Tipping at Caribou?

Alright, someone help me out here.  Every day I go to Caribou coffee (I live Minneapolis and do believe it tastes better than Starbucks) and purchase a large (none of that Venti crap, another pet peeve of mine.  Just call it a large for Christ sakes, don't correct me at Starbucks when I say large.  "you want a Venti latte?", no I said LARGE you tool!)  Vanilla latte.  The cost of said latte is $4.10 which is a lot for a cup of coffee and steamed milk with a shot of flavor.  I figure that I'm paying for the service as well.  Right?...Wrong.  They, along with every other coffee shop in America feel the need to add a tip jar at the register while I'm ordering.

There are two things wrong with this picture:

1. I'm paying $4.10 for coffee and milk.  I'm going to assume that service is part of that price, why are you begging for more?
2. Tipping is a very American thing, one that I really appreciate and one that makes this country very unique.  I tip the barber, waitress, cabbie and on holidays the mailman and garbage collector.  What should stand out to the average reader is that unlike coffee shops, tipping in this traditional sense happens only AFTER you receive the service.  For example, you order a beer for $3.00 and pay with a $5 bill.  The bartender gives 2 ones change and you leave him a $1 tip AFTER he gives you the beer.

Why is it that people selling coffee should receive a tip at the point of sale regardless of the quality of their coffee at any particular moment?  Why not leave a tip jar near the exit?  Let me decide if this 4buck cup of Jo is worth the extra $.90.  Could it be that these are typical liberal establishments that see no problem begging for money prior to delivering a product or service?  Someone help me out here? 

BTW, I never tip at a coffee shop...

Comments

[abbiapple]

So, you tip a bar tender a dollar for popping a cap off a bottle for you? You tip a cabbie who is already making a killing off your fare?
Have you ever tried working as a barista? Your large vanilla latte may seem simple to you, but there is a lot of work going into it when you've got a line out the door and jackasses who insist on ordering customized drinks with 17 adjectives. Oh, by the way, your barista is a service person just like your waitstaff at a restaraunt. They make next to minimum wage, and live off of the $40 a week they get for tips. So please consider that you may be helping to feed someone's child. Focus your disdain at the company, not the poor kid behind the counter.

[Ron]

With that logic, let me ask? Do you tip the people at McDonalds or Taco Bell? They're in the service industry, they take complex orders and make more than a simple cup of coffee and steamed milk. They probably make minimum wage as well. Or does your logic only apply to the cool world of coffee shops?

[Dave]

You forgot to mention when you go to a bar, you usually stay for the atmosphere. Hence the tip at the bar. I get my coffee to go and I hate that tip jar.

Tipping before you get the product is ignorant as well.