Big Tips

The Types Of People Who Tip In A Coffee Shop (Starbucks)

Garth Beyer

I’m spending my 4th of July observing and writing in Starbucks. This post is about all the observations I am making about Starbucks, customer service, behaviors and types of people.

The people who feel they are really cared for and given friendly service, not just customer service. These people will, after they have already walked out the door, come back in just to put a dollar in the tip jar.

The people who understand that the little adds up and are the predecessors of change. These people will not just toss change into the tip jar, but thank the coffee connoisseur for their effort.

The people who I call jingle haters. They can’t stand the spare change in their pocket so they toss it in the jar, doing their hardest to ignore the last clink of change they will hear until they make another purchase and get change back from that. I doubt any Starbucks employees complain about these jingle haters, they account for 3/8 of the tips.

The financially conservative people who treat themselves from time to time don’t tip. They also don’t just keep the change, they keep the receipt too. More power to them I suppose. Everyone’s gotta make a living.

Want to get tips? Make a game out of it? There are two registers and two tip jars, which person at which tip jar can serve remarkably enough to get larger tips? One wins but both have fun.

What I love about Starbucks Barista’s really is that they have fun. They really do live the Starbucks motto of “Rewarding Everyday Moments”. They don’t care about tips, it’s just a bonus, it’s not something they actually work for, serve for or slave for. It just so happens anyway that the more fun you have making and serving Coffee, the more tips you get. Starbucks understands the essence of relationships, not just between customer and coffee but between customer and barista.

 

Stay Positive & You Get Tipped For Having Fun Outside Of Starbucks Too

Garth E. Beyer

 

Customer Service Is More Than Just Customer Service

Garth Beyer

I saw the story about a waiter getting a $5,000 dollar tip earlier today. It reminded me of a post I wrote a long while back related to a tip of 1% being given on a $133.54 bill and how I typically tip around 30% on waiters and waitresses. I referred to my tactic as Dressing Casual But Getting Looked At Like The Top 1%

Seeing this video however just confirms that if you want to be tipped big, then your customer service abilities must be out-freaking-standing. On my earlier post regarding the 1% tip, I mentioned that I typically tip a large amount but if the customer service is terrible, then I tip an “average” to “below-average” amount. However, what my average tipping amount, or anyones average tipping amount is has very little to do with how much of a big tip a waiter or waitress would get.

If the customer service provided is the most significant you have ever received, do you think the waiter or waitress will care if they get tipped $60 from a guy like me or $55 from a typical person? Both will make the waiter or waitress ecstatic. One waitress who I tipped $50 ended up friending me on Facebook and saying how appreciative she was. Regardless of the type of person that is being served, if you want a huge tip, the waiter or waitress (or you) have to work for it.

Great customer service doesn’t stop at just giving great customer service. The waiter that received the $5,000 dollar tip had much more than great customer service. It was noted in the video that the couple who had given him the huge tip were regulars. This means he wasn’t providing great service solely to them, he had it toward everyone. The couple had not only first hand experience with the waiter, they had seen how he treated everyone else while they were there. It wasn’t a one time deal. The waiter was consistent in his excellent customer service.

Above all, the reason why the waiter got the $5,000 tip, and the one quality that makes customer service essential, is that he connected with his customers. He was human, he talked to them, they knew about his smashed up car, he befriended them. He made a personal connection with a customer on top of delivering phenomenal customer service. Remember what I said about serving in the business 101 class

 

Stay Positive & Big Tips Happen Because You Care That They Care

Garth E. Beyer