Some BK coffee shops ask customers to stop tipping

September 20, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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BOROUGHWIDE — ‘NO TIPPING’ IS THE POLICY at several Brooklyn coffee shops that have opened in the past couple of years, reports Gothamist. The stores have stopped asking their customers to tip when ordering their daily mocha, as part of a trend to recognize the importance of consistent and fair wages and to ensure that employees do not have to depend on this established courtesy for their pay, baristas told Gothamist.

Shops like Passionfruit Coffee in Bed-Stuy, Sey Coffee in Williamsburg, and Cleo’s Yarn Shop in Bushwick are part of the trend, with employees earning up to $33 per hour in some places. The move mitigates unpredictability in tipped wages and gives baristas steady pay while raising drink prices slightly. Many shop owners view this as a more sustainable and equitable system for staff compensation, even if customers have mixed reactions. One first-timer at Passionfruit told Gothamist that one should be able to tip for exemplary service.

Principles GI in Gowanus, for example, states on its website that “tipping is arcane and antiquated and has no place in a civilized society. Removing tipping from the equation allows for more authentic interactions on both sides of the transaction.”

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