While not a big coffee drinker, I will get an occasional drink at Starbucks when the mood strikes me.

The free-standing Starbucks always have a tip jar, and sometimes two.

The Starbucks in Barnes and Noble does not have a tip jar, and the baristas say that is the B&N policy.

The Starbucks in Kroger at Longmire and Rock Prairie usually has one. However, this weekend they did not. I asked about it, and the baristas said they were not allowed to have one anymore, that it was a Kroger decision, not a Starbucks decision.

I tipped anyway. Those same young women have been waiting on my family for a few years and they do a good job and are always friendly. I had a little extra cash and wanted to tip.

This is America. If I want to tip someone for a job I feel was well done, I should be able to do that. Free enterprise! Capitalism!

Before I left, I hunted down the manager of Kroger. He said I was the third person to ask about the tip jar in the past two days. He said it was a Kroger corporate decision, not his decision, and that Starbucks isn't happy about it, and the employee's union isn't happy about it (Kroger employees are union, except for management).

I asked him for a way to contact corporate so I could tell them that this is America, and if we want to give money to hard-working men and women that do a good job, we should be able to do so. Otherwise, we need to just take the flag down and become part of Ukraine or something. It's ridiculous.

We've had threads on tipping at Sonic. Should you be allowed to tip even if some corporate bozos that make way more than the baristas say that we shouldn't tip the baristas?

Go ahead & tip.
No need for a tip jar.

Agreed with Hopper. The only thing missing is the jar. How about just leave her a dollar and say thank you?

I don't think anyone is preventing you from tipping, just that they can't have a jar out asking for it, which I'm fine with because I think they're tacky. Don't worry, we're not ukraine.

employee unions

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This is America. If I want to tip someone for a job I feel was well done, I should be able to do that. Free enterprise! Capitalism!

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And a store has the right to set their own policies too.

Wow. Tip jar freedom is what's keeping us from being the Ukraine.

It's funny that someone crows about capitalism and free markets when telling a business how they should run their business.

I echo Wildmen's comment.

Would requiring a company to put tip jars on counters be free market or capitalism? I think you may be confusing free market capitalism with some form of corporate anarchy where individual employees get to make their own decisions on how to run their employers business.

"Capitalism" says the unhappy barista and customer can get together, pool their money, and open a coffee shop that has a superfluous number of tip jars on the counters.

"Free Market" says we won't create silly, needless, and inefficient laws that prevents you from doing so.

I wish tipping would just go away across the board.

If u wana tip ur barista go right ahead. For me personally tho those places are expensive enough as it is. Just my personal opinion.

If you want to tip then do so but what exactly are they doing to earn it? They made a cup of coffee. You walked up to the counter to order, waited till your coffee was ready then carried it to your table. Again if you want to tip the for that then please do so I just don't know why.

You don't tip at McDonalds, you don't tip at Burger King, hell you don't tip at Chik-Fil-A. Why would you tip at Starbucks? Why would I tip someone I have 30 seconds of interaction with?

From a safety standpoint I also agree with getting rid of the tip jars. Having loose money in a portable, easily accessible container is just another liability the store probably doesn't want to deal with and may have rules against.

Used to work at a Starbucks in a Target years ago, and they had the same no-tipping policy. I appreciate that one should be able to tip for exceptional service as one sees fit, but please be careful. Despite the customer's good intentions, employees can sometimes get in a lot of trouble for accepting tips. Everything is on camera.
If an employee says he or she cannot accept tips, and you still want to reward good service, better to speak to a manager about the employee's great work rather than about a policy you disagree with.

Are the barristas making at least minimum wage, or are they earning wait staff wage? If they're earning at least minimum, there's no obligation to tip unless you just want to.

Tip jars look tacky as hell. Who tips counter people anyways. They make a wage higher than waiters and waitresses.

Texas is a Right-to-work state. If the coffee server doesn't like the job, they can quit and get one of the coffee server jobs somewhere else.

Plus you can buy coffee somewhere else too.

What a country!

Its generally good practice to tip baristas, bartenders, and servers if you are a regular at a place, or want to be. Word gets out quickly among restaurant/bar/coffeehouse people about who tip and who don't. But of course as others have said, its a free country, and you as a customer are free to patronize places that don't make you feel uncomfortable and anxious about tipping. Like McDonalds.

[This message has been edited by FlyRod (edited 4/14/2014 1:25p).]

I can understand tipping your regular bartender if you get a mixed drink, it might encourage them to make the drink a bit stronger for you.

What's a barista going to do for you if you tip or not?

I was once chased into the street by a waiter in Tokyo waiving my tip at me. They thought I forgot my cash. I said it was their tip and she was very insulted and informed me she had a job and didn't need my money.

Mind blown.

I've encountered that in most other countries. The UK has become more like us recently in this regard.

Personally, I dislike tip jars. If you do an exceptional job, I am likely to tip or say keep the change. However, a tip jar to me says, "You SHOULD tip me regardless of the job I do. "

Kroger is free to implement whatever policy they choose. You are free to tip if you choose. Nothing has changed! Nothing to see here.

Ok two things....

1st...they poured you a cup of coffee (I do this many times throughout the day for myself) or at most drizzled a little chocolate or caramel into a cup and then poured coffee. It isn't like they whipped you up a big meal or put on some sort of show while making your coffee. If they were adding some flare like some bartenders do or making art in the foam then I can see tipping a buck or two or letting them keep the change. The fact is most of them just pour you a cup of coffee. This is neither difficult or require any great skill.

2nd...Some of these places will actually write up employees if they accept a tip. I had a kid help me out at a Krogers a few years back. The way my items had been bagged made it unable to have everything in one basket. So the bagger grabbed another basket and helped me outside. He was very pleasant and helpful. I went to tip him and he explained to me that not only was it now store policy to not accept tips but that a employee there had just been written up a few days earlier for accepting a tip.

I have a gut feeling the OP works at Starbucks. What was written (and how well the frustration was described) really sounds like an employee.

Arnold....wrong!! Wellboriginal has been here for a long time. Pretty sure not a barista. Good troll though.

Don't work at Starbucks.

Sorry, came to this board looking for urgent news updates, but don't see any yet.

Gotta go.

Although they have no tip jar or cannot directly take tips, B/N allows you to leave your change or leave money on the counter for the person who helped you and they can take it.

I don't think tips are necessary for counter sales, but I do sometimes at places I frequent as I think it just is a fine gesture of being thankful to them and you can really see the person brighten up.

Never wrong to voluntarily give someone positive affirmation on their job performance.

FYI if you just Google the phrase "Why you should tip your barista," a lot of questions in this thread are answered in some detail.

Interesting that so many people in this thread were there to witness what I ordered. There are a lot of assumptions that don't take into account how much more work went into my drink, or my wife's drink, or how many drinks I picked up, or how often those ladies at the counter have waited on my family and me over the years.

Having a tip jar, to me, does not say "I deserve extra money". It's just a convenient place to put a tip instead of putting it on the counter.

Dude....it's coffee. Unless he hand picked, roasted, hand ground, walked barefoot to collect the purest water to use for brewing, hand pressed and finally hand whipped the foam I fail to see there being much effort.

It really is JUST coffee. Pretty simple to make even a 'complicated' order.

I'm not saying that you can't tip but simply it is just coffee and they are already paid for the job they do. If you just receive outstanding service, get told a joke or more likely are smiled at by the pretty young lady behind the counter then sure go ahead and tip away if it makes you feel better.

There is no need to get your feathers ruffled up over this.

Sounds like the tip jar was a good way to flirt with the employees.

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Sounds like the tip jar was a good way to flirt with the employees.

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Seriously this is the most common reason why I see people tip in situations like this. The girl or guy behind the counter giving you a smile or a wink or maybe batting their eyes just right. I see it all the time.

No shame in it.

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There is no need to get your feathers ruffled up over this.

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Much less compare us to Soviet Russia.



IN SOVIET RUSSIA THE BARISTA TIPS YOU

I've seen Soviet baristas. I want none of their tips.

For the older folks, were tips jars present back in the 50's 60's?? Or is this something more common now

^^^^^^^^^
I'm so old that my computer is an Remington typewriter connected to a gasoline engine, connected to the internet with a two tin cans and a string.

I first remember seeing tip jars in the mid 80's.

I laughed....as I do today.