Starbucks and the tip jar

[AngelinRed]

I came to the Tipping Etiquette guide looking for advice on how to tip at the Spa, since I recieved a day at the spa as a gift I wanted to be sure I tipped properly. I found what I was looking for and now know how I should show my appreciation.
As I looked through the list of proper tipping etiquette I came to the Misc. list and Starbucks was at the top. I was surprised to see that leaving no tip was proper when visiting a Starbucks coffee shop. I was a Starbucks Barista for 2 1/2 years and without tips my pay would have been barely above minimum wage, and yes, baristas are taxed on tips automatically. Starbucks may be a huge corporate entity but they do not pay their front line employees very much. After 2 1/2 years and 5 evaluations my pay raises did not exceed $1.00. And I have to point out that my evaluations always exceeded expectaions.
First I'd like to say that Starbucks is not your average fast food joint. Baristas are trained to give exceptional service and always adhere to top quality standards. Service at Starbucks is not an assembly line, waiting on customers without so much as eye contact and pumping out product that's been mass produced and sitting under heat lamps. Service, at least the way I would give it, was always personalized and drinks are made to order. Coffee drinks can be as complicated as alchoholic drinks and take time and expertise.
Yes, Starbucks is expensive, but there is usually a Dunkin' Donuts next door if you aren't into the Starbucks coffee experience. Many people are and don't hesitate to enter a Starbucks. Its not just the product offered, its the whole experience and atmosphere that brings people in the door. It is more like a bar or lounge than a fast food place. And if your local Starbucks doesn't provide exceptional service or comfortable atmosphere, I wouldn't go there. By company standards each and every Starbucks should exceed your expectations of a coffee shop.
Tipping, of course, is not required but greatly appreciated. Just the change from your bill makes a barista happy. Oh, tips in the tip jar are divided among all baristas by the hour on a weekly basis, which can add up to anywhere from .25 to about 2.50 an hour depending on the area.
Thanks for letting me give my opinion, I just had to defend the hard working, under paid barista.

[jamesglewisf]

You've got to deal with the fact that some jobs just aren't tipped. Fast food restaurant workers who are paid minimum wage are included in the group. It is a low-skill, low-paid job. To get paid more, you need to find a different job, not lobby for tips.

Restaurant employees who are tipped have a minimum wage of $2.13 in many states. (http://www.dol.gov/esa/programs/whd/state/tipped.htm) In Connetcticut, your minimum wage for non-tipped employees is $7.40. It is $5.23 for tipped employees How much did you make an hour?

Tipping in a restaurant is for people who deliver food to your table and keep your drink refilled. They don't do that at Starbucks, just like they don't do it at McDonalds. If you want to make more than minimum wage, you need education or training to work somewhere else.

If you work at Starbucks, you basically either take orders and run the cash register, prepare the drinks, or clean the tables. You don't wait tables. All of those job functions fit minimum wage and are not tipped at any other restaurant. It is no different than a cafeteria or fast food restaurant.

If you keep pushing for more tips at Starbucks, what will happen is that the position will get reclassified, and your minimum wage will go down.

I stand by my recommendation that you don't tip at fast food restaurants, including Starbucks.

[jamesglewisf]

Just in case you are wondering, I spent five years as a young person working in restaurants. When I greeted, ran the cash register, cooked, washed dishes, or bussed tables, I made mimimum wage and didn't get tipped. When I waited tables, I made tipped minimum wages and was tipped.

That gave me an appreciation for how hard people work in restaurants, and it made be a better tipper. But it didn't make me a crusader for tipping people who don't tradtionally get tipped or raising the minimum wage. The best way to make more money is to get an education or training at a skill that earns more money.

[AngelinRed]

Yes, it is true that tipped servers make under minimum wage and that's a shame, but its the way it is. Starbucks is not a fast food place or a cafeteria and its employees do service the public beyond ringing the register and passing out drinks. The company expects much, much more than that.
Starting pay in 2003 was 7.25 hr. Today it is 7.50 hr. Tips are minimal and thats fine, I wouldn't expect 1.00 per drink as in a bar, where they take orders, ring the register and make drinks... but of course they get paid less. The government taxes baristas on .50 hr for tips, whether they make that or not. Some stores don't make that in tips.
You can certainly ignore the tip jar, thats ok, but I will always throw my change, or more, into the pot. When I get excellent service from hard working people, educated or not, they deserve my appreciation.
I'm no crusader, and I'm not lobbying for tipping. I'm just a hard working, educated ex-barista that believes good service deserves appreciation and wanted to share my thoughts to those less educated about Starbucks.

[Grimey]

Tip jars are annoying. They are showing up everywere. I saw one at the dry cleaners!

[Justawoman]

The only place a tip jar looks right is in a bar on a bar. I have to agree with Grimey.

[jamesglewisf]

The reason a tip jar in a bar is fine is because you are already expected to tip the bartender. It is a position that is traditionally tipped.

[mikeftrevino]

I am a Barista, and have been one for ten years. It is my passion. I regularly go to coffee conventions and Barista Jams for education and inspiration. The recent boom in Specialty Coffee has created a demand for Baristas with real coffee knowledge. I'm not talking about push button Baristas that have what we in the industry call Super-Automatic espresso machines. (these are machines that do just about all the work and create, at best, a mediocre cup of coffee.) I'm talking skilled barista that know every nuanced detail of their particular coffee blend; what it extracts like throughout it's whole life cycle; how to adjust for all atmospheric changes, can describe some of the major flavors you might be tasting in the coffee (the truly passionate taste their coffee like wine tasters do wine).
These Barista that I speak of wear many hats during a shift. They are server, chef, bartender, bouncer, therapist and friend to those that walk through the doors of the shop.
I run the shop by myself from 7am-3pm Monday through Friday. I know all of my regulars, not only by name but what drink they usually get. I'm not talking a handful of people, I'm talking hundreds of people. I remember peoples drinks from my first Barista job ten years ago. I have a small library of books and magazines dedicated to coffee. I read about industry trends, chemistry, and history.
Do you see where I'm going with this? I am not Starbucks, the McDonalds of coffee. I am an independent coffee shop Barista that is working hard to create the best cup of coffee you've ever had.
I don't ask you tip me a buck on a drink, though I've been tipped twenty dollars on an eight dollar order. All I ask for is a thoughtful tip. Your tip is my affirmation that I'm doing right and you want me to continue to do so.
Many of us would like to be paid better for all our knowledge and skill that the customers demand, but the industry has yet to break this image of the Barista as a pimply faced teenagers job.
So I say, if you do not desire to tip your Barista, then you are going to the wrong coffee shop.

The reason a tip jar in a bar is fine is because you are already expected to tip the bartender. It is a position that is traditionally tipped.

Perhaps it is time to start a new tradition for truly skilled Barista.

Perhaps http://www.findalink.net/tippingetiquette.php should be changed from this:

Star bucks - Nothing.

To

Barista (specialty coffee server) if skilled - 10%

Yours truly,

Mike T
BGA member #171
The Coffee Vein
Tucson AZ

[jamesglewisf]

Sorry. Barristas aren't tipped. All of you guys can send me emails and post in the boards, but it doesn't change anything. It is a fast food restaurant.

[mikeftrevino]

Sorry. Barristas aren't tipped. All of you guys can send me emails and post in the boards, but it doesn't change anything. It is a fast food restaurant.

But that is what I'm getting at. I and other Baristas of the same mentality are not Fastfood mentality.

So skill of the person doesn't matter? The passion and care taken in the preparation of the consumable makes no difference? The fact that the person is ever seeking knowledge to create a better product carries no weight?

[jamesglewisf]

It is a fast food restaurant. You don't do any more work than a chef at a restaurant. They don't get tipped either. It doesn't matter how much you love your job or how hard you work at it, your position isn't one that should be tipped.

[mikeftrevino]

Good to know.
I'm glad most of my customers don't agree with you.

Mike T
BGA #171
The Coffee Vein
Tucson AZ

[leroilezard1971]

I worked at a coffee shop (local and independently-owned -- not Starbucks) for 1 1/2 years. Most of the employees their earned $6.50 an hour (minimum wage) although I eventually was making $8 an hour because I opened the place up every weekday morning at 6:30. I found it interesting that a lot of young to middle-aged working class people who ordered nothing but regular coffee often tipped a dollar whereas many well-to-do people had no problem not tipping on an order that included multiple lattes and sandwiches (which myself and/or my coworker had to make ourselves). Let me just tell you that it is fine if you don't tip a barista, but chances are you will not get the same service (and you certainly will not be the barista's favorite customer) if you frequent a coffee shop and never tip. And most importantly, never be rude. Baristas will commonly give rude customers decaf coffee or espresso. I know this because I certainly did!

[Dude111]

Welcome to the site my friend :)

[Justawoman]

coffee shops are expensive. I was not that impressed with Starbucks at all. I'll make my coffee at home thank you.

[jamesglewisf]

See, you made $6.50 an hour, not the tipped minimum wage which would have been $2-4 an hour. Most baristas don't make the minimum tipped wage which when you add tips bumps you up to the normal minimum wage. They just make the minimum wage for the state. That is because they are a fast food restaurant worker, not a waiter. Waiters get paid $2-4 an hour, plus tips. Minimum wage workers (like baristas) get paid the full minum wage which is $5-8 an hour depending upon the state.

See also http://www.dol.gov/esa/programs/whd/state/tipped.htm

[Bailey's Mom]

I don't mind adding a little change from the SB coffee in the jar. What bothers me is that RARELY do ANY of the baristas say, "Thank you!" It's not that they don't see me drop it in either. I work hard for my tips/money, too, and I always say, "Thank you!"

Appreciation goes both ways!

[mikeftrevino]

I very much agree that appreciation goes both ways, but you are dealing with Starbucks. They are not the standard setting establishment they would have you believe. They are fast food.
Most baristas will not really care, but some of us do, and we care alot. The standard setting businesses will be privately owned and run.
Here is a list of baristas that care and where they work (http://www.baristaguildofamerica.org/viewtopic.php?t=811). Maybe one is in your town. I'm sure they deserve and appreciate your monetary appreciation. On top of that, you will most likely get a drink that will knock your socks off.

http://www.baristaguildofamerica.org/viewtopic.php?t=811

[AllyKat]

The reason a tip jar in a bar is fine is because you are already expected to tip the bartender. It is a position that is traditionally tipped.

How is a bartender any different that the person who pours your coffee? If you're expected to tip the bartender, you should be expected to tip the barista too.

[Dude111]

Yes your right!

Welcome to frappydoo :)

[jamesglewisf]

A bartender is different because he is paid the waitstaff minimum wage instead of the standard minimum wage.

A barista is just another name for a fast food worker at a coffee shop. You don't tip fast food workers. They get paid the standard minimum wage.

It is customary in the US to tip waitstaff and bartenders. It is not customary in the US to tip fast food workers.

If you want to make the tips that a bartender makes, become a bartender.

[mikeftrevino]

A barista is just another name for a fast food worker at a coffee shop.


Edit:I took out a long repetitive post.

[PsalmReader]

"Barista" is a new word for me! I don't drink coffee. :)
I do think it's good to know who is only making $2 or $3/ hr. (I remember those days!) Tips are expected to make up the difference for them.
My experience in those days was that no one made less in tips than the level they were being taxed at... most didn't want to pay those taxes, but they did make the tips plus more.

[Grimey]

Barista's are paid the normal minimum wage or more, not $2-3 an hour.

[nyactor]

I usually leave change up to a buck at starbucks or dunkin donuts ..and other bakery type places that do have tip jars.. sometimes if I feel the person helping me is really not caring/not paying attention.. makes me repeat my order 3 times and it's simple..and the place is empty... I might skip a tip and then there are times when I just don't have a buck or change to leave a tip --- it's a funny thing for sure. I bet it's done more in nyc and major cities... It is expensive to live here and tipping adds to it but you want to give more b/c you know people are still working hard (many anyways)..

But tipping at those places don't make a difference in what you get unless maybe you hand the barista a $5-$20 tip yourself BEFORE he makes your coffee.... but sometimes tip or no tip -- my coffee doesn't come out right...

[badabing]

I'm surprised at all the lobbying for tips I'm seeing here. I work for a manufacturing and retail company. I often work with customers, and I help them with their orders and make sure everything is right. I'm not tipped and I don't expect tips. Even so, I'm not paid that much. I can make a case for how I work hard and attend to each customers orders and how my job requires skills and blah blah blah, but should I? If i feel I'm providing so much service and can justify it, then I'll talk to my employer for a raise, not expect customers to make up with tips.

Tips are ideally meant for those who are paid the waitstaff minimum wage. That means the government taxes them based on expected tips. If you don't fall into this category, you have no right to expect a tip, no matter how much of a service you provide. If your customers like, they can tip you. If they don't, that's absolutely no reason for you to look down on them and think they are cheap. If you are a barista or a highly skilled fast food worker and you feel you're doing so much service, then increase the price of your coffee or have your employer increase your wages, or go get a job where you can work for tips.

Bottomline, if you get the normal minimum wage, you have no right to expect tips. If you get tips, good for you. If not, good for you

[LHP20]

If you can't afford to leave some pocket change then you should not be buying a latte. A little goes along way and what's it to you to leave a buck? If you ever notice when you tip your barista she kindly says thank you! And smiles. It isn't expected but greatly appreciated like I said if you can't afford a tip then you should stay home

[jamesglewisf]

It is a fast food restaurant. We don't tip at fast food restaurants.