Suppose I buy a coffee for $1.90, is it nice or insulting to put the dime in the tip jar?

I ask because I am inclined to do so (especially given that people got rich in Superman 3 and Office Space from collecting many fractions of cents), but do not want to insult the nice barrista.

Thanks for your replies!

I can tell you from personal experience of working in an ice cream store that we appreciated ANY tips. That is how most of the money is made since the wages are typically low and highly taxed at those types of places.

Since I'm into math, consider this:
You work at a coffee shop and make 6.50/hr. You work 30 hours a week (typical). Let's say people were as nice as you are and everyone put 10 cents in the jar. If only 30 customers came in per hour you worked, you would still make 90 dollars in tips each week, while making only 195 in wages, which is before taxes. So you are making roughly 50% of your wage in tips. I'd say that's pretty good.

It's more insulting not to give any at all.

I usually take money out the jar and purchase my coffee.

Its nice, Some of the people that work at coffee places live off their tips as their pay is not much at all sadly

its not insulting. it just says "I'm cheap"

Well, you should have no shame! Lots of other people do it! Every Penny makes a penny tree!

The dime is fine

you should put $2 in the jar then.

If you pay 1.90 for a cup of coffee then you can afford to put a little more in. I say its rude.

It's better than nothing I guess..I never really thought about it but I don't think it would be insulting..you don't have to give them anything so..

My saying is money is money, if someone spits on it, they don't deserve it...=P

Might as well....it all adds up

its nit nice, you should just keep it, or get an extra dollar out and put it in there too, that would be way nicer.

as a former barista myself, we really don't notice, and we all have to split up the tips anyway

If someone gets insulted by you giving them any amount of money then they don't deserve it. When I worked at a fast food restaurant we would always take our tips, which was usually change, and buy some soup form a local Asian restaurant after our shift. So go ahead and put the ten cents in the jar!

Nope. you can give me the dime if they don't want it i will take it . just last year i went to the bank with my sons piggy bank and it had 800.00 dollars and it was just dimes and penny's.

in a restaurant where they have to come to your table and wait on you several times 15 to 20 percent is a standard tip. On an order that came to $1.90 that would be 30 to 40 cents. In a coffee shop they just put coffee in your cup. I would expect them to get smaller tips than waiters. 10 cents doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

I find being polite is more important than anything else, smiling while depositing the dime is more important than throwing it in there and seeming like it's a guilt trip for them to have the cup there in the first place. Servers don't remember who left money.. but they remember the person who made them feel good about themselves.

You go right ahead,Phineas , i,m sure the person pouring your coffee would be happy if all customers did the same. That,s why they put the tip jar there in the first place. By the way,I learned a new word, I didn,t know that the spotty-faced,supercilious twerp who slopped my overpriced Starbucks into a paper cup was called a Barista. Very posh! Rather like "une sommelier de cafe" or "caffeinologist". OOh lala!