Man Says Coffee Shop Forced Him To Tip By Adding A Mandatory Service Charge
It's never right to be forced to leave a tip.
Nathan Dumlao via Shutterstock / elgol and sparklestroke via Canva Few things are as hotly contested nowadays as tipping culture. Many think the United States has gone overboard with a tip expected for almost any and every service, and one man demonstrated just how far tipping culture has gone.
A man shared that he was forced to leave a tip at a coffee shop.
On TikTok, Christian Bonnier is used to giving career advice. However, he recently shared the story of how he realized just how insane tipping has become.
“Tipping in the United States is out of control,” he said. “I’m in Miami right now and I got this pumpkin spice latte from a place in Brickell, and there was a mandatory service charge on my bill.”
Bonnier insisted that he was given no other choice but to leave a tip.
“I didn’t even get the option to tip. I didn’t get asked if I wanted to tip. I had to tip as a part of my order,” he stated. “Like, the woman flipped the screen around to me and instead of clicking what percentage you want, it just said ‘service charge.’”
Bonnier shared how the United States' tipping culture differs from that of other countries.
“When I was in Italy over the summer. I had a three-course meal – the best pizza, the best pasta, the best wine I’ve ever had – and when I went to pay the bill, the server brought the check to me, and I just signed it,” he explained. “There was no line to tip.”
Bonnier still tried to tip the server for his good service, but couldn’t.
“I was honestly confused because it was great service. I was happy to tip. So I go, ‘Hey man, how do I tip you? You did great.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, we don’t do tips here. We’re in Italy,’” Bonnier explained. “So you go from Italy, where you can have the best service of your life and there’s no tip, to Miami, where they pour you a cup of coffee, and you are forced to tip or else you can’t get your coffee.”
TikTok users who commented on Bonnier’s video were equally incredulous.
“I’ve stopped tipping completely, unless it’s at a sit-down restaurant,” one person admitted. Another added further credence to the idea that other countries don’t have a tipping culture when they said, “Coming from Australia, tipping in general is just such an alien thing to me. Like, does your boss not pay you so you have to harass your customers?”
Bonnier's experience add further fuel to the tipping culture fire.
As coffee shops are included in service industry restaurants, it's possible that the baristas at the coffee shop Bonnier patronized make "subminimum wage," which makes their income dependent on the generosity of customers. Therefore, general etiquette rules say that one should indeed tip when ordering a coffee. The amount depends on the level of service, and, of course, the discretion of the individual.
However, something does feel fundamentally wrong about being forced to tip without a choice.
As Bonnier said, tipping culture can only get worse from here.
“We’re getting to a point now in America where people are going to ask for tips for grabbing you a water, for getting you a napkin, for holding the door for you,” he stated. “Like, aren’t tips supposed to reward good service, not just be a requirement for ordering a coffee at a coffee shop?”
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.