How one Starbuck store tries to increase interest in tipping

A Starbucks in upstate New York put out two tip jars -- one labeled "Mac," the other "PC." Customers voted on their favorite computer platform with tips. When the staff added up the contents of the jars at the end of the day, they declared a winner: Macs won, with twice as much tipping as PCs. Anyone have other examples of Starbucks stores motivating customers to tip? (Read the story at computerworld.com)

Comments

[espressoterraca]

Sorry, my previous statement "false sense of security" was inaccurate and unfair. What I was trying to get at is that what you are inferring with interchangeableness just isn't sound as far as I am concerned, but that's just my opinion..seeing the dynamic forces and interplay in life.

[ellen rosner]

re: comebacks for customers dipping in to tip jars for change.....
"great, now Timmy can't get that operation."
not that I'd ever say anything like that really....

In response to whoever said they wouldn't tip because Sbux pays a "living wage"...

My GF works at Sbux. She works her butt off 38-40 hours a week and makes roughly $800 a month. Our rent is $970 a month. How is she getting paid a "living wage"? Even with my income added to hers we are barely able to pay our bills. Those tips come in handy once a week when we need groceries.

All the baristas at the store where my GF works give legendary service. I stop by frequently to get a coffee and work on school work. I am often surprised at how many people the baristas know by name/drink and how often they will do something special for a customer.

Baristas do deserve a tip. They're providing a service to the community. Not every person in the world knows how to make a "triple grande one pump vanilla two pumps caramel one pump mocha 1/2 180 degrees 1/2 120 degrees latte". (yes someone actually ordered that at her store)

[Just a Barista]

Hey ONLYMYSTORY. It's always nice to see someone with such a pleasant attitude towards other human beings. Now I don't know what kind of Partners work at the Starbucks you frequent on your private island, but those of us here in reality find it pretty easy to see that the huge majority of Starbucks Partners are in their twenties or even teens. Now, maybe my public school education didn't teach me as adequately as your private team of teachers that mommy and daddy bought you, but I don't really think a college freshman really ever made a choice not to make a six-figure income. Now, granted, I'm 19 years old and have had about a dozen offers by major corporations to make millions of dollars a year, but I don't think such is the case for most of the college students who work at Starbucks. In fact, I think the most likely explanation is that you haven't paid much attention to the PEOPLE who are serving you every day when you buy your Latte and comfort yourself with the fact that you can afford your expensive drink and golden toilet because you made a choice to be born into a well-to-do family with lots of money.

I read a lot of posts about people comparing McDonalds employees to Starbucks Baristas as though we were simple, exchangeable robots with only basic functions and no future in life. Yeah, both are part of the foodservice industry, but if you actually know anything about McDonalds or Starbucks, you'd know there's a huge difference. A Partner goes through a huge amount of training and is selected because they're a top candidate for a job a far nicer company than any other foodservice corporation. How many McDonalds employees ask you how you're doing? Remember your face? Know your name? Give you the occasional free drink because you're a regular?

I can't think of very many.

[Pistol]

I make 2.13/hr waitressing.
Most baristas here make somewhere abound 7/hr.
when i get the kind of service that I give, then I tip.

The drink I order 80% of the time is never the same.
what is with the inconsistance?
I've found ONE person that makes it wonderful and the same each and every time. . . andhe was fired.

[Mandee]

Yes, believe it or not, making coffee is harder than it looks. I'd like to see those who think "a monkey could do it" get behind the bar at peak business time, at a drive through, and pump out the drinks both FAST and with good QUALITY. On average, it takes a month to three months for partmers to really "click" on bar...depending how much time they get to spend on it. I agree, you shouldn't tip when you've recieved bad service or a drink made wrong. I'm a barista at a drive-through and there are a couple of other Starbucks stores that I wont go to because my drink always gets made wrong. There's the catch: find a location you LIKE because they make your drink perfect at least a majority of the time and because the barista at the counter provides legendary service and remembers your name and drink. We all work hard at our jobs. I DO think of Starbucks as a career...I plan on at least moving up to store manager, if not district manager. The only two things that offend me regarding tips that ARE DESIRVED are a) the customer who comes through the drive through and orders TWENTY DRINKS every other day or so (PLEASE CALL AHEAD. We can be prepared for you when you come by and even have the drinks DONE so you don't have to wait!)and they don't EVER tip! Not even the five cents in change they got back...and then we, the barista's get to listen to all the customers BEHIND you who had to wait forever becaue they didn't know you just ordered 20 drinks and now it's OUR fault. And then b) people who STEAL tips! Mostly I'm talking about the people who grab the tip jar and take off. But taking a couple of cents out of it for the rest of your change is ALSO stealing...someone left it for US, not YOU.
Most of the barista's I work with are not well off. A couple of single moms and such. I'm low income myself. For us, we depend on the tips for FOOD and GAS because our measly pay checks only cover the rent and other bills. It's hard to go to school to get a better job if you don't have the money. And it's hard to have the better job to get the money to go to school if you don't have the degree. Just remember that next time you go through the drive and order 20 drinks at the window, all made with hard honest work.

Ps
MOST baristas make between $1.55 to $2 an hour in tips...minus tax. Not much...

"She works her butt off 38-40 hours a week and makes roughly $800 a month. "

You're full of it. That's $5/hour.

Just because that's how much she brings home doesn't mean that's how much she makes.

[Marcus B.]

Tipping is getting out of control in this country. I do not sit down at Starbucks to be served. The setup is akin to a fast food restaurant and we do not tip at those establishments,.. so why do baristas feel they need to be tipped? It's like tipping the person at the counter that takes your money to make your burrito at Taco Bell. Tipping is warranted in situations where you have been served and some actual effort beyond pouring some liquids together has been taken. Why is it that everyone wants a tip these days? OUT OF CONTROL!

[CynicalBarista]

I do not feel entitled to anything. You give me an order, I give you your coffee. Tip? Awesome, thanks. My appreciation goes much further than you would expect.
If you want to look down your nose at me because I'm not working a job you consider dignified, fine. I look down my nose at you because I consider myself a better human being, one that has empathy for the people who share this planet with me.
Your sense of entitlement is unwarranted. You should feel gratitude for your lot in life and be humble knowing that but for a chance of fate (or whatever you attribute it to) you could have been born in a third world country having to eat rice everyday of your life.
You are not better than me, get over yourself and treat people with the basic dignity that EVERYONE deserves.

[Sabrina]

To This Is For All The Whiners, DJO10, Customer, Pistol & Marcus B: AMEN!!!
What is up with all of this entitlement mentality from these SB baristas & the enablers on this site that say "how dare you not automatically throw in your spare change to support these poor baristas"? My sister has worked in the food industry since high school & most of her jobs have been waitressing @ a wage of not $7.50/hr, not minimum wage, but TWO THIRTY-THREE AN HOUR. She and most other servers actually NEED their tips to LIVE! I've heard a lot less pissing & moaning from servers when they had tables stiff them on tips than what I've read on this site from baristas who are making far more & getting tips for what the people in comparable food service positions do for whatever their wage is, without tips (i.e. McDonald's - this is not a put-down - those people working there are trying to make a living just like you). How can you expect people who work just as hard as you baristas do to react when, in their day to day lives, they're doing their jobs without expecting a handout from their boss or their customers for doing their job? Isn't that the whole idea behind a salary - getting paid to do your job? If your salary isn't high enough to be a "living wage," then get a second or third job, or start putting in applications for higher paying jobs. Just because your customers happened to choose jobs that pay more than yours (and with all of the baristas with college degrees, how can you not say it's a choice for you to work there?) & because they can afford $4 drinks, they're supposed to supplement your income on top of paying for the drink that helps pay your salary & keep your store open? Do you work at SB or a welfare center? SB EMPLOYEES GET BETTER HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS THAN MOST OF THEIR CUSTOMERS ANYWAYS!!! Why does their higher salary automatically entitle you to a piece of what they've worked hard to get? Customer service is not easy. I know that customers can be MAJOR A-holes, a lot of times for no good reason, & you take the brunt of that. I've been in customer service for 8 years myself-my job is stressful & incredibly busy - people cuss at me & totally blow their tops at me, but guess what-that's my job! I don't ask for a bonus to do my job! If you feel you're worth more, then start looking for a job that pays you what you feel you're worth - the service industry obviously isn't for you. Don't try to guilt your customers (who also feel the same pinch of increased food, gas, & living costs that you do) into giving you a bonus for the job that you are already being compensated for. I'm not a stingy tipper to servers I tip at least 20%, more if they gave great service. I know they make less than minimum wage because the expectation is that they make their $ almost exclusively from tips. But please don't expect me to put a buck or my spare change into your plexiglass container because you mixed my drink - if you don't get paid to mix those drinks, then what is it that you get a paycheck for? I'll tip when someone goes above & beyond, but doing your job does not count, even if you do it with a smile on your face. I'll step down from my soapbox now.

Sabrina,
Maybe you haven't made over 800 drinks after being on bar in a store that does 8,000 dollars minimum daily at one of the highest volume stores in the nation. Maybe you haven't been on bar for 8 hours straight never making less than 7 drinks at the same time. Maybe you've never stopped EVERYTHING you're doing to run across the store and assist a customer or make a drink for a regular when you see them walk in the door so they don't have to wait. Maybe you haven't been called a "c--t" to your face because somebody didn't get their drink fast enough and still have to smile. Maybe you haven't had the espresso machine' steam wand backfire and burn your hand so badly that you had to go home. Maybe you don't get up at 3 am to go to your job after closing and getting home at 1 and maybe you haven't balanced 40 hours a week with over 16 credit hours to work towards a better job. I HAVE. Sometimes there aren't enough hours in the day to get a second or a third job.

You know what? Some baristas are a b**** Some are self serving jerks who do feel entitled to tips. But I believe that most people here are hard workers who just want to feel like somebody appreciates how much they bust their butts, and if tips are the way to show it, great. Many people do live on tips, including myself, but I do not feel entitled to them. However, I do things every single day that go above and beyond what my job duties are, and for customers who have never worked behind that counter to just assume that we are so restricted that we can never go the extra mile for people - and don't - is offensive, misinformed, and ignorant.

Whatever. Some people will never get it. I don't expect tips - they're a nice bonus. Gratitude, yes? And some self serving morons cannot even give us that. Like they were born with that six figure salary.

[Sabrina]

Anonymous poster-You act as though everyone who goes into Starbucks is a millionaire. Honestly, I rarely go into Starbucks because I can't afford a $4 a day habit. I go in with my mom - a single mom of four kids who retired from being a clerk typist & who also taught me to go get that second job when the first one isn't enough. My mom really can't afford that habit, either, so she does it as a treat for herself once a week & uses the gift cards I get her because she loves Starbucks - the caramel macchiatos AND the friendly people who make them. She does try to leave tips, even though she never made over $35,000 her entire life. Don't label my mom or me as born with silver spoons in our mouths "typical" SB customers. My mom & I are not ungrateful, snobby customers who think of customer service people as dirt. I respect the person who provides good service & does so with a smile on their face. I loathe douche bags who treat you baristas like garbage because they think you screwed up their order - it's a freaking coffee, for crying out loud, get over it - chances are they took someone else's order or said their order wrong anyways. I just don't think that when you are paid a wage that is above minimum, that you should be tipped automatically for simply doing your job. I'm no stranger to working my way through school, either, anonymous poster - I worked full-time & went to school full time as well for 5 years to earn an associates degree. At one point, I had a second job during that full-time work & school period of my life. This is the only degree I could afford to pay for on my own & someday, if my 13 year old car doesn't die on me first, I'll be able to go back to school and get that degree that you've been able to get. My first job was at Chuck E. Cheese & one of several second jobs I've had to support myself lately was being a hostess/busser at Chili's - I'm no stranger to working in the food industry. Do you think that your job is somehow more dangerous than the person on the grill or fryer at any restaurant, fast food or otherwise? They don't get tips. Granted they may make more than you if they're in a regular restaurant, but that's because it's what the market says their job is worth. Your job as a SB barista is worth whatever you're willing to work for & if that's minimum & that's too low, then find another job. Well, I've got to go to the job that pays more than yours, but that isn't nearly as fun, simple, & flexible as yours. You think people are A-holes in line at your SB, try working in a call center.

[Bob]

I've never understood why employees in establishments like Starbuck's expect tips. Tipping is usually for table service and the amount of the tip is dependent upon the quality of service. At Starbuck's there is no table service and the service is typically mediocre at best.

[Idan]

I work at starbucks in the Chicago area, i understand the argument that why shouldn't get tipped... However, when you work there and get tips you do kinda feel like you deserve it. i know its hypocritical, but it is what it is.

all i can say when i know its a normal customer who tips, i normally dont charge him for extra shot or soy milk or syrups, hey extra dollar in tips for us.

and i guess thats also my way of saying "thank you" for tipping.

[anotherguy]

to the cat that asked for a snappy comeback for people who dip into the tip jar to pay for their drink, here's what i used to use...

"Are we dating? no? then im not buying your drink!"

now, Starbucks strikes me as a bit more militaristic in their policy than the coffeeshop i used to run, so a little snap like that could probably get you fired. use at your own risk.

"You're full of it. That's $5/hour.

Just because that's how much she brings home doesn't mean that's how much she makes."

I didn't clearly communicate my meaning. Yes, she brings home roughly $800 a month. She makes $6.25 an hour which is just over minimum wage here. So yeah, her gross pay is like $1000 a month. But that's still not a lot of money and she only gets to keep $800 and that doesn't pay the rent. Thus my saying she's not getting paid a "living wage".

Plus most of the people I know who work at Starbucks have a second or third job.

I'm the anonymous poster that the "Silver spoon" comment was written about - I never said that. I said some people act as if they were born with what they have and never had to work for it.

And I do believe I said I didn't expect tips - just gratitude. If you refuse to tip (you meaning 'in general' since you (meaning you, writer of the post) at least say thank you. Thanks is all I want.

Fin.

[Darleen]

I work in a nice cushy job too - I get my $4 latte nearly daily, but I wouldn't dream of verbalizing any rant that demoralizes people in their job choice. As a shareholder, you should really be ashamed you contribute to what you think is already poor morale.

A customer,
I could not have said that more eloquently. Kudos to you!

[Andrew]

I'm a former partner that worked for Starbucks for multiple years and now run a coffee shop in Boulder, Colorado. We've been doing "tip battles" since we first unlocked the doors and our tips are just as good as I ever received as a partner at Starbucks. Sometimes better. To top it off we do half of the volume a Starbucks does in a day.

[Jack]

Here's my starbucks tip story. I was in the store in Saratoga Springs NY and I needed two pennies to round off my change. When i asked the girl behind the counter if i could take it out of the tip jar, she became unglued and started berating me for even thinking of such a thing. The rest of the "baristas" did the same.

The whole "starbucks experience" is insane. How can they charge $3-4 for a cup of coffee and expect people to generously tip? What are we tipping for? Taking an order? C'mon. The downfall of starbucks has been long in coming, and the company has a long way to go (down) before it comes back.

I wrote a letter to "Howard" after that experience, and got a canned reply with a starbucks card. I find the tip jar insulting. Why dont they take the tips and donate it to homeless people... oops maybe it should be donated to the starbucks employees who are layed off.

The brand is shot. I see the Starbucks brand and I think "high price, rude service, low value." At least McDonalds is true to the brand.

Anyway, I think taking the tip jars away completely would be a real leadership thing to do.

Take my tips and give them to the same homeless man who sits in the same spot right outside our store all day - every day - instead of getting up and trying to make his life better or keep them because I'm working my butt off to make a living? I'll keep them, thanks.

P.S. I'd bet the only reason why most of us are not homeless are because we work to not be. If I didn't have a job I'd be homeless, sitting on the street, too.

That last post pretty much sums up the whole Starbucks attitude. One of "entitlement." Thats why the company is going to suffer for a while.

I don't feel entitled to my tips (I'm the anon poster)... if I get them great, if I don't I don't feel jipped. But, I do work hard and if I do happen to have tips, all I'm saying is I'm not going to just give them away.

[Sabrina]

It's me again :o). I know this dead horse has been resurrected & beaten thoroughly to death again, but this has been an interesting debate. Thanks for your response(s?), anon poster. I love that you are willing to communicate & lay out your thoughts & that you've allowed other folks who aren't automatic SB tippers to get their POV's across as well. I get that you and a lot of the other baristas work very hard & have to deal with some icky people. My only thing is that I think the barista job is one of those jobs that helps one pay their dues before getting to the higher end jobs (which you will hopefully be in soon since you're pursuing a degree & are apparently working hard to do so). With some of the barista postings (not all), it seems like some partners feel entitled to skip over the "pay your dues" part of life by getting a job that pays less than they would like & expecting the customers to make up for it by automatically subsidizing their wages. How many high school & college students before you have had the same or even lower paying jobs & have made it out on the other side, hopefully better for the experience? It's tough to work so many hours for so small a wage, but it should be just a start for you. Keep working hard & moving up, whether it's in SB or elsewhere. Someday soon, you'll be a former SB partner who's like one of the awesome customers you now serve - someone who understands what the person behind the counter has dealt with & who knows how to treat those who are serving them.

[manic organic]

I think the essence of the original post has been lost. It's not about the pressure on a customer to tip, it is about how to do simple games to finesse a fuller tip jar. I play the same games by suggestive selling apple fritters. I feel accomplished when there are no more fritters. That is the essence of this job, and I think the spirit of what this post was originally about.

I don't care if anyone puts money in the jar, but NO-ONE takes it out to use for a drink. Not because it is my money, I would probably give you a nickel if you relly needed it. You can't take it out because it belongs to all of my partners. I ensure it is safe when they are not around, and they ensure it is safe when I am not around. We got each others backs yo. The homeless and up to no good kids have tried countless times to steal from us, so we really relish the fact that our customers don't act like those people. What else is there to understand?

Respect is a two way street and arrangements can be genuinely made for genuine customers.

[Julian]

Of course it is a low paying job... you serve coffee! Get a marketable degree, get a REAL job, don't expect to start in middle management, suck it up when things get tough & then you won't have to worry about tips.

In the meantime, get my order correct, don't give me any lip and you'll get the 10% that you are due.

Invent clever ways to beg for more and you will get nothing.

[mike]

I make 8.18 an hour in Cincinnati. I have been with the company for 4 1/2 years does that sound right? thanks

I'm making 9.00 an hour and that was starting wage. I was under the impression that all employees were paid 9.00 minimum, at least in Canada.

[ERS___]

One time around the holidays i had gotten a $20 tip from a lady named miss debbie who orders a triple venti nonfat XXXXfoam latte. Either the foam was bad ass or she was feeling generous. I love making her foam though. God. That foam was beautiful. *sniff*

I think making people laugh adds to getting more tips. I do an occasional dance now and then. I guess making a fool of yourself helps. Regardless its fun for me. Free service and entertainment for my faithful customers.

Oh and to be truly genuine adds a little bit of tips.

[ERS___]

When i lived in New York I made 9.63. My review was coming up then I moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. I now make 8.14. Of course I made a big deal because they dropped me at 7.95 when I know I was suppose to make more than that.

TO SABRINA:
I'm glad that there are people who understand that we do work our butt-offs and deal with so much icky people. But of course regardless of what happens no matter what the customer says or do. Just smile. Say yes sir and ma'am. Give their drink. Make sure that they leave happy. And just let it go. Because its not worth the time or energy. Because you have another amazing customer waiting to be greeted and talked to. Maybe you will make their day. OR maybe they will make yours.

[Fuzzy Logic]

LOL!!!! I've been IN that Starbucks.. I didn't get it right away...
Yesterday it was "Apple Juice" and "orange juice"

[MD]

My favorite coffee spot has been running a variation on this - Ninja vs. Pirates. It's a fun topic for chatting in line. And the pirates usually win.