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To tip or not to tip? It can be confusing for customers

Emily Post says a 15-to-20% tip is still an appropriate tip for a dine-in restaurant

To tip or not to tip? It can be confusing for customers

Emily Post says a 15-to-20% tip is still an appropriate tip for a dine-in restaurant

NEXT MEAL OUT. TIPPING ALSO, SHOULD BE PREDICATED ON THE TYPE OF SERVICE YOU GET. TRUMAN MCGEE OWNS FUNKY FRESH BOWLS, A TAKEOUT SPOT IN THE SHERMAN PHOENIX HE TELLS HIS STAFF TIPS, DON’T COME EASY. I ALWAYS TELL MY PEOPLE THAT WE GET MORE TIPS IF WE ABLE TO INTERACT BEFORE WE TRANSACTION INTERACTION, BEFORE TRANSACTION IS THE WAY TO GO. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT TIPPING RIGHT NOW? I THINK TIPPING SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY SHOULD PARTICIPATE IN BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE OUT HERE HUSTLING TO MAKE MONEY. WE CAUGHT UP WITH TERAH GATES DURING A RECENT LUNCH RUSH. SHE THINKS TIPPING SHOULD BE A NO BRAINER. LET’S WORK ON GIVING PEOPLE TIPS IN WEST ALLIS. ALSO STRONG FEELINGS ON TIPPING. IT’S KIND OF CONFUSING TO SAY THE LEAST. I GENERALLY DO 20%. I PROBABLY TIP MORE THAN 30%. A RECENT FORBES STUDY ON TIPPING FOUND 95% OF PEOPLE TIP AT LEAST SOMETIMES. BUT ALMOST 60% OF THOSE SURVEYED SAY THEY FEEL PRESSURED OR OVERWHELMED WHEN TIPPING. AND NOW AUTOMATION, COUPLED WITH A PANDEMIC HANGOVER, WE MAY HAVE REACHED A TIPPING POINT. SO IT SEEMS ALMOST EVERYONE IS CONFUSED RIGHT NOW ABOUT WHAT AND WHEN TO TIP. SO WE WENT TO AN EXPERT IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR TO EXPLAIN OUR NEW NORMAL. WHAT WE’RE SEEING, THOUGH, IS TIP CREEP. NOW THAT IT’S A PART OF THE CULTURE, I DON’T FORESEE IT GOING AWAY. IT CREATES THIS DOUBT IN THE CUSTOMER’S MIND AT THE WRONG TIME. TIP CREEP. THAT’S WHAT ALEX CALLS IT. HE TEACHES MARKETING AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AT MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY’S BUSINESS SCHOOL. HE SAYS THE GROWING POPULARITY OF MOBILE PAYMENTS MEANS BUSINESSES CAN AND WILL ASK FOR MORE TIPS. SO WHY DO THEY DO THAT? WHY IS THIS KIND OF A NEW PHENOMENON WE’RE SEEING? PART OF IT HAS TO DO WITH COVID IN SOME PLACES. WHEN YOU GO TO WHEN YOU’RE GETTING TAKEOUT, IT SAYS SUGGESTED TIP 30, 25, 20%. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT WHEN THEY GUIDE AND GUIDE YOU? I THINK IT’S OFFENSIVE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE, I MEAN, IF YOU WANT A TIP FOR GOOD SERVICE, YOU TIP I MEAN, KIND OF DEMANDING A TIP. I THINK THAT’S WRONG. WHEN THEY’RE DESIGNING THE KIND OF THE PROGRAMS TO TAKE THE CREDIT CARD ENTRY THAT THOSE WILL HAVE KIND OF TIP BY DEFAULT. SO NOW YOU’RE SITTING THERE, YOU’VE COMPLETED THE TRANSACTION AND IT’S A QUESTION OF DO YOU TIP OR NOT? HE’S TALKING ABOUT THE MOBILE KIOSKS LIKE THESE AT THE MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MARKET. YOU ORDER THEY SPIN THE TABLET AROUND AND YOU PAY IN TIP ON THE SPOT BEFORE YOU EVEN GET YOUR FOOD. SOMETIMES THERE’S A SUGGESTED TIP AMOUNT IS ON THE SCREEN WHEN YOU GO TO PAY, THEY HAVE LIKE A SUGGESTED TIP. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT? I GUESS I, I GET IT BECAUSE IT’S EASIER FOR PEOPLE. BUT SOMETIMES IT’S KIND OF IN YOUR FACE AND SO YOU FEEL PRESSURED TO PRESS THE BUTTON. DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE PRESSURE TO TIP? OH, YEAH. YEAH. ESPECIALLY WHEN THE PERSON AT THE CHECKOUT COUNTER NEEDS A CLEAR THE SALE LONG TIME ETIQUETTE AND MANNERS EXPERT EMILY POST SAYS A 15 TO 20% TIP IS STILL APPROPRIATE FOR A DINE IN RESTAURANT TIPPING ON TAKEOUT, SHE SAYS, IS NOT ALWAYS NECESSARY. WHAT ABOUT WHEN YOU’RE GETTING TAKEOUT? IT’S KIND OF IFFY. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I HARDLY EVER TIP A TAKEOUT, SAYS THE CREEPING TIP TREND IS LIKELY HERE TO STAY PAYING FOR THE PRODUCT. AND NOW YOU’RE PRESENTED WITH ANOTHER CHALLENGING QUESTION. AND IT’S KIND OF A WHAT IS MY MORAL CODE? WHAT ARE MY VALUES AND HOW DOES THAT AFFECT THIS? SO IT’S ALMOST MAYBE, MAYBE NOT FAIR TO KIND OF PROMPT THAT ON YOU LAST MINUTE, ALTHOUGH THAT COULD BE THE STRATEGY. SO IT FORCES THE CUSTOMER TO MAYBE MAKE A DECISION OR A RASH DECISION, A QUICK DECISION THAT THEY MIGHT NOT OTHERWISE DO. IF ALL YOU DID WAS, LET’S SAY, MOVE SOMETHING FROM POINT A TO POINT B, YOU DIDN’T PREPARE ANYTHING OR WASN’T PART OF A CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, THEN MAYBE NOT TIP, BUT IT REALLY IS WHAT YOU’RE COMFORTABLE WITH. AND FROM A BUSINESS STANDPOINT, A LITTLE CAN STILL GO A LONG WAY. IT’S REALLY HELPFUL TO TIP SMALL, ESPECIALLY SMALL BUSINESSES BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE WE HAVE SO MANY COSTS THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON’T SEE SOME MORE INTERESTING NUMBERS FROM THE FORBES DIGITAL TIPPING SURVEY. TIPPING BEHAVIOR IS DIFFERENT FOR EACH GENERATION, MORE THAN 60% OF PEOPLE AGED 59 AND OLDER WERE THE MOST LIKELY TO SAY. THEY ALWAYS TIP. NOW, ON THE OTHER HAND, ONLY 33% OF PEOPLE AGED 27 THROUGH 42 REPORTED THEY ALWAYS TIPPED THE AVERAGE TIP. 16% OF T
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To tip or not to tip? It can be confusing for customers

Emily Post says a 15-to-20% tip is still an appropriate tip for a dine-in restaurant

To tip or not to tip? It's a question that is not so easy to answer these days. From high-end dining to DoorDash, there is more pressure than ever to leave a little something extra when you pay."Tipping should be predicated on the type of service you get," said TrueMan McGee, who owns Funky Fresh Bowls in Milwaukee.He tells his staff that tips don't come easy."I always tell my people we'll get more tips with interaction before transaction. Interaction before transaction is the way to go," McGee said. "I think tipping is something everybody should participate in because these people are out here hustling to make money."A recent Forbes study on tipping found 95% of people tip at least sometimes. But almost 60% of those surveyed said they feel pressured or overwhelmed when tipping.And now, with automation coupled with a pandemic hangover, people may have reached a tipping point.Alex Milovic teaches marketing and consumer behavior at Marquette University's business school. He said the growing popularity of mobile payment means businesses can — and will — ask for more tips. "What we're seeing though is tip creep – the idea that it's showing up everywhere, and it will be hard to change the culture. It creates this doubt in the customer's mind at the wrong time," said Milovic. "When they're designing the programs to take the credit card entry, those will have tip by default. So now you're sitting there, you've completed the transaction, and it's a question of do you tip or not? You have the person right in front of you."Longtime etiquette and manners expert Emily Post says a 15% to 20% tip is still an appropriate tip for a dine-in restaurant. Tipping on takeout, she said, is not always necessary.Milovic said the creeping tip trend is likely here to stay."You are paying for the product, and now you're presented with this challenge, moral dilemma. It's almost maybe not fair to prompt that on you last minute, although that could be the strategy so it forces the customer to make a decision they might not otherwise do," Milovic said. "If all you did was move something from point A to point B, you didn't prepare anything, wasn't part of customer experience, then maybe not tip, but it really is what you're comfortable with." And from a business standpoint, a little can still go a long way."It's real helpful to tip, especially small businesses because we have so many costs a lot of people don't see," McGee said. According to a Forbes tipping survey, tipping behavior is different for each generation. More than 60% of people aged 59 and older were the most likely to say they always tip. On the other hand, only 33% of people aged 27-42 reported they always tipped. The average tip is 16% of the bill.

To tip or not to tip? It's a question that is not so easy to answer these days.

From high-end dining to DoorDash, there is more pressure than ever to leave a little something extra when you pay.

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"Tipping should be predicated on the type of service you get," said TrueMan McGee, who owns Funky Fresh Bowls in Milwaukee.

He tells his staff that tips don't come easy.

"I always tell my people we'll get more tips with interaction before transaction. Interaction before transaction is the way to go," McGee said. "I think tipping is something everybody should participate in because these people are out here hustling to make money."

A recent Forbes study on tipping found 95% of people tip at least sometimes. But almost 60% of those surveyed said they feel pressured or overwhelmed when tipping.

And now, with automation coupled with a pandemic hangover, people may have reached a tipping point.

Alex Milovic teaches marketing and consumer behavior at Marquette University's business school. He said the growing popularity of mobile payment means businesses can — and will — ask for more tips.

"What we're seeing though is tip creep – the idea that it's showing up everywhere, and it will be hard to change the culture. It creates this doubt in the customer's mind at the wrong time," said Milovic. "When they're designing the programs to take the credit card entry, those will have tip by default. So now you're sitting there, you've completed the transaction, and it's a question of do you tip or not? You have the person right in front of you."

Longtime etiquette and manners expert Emily Post says a 15% to 20% tip is still an appropriate tip for a dine-in restaurant. Tipping on takeout, she said, is not always necessary.

Milovic said the creeping tip trend is likely here to stay.

"You are paying for the product, and now you're presented with this challenge, moral dilemma. It's almost maybe not fair to prompt that on you last minute, although that could be the strategy so it forces the customer to make a decision they might not otherwise do," Milovic said. "If all you did was move something from point A to point B, you didn't prepare anything, wasn't part of customer experience, then maybe not tip, but it really is what you're comfortable with."

And from a business standpoint, a little can still go a long way.

"It's real helpful to tip, especially small businesses because we have so many costs a lot of people don't see," McGee said.

According to a Forbes tipping survey, tipping behavior is different for each generation.

More than 60% of people aged 59 and older were the most likely to say they always tip. On the other hand, only 33% of people aged 27-42 reported they always tipped. The average tip is 16% of the bill.