????從本周開始，手機(jī)輕輕劃幾劃，星巴克公司（Starbucks Corp）的顧客就可以給咖啡師付小費(fèi)了。這家總部位于西雅圖的咖啡連鎖品牌上周三更新了它廣受歡迎的手機(jī)app。它的1,000萬app用戶如今可以通過電子方式，給他們的咖啡師付小費(fèi)。這個(gè)想法本身不錯(cuò)，也可以鼓勵(lì)咖啡師更好地服務(wù)客戶，但這樣的app并不一定就能幫助解決星巴克員工小費(fèi)過少的問題。

????根據(jù)美國(guó)就業(yè)市場(chǎng)網(wǎng)站玻璃門（Glassdoor）的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，星巴克的咖啡師每小時(shí)時(shí)薪是8.8美元，而每年的小費(fèi)收入只有1,300美元。隨著手機(jī)支付日益普及以及電子小費(fèi)的出現(xiàn)，星巴克的員工希望能夠收到更多的小費(fèi)。電子支付簡(jiǎn)單方便，而且相對(duì)于直接付現(xiàn)鈔，會(huì)不可避免的給人一種沒花那么多錢的感覺。不過單單這些因素并不會(huì)自動(dòng)讓顧客的習(xí)慣發(fā)生轉(zhuǎn)變，更不用說美國(guó)只有64%的星巴克店鋪支持電子小費(fèi)。

????根據(jù)美國(guó)研究機(jī)構(gòu)Trefis的研究，如果每家星巴克平均每天招待618名客人，而且假設(shè)服務(wù)水平還不錯(cuò)，那么員工每年的小費(fèi)收入確實(shí)過低。而根據(jù)我自己的估計(jì)，若每名顧客都至少給50美分小費(fèi)（這是通過手機(jī)能夠支付的最低額度的小費(fèi)。根據(jù)生活經(jīng)驗(yàn)，這也是最合適的小費(fèi)金額），那么咖啡師每年1,300美元的小費(fèi)收入意味著每年有2,600名顧客付了小費(fèi)。但就算你假設(shè)咖啡師（兼職工作）每周只工作三天，他們每年經(jīng)手的顧客仍然有10萬名之多。這表明，只有3%的顧客付了小費(fèi)——無論按照什么標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，這都屬于很低的水平。值得注意的是，有些客人的小費(fèi)也許高于50美分， 也就是說實(shí)際付小費(fèi)的客人比例應(yīng)該比這個(gè)數(shù)字更低。

????造成這種現(xiàn)象的一個(gè)可能原因會(huì)讓很多人覺得意外：星巴克的員工效率太高了。

????大部分時(shí)間步入任何一家星巴克，大家都會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)排隊(duì)等待咖啡和食物的顧客。面對(duì)此情此景，咖啡師自然會(huì)以最快的速度解決顧客需求。這是一種非常高效的流水線系統(tǒng)，但諷刺的地方在于，這個(gè)系統(tǒng)越高效，顧客就越難注意到手中那杯咖啡背后付出了多少辛勤的勞動(dòng)。服務(wù)的速度，加上咖啡師和顧客之間的物理隔離（咖啡師在柜臺(tái)后），減損了顧客對(duì)服務(wù)價(jià)值的感受。而在類似餐館的場(chǎng)所，顧客可以切身地感受到他們的確是得到了服務(wù)員的“服務(wù)”。

????去年，紐約州上訴法院的一項(xiàng)裁決至少導(dǎo)致紐約州的咖啡師收入水平進(jìn)一步惡化。判決裁定星巴克咖啡師須與輪班主管共同分享小費(fèi)收入（說句公道話，輪班主管也要承擔(dān)一部分咖啡師的工作），這樣一來，原本就捉襟見肘的小費(fèi)進(jìn)一步被稀釋了。而且，鑒于允許員工收取小費(fèi)的公司往往薪水偏低，這種情況可能最終其實(shí)是宰了星巴克員工一筆。

????為公平起見，星巴克應(yīng)對(duì)員工實(shí)際收取的小費(fèi)進(jìn)行分析，把它與薪水掛鉤。這樣就有助于確保這家咖啡連鎖保持員工對(duì)薪水處于滿意狀態(tài)，維持將來高質(zhì)量的服務(wù)。另外還有一個(gè)好處，它也可以讓顧客意識(shí)到，有時(shí)候最好的服務(wù)恰恰是那不動(dòng)聲色的服務(wù)。

????本文作者桑杰?桑吉是一名政治與商業(yè)評(píng)論家，曾供職于投資銀行Lazard Freres、Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein以及對(duì)沖基金Ramius。桑吉現(xiàn)任中端市場(chǎng)廣播電臺(tái)運(yùn)營(yíng)商戴維森媒體集團(tuán)董事。他還擁有哥倫比亞商學(xué)院MBA學(xué)位，此外還著有兩部驚悚小說。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))

????譯者：Liam

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????Starting this week, customers at Starbucks Corp (SBUX) can tip baristas with a few swipes on their mobile phone. The Seattle-based coffee chain on Wednesday updated its popular mobile app, giving its 10 million active users the convenience of tipping their baristas digitally. While the move is well-intentioned, and will likely make some baristas extra eager to please customers, the tipping app may not necessarily help Starbucks workers solve the problem of low tips.

????Starbucks baristas, who earn an average hourly wage of $8.80, make only about $1,300 in tips per year, according to Glassdoor. The hope is that the growing popularity of mobile payments and the introduction of digital tipping will increase tipping. Electronic payments are easy to execute; inevitably, it feels less burdensome than parting with hard cash. But these factors alone won't automatically change customer behavior, not to mention that this option is only available in 64% of Starbucks stores in the U.S.

????Given that Starbucks stores average 618 customers per day, according to a study by Trefis, and customer service across the chain is generally good, the yearly tip number seems inadequate. By my own estimates, a minimum gratuity of 50 cents (which is the least you can tip through the mobile app and also a reasonable amount by experience) applied to the yearly average of $1,300 per barista, implies that 2,600 customers tipped. But even if you assume that baristas (being part-timers) only work 3 days a week, they would still encounter more than 100,000 customers a year. That means only 3% of customers bothered to tip at all, and that is a low number by any standard. It's worth noting that some customers probably tip higher than 50 cents, which would suggest that a fewer share of customers tip.

????A likely, if surprising, reason for this is that the staff at Starbucks may be too efficient.

????Walk into any Starbucks at most times and you will encounter a long line of customers waiting for coffee or food, and a team of baristas rushing to serve them as quickly as possible. It's a very efficient assembly-line system, but the irony is the more efficient the system, the less customers are aware of the hard work that goes into your cup of joe. The speed with which customers are served and physical detachment from the barista (behind the counter) detracts from perceived value – unlike, for instance, at a restaurant, where customers feel that they are really being 'served' by a waiter.

????Making the earnings of a Starbucks barista worse, at least in New York, is the state Court of Appeals ruling last year that requires them to share their tips with shift supervisors (who, to be fair, do some of the same work as the baristas), further diluting the meager pool of tips available for sharing in the first place. And since companies that enable employees to receive tips also typically pay lower salaries, this situation can actually wind up shortchanging Starbucks employees.

????To be fair to its workers, Starbucks should analyze the actual tips received and correlate that with the salaries it pays. That will help to ensure that the chain keeps its employees happy and maintains its high quality of service in the future. It also wouldn't hurt for customers to recognize that the best service is sometimes one you don't even notice.

????Sanjay Sanghoee is a political and business commentator. He has worked at investment banks Lazard Freres and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, as well as at hedge fund Ramius. Sanghoee sits on the Board of Davidson Media Group, a mid-market radio station operator. He has an MBA from Columbia Business School and is also the author of two thriller novels.