Tipping is getting out of hand in New Jersey (Opinion)

I used to work in the service industry. I made the majority of my money off of tips. I absolutely feel that if you're providing a service then you need to be tipped.

That being said, I was also making far below minimum wage. So, I literally had to earn tips in order to make some decent money. And that's how so many restaurants operate. This isn't a new concept.

What is a new concept though, is tipping at a, let's say, well-known coffee shop when you're going through the drive-thru.

This happened to me on Thursday afternoon. I ordered my coffee, pulled around to the window to pay, and was shocked when the person giving me my coffee showed me the screen that had tip options on it.

I could not proceed with the purchase until I selected a tip option. Now, granted I could have clicked the "no tip" option and gotten my coffee and left. In retrospect that's likely what I should have done.

But considering I'm a young 20-something and don't like confrontation, I felt bad not tipping and decided to go ahead and tip.

But after I drove away I thought to myself, "Why the hell did I just do that?"

The cashier is absolutely not working off of tips. I looked it up. Is there even any proof that they get the proceeds of my tip? How do I know it'll end up in their pocket?

It almost seems that these companies have figured out a loophole to make a few extra bucks on each purchase because they know customers will feel awkward pressing the "no tip" option when presented with it.

And that's the direct problem. If you want to have a tip-jar on the counter where people can put cash in it, I see no problem. But when you shove it in my face and have the cashier watching exactly what I decide to do, that's where I draw the line.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kyle Clark. Any opinions expressed are his own.

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