“Bribes To Ensure Good Service:” Hawaii Tipping Goes Insane

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.

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127 thoughts on ““Bribes To Ensure Good Service:” Hawaii Tipping Goes Insane”

  1. I always tip appropriately. But, believe me, when I receive a receipt before I even have completed my experience, the tip is zero and then I leave cash tip on the table. No one under any circumstance will tell me how much and when to tip!

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  2. I’m an Uber driver for going on six years and provide the highest quality of service. I have a 499 out of 500 rating and have always driven high quality cars. From the moment a rider enters my car I try to suss out the best way I may serve them. If they want quiet I’m silent, if they are tourists I give them as much advice as possible in the limited time we are together. If they are locals I do my best to to make them feel enjoyable. Although there is a suggestion of giving a tip on the Uber app I average less than 10% of the fare charges. Less than half of my fares leave tips when Uber/Lyft provide a superior service to taxis at a lower fare. A recent article in The NY Times explained in detail how rideshare driving is not sustainable

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    1. From what I have heard from drivers much of it may come down to the Area in which you drive more than how many days worked. Another was which days that you concentrate most of your time on. Monday through Wednesday/Thursday can be really tough whereas Friday through Sunday often has better results due to typical paydays. Do you also do Grub Hub? Just trying to help you out to maximize your ROI and Time.

      1. I concentrate my driving on the highest demand with the least amount of driving anxiety as I’m 72 years old. I’ve discovered that without tips and bonuses (both Uber/Lyft have regular types of incentives) that I can’t make my goals. I drive very heavy Friday (not rush hour) Saturday, Sunday. Since I drive a 2022 Honda Odyssey Elite my costs/mile are 1/3 of my income. If I can’t get $2/mile it’s not hardly worth driving. At $40/hour ($27 net) I’m enthusiastic, but is not happening without good bonuses and tips. Now that’s $27/hour with zero benefits and is basically slave wages in Honolulu. I do love chauffeuring people, but if you can afford it, please tip accordingly. Oh, and from what I can gather from Uber I’m at the top of earners…

  3. Required support of underpaid service staff is not a good argument since most of those people are on SNAP. If they can’t survive without two sources of charity, they need to find a new job.

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      1. That is something that sometimes needs to be taught to some employers, your health and wellness is directly effected by the compensation you receive. It also tends to effect the customers at times. The bottom line is everyone’s bottom line. Just saying!

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    1. You obviously don’t live here. You have no idea the circumstances that people are experiencing to be making that kind of remark.

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      1. Andy, once the push for a significant increase in wages began many of life’s basics began creeping along too, everywhere. Add to that 2+ years of hyper inflation and Utility Increases, etc., and Everyone is suffering about the same. It’s Not just a Hawaii Thing!

        1. I disagree, there’s plenty of evidence that paying people a living wage is actually good for an economy. Please don’t buy into the corporate talking points designed to keep a large contingent of working poor in order to prop up their corporate profits.

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    2. Yeah bro that comment is pretty ignorant. The employers here create an army of working poor. People deserve better.
      And I don’t even want to hear that saying “that’s the price you pay to live in paradise.” It’s just unacceptable.

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    3. What if they all took your advice and did just that? There would be no more waitstaff in the restaurants to serve you. Of course Then you would complain that “no one wants to work anymore!”.

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  4. My Experience at any eatery is Simple, I tip After, not prior to, Dining! If I am not satisfied with the service, food, etc. Why should I reward anyone? I don’t ever Expect that Everything will meet my expectations or approval, I use the “Missouri Motto” to guide me, BTW it is the “Show Me” State. Would an Employer give you your paycheck prior to you working? I Tip generously when I am extremely satisfied, anything less is in character with the deficiencies and where it occurred, back of the house versus front, and whether the manager is able to adjust the bill. If it is poor service from the wait staff I address that in the tip. No Tip prior to Finishing!

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  5. I have always believed in tipping 20%+ for food and services. I tip at the airport when a skycap checks my bag. Since I need to use a wheelchair, I also tip these loyal attendants. I tip housekeeping at my hotels, as well as people who help me with my luggage. I would prefer to overtip, because I know the people helping me are woefully underpaid. Until they are paid fairly for a living wage, I will overtip to thank them for making my visit to Hawai’i possible. I have also discovered people prefer cash over tipping on a credit card.

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  6. Thank you for shedding light on this trend, it isn’t just Hawaii, it is happening all over the country. I also get very cranky when a proposed tip is in my face for something that has traditionally not had one expected, your coffee bean example is a good one.

    One point though is that the tipping culture arises from slavery. In southern states some of the only jobs open to Black people were jobs like servers, porters, etc and they were paid exclusively by tips.

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    1. Thanks for saying this, I was about to say the same… in my experience this is everywhere. It’s not just Hawaii. The thing that I notice is that if we are traveling to Hawaii, we all have a certain amount of disposable income. Those who take care of us while we are here, do not. I happily tip well, hoping I can help someone.

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  7. I have loved my visits to Hawaii over the years. But more and more, I’m becoming a member of the “just don’t come” club. Between the interrupted or cancelled flights, the embattled staff and entitled tourists, it’s just not fun anymore and not worth it to travel from the Southeast.

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    1. I have been visiting Hawaii since 1970. I have not been there tho since 2017. My question is I keep hearing the word “entitled” tourists on many blog sites. And never experienced that in my world travels. I don’t know if it is a trending word from uninformed individuals or have I become uninformed and now disillusioned about my extreme love for the South Pacific islands. I know there are more travelers now due to our over populated Earth, and with numbers comes all the other crappy things that individuals do that have not been raised properly. I do hope that every single human that is experiencing this “entitled” trend, will also talk to their children & adults about birth control.

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    2. I’m with you. For the school break periods in Washington, flights to HI are $2000 per person, round trip. Add to the air price all of this other stuff, and that’s kind of it. We’re a family of 3, so we just won’t be going, end of story. Which is a huge bummer because I love HI and I have friends there. We have been every year, sometimes more, since I graduated college in 2006. No more…

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    3. I’m traveling from the Northeast and as time has progressed it becomes harder to justify returning. With the Negative Accusations, Comments, Attitudes, and Disturbing Diatribe towards tourists, unless Wealthy, who Needs Hawaii! If Hawaiians refuse to make things better for themselves, why should my money be relied upon to help out? Where’s the DOJ, shouldn’t they be investigating where the money is, and has been, going! Imagine what they may discover. Maybe our next trip will be the last or possibly not, it won’t return to a Yearly Destination. Maybe it’s time to visit the New Hawaii in Nevada, I’ve heard that Aloha is alive and well there and there are plenty of Voters that actually Vote to Better Themselves!

  8. Tipping is life in Vegas. I learned that 20yrs ago moving to the 9th Island. I never tip electronically. I always tip in cash. That assures prompt service the next time!

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    1. I tip in Cash because it’s Not Taxed, makes an immediate impact, helps pay the Bills or possibly go into the Savings Account, and I am Assured who received it. How it is actually used isn’t an issue, just doing my part to help out!

  9. I do give good tips for decent service and fortunately have not seen a request for tips when no service was done since that would make me likely to not go back to that place.

    The problem starts with employers though, if they aren’t paying their workers enough to even make a subsistence living then it is completely unfair to workers and customers to expect customers to make up the difference. Tips are Extraneous, not supposed to be a large component of normal salary.

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  10. We Americans have long put up with this nonsense. Employers get away with getting us to supplement their lousy pay. And, yes I have worked in the service industry, it’s physically demanding.
    Just like over-priced hotels, as long as the consumer will pay the price they’ll keep charging it.

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