I’ve been ordering groceries since April. And the occasional meal delivery. I tip 30%; thank goddess I am fortunate enough to be able to afford it in this ratty-tatty, full-of-safety-net-holes unfair life lottery we call “America.”
Sometime I leave envelopes with surgical masks, energy bars, and extra cash taped to the front door.
Unlike my guest ratings, they all get 5 stars no matter what wacky substitutions they make or how cold the food is.
The shoppers and restaurant delivery people in the US may have lost their previous jobs and they certainly are not making a living wage to any reasonable standard. And they are taking the Covid risk hit for me.
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Interesting. Netflix show Chef paid homage to a beloved, sadly deceased food critic. In their praise of him they talk about he would never write a bad review. He would simply not write a review.
He wasn’t going to criticize people who were trying to make it. They deserved the best opportunity to succeed.
It was a kindness, legacy full of meaning.
I loved getting cash tips. Until Covid pushed us away from using cash, I would pay bill on card & cash tip. Any tip on a credit card is reported to IRS. Cash tips are a bit of a gray area.
I’m still using cash as much as I ever was. Maybe that will change in the future but as long as I read about companies like Amazon taking the tips intended for others I’m going to keep doing it. Maybe doing things like putting it in a ziplock will come into play.
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I still carry some cash but it’s all $20s. Perhaps it is due to lack of change (coins & $1s) or germ conveyance potential, most businesses in my area are card or Apple/Samsung pay only.
I think I will try to get some ones next time I’m at the bank so I’ve got a “stash” for the times I use tipped services.
I’m not aware of any local businesses using cards only.
I accidentally exaggerated.
Smaller businesses are card only.
Larger businesses including fast food have signage requesting cards/electronic payment and asking no cash transactions. They will accept cash but can’t promise they will have change (coins small bills) so everyone just uses cards.
Even Costco discourages cash more than usual.
Interesting. I haven’t been getting out much so maybe I’m just not aware of what’s going on. In the last 3 months I paid for my dog’s vet bill with cash and I buy all my propane 20lb tank refills with cash. Both those businesses offered change. My water dispensing machine only takes cash on the water side but takes card on the ice vending side. I’ve never used cash at Costco because of the rebate I get on my card.
“We also tip people at drive-thru windows.” 
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My husband and I stopped at two drive-thru windows today. At each place, we asked the employee at the window how many people were working, because we wanted to give each one a tip. At one place, it was eight. At the other, it was five. We gave each place enough $20 bills for every person to get one.
People who are working for minimum wage need all the help they can get. When we can help them, we do.
We sincerely hope the US Congress will raise the minimum wage to $15, although $25 an hour would be an actual living wage. Whenever we’ve hired staff for the company we own, we pay a minimum of $25 an hour.
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He in Australia the minimum wage is $19-84
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If that’s a living wage, that’s excellent.
Outrageous? it’s normal. As it should be. We have the “Right to Pursue Happiness”. We do not have the right for an unfair portion of profits that we did not build or invest in.
.
The govt is not here to provide a living for the people. We are not peasants living on land owned by the nobility. Not everyone has equal opportunities. It is up to the individual to find, create and take advantage of them (hard work & time).
It may be “normal” and acceptable to you to expect people to work for slave wages while the rich get richer off their exploitation, but that’s not normal or humane to me or those I keep company with.
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I don’t disagree but there is more to consider. In 2004 I usually earned >$100/5 hr dinner shift in tips. It was the most flexible work hours for the best pay I could have while pursing my BS-N.
Servers have to take the bitter with the sweet. Usually the first & last hours of the shift there are minimal tips while they set up for dinner service then clean & restock at the end.
Not all restaurants have a good tip base but a good server can/will follow the money.
I think working as wait staff was probably the most physically demanding, nasty job I’ve ever had.
Covid19 has ruined the jobs for waitstaff and Countless restaurants are now closed. Damn Covid…
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“We gave each place enough $20 bills for every person to get one.”
Oh, that would be fun!
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It was. It’s not the only time we’ve done that.
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I’m using cash more than I ever was. Since businesses started discouraging cash use back around March I’ve spent precisely 55 pence on my card - to buy some milk from the corner shop after I forgot to re-stock at the supermarket and hadn’t any cash on me. I was suspicious of this drive to do away with cash from the start, and the more I looked into it the more I sensed there was no danger from it virus wise. My fear is heavier reliance on card/phone payment causes supply of currency to transfer from the population and government to commercial banks
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Since I’ve worked a number of tipped jobs in my long lifetime, I always tip well. In my experience, the best tippers are bartenders (done that), bar owners, and anyone that waited tables or was a hotel housekeeper.
I’ve driven a taxi, waited tables, and tended bar. I always hustled, paid attention, and took care of customers, and always made more tips than almost anyone else.
That said, the minimum wage in the US is horrible, and even $15 an hour is not a living wage in many areas of the US — but the proposed increases will circulate back quickly to the economy, helping recovery. Even at that rate, I would still continue to tip well for good service, but horrid or rude service gets a note about why they’re not getting much. I tip in cash, so that restaurant owners can’t keep tips (it has happened here although illegal), and I use $2 bills when possible so wait staff remember me.
Restaurants that whine with “increased wage surcharge” and such on the bill get an earful to the manager and a social media grump.
But none of that since COVID. No restaurants and only 2 takeouts, no deliveries. Quick in and out targeted grocery shopping at slow hours.
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