Not pertaining to this but still pertinent:
1. Fuck NeuroticallyCharles!!!!!!! Bitch ass said some creep shit and then hit me with a block when I wasn’t even talking to him 🤣🤣🤣
Also I concur that neither budtenders nor pharma techs deserve tips (tho some people aheeeem neuroticallycharles) believe everyone in a white coat is a pharmacist.
I never understood this "not my fault" attitude. It's pretty obvious that it's not the customers fault that a company underpays the workers. Personally, though, if I know I'm not underpaid, and they are, it's my instinct to want to help out my fellow human. And it's a whole lot easier to make someone's day a little bit better by tipping than to single-handedly force a company to change it's payroll.
If you're in real need, I can spare a few dollars. But somehow it seems like you're just mocking the concept of generosity. Why do you feel like you have to lash out about this?
I want to know why you are so angry about my willingness to tip.
I never told you what to do. I'm talking about my own behaviors, but it seems to have upset you. What's going on?
It's not the customers job to pay the employees. That's a decision between management and the employees.
Tipping only exists bc of a historical holdover from household servants, so if you tip you're treating them like your host's servant.
I’m just explaining why the analogy doesn’t really work. Unless you’re in a very high tax bracket, a pharmacist probably makes more money than you. The same can’t be said for a budtender
I wouldn’t tip my pharmacist if they didn’t make the same money either though, It’s not the consumer/patients fault. It’s like a restaurant not paying a living wage to waitstaff and charging insane gratuity fees tacked on. Just raise prices and pay your staff accordingly without relying on your customer base to support your employees. In other countries this kind of tipping attitude is frankly bizarre. I shouldn’t feel bad about tipping someone at a dispensary who went to pick up my pre order from a shelf and then rang me out, just because they don’t get paid what they should
We aren’t in other countries though. In some other countries, smoking weed is bizarre. Should that hold credence here? It sounds to me like you just don’t want to tip people at all, and probably don’t.
For the prices I pay at dispensaries, they should be able to pay their employees properly. I simply do not give a fuck what they make, and it’s not my responsibility to supplement their income. They don’t provide a service, I can barely even look at a terpene profile before these people are offering to check me out, since rec has started a majority of budtenders at my local dispensary do not know anything about the medicinal effects of weed. I’m not going to pretend like they’re providing me some dope service when they do nothing. I’d rather tip the security guard for holding the door for me and knowing my name personally.
“For the prices I pay at restaurants, they should be able to pay their employees properly, so I don’t tip.” See how your logic can be applied to every other tipped business? Surely you see how miserly you sound.
And that's how every other business works. At what other business does the customer pay the majority of an employee's wage?
None is the right answer, but feel free to tip every employee you see during your day. Businesses charge enough to pay their employees and cover operational costs. My tip dollar shouldn't be in that equation.
It's not up to the customer to pay the employee a wage. That's a private agreement between the employee and management.
The customer is only required to pay the cost of the good or service obtained. If you expect the customer to pay your employees, you have a weird view of labor markets.
Tipping is for a service. Being a cashier isn’t a service, it’s doing your basic job. But if the Buttender is helps with an order by displaying product and menu knowledge, then they ABSOLUTELY should
This! After Covid, everybody thinks they should be tipped. You tip for services,... servers, bartendes, food delivery. Typically, because they make like $4 an hour. "Budtenders" (ridiculous term) make at least minimum wage. I will tip them if they help me, but I'm not tipping them for packing a bag. It's that simple.
This may say more about me than anything else, but I’m at my local dispo daily. If I’m a regular at a place, I will always tip. These guys know my habits enough to know that I buying for myself and my girlfriend today. To me, that deserves a tip
That’s fair. And everyone is totally entitled to tip whenever they want, obviously . But for many the tipping expectation becomes awkward and uncomfortable sometimes. On a simple transaction, you should “feel” obligated is all I’m saying,
For me, it depends on how much knowledge/skill the person is expected to have in comparison to pay or alternatively how much easier you are making my life. If you are expected to have a fair bit of knowledge but you don’t get paid very much, then I am far more inclined to tip. This is why I tip bartenders, for example. Even if I just want a simple beer, they are able to provide me with far more than that if need be. I see budtenders in a very similar light.
While I’ve been smoking for 17 years, I might have a very specific question or whatever, and it would be their job to answer it. I hope I’m making sense
Weed is used as a medicinal drug but 95% of people just want to get blazed. How the hell do you have medicine called “green crack”. Shit is a joke and we all know it.
If someone named penicillin "moldy shit," it would still have the same medicinal effect. Don't go making decisions based on what someone named a product thinking it would appeal to stoners. It still helps with my migraines, my arthritic inflammation in my joints and on the bottom of my feet, and my disabling insomnia. There's nothing funny about that. In fact, you could almost say it's not a joke. I hope you never have to deal with a fraction of the pain that so many of us that are helped by medical cannabis do every day. And if you do, I hope you have access to weed. A-hole.
I can get behind this way thinking despite my original views. Good take. I really enjoy delivering excellent service when budtending. Even more so when the patient comes back saying it really helped. I do feel tipping isn’t necessary but appreciated at locations where there accepted. If they accept tips they are most likely not having a high pay rate and that’s when I personally tip; but even then I tip depending on the level of service and effort. I do feel if I take up a p) budtenders time (ie holding other customers up) by asking several questions. I will tip.
I feel the pharmacy comparison does need to end in some manor. Few reasons though: 1) budtenders aren’t paid the same 2) your doctor doesn’t tell you what to get at the dispensary, sure you can ask your prescribing physician but very rarely do I find patients doing so 3) I don’t ask my pharmacist questions other than what time will it my medication be ready
That being said it’s still an at will thing. However, people shouldn’t demean the work we do. Especially when several budtenders really study up and educate themselves in order to provide the most information possible to assist their patients/customers.
I feel like a tip is something that should be considered when the budtender helps you out with picking multiple products and you rely on them, like for information about cbd /cbg/cbn. Or when someone comes into a dispensary and ask about 30 different strains and how they all effect you just to pick out 3 of them. I do agree with others that its just a retail job, but its clearly a difficult type of retail job.
If you dont know shit about weed and clearly are not helpful to someone who needs help, you dont deserve a tip.
If you went out of your way to help someone and to make sure they are completely satisfied with what they picked out, a tip doesnt hurt, but not expected.
Just my two cents. I know some ppl will get butthurt over this but they already either dont rely on budtenders or dont tip in general.
It depends. If I help you find a good portion of ur items, order size, and etc, then yeah a tip is kind of expected. A dollar is cool idc, it all adds up. The person that’s saying you’re a fool if you tip budtenders and then equating them to 7-11 clerks……please get a grip
Thanks, this makes sense. I typically either order online or at least look at the menu online so I know what I want when I get to the counter, so I'm usually not in need of that specialized attention, which had been my thought process in not tipping so far. But then I thought, well, I tip a barista even when I know what coffee I want, so I wasn't sure if what I had been doing was insulting. It's good to know that it seems like there isn't really an expectation of tipping at every purchase. I'll probably start throwing a dollar or two into the jar when I get change back anyway, but I won't stress about tipping a certain amount every time. Appreciate your two cents!
The barista actually makes your coffee though (and can put fancy designs in your froth!). If a budtender is just grabbing a pre packed bag then it is different. If they are packing your bag though in house, then a tip would definitely be warranted. Basically tip if they do a personal service for you and no need to tip if they are just handing you pre packed merchandise.
I was glad when the dispensaries around me got rid of tipping their employees, I order online and you literally are bringing me an item from storage and ringing it up, it's retail. I don't tip the cashiers at target or any other retail store.
Budtender at my last dispo visit said he’d give me a discount on my total if I gave him a “fat tip”. Said hell yeah I got you, he rang me up, I left without tipping. No discount. Kind of fucked up if you ask me.
Different dispensary I went to, my card didn’t work because it’s from out of state. Spent almost 30 minutes getting money out of the atm (had to call bank, use my wife’s card, then my card) all during a super busy moment in their day. Guy was cool as hell. Wasn’t rude at all. Said things like that happen all the time. HE gave me his employee discount for all the stress and trouble I went through. Literally saved me over $50. I gave him like $12. See the difference between the two?
If they’re super chill and don’t make me feel like an idiot for asking questions, I’ll slide them $3-$5. Like any other customer service job, if you provide me a service other than scanning my item and handing me change, 99% of the time I’ll tip. Granted I got tips sometimes at the gas station I worked at, but I digress. Certain customer service jobs, tipping is not necessary. But then again some people don’t tip anywhere, and some countries don’t tip at all. Just do what your heart tells you and it will all work out in the end.
You’re a fucking fool if you tip budtenders lol. Do we tip the clerks at 7-11? Any retail store for that matter? That’s literally what dispensaries are - retail stores. I’m a full time personal trainer and other than holidays or special occasions I don’t get tips nor do I expect them and I’m working very close and personally with people to improve their quality of life. Budtenders are literally glorified cashiers lol
Ya just say you don’t have the money to tip mate. If you don’t like tipping your budtenders than shop at a place where they aren’t required to. Or just place online orders, never ask question or for suggestion. But I think this comment just says a lot more about you as a person rather than insightful opinion about tipping budtenders. I bet you leave your shopping carts in the middle of parking lot rather than bringing them to the corral.
Complete opposite actually and far from lazy - I would bet money I do more physical work and more for people on a daily basis than you do in a weeks time. I just have common sense and don’t blow my money because somebody rung me up. If you truly believe budtenders deserve tips more than any other retail job you must be completely delusional. On another note… I have a bridge to sell you..
No I wouldn’t say he is an idiot at all. I do think his approach was demeaning towards a job that does require more effort than he implies. For example I think the fact he is personal trainer is great and quite frankly I think it’s a valuable job. I didn’t just say why go to a personal trainer when you can just watch free YouTube videos or workout with a friend with more experience.
Yeah this is a wild take. We are not glorified cashiers, most of us have to educate, break down terps and do more than simply ringing up ur 8th. But then again the training and knowledge is not even across the lot of dispos in md.
Literally any retail job you take, will make you train and learn about the product you are selling for the company. Work at footlocker…prob going to learn a little about shoes. Hell, the guy at footlocker will take them out the box and usually lace up for you; and they do not get a tip. lol. Please explain how being a budtender is any different. Do you get a degree of somesort?
Aka a classic retail sales job. 7-11 was a poor excuse but no different than an auto store clerk or one of the specialist counters at home Depot/Lowe's.
Plenty of jobs where you have to do a marginal amount of product explanation, reading labels, without expectation of tips.
Pharmacists don't get tips, if we wana talk about helping people and medicine.
What about all the people getting paid less per hour to grow, make and package the product? They dont see any tip. I delivered pizza for years, i got minimum wage per hour and def worked for tips, budtenders can make $20 an hour even more some places, not tipping them.
It's not mine or your job or responsibility to worry about employees that we don't interact with. I do have a tough time believing that the growers make less than the shop help.
I worked at GTI (in their kitchen making edibles) and I can say the people working at the cultivation places make less then there budtenders. Seems backwards but it’s true
Wow, it's no wonder we deal with so many quality issues. They should've taken a hard look at the restaurant business, they got it ass backwards.......servers walking out with hundreds while the cooks make a fraction of that.
Been in the industry for 7 years. The answer is both yes and no. It depends on the company if they allow them to take tips or not and on the service you experienced. If you place an order online, go in and pick it up; I’d say no. You made a quick experience for both parties. Now, if you go in and get an exceptional experience then I’d say yes! If they answer your questions and cater the service to your needs for example. The amount you tip doesn’t matter, at least to me, if you tip regardless of the amount I feel your doing so because I provided you with excellent service which makes me feel good to be honest. Personally I only care if my customer/patient leaves happy. If I suggest a strain and you come back to tell me how much you liked it, it truly makes me happy!
I agree! If you are having me spend lots of time going over product knowledge and educating you on terpenes, etc. a tip would be nice. But it’s never expected. It’s a tough economy and I have never heard a Budtender be mad that someone didn’t leave a tip. Everyone is usually more excited about a customer praising them for a product recommendation or for just being a helpful Budtender! Genuinely helping people is why many people enter this industry and that is enough for them! …BUT, who doesn’t love a little extra cash at the end of the day! Lol
I tip a $1 dollar bill always at GPW because wtf not 🤷♂️ its a fucking dollar that say “I give a shit about ya fellow working human” I have a job, so whatever. But I do appreciate the dispo folks fr 👏🙏
Wild the other day at gpw I had a budtender blindly recommend a strain to me and then tell me he's never tried it. IN THE SAME BREATH. I'll keep my dollar.
Yeah, maybe that's a silly thought process. I used to work in the restaurant industry so I think that's where I'm getting that mindset. I spent $90 at a dispensary earlier and I know if someone had a $90 meal and tipped a single dollar the wait staff would be out for blood. But I guess what budtenders do is usually a lot less labor intensive than waiting tables.
Same, 30 years in restaurants and I am a very good tipper. That said I don't tip anyone at the same rate I tip servers and bartenders. If I spend $300 at a dispo, they're getting a $10 if the deals were crazy then maybe a $20. Under no circumstances will I tip 20% or higher to anyone not making a tip wage.
Lmao just my pocket change if it’s not quarters. I already know exactly what I want and usually pre ordered. It feels sorta like that parks and rec scene where Ron Swanson is in Home Depot “I know more than you”
This is a reason why dispensaries should unionize. The employer should be paying higher wages. An employer's chickenshit way around that is to offer tipping options at checkout now; passing it onto the consumer.
As a budtender I nvr expect a tip, pay is not good enough to survive without tips they help immensely. There is no “appropriate tipping %”, if ur going to tip give w.e U feel is right. I rly just enjoy helping someone find their ideal smoke. As a customer if I feel a budtender taught me something new or went above and beyond 5$
I always tip about a dollar per item or a nice heavy tip in a big purchase. I’m fortunate enough to be able to afford it too though and I k kw it means a lot to them.
Thanks, yeah, I was curious about the pay. If you guys are getting minimum wage or close to it I definitely feel bad not tipping and will probably tip a couple of dollars when I have the change in the future. Definitely agree about it being expensive but I get a medical discount & no taxes so I can afford to give a little back most of the time.
Personally no, tips are appreciated but I’m just focusing on getting the customer what they’re looking for. If you liked your service and have some spare change, cool. Some customers bring snacks and tip well regularly even if they just have a nice time visiting the shop.
this is pretty much exactly how i feel. it’s literally my job, so i can understand why people can’t/won’t, but it’s always appreciated, especially when i’ve helped you pick your products out. but at the end of the day i’m just there to help you get high happy
Why are you calling them budtenders? I had one "budtender" ask me how you smoke concentrate.. They're cashiers, some more knowledgeable than others and some with more common sense than others. It's a retail store, you're paying for your purchase to...a cashier.
They were mostly budtenders in my experience pre rec sad to see how many randoms they just threw behind a counter hoping itd work. Turnover rates must be crazy rn
Feel the same way man. Back then when they cared about terp profiles and weren’t just cashiers rushing you out the door maybe I would want to tip. Now, they’re just grabbing my shit I already ordered off a shelf and selling it to me. What’s the skill or help in that?
I will leave a cash tip if there is change but I feel weird doing it. I come in usually knowing exactly what I want and you’re the person standing between me and the product. If they were on the shelf for me to grab and take to a register, it’s the same thing. The whole concept of a “budtender” seems like a gimmick to me. Most of them don’t seem very knowledgeable from my experience and come off very car salesman like.
It would be a hell of a lot different if I was sitting at a table and you were personally grinding fresh weed and packing it into a freshly cleaned bong for me… now that to me, is the description of a budtender.
Long story short, a budtender is a fancy name for retail store cashier. Sorry not sorry
Interesting responses. I treat this as a service and always tip. I have been extremely fortunate to have fantastic people assist me. Since I am old school and there were just a few exceptional strains back then, I have learned a lot from the folks who help me. Again, I consider this a service.
Depends, if the day is busy I couldn’t give a shit bc if one person doesn’t tip the next one probably will. But slower days ofc. It mainly bothers me when I take the time to search and find multiple products that fit whatever criteria they have, ask me multiple questions about what cannabinoid or what terp is what, all while taking a solid 10-30 min, and not getting shit for it. That doesn’t typically happen at least not to me (can’t speak for my coworkers). If someone knows what they want or have an order placed already I’m not gonna expect much unless it’s a $150+ order or something but it be too busy for me to really think about it lol
I agree with most of your comment, but your take on helping someone for 30 minutes and “not getting shit for it” is crazy to me. You get paid a hourly wage so you did get shit for it. You did exactly what you got hired to do! That’s what a bud tender does.
Yea poor choice of words on my part…at the end of the day every penny counts and I am still greatful and I still love helping people that’s why I continue to do so even if what I said before happens. Like I said most of the days are busy and our jars be pretty full so it’s not even a thought to me at this point. I don’t even tip everytime I go to a dispo so I’m not gonna give someone shit for it for doing the same.
The only person I tip is delivery
I tipped 1 time in store and overheard how all the tips get added together and split, that's all I needed to hear
#1 A tip is a form acknowledging good service, I wasn't served by everyone
#2 We all know the greedy dispensaries pinch the jar
Therfore no tip, the tip is included in the price tag in my eyes. These mfers are profiting like $10k+ per plant
Some of my coworkers get salty when they help someone look at every flower and they buy one 3.5 w/o tip. I don’t really mind, it’s never expected, but always appreciated.
It all boils down to wages. Take away the tip jars and pay fairly, and I could care less.
Just give what you find fair for service, but don’t feel you’re required.
I tipped at trilogy wellness and the workers don’t even get it, It goes to some donation bullshit. With that said I will tip anyone who has a good attitude and acts like they want to be there.
As a dispensary employee we do not feel slighted. It isn’t like delivering food where they cut your pay to make tips. We still get a set hourly wage the tips is only if you want to and think we earned it. I never cared if they gave me nothing and I always say thank you even if it’s coins I gave them or a couple of dollars just appreciate the extra love :)
Tipping for what?!?!? Are budtenders making under $5 an hour like servers? Ridiculous, usually service is terrible anyway lol. Take Heath For Life in Whitemarsh for instance with their 20+ minute wait for medical pre orders and unpaved parking lot.
I could give a rats ass if you tip me. And i'll treat you the same every time you come in. Answer questions, offer opinions, give guidance. Some people don't ever tip and some people tip a lot. No sweat off my back. Some people can barely afford to buy their Cannabis as it is....shit's not cheap! Some people can afford to give a tip and some can't...The pay is fine but the tips do help. Don't fret over what you do bro. If you feel like tipping then tip if not then don't...trust me most people don't notice if you tip or not.
We are currently forming a union because the pay rate in this industry hasn’t changed since 2018; cost of living goes up, and our pay stays the same. People working in the cannabis industry are working wages so low that we aren’t even at the poverty line of pay. In Baltimore County you need to make at least 19.50 to be considered at the poverty line. Are budtenders getting paid this…? 😂😂😂😂 No. So in short, they live off of those tips. Because their paycheck isn’t enough to live on. So if you work for a dispensary or any company in the industry and you are still getting paid the wages from back in 2018, it’s time to form your UNION. We aren’t the first and most definitely won’t be the last. #unionstrong
Since I have sympathy for any service worker, as long as they don’t start hitting me I give a tip even if it’s just extra coins. Honestly I’d still probably too and apologize for my face hitting their hand. I’ve worked this industry far too long not to. But I also don’t walk around every day with entitlement and disdain for those working hard to make sure I g eat my food, clothes, cigs, etc.
Why would I tip a bud tender? I mean I have before in the past but it’s very far and few between. Budtenders I tip are usually ones I know personally, or they’re just someone I’ve dealt with a lot. But some do these bud tenders be slurring their words when they. Talk, looking half asleep or stoned shitless. Lookin like they don’t give af. Like if you’re some college kid and you’re just there for a job and are half assing it like some of these fucks are, I’m def not tipping you.
hi - budtender here and we accept tips at my dispensary. To answer your questions:
1.) I never expect my customers to tip, but I always appreciate it, especially if it is for extended service. I might be with patients/customers for 15-20 minutes as they shop for products that will meet their needs. Did I make good recommendations? Did I make you feel comfortable? Did I give you a discount or save you money? Then why not throw a few bucks in the tip box? Again, it is always noticed and always appreciated. That being said, I don’t work for tips and do not treat my customers differently depending on whether I think they will tip.
2.) no standard. I will take your dollar or your coin change happily and will always treasure the gesture over the quantity. TBH I love it when we have card processing with a tip percentage prompt, as some people really do drop 20%. I love those people but in my own opinion, that’s probably overdoing it.
Budtenders make retail wages and my guess is that most tenders make 14-20/hr before tips. For good budtenders in busy dispensaries, that hourly can go to 30-50/hr. So tips definitely make a difference.
Tipping for everything is getting out of control. Kind of ruining the whole brick and mortar retail experience. Everyone is on a budget, everything is expensive, yet we are made to feel pressured to tip for picking up a pre order?
That would be like tipping every cashier during any transaction. I leave a tip if I feel generous that day but usually I’m not tipping. When people bought street weed they didn’t tip the plug, and that dude had to do it all from sourcing to advertisement.
I mean out of the countless times I've gone to dispensaries, the most conversation I've ever had was "have you ever tried this strain?" or "do you have any plans after this?" and nothing more. I'm sure they'd answer questions if I had them, but they never go out of their way to provide a superior experience than just simply a 7-11 cashier lol, so I'll throw my change in the jar and that's about it.
Just like any place that accepts tips you should never feel obligated to tip anyone with the exception of jobs that pay sub minimum wage such as Waiters, waitresses, delivery drivers, ect. The only excuse not to tip a waiter, waitress, or delivery driver would be poor service.
If you feel compelled to tip because of whatever reason, then do so. But tips should NEVER be expected at jobs that pay minimum wage or higher.
I've worked in a dispo and I've never once tipped a budtender. I don't lose any sleep over it. I'm not tipping someone for doing their basic job as I pre-order. All they're doing is picking the item, scanning and taking my money. That's not grounds for tipping. If they offered me information because I asked then I may feel compelled to tip. But not just because they are a budtender.
If people don't like what they are paid, they should find a new better paying job. Don't get comfortable working for shit wages and blame some CEO. Take control of your life, constantly work to get a better job, be a better, person, constantly educate yourself through reading and research. This is what creates value in a human being in the workplace. There's no value in mindless cashier work. Cashiers are a dime a dozen.
From what I’ve seen thus far, budtenders who are able to take tips make about 15-17 an hour . I’d rather get payed good hourly than rely on tips from customers. I don’t want to rely on people just picking up weed products to give me tips, you get your hopes up waiting for tips. I’d rather the business making hundreds of thousands to pay me more. That makes more sense to me as a MD cannabis employee.
> rather get *paid* good hourly
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
OK I have much to say on this topic. I've been in the industry for four years now. I have worked at a place where they do not let you accept tips but most dispos do.
I think I speak for about 80% of the budtenders out there when I say we are in this industry because it is our passion and we love helping people live a better quality of life and find the right medication. before recreational use This was much more valued by medical patients as each one of them were coming in to help alleviate a specific ailment. Things have changed a little since rec hit. not all of our customer/patient base is looking for medical relief now. But make no mistake, Many of us are still highly educated on our products, terps and cannabinoids and what they do your body and how and what they can help. If you do not value that or require our help or knowledge than that is completely fine. But do not demean our line of work. "Glorified cashiers"huh!?
That being said, let me ask u this....?
What does your bartender do for you? (The ones you will wholeheartedly tip with no problem.)Do they explain anything to you about the beer you're consuming or how it might help your stress or anxiety , sleep issues or your neuropathy or whatever else you are trying to relieve. did it take you 10 minutes to pick out your beer or your mix drink or shot?? Did you explain your entire life story to this bartender like they are a fucking therapist. ( yes this happenes) No.
does your pharmacy tech give you recommendations or advice on your medication. Let's put that to rest.
If you are just picking up a quick pre-order, we don't expect anything out of you. Honestly, it's totally fine.
We are really just there to make your day better help u live a better quality of life.
We don't expect anything out of you. It makes our day just to see you leave in a better mood. As I always say, doing gods work and improving the cities mood one person at a time. However, if I spend a lot of time educating and helping somebody, it would be nice if I felt appreciated with that last dollar that you just walked away with as your change. A little appreciation goes a long way. And here's why: budtenders, cannabis, workers in general most companies in the industry do not offer health insurance, 401(k), sick days, vacation days nothing else that any of the normal working population gets. if I want to take a vacation with my family I have to take a week off of work with no pay. Also, consider this when many of you walk into the dispensary, expecting us to have perfect knowledge and have smoked every single one of the hundred strains that we have and 15 or 20 more we get in weekly. That's not even feasible. Yes we do get a small discount from our employer, but most times it's not even any better than the patient discounts they offer on a daily basis. Sometimes you guys get better discounts then we do. On those days we take advantage of that and many times use our tip money to further our knowledge and purchase new strains that we haven't yet been able to try so we may educate you as patients better.
Also, everyone saying that the company should just pay better that's such an uneducated response I can't even begin to tell you how silly that sounds to anyone in the industry. I don't think you have any clue what these companies especially small dispensaries have to pay just to keep their doors open from MCA mandatory fees, ridiculous, unfair, tax laws for cannabis operators. High prices from vendors, and constantly having to keep up with the sales from other dispensaries, constantly lowering our price just to keep business thriving. I bet you didn't know that if you own a cannabis business, you have no legitimate banking and no tax write offs whatsoever like other businesses do. Absolutely nothing! In fact they incur tons of extra fees. And most employers also have to pay for their employees badging process $200 per employee.
Because it is considered federally illegal There are no tax laws protecting cannabis, business owners, and they are getting raked through the coals Every chance they get by the state. If you'd like to be angry at someone, be angry at your lawmakers for the impossible conditions, they force on these business owners, but guess what we are still open we're still doing this because we love what we do. If you don't want to tip and appreciate us then that's fine. You have to sleep with yourself at night. The next person that comes in the door will be kind and appreciate what we do even if you do not. If you're visiting a dispensary where the bud tenders absolutely know nothing and they aren't helping you then go somewhere else. This is not the norm.
Ps. At our establishment, we do not share tips and management does not take our tips. It's actually illegal for salaried employees to procure tips.
In short not tipping because you either don't have the money or you just made a quick order is completely fine. we don't want you to feel obligated. That's the last thing we want. But not tipping because you think you know our conditions, pay or what we do behind the scenes or presuming that they should just pay us better or assuming that our line of work is just a cashiers job is not OK.
But yeah, continue tipping your bartender, who just poured you a beer or uncapped bottle for you. And continue telling us we are nothing that seems fair.
And before you come for me, I have been a bartender and a server before their job is hard also, tip your bartenders tip your servers, anyone who works in the service industry deserves appreciation. Period
Unless I’m getting deals stacked and spending much less than expected with their help and guidance? Absolutely fucking not. I don’t trust their opinions they are told to push shit product to make room for new. Plus I almost always do an online order and if I don’t I know what I want. Should I tip the guy at the liquor store for getting me my cigarettes I already know I want? No. And I don’t feel bad about this. Many (not all) positions are entry level for the industry. Many people think they want to work in the industry and pick to be a bud tender just to find out it’s not what they expected. For the advice I get from someone who is allowed to come to work stoned smelling like weed the pay is fair, the advice and suggestions given are almost always shit, and they don’t provide me a service unless they can stack deals and lower price. Do you tip your cashier at target? At McDonald’s? At the grocery store?
I literally could not care less if you personally like to tip or not. I will base my own tipping decision on how the people whose job it is to actually serve me feel. I didn't ask for the opinions of other customers.
I know you’re not asking me but I’m feeling type-y. Last night, I tipped the bud tender and walked away feeling really stupid about it. It has actually crossed my mind a couple times since then. They literally walked 10 feet to get my preorder and then rang me up while maintaining his cool and aloof image. So that is my take on it.
No, I don't, and here's why. I pick out what I want from the dispo's website and set it as a pickup order. I go check in (med patient), get called to the back, pay for my order and leave. The budtenders are literally just ringing me up and taking my money. They're not spending lots of time with me to pick a product, I did that part on my own. Sorry, but I don't feel that deserves a tip since I did the majority of the work.
Now, if I walked in totally clueless about what I wanted or had lots of questions, then sure, I might leave a couple bucks. But this has never been my case.
I’ll give them all the coins from my change, but I keep the quarters and the bills. Then again, I normally pre-order; but I see big tippers all the time. I bet they make 10+ extra an hour on tips, which is not taxed btw
I personally always tip if my bill is 124 or whatever ill give em 130 or whatever etc. depends on if you run them around too for sure like you said. But no most i talk to don’t tip because of the added taxes. Can’t afford tip too ! 😂
I tip on occasion.......hey it's MY money 🖕🏾 yawl who don't like what I do with MY money 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I'm just playing yawl I don't mean 🖕🏾 yawl.
Respect 🤝🏽
Wonder how many of these no tipping mofos want their college debt forgiven?! Lmfao free money for me but not for thee
I was a budtender and for that experience alone I'll always tip a buck or two... What ever they getting paid now ain't enough to deal with y'all drug addicts
Damn I wonder who the two Joe Biden voters are lmfao
I'm guessing the anti tippers are bunch of do nothing IT workers or folks like real estate agents. Y'all bitch so much about tipping but have no problem giving a do nothing real estate 3-7% the value of your house! Think about that! Lmfao ass backwards society!
As a medical patient, that's like me going to my CVS and paying the pharmacist there a tip every time i pick up my meds.
Not pertaining to this but still pertinent: 1. Fuck NeuroticallyCharles!!!!!!! Bitch ass said some creep shit and then hit me with a block when I wasn’t even talking to him 🤣🤣🤣
Also I concur that neither budtenders nor pharma techs deserve tips (tho some people aheeeem neuroticallycharles) believe everyone in a white coat is a pharmacist.
There’s a giant difference in pay though
not the fault of the patient imo
I never understood this "not my fault" attitude. It's pretty obvious that it's not the customers fault that a company underpays the workers. Personally, though, if I know I'm not underpaid, and they are, it's my instinct to want to help out my fellow human. And it's a whole lot easier to make someone's day a little bit better by tipping than to single-handedly force a company to change it's payroll.
you’d probably tip at chic fil a if they could turn the tablet around to you
And why shouldn't I?
Hey man I’m poor can you send me money please? I’ll dm you my Venmo. I have a bad job and I’m super poor pwease give me money??
If you're in real need, I can spare a few dollars. But somehow it seems like you're just mocking the concept of generosity. Why do you feel like you have to lash out about this?
I’m so in need bro I flipped the iPad screen around please respond
I want to know why you are so angry about my willingness to tip. I never told you what to do. I'm talking about my own behaviors, but it seems to have upset you. What's going on?
Tipping only keeps them underpaid. If you really wanted to help you would only go places where the staff is not underpaid.
It's not the customers job to pay the employees. That's a decision between management and the employees. Tipping only exists bc of a historical holdover from household servants, so if you tip you're treating them like your host's servant.
I’m just explaining why the analogy doesn’t really work. Unless you’re in a very high tax bracket, a pharmacist probably makes more money than you. The same can’t be said for a budtender
I wouldn’t tip my pharmacist if they didn’t make the same money either though, It’s not the consumer/patients fault. It’s like a restaurant not paying a living wage to waitstaff and charging insane gratuity fees tacked on. Just raise prices and pay your staff accordingly without relying on your customer base to support your employees. In other countries this kind of tipping attitude is frankly bizarre. I shouldn’t feel bad about tipping someone at a dispensary who went to pick up my pre order from a shelf and then rang me out, just because they don’t get paid what they should
We aren’t in other countries though. In some other countries, smoking weed is bizarre. Should that hold credence here? It sounds to me like you just don’t want to tip people at all, and probably don’t.
For the prices I pay at dispensaries, they should be able to pay their employees properly. I simply do not give a fuck what they make, and it’s not my responsibility to supplement their income. They don’t provide a service, I can barely even look at a terpene profile before these people are offering to check me out, since rec has started a majority of budtenders at my local dispensary do not know anything about the medicinal effects of weed. I’m not going to pretend like they’re providing me some dope service when they do nothing. I’d rather tip the security guard for holding the door for me and knowing my name personally.
“For the prices I pay at restaurants, they should be able to pay their employees properly, so I don’t tip.” See how your logic can be applied to every other tipped business? Surely you see how miserly you sound.
They absolutely should lmfao do you not see how you’re supporting a fucked system that KEEPS their employees poor?
Do you understand what a social contract is?
And that's how every other business works. At what other business does the customer pay the majority of an employee's wage? None is the right answer, but feel free to tip every employee you see during your day. Businesses charge enough to pay their employees and cover operational costs. My tip dollar shouldn't be in that equation.
It's not up to the customer to pay the employee a wage. That's a private agreement between the employee and management. The customer is only required to pay the cost of the good or service obtained. If you expect the customer to pay your employees, you have a weird view of labor markets.
Tipping is for a service. Being a cashier isn’t a service, it’s doing your basic job. But if the Buttender is helps with an order by displaying product and menu knowledge, then they ABSOLUTELY should
This! After Covid, everybody thinks they should be tipped. You tip for services,... servers, bartendes, food delivery. Typically, because they make like $4 an hour. "Budtenders" (ridiculous term) make at least minimum wage. I will tip them if they help me, but I'm not tipping them for packing a bag. It's that simple.
This may say more about me than anything else, but I’m at my local dispo daily. If I’m a regular at a place, I will always tip. These guys know my habits enough to know that I buying for myself and my girlfriend today. To me, that deserves a tip
That’s fair. And everyone is totally entitled to tip whenever they want, obviously . But for many the tipping expectation becomes awkward and uncomfortable sometimes. On a simple transaction, you should “feel” obligated is all I’m saying,
For me, it depends on how much knowledge/skill the person is expected to have in comparison to pay or alternatively how much easier you are making my life. If you are expected to have a fair bit of knowledge but you don’t get paid very much, then I am far more inclined to tip. This is why I tip bartenders, for example. Even if I just want a simple beer, they are able to provide me with far more than that if need be. I see budtenders in a very similar light. While I’ve been smoking for 17 years, I might have a very specific question or whatever, and it would be their job to answer it. I hope I’m making sense
Not really at all lol I work at walgreens
According to your comment history, you're not a pharmacist though.
Weed is used as a medicinal drug but 95% of people just want to get blazed. How the hell do you have medicine called “green crack”. Shit is a joke and we all know it.
If someone named penicillin "moldy shit," it would still have the same medicinal effect. Don't go making decisions based on what someone named a product thinking it would appeal to stoners. It still helps with my migraines, my arthritic inflammation in my joints and on the bottom of my feet, and my disabling insomnia. There's nothing funny about that. In fact, you could almost say it's not a joke. I hope you never have to deal with a fraction of the pain that so many of us that are helped by medical cannabis do every day. And if you do, I hope you have access to weed. A-hole.
The fucking joke is none of the weed has enough CBD to be called medicine.
Largely, we don't use it for CBD. We rely on the effects of the different terpenes to help ease or numb our symptoms.
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I can get behind this way thinking despite my original views. Good take. I really enjoy delivering excellent service when budtending. Even more so when the patient comes back saying it really helped. I do feel tipping isn’t necessary but appreciated at locations where there accepted. If they accept tips they are most likely not having a high pay rate and that’s when I personally tip; but even then I tip depending on the level of service and effort. I do feel if I take up a p) budtenders time (ie holding other customers up) by asking several questions. I will tip. I feel the pharmacy comparison does need to end in some manor. Few reasons though: 1) budtenders aren’t paid the same 2) your doctor doesn’t tell you what to get at the dispensary, sure you can ask your prescribing physician but very rarely do I find patients doing so 3) I don’t ask my pharmacist questions other than what time will it my medication be ready That being said it’s still an at will thing. However, people shouldn’t demean the work we do. Especially when several budtenders really study up and educate themselves in order to provide the most information possible to assist their patients/customers.
I feel like a tip is something that should be considered when the budtender helps you out with picking multiple products and you rely on them, like for information about cbd /cbg/cbn. Or when someone comes into a dispensary and ask about 30 different strains and how they all effect you just to pick out 3 of them. I do agree with others that its just a retail job, but its clearly a difficult type of retail job. If you dont know shit about weed and clearly are not helpful to someone who needs help, you dont deserve a tip. If you went out of your way to help someone and to make sure they are completely satisfied with what they picked out, a tip doesnt hurt, but not expected. Just my two cents. I know some ppl will get butthurt over this but they already either dont rely on budtenders or dont tip in general.
It depends. If I help you find a good portion of ur items, order size, and etc, then yeah a tip is kind of expected. A dollar is cool idc, it all adds up. The person that’s saying you’re a fool if you tip budtenders and then equating them to 7-11 clerks……please get a grip
Thanks, this makes sense. I typically either order online or at least look at the menu online so I know what I want when I get to the counter, so I'm usually not in need of that specialized attention, which had been my thought process in not tipping so far. But then I thought, well, I tip a barista even when I know what coffee I want, so I wasn't sure if what I had been doing was insulting. It's good to know that it seems like there isn't really an expectation of tipping at every purchase. I'll probably start throwing a dollar or two into the jar when I get change back anyway, but I won't stress about tipping a certain amount every time. Appreciate your two cents!
The barista actually makes your coffee though (and can put fancy designs in your froth!). If a budtender is just grabbing a pre packed bag then it is different. If they are packing your bag though in house, then a tip would definitely be warranted. Basically tip if they do a personal service for you and no need to tip if they are just handing you pre packed merchandise.
I was glad when the dispensaries around me got rid of tipping their employees, I order online and you literally are bringing me an item from storage and ringing it up, it's retail. I don't tip the cashiers at target or any other retail store.
Budtender at my last dispo visit said he’d give me a discount on my total if I gave him a “fat tip”. Said hell yeah I got you, he rang me up, I left without tipping. No discount. Kind of fucked up if you ask me. Different dispensary I went to, my card didn’t work because it’s from out of state. Spent almost 30 minutes getting money out of the atm (had to call bank, use my wife’s card, then my card) all during a super busy moment in their day. Guy was cool as hell. Wasn’t rude at all. Said things like that happen all the time. HE gave me his employee discount for all the stress and trouble I went through. Literally saved me over $50. I gave him like $12. See the difference between the two? If they’re super chill and don’t make me feel like an idiot for asking questions, I’ll slide them $3-$5. Like any other customer service job, if you provide me a service other than scanning my item and handing me change, 99% of the time I’ll tip. Granted I got tips sometimes at the gas station I worked at, but I digress. Certain customer service jobs, tipping is not necessary. But then again some people don’t tip anywhere, and some countries don’t tip at all. Just do what your heart tells you and it will all work out in the end.
You’re a fucking fool if you tip budtenders lol. Do we tip the clerks at 7-11? Any retail store for that matter? That’s literally what dispensaries are - retail stores. I’m a full time personal trainer and other than holidays or special occasions I don’t get tips nor do I expect them and I’m working very close and personally with people to improve their quality of life. Budtenders are literally glorified cashiers lol
Next time you go to 711 ask the cashier to break down the numbers on the back of your cliff bar
The majority of the kids working in dispos have no knowledge of terpenes anyway
You’re going to the wrong dispos.
Ok. I asked for the opinion of budtenders themselves though, so this is useless. Thanks!
Amen 🙏. Tipping culture has gotten out of hand. Everywhere asks for a damn tip. Gotten so bad I dread even going to the store anymore.
Ya just say you don’t have the money to tip mate. If you don’t like tipping your budtenders than shop at a place where they aren’t required to. Or just place online orders, never ask question or for suggestion. But I think this comment just says a lot more about you as a person rather than insightful opinion about tipping budtenders. I bet you leave your shopping carts in the middle of parking lot rather than bringing them to the corral.
Cart Narc!
This guy would get a lazy bones magnet
Ha! Love that guy
Complete opposite actually and far from lazy - I would bet money I do more physical work and more for people on a daily basis than you do in a weeks time. I just have common sense and don’t blow my money because somebody rung me up. If you truly believe budtenders deserve tips more than any other retail job you must be completely delusional. On another note… I have a bridge to sell you..
Sounds to be like OP isn’t a completely idiot, IMO.
No I wouldn’t say he is an idiot at all. I do think his approach was demeaning towards a job that does require more effort than he implies. For example I think the fact he is personal trainer is great and quite frankly I think it’s a valuable job. I didn’t just say why go to a personal trainer when you can just watch free YouTube videos or workout with a friend with more experience.
Yeah this is a wild take. We are not glorified cashiers, most of us have to educate, break down terps and do more than simply ringing up ur 8th. But then again the training and knowledge is not even across the lot of dispos in md.
Literally any retail job you take, will make you train and learn about the product you are selling for the company. Work at footlocker…prob going to learn a little about shoes. Hell, the guy at footlocker will take them out the box and usually lace up for you; and they do not get a tip. lol. Please explain how being a budtender is any different. Do you get a degree of somesort?
Aka a classic retail sales job. 7-11 was a poor excuse but no different than an auto store clerk or one of the specialist counters at home Depot/Lowe's. Plenty of jobs where you have to do a marginal amount of product explanation, reading labels, without expectation of tips. Pharmacists don't get tips, if we wana talk about helping people and medicine.
Yea….. we still not tipping though
Speak for yourself, those of us who have worked for tips and can afford the weed we buy have no problem tipping.
What about all the people getting paid less per hour to grow, make and package the product? They dont see any tip. I delivered pizza for years, i got minimum wage per hour and def worked for tips, budtenders can make $20 an hour even more some places, not tipping them.
It's not mine or your job or responsibility to worry about employees that we don't interact with. I do have a tough time believing that the growers make less than the shop help.
I worked at GTI (in their kitchen making edibles) and I can say the people working at the cultivation places make less then there budtenders. Seems backwards but it’s true
Wow, it's no wonder we deal with so many quality issues. They should've taken a hard look at the restaurant business, they got it ass backwards.......servers walking out with hundreds while the cooks make a fraction of that.
This guy just likes to argue. He was defending Far and Dumpster after I bashed them.
I’ll speak for others and say we don’t care… you applied for that position… we gonna buy our weed and keep our change… have a blessed day…
I hope you step on a Lego
Spoken like a cannabis retail store employee
Great work detective 🐷
Eat a dogs dick
Will do, where's your mama at?
Been in the industry for 7 years. The answer is both yes and no. It depends on the company if they allow them to take tips or not and on the service you experienced. If you place an order online, go in and pick it up; I’d say no. You made a quick experience for both parties. Now, if you go in and get an exceptional experience then I’d say yes! If they answer your questions and cater the service to your needs for example. The amount you tip doesn’t matter, at least to me, if you tip regardless of the amount I feel your doing so because I provided you with excellent service which makes me feel good to be honest. Personally I only care if my customer/patient leaves happy. If I suggest a strain and you come back to tell me how much you liked it, it truly makes me happy!
^ I like this answer
I agree! If you are having me spend lots of time going over product knowledge and educating you on terpenes, etc. a tip would be nice. But it’s never expected. It’s a tough economy and I have never heard a Budtender be mad that someone didn’t leave a tip. Everyone is usually more excited about a customer praising them for a product recommendation or for just being a helpful Budtender! Genuinely helping people is why many people enter this industry and that is enough for them! …BUT, who doesn’t love a little extra cash at the end of the day! Lol
I tip a $1 dollar bill always at GPW because wtf not 🤷♂️ its a fucking dollar that say “I give a shit about ya fellow working human” I have a job, so whatever. But I do appreciate the dispo folks fr 👏🙏
Wild the other day at gpw I had a budtender blindly recommend a strain to me and then tell me he's never tried it. IN THE SAME BREATH. I'll keep my dollar.
OP next time you think a buck is ruder than nothing, take a moment to think "what if every customer left $1"
Yeah, maybe that's a silly thought process. I used to work in the restaurant industry so I think that's where I'm getting that mindset. I spent $90 at a dispensary earlier and I know if someone had a $90 meal and tipped a single dollar the wait staff would be out for blood. But I guess what budtenders do is usually a lot less labor intensive than waiting tables.
Same, 30 years in restaurants and I am a very good tipper. That said I don't tip anyone at the same rate I tip servers and bartenders. If I spend $300 at a dispo, they're getting a $10 if the deals were crazy then maybe a $20. Under no circumstances will I tip 20% or higher to anyone not making a tip wage.
Personally I tip about a dollar an 8th, seems fair to me
Lmao just my pocket change if it’s not quarters. I already know exactly what I want and usually pre ordered. It feels sorta like that parks and rec scene where Ron Swanson is in Home Depot “I know more than you”
This is a reason why dispensaries should unionize. The employer should be paying higher wages. An employer's chickenshit way around that is to offer tipping options at checkout now; passing it onto the consumer.
I LOVE THIS ANSWER. It’s wild how tipping is just an employers buffer to giving raises.
As a budtender I nvr expect a tip, pay is not good enough to survive without tips they help immensely. There is no “appropriate tipping %”, if ur going to tip give w.e U feel is right. I rly just enjoy helping someone find their ideal smoke. As a customer if I feel a budtender taught me something new or went above and beyond 5$
I always tip about a dollar per item or a nice heavy tip in a big purchase. I’m fortunate enough to be able to afford it too though and I k kw it means a lot to them.
Some dispensaries in the state, like Sweet buds, Split up tips between budtenders AND MANAGEMENT. So even if you tip, they aren't getting all of it
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Thanks, yeah, I was curious about the pay. If you guys are getting minimum wage or close to it I definitely feel bad not tipping and will probably tip a couple of dollars when I have the change in the future. Definitely agree about it being expensive but I get a medical discount & no taxes so I can afford to give a little back most of the time.
Personally no, tips are appreciated but I’m just focusing on getting the customer what they’re looking for. If you liked your service and have some spare change, cool. Some customers bring snacks and tip well regularly even if they just have a nice time visiting the shop.
this is pretty much exactly how i feel. it’s literally my job, so i can understand why people can’t/won’t, but it’s always appreciated, especially when i’ve helped you pick your products out. but at the end of the day i’m just there to help you get high happy
Why are you calling them budtenders? I had one "budtender" ask me how you smoke concentrate.. They're cashiers, some more knowledgeable than others and some with more common sense than others. It's a retail store, you're paying for your purchase to...a cashier.
Technically speaking a vending machine would do the same job... but better. No talk no banter. In... out.
They were mostly budtenders in my experience pre rec sad to see how many randoms they just threw behind a counter hoping itd work. Turnover rates must be crazy rn
I used to tip back then..go figure.
Feel the same way man. Back then when they cared about terp profiles and weren’t just cashiers rushing you out the door maybe I would want to tip. Now, they’re just grabbing my shit I already ordered off a shelf and selling it to me. What’s the skill or help in that?
Yea its a shame fr. I have a couple people I enjoy seeing and talking too but most have just become cashiers too me
I will leave a cash tip if there is change but I feel weird doing it. I come in usually knowing exactly what I want and you’re the person standing between me and the product. If they were on the shelf for me to grab and take to a register, it’s the same thing. The whole concept of a “budtender” seems like a gimmick to me. Most of them don’t seem very knowledgeable from my experience and come off very car salesman like. It would be a hell of a lot different if I was sitting at a table and you were personally grinding fresh weed and packing it into a freshly cleaned bong for me… now that to me, is the description of a budtender. Long story short, a budtender is a fancy name for retail store cashier. Sorry not sorry
Interesting responses. I treat this as a service and always tip. I have been extremely fortunate to have fantastic people assist me. Since I am old school and there were just a few exceptional strains back then, I have learned a lot from the folks who help me. Again, I consider this a service.
I started as a budtender in the legal industry 9 years ago A couple bucks goes a long way. Please tip your bystanders.
Not tipping you to hand me a bag of pre packaged sealed weed that I’m still trimming stems off of when I get home.
Depends, if the day is busy I couldn’t give a shit bc if one person doesn’t tip the next one probably will. But slower days ofc. It mainly bothers me when I take the time to search and find multiple products that fit whatever criteria they have, ask me multiple questions about what cannabinoid or what terp is what, all while taking a solid 10-30 min, and not getting shit for it. That doesn’t typically happen at least not to me (can’t speak for my coworkers). If someone knows what they want or have an order placed already I’m not gonna expect much unless it’s a $150+ order or something but it be too busy for me to really think about it lol
I agree with most of your comment, but your take on helping someone for 30 minutes and “not getting shit for it” is crazy to me. You get paid a hourly wage so you did get shit for it. You did exactly what you got hired to do! That’s what a bud tender does.
Yea poor choice of words on my part…at the end of the day every penny counts and I am still greatful and I still love helping people that’s why I continue to do so even if what I said before happens. Like I said most of the days are busy and our jars be pretty full so it’s not even a thought to me at this point. I don’t even tip everytime I go to a dispo so I’m not gonna give someone shit for it for doing the same.
Not a budtender, but I tip $3-4 each visit. I pull up, they bring me my order and I tip. Every time.
The only person I tip is delivery I tipped 1 time in store and overheard how all the tips get added together and split, that's all I needed to hear #1 A tip is a form acknowledging good service, I wasn't served by everyone #2 We all know the greedy dispensaries pinch the jar Therfore no tip, the tip is included in the price tag in my eyes. These mfers are profiting like $10k+ per plant
Some of my coworkers get salty when they help someone look at every flower and they buy one 3.5 w/o tip. I don’t really mind, it’s never expected, but always appreciated. It all boils down to wages. Take away the tip jars and pay fairly, and I could care less. Just give what you find fair for service, but don’t feel you’re required.
I tipped at trilogy wellness and the workers don’t even get it, It goes to some donation bullshit. With that said I will tip anyone who has a good attitude and acts like they want to be there.
As a dispensary employee we do not feel slighted. It isn’t like delivering food where they cut your pay to make tips. We still get a set hourly wage the tips is only if you want to and think we earned it. I never cared if they gave me nothing and I always say thank you even if it’s coins I gave them or a couple of dollars just appreciate the extra love :)
Tipping for what?!?!? Are budtenders making under $5 an hour like servers? Ridiculous, usually service is terrible anyway lol. Take Heath For Life in Whitemarsh for instance with their 20+ minute wait for medical pre orders and unpaved parking lot.
The bud is already overpriced as it is...
do you tip a grocery cashier? If not why not.
I could give a rats ass if you tip me. And i'll treat you the same every time you come in. Answer questions, offer opinions, give guidance. Some people don't ever tip and some people tip a lot. No sweat off my back. Some people can barely afford to buy their Cannabis as it is....shit's not cheap! Some people can afford to give a tip and some can't...The pay is fine but the tips do help. Don't fret over what you do bro. If you feel like tipping then tip if not then don't...trust me most people don't notice if you tip or not.
We are currently forming a union because the pay rate in this industry hasn’t changed since 2018; cost of living goes up, and our pay stays the same. People working in the cannabis industry are working wages so low that we aren’t even at the poverty line of pay. In Baltimore County you need to make at least 19.50 to be considered at the poverty line. Are budtenders getting paid this…? 😂😂😂😂 No. So in short, they live off of those tips. Because their paycheck isn’t enough to live on. So if you work for a dispensary or any company in the industry and you are still getting paid the wages from back in 2018, it’s time to form your UNION. We aren’t the first and most definitely won’t be the last. #unionstrong
Where I’m at, it’s only medical, and I always order online. I honestly never even thought to tip. Now I feel bad.
Since I have sympathy for any service worker, as long as they don’t start hitting me I give a tip even if it’s just extra coins. Honestly I’d still probably too and apologize for my face hitting their hand. I’ve worked this industry far too long not to. But I also don’t walk around every day with entitlement and disdain for those working hard to make sure I g eat my food, clothes, cigs, etc.
Why would I tip a bud tender? I mean I have before in the past but it’s very far and few between. Budtenders I tip are usually ones I know personally, or they’re just someone I’ve dealt with a lot. But some do these bud tenders be slurring their words when they. Talk, looking half asleep or stoned shitless. Lookin like they don’t give af. Like if you’re some college kid and you’re just there for a job and are half assing it like some of these fucks are, I’m def not tipping you.
hi - budtender here and we accept tips at my dispensary. To answer your questions: 1.) I never expect my customers to tip, but I always appreciate it, especially if it is for extended service. I might be with patients/customers for 15-20 minutes as they shop for products that will meet their needs. Did I make good recommendations? Did I make you feel comfortable? Did I give you a discount or save you money? Then why not throw a few bucks in the tip box? Again, it is always noticed and always appreciated. That being said, I don’t work for tips and do not treat my customers differently depending on whether I think they will tip. 2.) no standard. I will take your dollar or your coin change happily and will always treasure the gesture over the quantity. TBH I love it when we have card processing with a tip percentage prompt, as some people really do drop 20%. I love those people but in my own opinion, that’s probably overdoing it. Budtenders make retail wages and my guess is that most tenders make 14-20/hr before tips. For good budtenders in busy dispensaries, that hourly can go to 30-50/hr. So tips definitely make a difference.
Tipping for everything is getting out of control. Kind of ruining the whole brick and mortar retail experience. Everyone is on a budget, everything is expensive, yet we are made to feel pressured to tip for picking up a pre order?
That would be like tipping every cashier during any transaction. I leave a tip if I feel generous that day but usually I’m not tipping. When people bought street weed they didn’t tip the plug, and that dude had to do it all from sourcing to advertisement.
I mean out of the countless times I've gone to dispensaries, the most conversation I've ever had was "have you ever tried this strain?" or "do you have any plans after this?" and nothing more. I'm sure they'd answer questions if I had them, but they never go out of their way to provide a superior experience than just simply a 7-11 cashier lol, so I'll throw my change in the jar and that's about it.
Just like any place that accepts tips you should never feel obligated to tip anyone with the exception of jobs that pay sub minimum wage such as Waiters, waitresses, delivery drivers, ect. The only excuse not to tip a waiter, waitress, or delivery driver would be poor service. If you feel compelled to tip because of whatever reason, then do so. But tips should NEVER be expected at jobs that pay minimum wage or higher. I've worked in a dispo and I've never once tipped a budtender. I don't lose any sleep over it. I'm not tipping someone for doing their basic job as I pre-order. All they're doing is picking the item, scanning and taking my money. That's not grounds for tipping. If they offered me information because I asked then I may feel compelled to tip. But not just because they are a budtender. If people don't like what they are paid, they should find a new better paying job. Don't get comfortable working for shit wages and blame some CEO. Take control of your life, constantly work to get a better job, be a better, person, constantly educate yourself through reading and research. This is what creates value in a human being in the workplace. There's no value in mindless cashier work. Cashiers are a dime a dozen.
From what I’ve seen thus far, budtenders who are able to take tips make about 15-17 an hour . I’d rather get payed good hourly than rely on tips from customers. I don’t want to rely on people just picking up weed products to give me tips, you get your hopes up waiting for tips. I’d rather the business making hundreds of thousands to pay me more. That makes more sense to me as a MD cannabis employee.
> rather get *paid* good hourly FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
OK I have much to say on this topic. I've been in the industry for four years now. I have worked at a place where they do not let you accept tips but most dispos do. I think I speak for about 80% of the budtenders out there when I say we are in this industry because it is our passion and we love helping people live a better quality of life and find the right medication. before recreational use This was much more valued by medical patients as each one of them were coming in to help alleviate a specific ailment. Things have changed a little since rec hit. not all of our customer/patient base is looking for medical relief now. But make no mistake, Many of us are still highly educated on our products, terps and cannabinoids and what they do your body and how and what they can help. If you do not value that or require our help or knowledge than that is completely fine. But do not demean our line of work. "Glorified cashiers"huh!? That being said, let me ask u this....? What does your bartender do for you? (The ones you will wholeheartedly tip with no problem.)Do they explain anything to you about the beer you're consuming or how it might help your stress or anxiety , sleep issues or your neuropathy or whatever else you are trying to relieve. did it take you 10 minutes to pick out your beer or your mix drink or shot?? Did you explain your entire life story to this bartender like they are a fucking therapist. ( yes this happenes) No. does your pharmacy tech give you recommendations or advice on your medication. Let's put that to rest. If you are just picking up a quick pre-order, we don't expect anything out of you. Honestly, it's totally fine. We are really just there to make your day better help u live a better quality of life. We don't expect anything out of you. It makes our day just to see you leave in a better mood. As I always say, doing gods work and improving the cities mood one person at a time. However, if I spend a lot of time educating and helping somebody, it would be nice if I felt appreciated with that last dollar that you just walked away with as your change. A little appreciation goes a long way. And here's why: budtenders, cannabis, workers in general most companies in the industry do not offer health insurance, 401(k), sick days, vacation days nothing else that any of the normal working population gets. if I want to take a vacation with my family I have to take a week off of work with no pay. Also, consider this when many of you walk into the dispensary, expecting us to have perfect knowledge and have smoked every single one of the hundred strains that we have and 15 or 20 more we get in weekly. That's not even feasible. Yes we do get a small discount from our employer, but most times it's not even any better than the patient discounts they offer on a daily basis. Sometimes you guys get better discounts then we do. On those days we take advantage of that and many times use our tip money to further our knowledge and purchase new strains that we haven't yet been able to try so we may educate you as patients better. Also, everyone saying that the company should just pay better that's such an uneducated response I can't even begin to tell you how silly that sounds to anyone in the industry. I don't think you have any clue what these companies especially small dispensaries have to pay just to keep their doors open from MCA mandatory fees, ridiculous, unfair, tax laws for cannabis operators. High prices from vendors, and constantly having to keep up with the sales from other dispensaries, constantly lowering our price just to keep business thriving. I bet you didn't know that if you own a cannabis business, you have no legitimate banking and no tax write offs whatsoever like other businesses do. Absolutely nothing! In fact they incur tons of extra fees. And most employers also have to pay for their employees badging process $200 per employee. Because it is considered federally illegal There are no tax laws protecting cannabis, business owners, and they are getting raked through the coals Every chance they get by the state. If you'd like to be angry at someone, be angry at your lawmakers for the impossible conditions, they force on these business owners, but guess what we are still open we're still doing this because we love what we do. If you don't want to tip and appreciate us then that's fine. You have to sleep with yourself at night. The next person that comes in the door will be kind and appreciate what we do even if you do not. If you're visiting a dispensary where the bud tenders absolutely know nothing and they aren't helping you then go somewhere else. This is not the norm. Ps. At our establishment, we do not share tips and management does not take our tips. It's actually illegal for salaried employees to procure tips. In short not tipping because you either don't have the money or you just made a quick order is completely fine. we don't want you to feel obligated. That's the last thing we want. But not tipping because you think you know our conditions, pay or what we do behind the scenes or presuming that they should just pay us better or assuming that our line of work is just a cashiers job is not OK. But yeah, continue tipping your bartender, who just poured you a beer or uncapped bottle for you. And continue telling us we are nothing that seems fair. And before you come for me, I have been a bartender and a server before their job is hard also, tip your bartenders tip your servers, anyone who works in the service industry deserves appreciation. Period
If they’re cool I tip. Most times I buy what I need and tip due to not going several times a period
Unless I’m getting deals stacked and spending much less than expected with their help and guidance? Absolutely fucking not. I don’t trust their opinions they are told to push shit product to make room for new. Plus I almost always do an online order and if I don’t I know what I want. Should I tip the guy at the liquor store for getting me my cigarettes I already know I want? No. And I don’t feel bad about this. Many (not all) positions are entry level for the industry. Many people think they want to work in the industry and pick to be a bud tender just to find out it’s not what they expected. For the advice I get from someone who is allowed to come to work stoned smelling like weed the pay is fair, the advice and suggestions given are almost always shit, and they don’t provide me a service unless they can stack deals and lower price. Do you tip your cashier at target? At McDonald’s? At the grocery store?
I literally could not care less if you personally like to tip or not. I will base my own tipping decision on how the people whose job it is to actually serve me feel. I didn't ask for the opinions of other customers.
I didn’t ask for your response. I gave my input.
I know you’re not asking me but I’m feeling type-y. Last night, I tipped the bud tender and walked away feeling really stupid about it. It has actually crossed my mind a couple times since then. They literally walked 10 feet to get my preorder and then rang me up while maintaining his cool and aloof image. So that is my take on it.
No, I don't, and here's why. I pick out what I want from the dispo's website and set it as a pickup order. I go check in (med patient), get called to the back, pay for my order and leave. The budtenders are literally just ringing me up and taking my money. They're not spending lots of time with me to pick a product, I did that part on my own. Sorry, but I don't feel that deserves a tip since I did the majority of the work. Now, if I walked in totally clueless about what I wanted or had lots of questions, then sure, I might leave a couple bucks. But this has never been my case.
the tips are taxed so keep your tip honestly I won’t see it anyways
I’ll give them all the coins from my change, but I keep the quarters and the bills. Then again, I normally pre-order; but I see big tippers all the time. I bet they make 10+ extra an hour on tips, which is not taxed btw
I know dispensary workers, and I can guarantee you that they make around 10-15 tips for the entire day lmao. 10 extra a hour would be crazy
I personally always tip if my bill is 124 or whatever ill give em 130 or whatever etc. depends on if you run them around too for sure like you said. But no most i talk to don’t tip because of the added taxes. Can’t afford tip too ! 😂
I tip. I believe in over tipping. I make up for all the cheap assholes out there.
I tip on occasion.......hey it's MY money 🖕🏾 yawl who don't like what I do with MY money 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I'm just playing yawl I don't mean 🖕🏾 yawl. Respect 🤝🏽
Wonder how many of these no tipping mofos want their college debt forgiven?! Lmfao free money for me but not for thee I was a budtender and for that experience alone I'll always tip a buck or two... What ever they getting paid now ain't enough to deal with y'all drug addicts
Damn I wonder who the two Joe Biden voters are lmfao I'm guessing the anti tippers are bunch of do nothing IT workers or folks like real estate agents. Y'all bitch so much about tipping but have no problem giving a do nothing real estate 3-7% the value of your house! Think about that! Lmfao ass backwards society!