Starbucks Has A New Tipping Policy and Everyone Is Frustrated About It

Starbucks just implemented a new tipping policy, and it has customers confused and employees feeling awkward.

In the past, tipping at Starbucks consisted of just stuffing change — or a few bucks if you’re feeling generous — into a plexiglass square at the register before you walk away to get your drink.

Speaking as someone who used to work at Starbucks, tips used to be so much better.

People used to pay in cash, and it made tipping much easier. You just threw your change into the tip jar.

As we’ve gone to paying with credit cards more and more, tipping at Starbucks has kind of gone by the wayside.

There hasn’t been an option to tip on your credit card, so people just ignore the tip jar, and walk away.

This is unfortunate for those baristas who depend on tips as part of their salary.

Now, however, Starbucks has rolled out a new system that allows tipping on the credit card.

This new tipping system has been met with mixed reactions.

The way it works, after you pay for your drink on your card, the system will ask if you want to leave a tip. It offers up some choices: $1, $2, $5, Another Amount, or you can decline to leave anything.

While it is pretty straight forward, it makes for a pretty awkward conversation for the barista at the register.

You can’t finish paying for your order until you decide if — and how much — you want to tip.

So, the barista has to say something like, “You have to answer the question before you can swipe your card.”

I talked with one barista who said that half the people that come through don’t understand this new policy, and it is completely awkward to try and explain it.

This policy isn’t just for inside the restaurant. The customer has to also decide if they want to tip at the drive-thru.

So, a simple transaction that used to include simply scanning your card and leaving, has now turned into a whole thing where the customer has to answer the tipping question on a keypad.

Now, there are people that feel like they shouldn’t have to tip, because they already pay enough for their $6+ coffee drink.

But, let’s think about this. These baristas don’t simply pour your drink out of a machine. They are like artists that individually craft every single beverage.