Cory DoctorowWorld Cup fans are apparently lousy tippers?
Charlie Stross@pluralistic Normal tipping for coffee in the UK is in the range 0% to 10%. Which is to say, we expect baristas to get a monthly pay cheque from their employer, to to rely on this garbage begging culture.
MJ Ray@cstross @pluralistic what terrible places are you buying coffee from where the staff are so poorly-paid that they accept tips on drinks orders? That sort of stuff is why I avoid Costa who have branded tip pots. A tip pot by a cafe till is usually a warning sign that the owner doesn't pay the workers properly.
J.S. "Sage" Hawthorne
Joe Brockmeier@mjr @cstross @pluralistic I don't think you'll find many coffee shops in the U.S. without a tip jar or similar.
Yes, I know, it sucks. Yes, I know, we should pay a living wage. Sadly, I am not the decider of such things.
Given that this is the world I live in, I just try to compensate by tipping heavily. Many years ago I had jobs that were "supplemented" by tips, and as long as I'm stuck in this system I'll try to do right by others in the same boat.
Dominic 🇪🇺 🏳️🌈 🇺🇦@jzb @mjr @cstross @pluralistic I know to tip in the US, but I hate it, and I especially hate how tipping is spreading insidiously anywhere American tourists congregate.
Juggling With Eggs@jzb @mjr @cstross @pluralistic
I get what you are saying. I’ve too been that person who worked in hospitality, so yes, even though we don’t always acknowledge it, tipping is a thing in the UK too. My bugbear was that our tips pot was shared 50:50 with the brewery who owned one of the pubs I worked in. This seems very off now…but it’s why I always ask when eating out whether the tips go direct to staff and try to always tip in cash.
@JugglingWithEggs @mjr @cstross @pluralistic Ugh. Yeah, there's a lot of that kind of thing here, too. It's gross and I won't go back to places that do that kind of thing.
We currently live in a pretty small town in the "mountains" of NC. There's a local pizza joint that does pay a living wage, and we make a point to go there or order from there frequently.
We just moved here about a year ago, but we've been going there for years b/c my in-laws live here too. They've had a lot of the same employees for years, which is a pretty good sign.
(It does not, of course, hurt that their pizza is damn good too.)
@JugglingWithEggs @jzb @cstross @pluralistic isn't the non-serving owner taking a share of tips illegal now?
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/distributing-tips-fairly-statutory-code-of-practice
I'm sure this is among the employee protection laws RUK have pledged to repeal.
@jzb @pluralistic that's as maybe, but @cstross seemed to be saying it's normal to tip for coffee in the UK, which it bloody well is not! Table service meals, maybe. Coffee no way.
@mjr @jzb @pluralistic I'd only tip in a coffee joint that delivers it to the table. It's not normal in places like Starbucks or Costa.
@cstross @jzb @pluralistic around here, the coffee joints that deliver it to the table are mostly the ones which don't have enough levers on their espresso machine or a big enough filter setup so can't keep up with orders, so tipping seems like rewarding underprovision. I almost always carry it to my table from the counter, unless it's a table service place, but that's normally not where I'd go for just a coffee.
Mike 🇬🇧 🇪🇺@cstross @mjr @jzb @pluralistic
I'd suggest in Britain that tipping in Starbucks or Costa etc is seen as just plain weird
I'd suggest in Britain that tipping in Starbucks or Costa etc is seen as just plain weird
@mjr @jzb @pluralistic @cstross
Yep…I would agree, tipping in coffee shops is not common in the UK.
I think the distinction is whether there is table service. If you are ordering at the counter, collecting from the counter (as you would in most UK coffee shops) tipping is not common.
Steve Kilbane@mjr @jzb @pluralistic @cstross I’m in the UK. I try to buy from independent places, and my policy is “overtip outrageously”. The service sector is HARD, and everything helps.
Oliver Kurth"the owner doesn't pay the workers properly" is the default assumption in the US.
@okurth @cstross @pluralistic do you think the USA will ever become a modern civilised country? Can't really blame the rest of the world for being surprised it hasn't yet.