn't "mandatory" tipping just confined to restaurants or taxis?
Sorry, again I have a lot to learn...

 

[Centrals]

Sorry, again I have a lot to learn...

There are a lot to learn/know in life but many of them is plain useless.
We all have different custom, tradition etc etc from each other.
"In Rome do what the Romans do".
I dive more or less exclusively in SE Asia so I know how much to tip or not to tip.
I have yet to be harassed for not tipping/not enough in SE Asia except on one occasion when I was asked why I left some money behind in a restaurant.

 

[Marie13]

Do people delivering Amazon goods (or other online purchased goods) expect to be tipped? My understanding was these people are paid through an app-based system, and the way of rewarding a proper or bad service is rating their score through the app.
Never given a penny to people delivering items to my home... And I must say that none of them ever did seem to expect anything, except the "top score" on the app.
Isn't "mandatory" tipping just confined to restaurants or taxis?
Sorry, again I have a lot to learn...

The Amazon grocery delivery is a different creature from regular Amazon deliveries. The grocery delivery saves my knees the painful walk through the grocery store, so I don’t mind tipping.

Tipping for take out delivery, pizza delivery, etc., is very common here.

 

[Angelo Farina]

There are a lot to learn/know in life but many of them is plain useless.
We all have different custom, tradition etc etc from each other.
"In Rome do what the Romans do".
I dive more or less exclusively in SE Asia so I know how much to tip or not to tip.

Problem is that I am travelling all around the word (COVID permitting), almost entirely for work. So I NEED to learn about local customs in as many places as possible...
I agree entirely that one should follow local use as much as possible.
However, the phrase about Romans you cite is a bit misleading. Romans were known do to exactly the opposite, wherever they were going, they were imposing THEIR way.
And actually many Romans are still doing this nowadays...
Of course, coming to Rome and not complying with Roman law and usages was even more dangerous.
The situation was strongly asymmetric, so using this phrase (which technically is a correct suggestion for people visiting Rome) for suggesting to comply with local use in places different from Rome is misleading.

 

[Bob DBF]

I do not agree to automatically tip everyone regardless of the quality of their service to me. I do not agree that 20% is expected -- at restaurants I usually give 15% for good service, more for exceptional, less or zero for bad service.

That is how I deal with tipping, as well. Aside from tipping less, or none, for poor service, I will also talk to the manager about the quality of service if it is a restaurant I frequent.

As a note, the state of California requires a minimum wage be paid to all employees, with very minor exceptions, restaurant employees are not excepted. Minimum wage is $15 an hour over 25 employees, $14 an hour under 25 employees, with some cities requiring a higher minimum wage. There is no law restricting the maximum that can be paid.