Comic for Friday 2/11 (Early High Res) (Patreon)

First and foremost, I wish we could do away with the tipping construct as a general requirement; I don't think it should be built into certain service industries as a way for employers to avoid paying their staff a decent wage, and there are a lot of studies and articles on the various imbalances/discriminations the entire practice creates.

However, it is ingrained in our society at the moment, and certain professions rely on it.  So until we can all agree to do away with it, I'm fine with participating in the practice where appropriate. I used to be a waiter and I remember what it's like, so I am generally an across-the-board 20% tipper in restaurants.

But I feel like "where appropriate" is starting to get a little blurred. What I hate the most is when I'm asked to tip someone before even receiving service (or without even receiving a service at all).

Since the pandemic started, I have ordered food for pickup far more than I ever did before, and drastically more than I've done any "dining in" in the past two years. And more and more on these apps, I'm seeing I'm being asked to assign a tip when placing the order, before any service has taken place. (To be clear, we are not talking about delivery drivers, I am aware tips are entered prior to the order on those apps, and can often be adjusted after the fact based on performance.)

In a lot of these instances, I don't feel like a tip is warranted; I'm paying for the food, and I'm going to pick it up. Somebody at the restaurant (most likely a host, being paid an hourly wage, not waitstaff-pay) stands behind the counter and hands me the food, sure. But for that thirty second interaction, should they get the same 20% tip as a waiter who took care of me through sixty-minutes of dinner/dessert and coffee? Doesn't feel like it (though I'm open to hearing arguments to the contrary).

But at the same time, I don't love the idea of telegraphing NO TIP way ahead of time when these people are about to handle my food, either. Now, this is most certainly my anxiety at play; deep down I don't really believe people fucking with food because they didn't get a pre-tip is something I need to be worried about. Buuuut, it still doesn't feel great. It starts to feel more like ransom at that point.

I'd love to hear others thoughts on this, especially anyone working on foodservice where these apps are used. Where do these pre-tips go to? Does the restaurant just keep them (which would be even worse)?