One person said if you can’t tip generously, don’t come. Another said, for goodness sake don’t tell customers that. Five huge issues with tipping in Hawaii.
One person said if you can’t tip generously, don’t come. Another said, for goodness sake don’t tell customers that. Five huge issues with tipping in Hawaii.
We love coming to Hawaii but the cost is becoming prohibitive. When prices go up at restaurants, if you tip by percentage, the tip will also go up. Soon, only the rich and well-heeled will be the only ones who can afford to go. That’s sad.
This is just another “demand” that businesses have place on their customers. I never “pretip” on a card use, I leave it in cash after the fact, depending on the service. Who knows if any tip left on any card payment actually gets to the actual server. My normal tipping practice is 15-18% and if really exceptional, 20%. I know the service industry is underpaid but that is the way it has been for many years when tipping was 10-12%. The cost of living has affected Everyone, not just the service industry. This is not just an Hawaii problem, but it seems to be magnified do to the high cost of vacationing in Hawaii.
To add insult to injury, my hairdresser told me when tips are paid by their “square” program, the salon deducts the service charge for using the square from the tip to the hairdresser. In other words, they aren’t getting the full tip as you intended. When I see these, I try to tip in cash.
How about get a job that doesn’t rely on gratitude for doing your specified job!!!
Tips are a joke and we’re originally the way the wealthy would show they are of a higher class than those providing them services…
Yup, and then when you go to a restaurant and there’s no servers or cooks you’ll complain that “no one wants to work anymore!”. You can’t have it both ways. You have to pay people a living wage without resorting to making them rely on tips to make ends meet.
I may charge my meal or bar tab on a credit card but I always tip in cash.
Having spent several weeks in Australia and New Zealand, I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to ditch tipping altogether. When the bill comes, all that is expected is that it be paid. Nobody has their hand out expecting a tip.
We have a brewery here that operates on a no tipping basis. They’re always busy, it is a factor when deciding where to go and proves that you can be successful without the tipping model. I whish more places in the US would try it.
Out of curiosity, what do you pay your servers then?
No amount of “prompting” is going to get me to tip. I have no problem tapping Zero tip on those screens. I tip when and where I see fit.
What’s so hard about that?
Grow a spine people. It’s not that hard.
I went to a small shop in Honolulu that sold medium-priced jewelry, pottery, small prints, etc. All transactions were done on a smart phone-type device and there was a tip jar on the counter!!
I never put my tip on the card. I always leave it in cash after the service is rendered.
Leaving a cash tip avoids the service fee as well, so 100% of the tip goes to the server. Servers will also maybe tell you it’s a way to avoid sharing tips and/or reporting all of it for taxes.
Not sure about Hawaii, but in California it’s standard procedure to pool all tips and then the total is shared among waitstaff, host and kitchen staff. It used to be the server got the tip. Now it’s an excuse for the establishment to underpay every employee and expect them to make it up with tips.
… and if you leave it in an envelope with a message or say to them when you give it…”here is a gift for you”.. then it’s NOT a tip and not taxable! 😉
Unfortunately, in CA at least it doesn’t work that way. Employees are required to report tips to their employer so that the employer can report it as income, and make the proper deductions. I’m not sure how it works in other states. This is made easier by systems like Square where the tips are reported automatically.
Joerg I believe that all of the States are the same, however, not all Employers follow that. I know several that will make well over $150 per shift, that is really humping it while turning on the charm and personality while making Zero mistakes. California and certain other States need to get every bit of tax revenue possible due to the Horrendous Liabilities that they have legislated themselves in to. I’m certainly glad to not be living there. When a State wants taxes from a kid that mows my lawn for a few dollars there’s something wrong! Be well!
We expect to tip for sit-down meals and trip guides (birding, whale watching). Essentially for a service rendered. We pack our own food the rest of the time. The rest of the situations, like take-out, just don’t merit a tip, to me. But I do know that the service industry is vastly underpaid. ,