Tipping at "iPad" restaurants
Apr 15, 2018, 2:48 am
#17
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 107
It is not the customers responsibility to ensure the operative is paid properly, it is a contractual arrangement between the employee and employer, therefore I would only tip in the very rare circumstances when exceptional service, going above and beyond normal, was provided.
Apr 15, 2018, 5:53 am
#18
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Bringing the food to the table is only half the job. Therefore the servers get half the usual tip. 10 per cent. 0 if the order is fouled up which at these I-pad places seems to happen frequently.
Apr 15, 2018, 10:02 am
#19
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One of the few valuable things a server brings to the equation is a knowledge of the menu: how the food is prepared, what goes with what, which allergens are in which dish etc. without that contribution there’s little point in them and they do nothing more than the McDonalds staff who bring the food to your table after you have ordered at the giant iPads. So, no tip.
Your friend should just admit he is cheap and doesn't want to leave a tip.
Apr 15, 2018, 5:20 pm
#21
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,912
That's what I don't get... why not build the cost of wait-staff into the food like they should? Why mark it separately and then try to pin the guilt trip on the customers if they don't "leave enough" for the wait-staff. Tipping is really a North American (and more rampantly an American) thing. Now we're also starting to see service charges...and the people who don't read their receipts often tip on top of that.
Ugh!
Apr 15, 2018, 5:40 pm
#22
Moderator Hilton Honors, Travel News, West, The Suggestion Box, Smoking Lounge & DiningBuzz
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Moderator's note:
Topic check!
Please return to the question of how much to tip at iPad-style eateries.
General discussion of tipping, lamentations about North American tipping culture, etc., etc., can go on many other threads that can be found via search.
Please also do not make overly personalized characterizations of other posters.
Future posts not on-topic will be deleted.
Thank you,
cblaisd
Co-Moderator, Dining Buzz
Topic check!
Please return to the question of how much to tip at iPad-style eateries.General discussion of tipping, lamentations about North American tipping culture, etc., etc., can go on many other threads that can be found via search.
Please also do not make overly personalized characterizations of other posters.
Future posts not on-topic will be deleted.
Thank you,
cblaisd
Co-Moderator, Dining Buzz
Apr 17, 2018, 6:53 am
#24
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: London, UK
Posts: 163
Coming from a culture where tipping is for going above and beyond the expected rather than routine... I'd treat an iPad restuarant here just the same as any other. Technically there is probably less opportunity for them to exceed expectations -v- if they'd taken the order themselves but that doesn't impact my decision.
If you want to consider wider than just the USA, you've also got to remember that in some places the service/tip goes straight to the owners and not the person that serves you (or the wider staff)
If you want to consider wider than just the USA, you've also got to remember that in some places the service/tip goes straight to the owners and not the person that serves you (or the wider staff)
Apr 17, 2018, 8:40 am
#25
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: NSW, Australia
Programs: Qantas, Velocity
Posts: 16
The few times I've been to an iPad place, I've always had a server come and take the actual order, bring plates and drinks, and check back a few times. The iPad thing was only for payment. Normally I see what the 'suggested' tip is (often 15-20%) and I adjust according to the service received. If it was of a reasonable standard, I'll leave the tip where it is. I've never had really poor service, but I've had exceptional service. So I bumped it up to 25%. And I was happy to pay it.
Apr 17, 2018, 8:58 am
#26
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I doubt I'd go above or below 15% here, because there's very little opportunity to be provide very good or bad service.
Last edited by cblaisd; Apr 19, 2018 at 7:51 am
Apr 17, 2018, 10:52 am
#28
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The few times I've been to an iPad place, I've always had a server come and take the actual order, bring plates and drinks, and check back a few times. The iPad thing was only for payment. Normally I see what the 'suggested' tip is (often 15-20%) and I adjust according to the service received. If it was of a reasonable standard, I'll leave the tip where it is. I've never had really poor service, but I've had exceptional service. So I bumped it up to 25%. And I was happy to pay it.
Apr 17, 2018, 5:09 pm
#30
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I don't tip as much at order-from-the-touch-screen eateries, maybe 10% tops. The staff are only food-runners and bus-persons. Think about it, that's less than half the care, effort, and service provided in traditional, full table service restaurants.