Tipping tradition arrives at AT&T’s bodily shops in opposition to the corporate’s needs

Here’s an odd revelation: some customers tip AT&T representatives at physical stores for a job well done like you would tip a waiter at a restaurant. What’s even more interesting is that AT&T forbids its employees from receiving any personal gifts or payments from people.

Tipping a representative at an AT&T store — and I’d wager T-Mobile and Verizon stores too — goes against company policy. But due to the practice of tipping employees anyway it seems that some of them may start expecting such behavior going forward. One AT&T user claims to have encountered an employee at a retail store who openly suggested being given a tip.

Other AT&T representatives then shared their own experiences about how some customers think that they should tip them for resolving their problems. One employee said that despite their protestations the customers would insist on leaving them a tip. The employee would then make the store manager aware of the tip before using it to buy the entire team a pizza.

Another representative claimed that when they worked for AT&T they were a favorite amongst customers and would often be given a tip as well. It was also humorously revealed that the customers who required work that earned employees commissions often tipped whereas the rest did not. However everyone seemed to agree that the representative in the original post should not have suggested a tip directly.

AT&T is many Americans’ choice of carrier. | Image credit — PhoneArena

While the representative was from an authorized retail store the other anecdotes make it clear that customers are often tipping employees at AT&T’s corporate locations too. But though this is a pleasant gesture, going against company policy means that it only takes one grumpy manager to ruin an employee’s day.I’ll echo the same sentiments shared by the AT&T representatives: never feel compelled to tip staff at these stores. It’s going to be especially difficult for an employee if their manager finds out and doesn’t believe that the customer wasn’t coerced into it. However I would be lying if I said that I didn’t get a smile on my face after finding out that customer support representatives that go above and beyond are often rewarded for it.

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