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Where Your Tip Goes
By JD Bluefield | March 28, 2008
CNNMoney.com has posted an article on Starbucks and their tipping debacle. The long and the short is that Starbucks lost a class-action lawsuit for sharing a portion of pooled tips with shift supervisors. The state of California decided this practice violates state law and must repay $100M. You might be shocked to find that the change you leave for that nice or cute Barista is being scavenged by a supervisor, but that’s not what digs me.
This article brings to light what’s been bothering me for a while. What bothers me are the tip jars that seem to be multiplying faster than the Starbucks chain itself! Lately, every fast food establishment not making tacos or fries has a tip can pushed up to the register. Before I go into a tirade about how ridiculous this is, I first have to applaud Starbucks and their brethren for their breakthroughs in socially engineering tips for fast-food. They’ve trained the public through Pavlovian methods to squeeze a little more money out of of that wallet. Not only that, but it goes to pay shift supervisors. Starbucks don’t ask for your name to get to know you, but to make you feel special and important when they call you for pick up. The hands down most clever social engineering has got to be Stone-Cold Creamery. I found out recently that they sing and dance every time someone drops in a dollar in the jar, thus compelling children to request their parents to “make them sing” and also guilting the following customers into performing the same action. Genius, pure genius!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not completely against tips. I may be frugal, but I do tip when tip is due. When I go out to a bar or club I’ll give the waitress or bartender a very nice tip. Why? To Insure Promptness! I don’t want to wait an hour for her come back. That tip just bought me frequent check-ups and possibly a heavy hand on that next Manhattan. Other individuals to whom a little extra may be justified are the valet guys or the maitre d’ at fine dining. Grease those wheels a little and you may just keep the fenders scrape free or get those hard sought after window seats.
It does not relate to the size of the bill or class of establishment either, it come back to principles. Going back to coffee. If I walked into the same mom-and-pop coffee shop everyday and the Barista started making “my usual” upon seeing me, I’d have no qualms about padding the check. Break down a tip to the fundamentals and its basically a bribe. I pay you more than the advertised price and in return I expect a little extra service.
Put it this way, the next time you wait 20 minutes in a 10-person line at Starbucks, see the previous guy get the same size ice-cream cone or get handed a pre-measured juice smoothy, ask yourself… what exactly did I get out of that tip?
The real truth is, Johnny-teenager behind the counter doesn’t know you or your usual order any more than the other 10 people in line. They also can’t put a little extra in there or give it a little more kick because everything is pre-measured.
TIP: Recently, many fast-food and convenience shops don’t require a signature for charges under $25. This has simplified and expedited quick transactions like food service. By the way, by charging everything, these small bills not only earn miles/cash-back but eliminate the change/coins left over after the transaction. This very simple Finance Engineering will keep you from throwing away money, just because you don’t want it jangling in your pocket.
Topics: Engineered Living |
3 Responses to “Where Your Tip Goes”
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March 28th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
I’ve never tipped at Starbucks or at fast foods and it doesn’t seem necessary. However, I think the shift supervisor should share in the tip pool if he is providing the same service to the customers as the baristas. That is why it is called a pool. If the shift supervisor performs a different function and doesn’t provide service to the customer then they shouldn’t share in the tip pool. Maybe some supervisors don’t provide customer service and were taking a share in the pool?????
March 29th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
I agree with your point. To me it sounds like a “shift supervisor” is just a title for the senior “barista”, but performs the same work and is indistinguishable by the customer. Starbucks lost based on the literal letter of the law. California state law forbids the sharing of pooled tips with anyone supervising other workers. Expect more lawsuits to follow.
April 8th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Just sharing……
In Sasebo (navy base in Japan) they have a tip jar in the commisary. The cashier is an american, probably a dependent of a sailor, but there are old Japanese ladys working there as bagers. On the tip jar it says “The bagars only get paid through tips, please tip the bagers”. It really puts pressure on you when you see them, cute old ladys, baging and handing your groceries to you. When I first went there I didnt know how much to tip them so I looked in the tip jar and there was a S load of dollar bills. I put in a dollar and when I left I thought, why did I just give them a dollar, damn they made a dollar for work that took about a minute. These ladys make more money than I do and its all cash. After that I’ve been giving the coins I get from the cashier but when I use a credit card I feel like an ass becuase I dont give them anything.
Its the same as when theres that filipino old man in the bathroom that turns on the water for you and passes you a paper towel. I dont really need their help but they give it anyway and you feel like an a-hole if you dont give them something.