Wait a Minute…Would You Like to Leave a Tip BEFORE Service Even Begins?

To say that times are bad for many businesses due to the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic is an understatement — and waiters, waitresses, and other service people at dining establishments are having a more difficult time than usual earning a living and making ends meet…

Wait a Minute…Would You Like to Leave a Tip BEFORE Service Even Begins?

…but does that mean that they deserve to be given a gratuity prior to the start of offering service?

A friend of mine recently went to order a pizza — but although the business still has not opened its doors to the public nor offers delivery service, customers can place orders to pick up their favorite pizzas and other foods.

He wanted to pay for his order when he picked up his pizza, as he has had issues with paying via telephone when ordering pizza in recent months — but the employee insisted that he pay for his order by giving his credit card information while they were still talking on the telephone, which he did.

He was then astounded by one of the questions which was asked of him during the telephone call: “Would you like to leave a tip?”

What?!?

Sure, the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic has had service people reeling financially — especially in the restaurant and dining industries — to the point at which customers have been leaving more money for gratuities than they would have prior to the pandemic. My friend is one of those customers who believes in supporting people who are less fortunate and can be rather generous when tipping workers in return for service — but he seriously balked at the idea of being asked for a tip while still placing an order: “What business has their employees asking for a tip while still taking an order? Isn’t that somewhat like begging?”

Summary

Both the friend and the dining establishment to which this article alludes are indeed the same as those who were mentioned in this article pertaining to one example of why a pandemic is not the time to lose customers.

Some people believe that the word tips is derived from the acronym to insure proper service — and that would especially apply towards giving a gratuity prior to the beginning of service to ensure from the start that the service will be better than usual. That probably does work some of the time — but I cannot imagine it works all of the time. My friend claims that he has paid a gratuity in the past before the telephone call had even concluded — and yet, issues still arose: the pizza was not ready for approximately an hour was one of several examples…

…but he still orders from this business because — well — their food is simply that good.

Would you give a gratuity prior to service even beginning? If you have done so in the past, did you indeed get better service than if you had waited until the end of the customer experience?

Gratuities and tips have long been controversial with regards to travel and dining — to the point of contentiousness from all sides of the issue, as evidenced by the following articles which I wrote for The Gate over the years…

• Stop Tipping Housekeeping Staff For No Service During the Current 2019 Novel Coronavirus Pandemic?
• 30 Percent Gratuity: The New Default Tip at Restaurants?
• Most Restaurants Now Offer Free Delivery. What About the Gratuity?
• Leaving Tips for Housekeeping Staff at Hotel and Resort Properties: $10 Per Day Per Person? The Debate Continues
• Should Tip Jars Be in Buffet Breakfast Areas of Hotel Properties?
• Don’t Do This When Leaving a Gratuity at a Restaurant
• 25 Percent Gratuity: The New Default Tip at Restaurants?
• Do You Leave a Tip or Gratuity for Taking Out Food From a Restaurant?
• Should Breakfast Attendants at Hotels Receive Tips and Gratuities From Guests?
• Should Flight Attendants Receive Tips and Gratuities From Passengers?
• Should Customers Pay Servers By the Hour as a New Concept Pertaining to Tipping and Gratuities?
• Should Gratuities and Tips in Restaurants Be Discontinued?
• Tips and Gratuities: Your Thoughts, Please
• How Much Should You Tip Around The World?
• No Tipping Policy Pared Down at One Restaurant Chain
• Comparing Tipping to Paying Taxes? Get Real…
• When Is a Tip Not a Tip? When It is Mandatory
• Hey, Marriott: I Will Tip When I Darn Well Feel Like It
• Should the Practice of Tipping Be Abolished?
• Tipping the Hotel Maid: Yes or No?
• Tip: Charge the Charge to Tip the Tip Separately From Charging the Tip as a Charge
• Bad Service at a Restaurant: Should You Leave a Tip?

Photograph ©2020 by Brian Cohen.