https://ritholtz.com/2023/05/tip-demands-inflation-higher/

POS Tip Demands Are Driving Inflation Higher
May 22, 2023 10:00am by Barry Ritholtz 

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 If you leave a few singles in a jar by the register, you assume the recipients are the staff who work there. We have no idea where the Square POS tips go. Recall Doordash and other weasels pocketing driver tips during the pandemic (we should make sure that’s not happening here). All POS tip demands should be mandated to show a disclosure as to where the money goes — and both Square and the retailer should be on hook if it does not go where advertised.

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I remember first seeing this at Olive Garden when they first mandated that all Users paying by credit card use their POS (point of sale which happened to be a Piece of <synonym for excrement>) device.  It automagically “suggested” 18% “tip”.   I had no idea but a sneaky suspicion that this was not on the all up and up.  So I always tipped in cash  — and not 18%.  After all I was now doing some of the work and we used to get thin mints with the receipt.

It would seem that “tipping” needs to be disclosed.  Who gets it and how much does the server have to “tip out” to others.  I’m most concerned that this is nothing more than a “DoorDash” price increase.  

Argh!

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