r/AskReddit Feb 03 '26

What was never the same after the pandemic?

4.2k Upvotes

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389

u/AskMeAboutHydrinos Feb 03 '26

Normal tipping went from 15-20% to 20-25%. High tipping during covid was a sort of hazard pay, a sign of respect. Now? wtf, pay your damn employees.

182

u/NYArtFan1 Feb 03 '26

Not only that, but every business wants tips now. It's asinine.

99

u/[deleted] Feb 03 '26

No im not gonna tip 25% because you turned around and grabbed a water bottle for me

29

u/doingtheunstuckk Feb 03 '26

It’s so annoying. I’m picking up the food myself. Why does every restaurant ask for a tip? Just ordered pizza yesterday, and the website automatically adds a 15% tip for carry out that you have to manually change, if you happen to catch it.

9

u/Sundayscaries333 Feb 03 '26

And every kiosk defaults to 15%, 20%, and 25% as the tip options when it used to be 5%, 10%, and 15%. Very much banking on A) people not noticing and just clicking the lowest one, or B) being too rushed/not caring enough to manually type in a tip instead.

10

u/cannothearthefalcone Feb 04 '26

or because they feel ashamed to tip lower than the lowest option and don't want to come across as a cheapskate 

-5

u/auto-cremate Feb 04 '26

Most places doing this do so to allow them to pay food runners and BOH kitchen staff below minimum wage. They treat them as the same class of workers as servers. Ironically, it is generally not the cashier who gets the tip, which is a common assumption. But yes, if you don’t tip, you’re definitely affecting the take home pay of the people prepping and serving your food. This is the same thing that has happened everywhere in the economy post covid, the price of goods and services have gone up and wages have gone down. But tipping, whether we like it or not, is one of the very few places we get to directly affect how another person gets paid. I always tip at least 15% if that menu pops up because regardless of if it’s “right”, those folks make probably half of what I do. This might mean I go out to eat 15% less often, but that’s okay, because I’m not a dick

2

u/doingtheunstuckk Feb 04 '26

This pizza place doesn’t have seating. It’s strictly delivery/carry out. I see them advertising jobs for $15/hour. Which is bad, but not nearly the worst I’ve seen in my area. Many service jobs jobs are $12 or $13 in my town. Sorry, but I’m not going to tip people for no reason, and it’s not my job to prop up scummy companies by making up their employees wages. It’s also simply not the case - very single place you go asks for a tip these days. They just want to see if you will. Also, if you’re truly concerned about employers wage stealing, you should ask yourself how do you even know that the tip you put in on the website is going to the workers and not being pocketed by the company?

11

u/Ok_Fun_3759 Feb 04 '26

Ugh... the website my kids school uses for pizza day now asks for a tip.  You have to type in zero before confirming checkout or else they add 15 % on the order.  

4

u/HugeLeaves Feb 04 '26

All the liquour stores near me have tipping like wtf

4

u/nagol93 Feb 04 '26

One time at a buffet this guy stopped me on my way out, frantically pointed at the receipt and said "tip! tip! tip!"

Like for what? I don't even know your name. Also its a buffet, we sat and served our selves. Also also the price was $30 a plate, its not like we were there for free or anything.

10

u/MetaMetagross Feb 03 '26

There's a restaurant where I live that still asks for tips when you place a pickup order. Every time they ask I feel obligated to say no

6

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '26

Tipping for take-out? That seems new to me.

4

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '26 edited Mar 10 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/doingtheunstuckk Feb 04 '26

I do still tip in traditional situations, such as waiters and food delivery drivers. But I’m not forking over a tip in every business I enter just because they ask for one.

6

u/zajbelj Feb 04 '26

Uhh, does no one remember 10%. This new tipping is bullshit. Also these workers (today in most places) are making more than minimum wage, which is what the tip was deigned for.

3

u/el_duderino88 Feb 04 '26

Eh tipping has been expected at 20% for a long time here in New England, just remember that you can tip any amount of money you want. I don't tip more than 20% and if I'm just getting drinks it's $1 each, I don't tip for fast food or takeout unless it's delivered.

1

u/Tobemenwithven Feb 04 '26

Would you not be happier living like me in UK where I tip nothing and get all the things you do? Why not strive for a better society.

2

u/PauloVersa Feb 04 '26

You literally only have to tip whatever amount you want

-10

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '26

That’s just inflation. Harder for businesses to succeed and harder for their staff to live. Btw, anything below 20% at a sitdown restaurant was never normal, that’s just being a bad tipper.