Buddy's take on tipping made me question my whole stance

My coworker Dave said he never tips under 20% because he worked delivery for 3 years and knows how much it sucks when people short you. I always thought 15% was fine, but his exact words were 'you're paying for someone's time, not their speed' and now I can't stop thinking about it in a city like Phoenix where the cost of living is climbing. Has anyone else had a simple conversation that completely flipped their opinion on something they thought was settled?

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drew_thomas91d ago

Dave nailed the part people forget. Tipping based on speed punishes servers during rushes when theyre doing the most work for you. Once you start thinking of it as paying for their time and effort in that heat, 20% stops feeling like a bonus and starts feeling like the baseline. What helped me lock it in was doing the math on what a server actually takes home after a slow shift. Phoenix rent is brutal, and if someone only gets a few tables an hour, that extra 5% is the difference between them making rent and scraping by. I just keep a simple rule now. If the service was decent, 20% minimum. If it was bad, I still leave 18% and just dont come back. Saves me the mental gymnastics every time.

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