I recently had a plumbers payment app ask for a tip. Default was 20% on a $4500 job. Fuck no. I agreed to pay for a service, I got the service as agreed, you only get the price we agreed on.
Holy fuck can you imagine? No man, i get quotes because we're already pushing my budget. Unless you do something out of your way, no. And unless that out of your way thing is purchasing and installing a toilet or something there's no way I'm tipping 900
As a kindness, not as an expectation. I like to tip when I want to, but as soon as I feel pressured to tip, my defenses go up.
I agree though, tipping a service provider for being reliable and high quality is a nice thing to do if you can. A mechanic/contractor is a good example, because many are not reliable or honest. Finding one that does good work and charges sane prices almost feels like a non-social friendship. Like they are doing some kind of public service by not scamming desperate folks.
I guess I mean more in terms of an independent contractor. If your guy is working from something like Roto-Rooter or American Tire Depot or something, they're just an employee.
Hmm, both the people I tipped owned their own business, I felt their prices were fair, they were honest and did a good job.
When it comes to service jobs, I'll buy donuts for them too, or whatever. I dunno, I think it comes from a mindset like, man your job is hard to do 8 hours a day, I appreciate your skill at it.
Oh don't get me wrong, I absolutely offer some kind of snack/food, drinks and stuff. I just wouldn't give them more money than the price that they set themselves
Am mechanic. Get tipped sometimes. Never expect it, but it's nice when it happens. Customers will also bring us snacks or buy us lunch or bring us bottles of hooch or some choice buds for Christmas.
Put your money where your mouth is and tell that to every single tattoo artist, hair stylist, barber, bar tender, server, or anywhere that accepts tips and post a follow up comment of how a weekend out on the town goes for you lol.
Make a YouTube doc out of it and go viral, I would watch for sure. It would be a train wreck
Edit: to be clear, tell them BEFORE they begin whatever service it is they are providing you lol
I get it, some things I mentioned don't make their own rates. I still dare anyone to tell a tattoo artist up front they are being paid the asking rate to do a good job
I've already corrected myself multiple times on that but thanks for being vigilant. If you feel so strongly that's right then why do you not say it to your artist?
Okay so edit the parameters and just go get tattoos and haircuts while saying that upfront, then film the doc, equal Trainwreck scenario still. Would you tell your artists upfront "to make this clear, I'm paying you only what you asked for to do a good job" ????
Fair point, but challenge still stands. Go tell tattoo artists and a barber/stylist that upfront, go to 6 different tattoo shops and try it, and come back to us on how it goes. Same challenge adjusted statement. Better?
I'm just saying that mentality isn't very smart when you're dealing with people permanently marking your body especially. Give it a try though and feel free to prove me wrong
In a business transaction, it shows integrity to disclose the payment. When you already decided to not tip someone who you know expects one by industry standard, it seems like you're operating on different expectations than them.
Not to mention, people with multiple tattoos usually go to the same artist when they find one they like that does good work. If you're gonna build a relationship with an artist like that you should tell them you never plan on tipping them. Otherwise, if you only want one tattoo or like looking for a new artist every time and have no integrity than not disclosing probably doesn't matter to you
“They expect a tip as is standard, you seem to be on a different standard”
That’s your first paragraph. Obviously? The point is about the ideal, what things should be. If they don’t like it, they can simply not continue with the transaction. It’s a criticism of the standard, the standard isn’t an immutable law of reality.
On your point about multiple tattoos and relationships, that’s a separate point which is obviously not being referred to here.
A tip would serve a different purpose, which has value in itself. This doesn’t apply to what is being talked about.
It also needs to die because it makes financial planning difficult, for both the tipped and the tippers. In Germany there is a tradition called Trinkgeld, "drinking gold", like tipping a service worker a beer for their day. But if people are depending on raking an extra 20-50% of their wage off the top to make rent or make another financial end meet, that creates grounds for animosity rather than gratitude.
Oh, it’s even worse than 20-50% in the US, at least in some lines of work. For example, if you’re a waiter or a bartender, your tips are making up the vast, vast majority of your income, not just a portion or half of it. Shit’s wild.
That said, this is also why people working those jobs are pretty against getting rid of tipping, because they know that these businesses will absolutely never pay them the amount of money they’re getting from tips.
Source: I’ve been friends with a ton of people working service industries over the years who would absolutely lose their shit if we did away with tipping. Personally I still think tipping needs to go, just offering a bit of additional perspective as to how fucked the whole thing is.
You never know because it varies from person to person. People pretending there is specific tipping etiquette are liars. Along with so many other social norms. Just tell me what you want from me
Good job? For a tattoo artist?!?!? I think the fucking bare minimum expectations for a permanent body change should be a good job. Don’t forget to tip your doctors and surgeons!
My main artist is based in Canada and I came from NY to get 3 days of work done back to back. Day 1, power went out in the shop. She jerryrigged a light stand with a tripod and flashlight and made it work instead of canceling on me since I traveled so far. She was the ONLY one in the shop and everyone else rescheduled. For tattoos 2 and 3, we were the first ones in the shop and last ones out the door; she worked substantially longer and later than she normally would so I could go back home with completed work, even though realistically she was exhausted and we could have easily done 2 more sessions.
She got tipped. I wanted her to know that her going out of her way for me past what she typically would was appreciated. Because I was so grateful, she also let me book my next appointments WAY outside of her normal window and without a deposit.
My other artist was coming from out of state to NY and squeezed two sessions into one day essentially. She also got tipped for staying till nearly midnight so I could have finished art instead of being half done for the next year.
The "good job" wasn't the quality of art; is was being so accommodating past their standard treatment.
As crazy as this is, I DID get tips as a cashier. Usually from older adults. It was always because I took special care in getting them through the checkout line quickly and bagging their stuff in the way they prefer (double bagging, no mixing food/chemicals, making sure bags aren’t heavy, etc.).
No need to be agressive. Maybe a Xanax could help you?
Idk in my country barbers and hair stylists set their prices and waiters get paid a wage similar to anyone else in the food industry so we don't tip at all. The whole tipping culture sounds just absurd
Like the original comment said, tips are a way to say good job, something like 'i really like and appreciate your work and what you did to/for me, here's extra to show my gratitude'
Im not from the states and tipping culture is fucking stupid just like comment that i replied to
If you think they don't personally serve you, then you've never been to Aldi to see their cashiers huck your things into the cart the last victim left behind.
They literally dont, they do what their directive is, not what you ask of them
You dont go to a bus driver and tell them 'hey bring me to this place', you fucking get off when the bus goes to that place or goes to a place close to it.
You dont go up to a cashier and give them your shopping list and theyll go get it for you, you get it yourself and they punch it into the system for you to pay.
The rest of the jobs i mentioned? You ask for a specific haircut, some artwork you want on your skin, the food you want to eat, thats what i fucking mean by personally
They bag your groceries and sometimes they even do a good job at it. If you don't think this is a service then I don't know what to tell you. There's a right and wrong way to do it. They are doing it, you aren't. What other qualifications are needed? I'm not advocating for tipping cashiers but your line in the sand isn't as clear as you think it is.
I explained it pretty clearly why they are doing a service to you personally. Those are your groceries. They are bagging them. They can half ass it and do a slow and poor job. Bleach with the food. Frozen food not grouped together. I'd describe that as poor service that would have an impact on you personally.
I tip people who do work on my body. Their fee is what it costs to do that work, and then the tip is me investing in retaining that relationship because they do good work. Like yeah I could just find a masseuse or new hair dresser if the cost were the issue, but as a regular, I like these specific people and I’m bidding for them to keep space for me in their books.
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u/Weak-Hamster- 9h ago
I think they view tips as "good job" even if its as small as extra two dollars