I'm a bit nervous to say this in here, but I'm kind of split on whether tipping at starbucks should be like a customary thing... I used to work at subway which I'd personally see as a somewhat similar job... Every sandwich was effectively a custom order , you put all the toppings on by hand, we also baked the bread , baked cookies, prepared sliced veggies, etc. and very rarely got tips. I'm not sure what the pay is at starbucks, but I'd imagine its similar to what we made at subway (we didn't get benefits though) and it kind of feels like a slippery slope with tipping. It started with paying restaurant staff tips because their pay was below minimum wage , now we're expected to tip at places like starbucks and Panera even though employees there make more (because tipping isn't customary so the baseline pay is higher). I kind of worry that we might be heading in a direction where customers are expected to make up for what the employers are lacking when it comes to paying service workers.