I just bought a new knife and I was asked to tip. I was kind of taken aback.

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jeramiah51

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This wasn't a custom order or anything. I used shop and I'm wondering if the shop app just does that automatically. It was asking for a 15-20% tip on a $425 knife. I really like this place but this would make me reconsider buying from there. Trying to get thoughts and opinions from others.
 
Yep, it was Bernal.

bernaltip.png
 
Unfortunately if some are starting to do it, there is a chance this is going to be a thing everywhere soon. Where I live, one or 2 fast food restaurants started doing this just a couple years ago and now every single restaurant I can think of automatically asks for a tip and some even default to like a 15% tip and you have to deselect it if you don't want to pay. That is even in places with barely any human interaction at all, where you just reach across a counter and grab your food.

The reason they do this is because psychologically some people feel guilted into tipping even if no real "tippable service" is rendered. Also, of course some people just want to help the the business if they like it. They makes extra money essentially for free since the machine automatically asks for the tip. The businesses that don't do this will have lower net income and be less competitive.

Many europeans have been laughing at the american "semi-mandatory" tipping culture for many years. Now it is really getting out of hand.
 
I wonder if we're gonna get the sob story or whatever that vaguely gestures at us who don't like it as the bad guys.

I think it's pretty wack to ask but w.ever it's not the end of the world. For me it's a pretty straightforward answer though; no.

It does seem like we're going backwards though. Everything is tipping or gofundme or mutual aid. I understand why but maybe we could try having stuff that works for once 🤷‍♂️
 
This makes me angry... maybe a little irrationally but still. Amazon will be asking for tips before we know it
 
I understand the suprise and discomfort being asked to tip an online store! Amazon et al is squeezing $$ out of fokls left and right so try steer clear of them.

yet tipping in general is part of the way the US economy works...so you basically want what the EU has? then also be prepared to pay all the taxes upfront....dollars or Euros, things need to be paid for....you have toll roads, we have freeways mostly yet much of the Eu is seemingly moving in the direction of toll roads.

there is much more behind this difference then meets the eye IMHO.
 
M1k3 said:
I totally agree.

And include all taxes and fees in the listed price also!
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know what I'm going to pay when I look at an item?

crazy talk. who doesn't like being surprised when they hit checkout. totally makes my life better

MarcelNL said:
I understand the suprise and discomfort being asked to tip an online store! Amazon et al is squeezing $$ out of fokls left and right so try steer clear of them.

yet tipping in general is part of the way the US economy works...so you basically want what the EU has? then also be prepared to pay all the taxes upfront....dollars or Euros, things need to be paid for....you have toll roads, we have freeways mostly yet much of the Eu is seemingly moving in the direction of toll roads.

there is much more behind this difference then meets the eye IMHO.
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not sure how tipping relates to taxes but I feel like we might be veering into political territory.

irrespective of any policy tipping culture is wack beyond belief.

so's grifting (which toll roads are 100%)
 
To be clear, I'm a generous tipper but it is situational and generally very much service oriented. That doesn't necessarily mean the service has to be top notch.

For example, my favorite donut shop is locally owned. When I pop in there and it's 90+F outside and far more than that inside I feel for those folks. It's in the Gonzaga district so lots of college kids working in there. All those folks have to do is not do anything egregiously bad and they're getting tipped.

That criteria can and does change depending on the establishment, conditions, and situation.

But an online purchase? And from a shop who won't take a call any more? Nah. In fact, it turns me off enough to be asked that they will drop to a very low position on my search list from here on out.

I no longer buy from RSK but I think I remember him asking for a tip s well. I may be wrong though.
 
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Choppin said:
I wasn't aware Bernal wasn't taking phone calls anymore... seems very very weird from a customer service perspective.
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I called a while back. Maybe a couple months. I got a recorded message that they are too busy to field calls. I can't remember if they said to leave a message but I don't think so, I think it was just an instruction to email. Could be wrong.

Now I don't think they even list a number on the site.
 
Online tipping hits especially wrong because you don’t tip the owner of a business. The owner sets the prices, so if he needs to make more he can simply charge more. When you tip online, it’s basically the owner asking you to tip instead of just raising prices.
 
Been complaining about tipping for years. Just pay your workers a living wage and charge us a correct amount so we know what our bill should be when we order. Love it when I travel to countries where you don't tip and tax is already included in the price. Everyone here is trying to confuse you into spending more so you get surprised on the final bill, but what are you going to do at that point right.

I have had tipping show up at the checkout at my drug store and at the self order at shake shack they automatically go to 10% so you need to pay attention and opt out cause if not you just paid an extra 4-5 $ to order yourself. It's just nuts. Now it is showing up in online orders and the % amounts at restaurants now start at 20-25% and go upto 40% as the suggested amounts to tip on my bills. Screw that it has to collapse at some point right. People aren't really this dumb are they? You know a lot of these places the $ isn't even going to the employees.

Oh and from what I understand the company has the choice to do this or not. So if they are doing it maybe go somewhere else and don't reward their greed.
 
For what it’s worth I had to deliberately opt out of tipping when setting up my web shop - maybe it wasn’t wasn’t deliberate. Regardless… not something I think is really great or ideal.

As for tipping more broadly I also generally agree. But as someone who operates quick service restaurants and is theoretically in a position to change away from a tipping model - the choice is an illusion. People when asked day they’d rather service, tax, etc. be baked into the shown pride, but every single operator who's tried has failed to do so successfully (excluding the highest level of fine dining). People shop by sticker price and if yours is higher than the next guys people won’t come. Unless there is legislation forcing change it’ll stay the way it is I’m afraid.

Also if you have ownership in a business and take tips (other than something odd like a one man show service or bar) you’re an ******* and doing something that likely is illegal or at the very least is ethically dubious.
 
ethompson said:
For what it’s worth I had to deliberately opt out of tipping when setting up my web shop - maybe it wasn’t wasn’t deliberate. Regardless… not something I think is really great or ideal.

As for tipping more broadly I also generally agree. But as someone who operates quick service restaurants and is theoretically in a position to change away from a tipping model - the choice is an illusion. People when asked day they’d rather service, tax, etc. be baked into the shown pride, but every single operator who's tried has failed to do so successfully (excluding the highest level of fine dining). People shop by sticker price and if yours is higher than the next guys people won’t come. Unless there is legislation forcing change it’ll stay the way it is I’m afraid.

Also if you have ownership in a business and take tips (other than something odd like a one man show service or bar) you’re an ******* and doing something that likely is illegal or at the very least is ethically dubious.
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This guy knows what's up.

One of the stores I manage has transitioned to foodservice. As a policy, we don't accept tips (the owners are Japanese, so they don't allow it). I do my best to pay a living wage (especially for my kitchen staff who genuinely are worth every dime), but Boston is one of the highest COL cities in the world.

It's tough. Since transitioning to foodservice, sales have been doing better but we're still not making a profit. The highest expense we have is staff wages by a long shot. Our meals range from the $12-$25. If we charge more, we lose sales. The front of house staff has started demanding tips or otherwise threatening to unionize (which is popular around here). The kicker is that I even offered higher pay instead of tipping because the owners really aren't into tipping, but the staff voted overwhelmingly for tips.

TLDR: businesses that don't accept tips don't make money. Even if you try and pay staff more in exchange, the staff just want tips rather than raises.
 
Email correspondence shown here in full, no edits:

My initial email:
A tip? For an online purchase? Seriously? Yes, I know there's an opt-out feature but it's offensive to even be asked.

I was going to buy a $19 item that had $12 shipping and I get asked if I want to give a tip?

Not long ago I wanted to ask a person a knife question but got an answering service saying you're too busy to answer the phone any more and now I don't even see a number and you are asking for tips?

That's unbelievable.

Their response:
Hi Erik,

Thanks for letting us know how this feature has affected you and I am sorry it has caused so much distress. We have the tip feature on the website based on feedback from customers who have asked if there was a way to show their appreciation for our staff and expertise. I understand that getting us on the phone is more difficult and this is for a few reasons; mainly because we are a very busy shop during business hours and most of the time, we are unable to answer the phone at worst or unable to spend the necessary time with phone customers at best.

If you would prefer to speak to someone on the phone, you are welcome to send an email requesting a callback. This allows us to call when we have the opportunity to spend the appropriate amount of time. If you still want to give us a call during open business hours, our number is listed on or google business listing that is found when you google "Bernal Cutlery".

We pride ourselves in being a source and resource and try to be as available as we can. Please reach out if you choose to do business with us in the future and have any questions.

Kyle
 
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