Tip Dec Inception

Like a lot of GREAT ideas, TipDec was born out of a personal experience and the will to find a solution. One evening while dining out at a nice restaurant with friends, I took it upon myself to take care of the tab. I left what I thought was an appropriate tip for the waiter, (To be fully transparent, the bill was approximately $440, and I left a $40 tip) but to my amazement, he circled back and decided he wanted to confront me about the amount I had left. He started by asking if there was anything wrong with the service. Caught off guard, I responded, “No, of course not”. He then opened the waiter’s wallet and showed me my signed credit card receipt, and the two twenty-dollar bills I had left as a cash tip. He pointed to the pre-printed suggested tip amounts found on the bottom of the receipt. These amounts read 26%, 28%, and 30% respectively. The waiter then proceeded to inform me that all of the percentages were standard tipping amounts and that I should reconsider the amount I was willing to tip if, in fact, the service was satisfactory. In all honesty, I was embarrassed, ashamed, and teeming with anger, all at the same time.

How could an amount to tip be standardized?
Did I do something wrong?
Was it immoral to tip 10%?
Was a $40 tip really considered being cheap?
Are my friends judging me right now?
Will they think less of me after this incident?
Will my reputation be taking a hit?
Do other people know what’s going on right now?

So many things ran through my mind at that moment. In not-so-kind words, I advised the waiter to move along and be appreciative of the tip that I had already voluntarily left. The waiter walked away seemingly frustrated and defeated.

The aftermath may have been even more embarrassing, as naturally, the follow-up inquiries amongst my friends were to dive into the details of why that awkward moment had just transpired in the first place. A barrage of questions came quickly, “How much did you leave as a tip?”, followed by, “Do you always ONLY leave 10% as a tip?”, then it was, “Did the server do something wrong?”, and lastly, “If you needed help with the bill, you could’ve just asked us. Is everything ok?”. The feeling and inner turmoil were horrible. Having to discuss the topic was uncomfortable and a vibe killer. It was unfortunate that good food and a great evening out with friends ended on such a sour note. While I can reflect on that incident and appreciate the journey it set me out on; at that moment, I was defeated. I felt ashamed, embarrassed, confused, disrespected, and angry. On the car ride home, I discussed the tipping issue with my significant other. We discussed the different elements of tipping, including service satisfaction, bill amount, percentages vs flat rate, and various other scenarios and components of tipping. One glaring point that seemed to be the focal point of our discussion, was the appropriateness to discuss a tip with the waiter. We both agreed that it was poor decorum and inappropriate. Then it devolved into the optionality of tipping. From there, it became an issue of conveying sentiment regarding the service, without having to feel obligated to leave a monetary tip. Then my mind took me down the proverbial rabbit hole of the history of tipping, why tipping exists, cultural differences around the world related to tipping, the deeper sociological components, and on and on. Ultimately, throughout our hour-long discussion, we agreed that the main goal of tipping should be to express gratitude and thanks for the service you are provided, without the financial obligation component. Maybe a card that you could leave that would express thanks and affirm that the service was satisfactory while leaving the monetary component optional. What if the card itself could express your tipping ideology in a short and concise way, and still express gratitude? TipDec was born.