To tip or not to tip, THAT is the question
5So I wanted to request some unbiased feedback and figured this group would be a great place to start.
So last month I signed up for a Shipt membership and used it a few times for deliveries from Target. No issues, easy squeezy!
Today around 2 I decided to place a quick grocery order. It was 15 items total all from the grocery section of the store. They offered a delivery window of 4-5, which was perfect because I was ordering to get items to make meatloaf dinner.
At 4ish I received a text that my shopper had just arrived at Target and wanted to know if I wanted anything extra. Nope, just what was ordered.
At about 520 I received a second text that they were out of a cheese I wanted. I texted back that they shouldn’t substitute, just omit it from my order. Inwas really suprised they were still at the store since my order was so small and all concentrated in the same area.
It is now 6:10 and my order is still not here. She did finally check out, but no idea where she is and we are a full hour plus outside the delivery window and no idea why.
So now the question, what is the socially acceptable response? Does one tip when a delivery is over an hour late with no explanation? Anyone?
- 17 comments, 29 replies
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Also, @Charliedoggo wanted me to tell everyone I did NOT buy him any treats. He is a little upset with me.
It just arrived. My frozen items were thawed and my refrigerated items were warm. Sigh…
@tinamarie1974 And this is why I still do my own shopping for food.
It could just be karma for not including treats for @Charliedoggo.
@CharlieDoggo @yakkoTDI I actually order delivery quite often, but usually Walmart+ i very rarely have any issues with their service. This one (Shipt)was just a mess.
And it is possible the doggo jinxed me!!
@tinamarie1974 Having watched people in the store pick food items for orders I’d not use one for anything fresh as many of them don’t even look at the food, just grab what is handy. I’d prefer, for example, bananas that are a bit green still. That’s not going to happen.
@Kidsandliz on some of the apps you csn ask for that. Most of my purchases are W+ and they do not. That said occasionally I will end up with a spoiled fruit or veggie item. I just call and let them know and they credit the item.
@tinamarie1974, file a complaint with all the above info, as that is unacceptable.
As for the tip/no tip thing… I tip, and tip very well, for jobs who are traditionally underpaid and need tips (waiting tables). I do not tip someone for just doing their expected job (making coffee). I also do not tip anyone before they even do a service of any sort (grub hub), because you do not even though how good their service will be!!
And I most definitely do not tip all the places that recently have been asking/demanding tips. In almost all of those cases, it is their employers who are expecting the individual customers b*to make up for the employers not paying their employees enough**. For too many companies, both corporate and local mom and pops, are trying to normalize this now. That is totally and completely unacceptable at every level.
@haydesigner thanks. I usually tip very well, so the thought of not tipping is a difficult concept for me.
Ill reach out to Target tomorrow and see what they say.
@haydesigner @tinamarie1974 I think part of what makes it hard is that we are now starting to view tipping as part of the “standard” cost of an item (eg we directly pay part of the employee’s salary that way rather than indirectly via buying items from the store) independent of quality of job done. Although i seldom buy anything that “requires” traditional tipping, my tip is linked to the quality of job done. Don’t meet minimum requirements and get no tip (unless the reason is beyond the person’s control). Do an outstanding job and get a really good tip.
Definitely reach out to Target. The “service” was not close to acceptable.
My guess is the person tried to shop for multiple orders and didn’t think about frozen/cold or the additional time required.
I would be furious and the tip would be to find a different job. I normally tip according to how the job is done. I dislike the system but do not blame the person doing the job.
@speediedelivery
Exactly
Tipping in advance is a fools game. I understand substitutions, but a Walmart delivery substituted a loaf of bread for bug spray.
Am I supposed to throw the bread at the bugs?
/eightball throw the bread at the bugs?
Don’t count on it
/giphy YES!
@blaineg Use the bread to attract the bugs then use the bug zapper from Meh instead of bug spray.
@blaineg sometimes I really wonder about the folks who pick the orders
@blaineg @tinamarie1974 @heartny Only if they’re breadbugs. Nobody wants breadbugs.
/eightball Should I tip?
Most likely
I don’t use those delivery services so not commenting on that but the banner image is excellent.
@Kyeh Yeah that banner image reminded me of that Bozo board game from the 60s. Very cool!
I usually tip but in this case here I wouldn’t and I’d most certainly would be calling to complain. I was thinking maybe your shopper was filling 2 orders at once or just not being a responsible worker, either way it’s not acceptable! I also wonder if you knew that your frozen items were thawed before your shopper left, (probably not) so the only thing you had to judge wether to tip or not was on the time being so late. These days with all of the wacky people out there you have to be careful before confronting anyone about something like that, they might become aggressive when questioned about why they were so late. If they’d gotten a flat tire or something else that would be understandable you’d think they’d text you.
I don’t think leaving out CharlieDoggo’s treats had anything to do with this one. Dealing with the public can be sketchy!
@hap46st
Unless the law has gotten worse [in a particular way] during my lifetime, he’s wrong about waitresses getting minimum wage. (well, I guess he’s technically correct — “the best kind of correct” — in that they get a minimum wage, but it’s not the same one as almost all other industries)
Can anyone confirm or deny that waitresses at the time of the movie’s setting were getting what a normal person would call “minimum wage”? (I haven’t seen the movie, so the best I can gather from Wikipedia is that it must be after Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” was released, which was 1984.)
@hap46st @xobzoo They did not.
When I was in high school (in the 1970s), I worked part time at a gas station. Not a really fun job most of the time, outside in all types of weather and it got much worse when the gas shortage came along with rising prices, long lines and angry customers. People don’t like having to buy fuel - they never even actually see it, don’t get to eat it, wear it or otherwise directly enjoy it. It’s just an expensive purchase they have to regularly make to enable driving their vehicle. And they aren’t often very pleasant to the people they interact with to get it.
I think I can count on one hand the number of times someone actually tipped. And back then, we were also expected to wash the windows, check the oil, inflate the tires, etc. in addition to pumping the gas.
I never really understood why tipping was expected for so many other menial service jobs, but not that one.
It seems like now days you’re supposed to tip for everything, it’s ridiculous. I went to work today so now I deserve a tip lol. On the other hand I wouldn’t surprised if the company wasn’t all that empathetic to your email either. All these big box stores are bitting off more than they can chew to provide services they can’t do adequately. They either aren’t paying people what they should or actually making sure the people that do the jobs are doing them right. Or they just don’t care about providing outstanding service anymore, like a C average is just good enough for passing. While the mom and pop stores that actually do them right can’t compete.
This past summer I went out to lunch with a friend and her infant daughter and sat outside on the patio so her daughter could run around and not bother other people while eating. As soon as we got our drinks there were a swarm (like massive swarm) of bees attacking us and the table behind us. They brought us our food and we couldn’t even eat it bc bees were crawling all over all food and flying in out drinks. We were swatting them out of hair and clothing and away from her daughter. There had to be a nest right around there bc there was no other explanation for that many bees. Meanwhile, while asked for the check the waitress took 45 mins forgetting stuff and just disappearing (probably from the bees). When I contacted the place, they told me that bees are part of eating outside and not to eat outside if I don’t want to be bothered by bees, (refusing to acknowledge they might actually have a problem they need to deal with) and told me it’s my decision not to tip a waitress if I feel they don’t do their job. Unfortunately it not the first response I’ve received like that in the past few years. I really don’t expect much out of people or establishments anymore. Maybe my expectations are to high from when I was a waitress or worked in customer service but I’m sure I’m not alone.
@Star2236 oh my gosh, that is terrible!!
I had a similar dining experience but it was flies. They were everywhere and the staff just shrugged it off like oh well. I was dealing w it until I found a hair in my quiche. It got returned. Obviously they didnt charge me for it but charged me for my tea. I thought it was interesting they didnt just comp the meal. My poor friend had the exact same meal (sans hair) and just couldnt eat it after my discovery. She was not comped.
@tinamarie1974
That’s horrible when that happens. I can’t believe they made you pay for your tea lol. My aunt a long time ago (we were out celebrating my mom graduating from nursing school) got somebody’s fingertip in her salad. Like how do you miss that. I can see a hair but a fingertip and it wasn’t a little piece either. The restaurant gave her like $250 in gift cards. Like she wanted to come back after that. She took it home and called the news lol
@Star2236 OMG!!!
@Star2236 @tinamarie1974
@Kyeh @tinamarie1974
That restaurant was where my boyfriend and I had our first date(his idea needless to say we had lots to talk about. The restaurant closed during CoVid but it was always a good family story of ours.
So I called Target today to discuss the situation. I was pleasantly suprised. I didn’t ask for anything beyond sharing the experience. They comped all of my temp controlled items and gave me a $5 GC toward a future purchase.
They also made sure I rated the driver at 2
or less so I won’t be paired with her again. I didn’t know it worked that way!
@tinamarie1974
I honestly don’t know how rating the driver works for them. , but I had a co-worker who used to do doordash on the weekends. And she said after a certain number of low star items. They won’t even offer you that job in any more.
@Cerridwyn yeah I checked the web site (shipt) after the phone call. Apparently after too many low star ratings the shopper is fired.
While not relevant to your question, I find it interesting that when working in different countries tipping is viewed so differently. For example in Australia it is viewed as unethical to tip at restaurants. In Cambodia may things required an in advance “expediting” fee. Frankly I wish the USA would just pay people at least minimum wage so we didn’t have to make up the difference between their hourly wage and at a minimum the “regular” minimum wage.
@Kidsandliz I feel very much this.
Growing up, my family never went anywhere that tipping was a thing. (or, at least, it wasn’t common enough that I understood or saw it happening… although there’s a lot of things kids don’t notice) When I got older and learned about the expected tipping rate, I leaned closer to the lower end.
A bit later in life, once I had an actual income (but not yet a lot of expenses), I learned about the poor wages that goes with waiting tables. I learned to be significantly more generous than I used to be.
But it’s still not natural for me, per se. (though a lot of other social things aren’t natural for me, either) I even tend to avoid services (other than restaurants) where I might have to figure out how much tip I’m expected to pay, so that I won’t have to be a jerk for under-tipping nor feel gauged by paying their wages.
But getting back to the point, I really wish we could do away with the expected-tip culture. I don’t know how to get the rest of society on board with that, though.
While we’re on the subject should I tip for doggie day care or boarding? They seem to expect it.
@sammydog01 I dont feel it shoukd be required but I feel pressured to do so.
@sammydog01 We use DDC regularly; our dog has been going to the same place for 10 years. It’s a business established by a woman from our neighborhood, set up in a former small insurance office remodeled (indoor & outdoor) for daily & overnight pet stays.
We use it for improved socialization and playtime; it can get boring for the dog if we’re gone for the entire day. Plus he’s worn out for the entire next day
We actually buy multi-day passes (at a slightly reduced rate).
If they provide extra service, like administering medication, then tip for the effort. If your dog can be difficult, aggressive, or requires extra attention. tip. If your dog is a joy and ‘part of the family’, then no tip is required.
@compunaut My dog is on medication and is probably not completely the joy her report card says she is so I’ll give them a tip. But the suggested tip on the screen starts at 15% and that seems high for boarding that runs $56 a day. Or maybe I’m just cheap?
@sammydog01 Normal price for our daycare is $31; overnight boarding is another $20. We usually buy a 20-day pass for $500-525.
Just tip what feels appropriate.
I view the entire principle of tipping as ridiculous and don’t know why we as a civilized society continue to put up with it. Pay your employees a living wage so your customers don’t have to, and under no circumstance should a tip be expected as part of the base payment.
In your particular instance, not only would I not have tipped, I’d have done the reverse - asked for a full refund.
So…do we tip housekeeping in hotels? It’s so strange now, you don’t even GET housekeeping unless you request it. BUT…if you request it, do you tip? And how much?
@RPVMom pre-covid I always left $5.00. These days because of my cpap machine I decline house keeping so I dont have to pack it away and put it in the safe before heading out for the day.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/one-seattle-business-is-taking-a-stand-against-tipping-mania/
@Salanth LOVE it.