Hey Folks!
I’ve been living abroad for over half my life in a country where tipping is not the norm. At most you would round up. 19€ bill? Here’s a 20, keep this change.
Going to the US soon to visit family and the whole idea of tipping makes me nervous. It seems there’s a lot of discussion about getting rid of tipping, but I don’t know how much has changed in this regard.
The system seems ridiculously unfair, and that extra expense in a country where everything is already so expensive really makes a difference.
So will AITA if I don’t tip? Is it really my personal responsibility to make sure my server is paid enough?
It seems there’s a lot of discussion about getting rid of tipping, but I don’t know how much has changed in this regard.
Nothing has changed, and it never will, as it concerns poor and “therefore” “deserving” people. Americans’ talk is cheap.
The system seems ridiculously unfair, and that extra expense in a country where everything is already so expensive really makes a difference.
Agreed. So when you go to a restaurant and you have a maximum amount you can spend, divide the amount of money you have by (100% + local sales tax), then divide by (100% + the menu price), and subtract any surcharges added by the restaurant (assume $5.00 if you cannot look it up), often masquerading as a tip. I know it’s a lot of math, but you have a computer in your pocket. You’ll manage.
In my view, the US is a fractal scam. At every level, everything is an attempt to extract money from ill-informed “suckers”, from the running of the government, to the prices of supermarket groceries, to the tipping culture at restaurants, to even finding a place to put your car [1]. Every single thing is someone’s grift. In order to function in America, you need to be willing to be suckered to some extent. There’s no way around it. Unfairness is baked into every transaction, and increasingly more social interactions.
Everything in America is ridiculously unfair. We wear this on our sleeves, and for many Americans this fact defines their personality. Unfortunately, you will have to deal with it in the short term at least.
Now if you would like to be the one to lead the charge against the tipping culture and the foisting of responsibility for servers’ compensation onto the customer, then be my guest. Refuse to tip and make a big scene about it. Make plans for how to take the inertia of your big struggle and turn it into a mass movement. I would thrilled to join you. However, I somehow doubt that you’re ready to go that far; none of the customers who stiffed me ever went on to start anti-tipping movements.
So will AITA if I don’t tip?
Yes. You are expected by all members of the public here to tip. That is our culture, something we’re proud of for some reason, and our expectation. For some servers, tips are the primary source of income at work.
Is it really my personal responsibility to make sure my server is paid enough?
No, it is the responsibility of the employer. However, when no employer takes their responsibility and you sit yourself down at a restaurant, the logical conclusion is that either you pay that part of the server’s wages, or they get stiffed. You know that this is the conclusion. (Or if not, now you do.)
If you want to participate in our unique restaurant scam, you gotta accept that you’re going to get suckered into paying the server’s wages. Otherwise, don’t go to restaurants. When you go to a restaurant, you waste the employees’ finite time on this planet doing tedious, physically and mentally demanding bullshit that no sane person would choose to engage with, if not faced with the threats of homelessness and starvation. [2] At least make it worth their while.
Sorry if I come off as having a chip on my shoulder, but that’s only because I totally do. So many customers used to concern-troll me as a pizza delivery person and give me shit like “sorry, couldn’t afford to tip, they should really pay you more.” Yeah, they should, but you absolutely could have tipped; all you had to do was order one less topping. I’d love to see some actual solidarity with food service employees, but that would require challenging deep-rooted assumptions about our culture and we’re too shit-for-brains to do that. Americans are so compassionate and empathetic until the moment they actually have to lift a finger.
So when someone brings up “unfairness” or “it’s X’s responsibility to pay the workers” in response to tipping, I just kinda die a little inside from all the times those sentiments have been used against me and my colleagues.
[1] And don’t even get me started on the process of buying a car, or how the public was scammed into accepting a car-centric infrastructure.
[2] This is really a special case of the logic behind the antiwork movement: nobody actually wants to go to work. We only go to work under the threats of starvation and homelessness imposed by capitalism.
Solid rant. No, really, I enjoyed it til the end. Spot on!
the US is a fractal scam. At every level, everything is an attempt to extract money from ill-informed “suckers”, from the running of the government, to the prices of supermarket groceries, to the tipping culture at restaurants, to even finding a place to put your car [1]. Every single thing is someone’s grift. In order to function in America, you need to be willing to be suckered to some extent. There’s no way around it. Unfairness is baked into every transaction, and increasingly more social interactions.
What a quote. I will add that “we” also like to believe we have the most fair system. And in many ways, the “gotchas” are much more hidden and systemic than other countries. For example, you might be scammed haggling with someone in Southeast Asia, but we get scammed everyday by credit card companies making bank on every single transactions.
Such a fantastic statement. I agree wholeheartedly on all fronts and really admired reading the thought process summarized so clearly. You obviously had lots of time to drive and rumenate after getting stiffed but it’s appreciated here.
I’d say yes. The situation is complex.
It’s clear that tipping culture is out of control. There are many places asking for 20% tips even when ordering from a counter where the interaction takes about 10 seconds.
Unfortunately there has also been a systematic underpayment of wages which has occurred largely on the back of tips. In some states it is even legal to pay less than minimum wage and supplement that with tips. For that reason, it’s not really an option to simply not tip without being the bad guy.
Certainly the system needs to change, but as of this moment in the US, just assume everything actually costs 20% more and tip.
it’s not really an option to simply not tip without being the bad guy
My man you have got to shake this from your psyche, that’s exactly how the employers that aren’t paying their employees want you to feel. You’re offloading their greed and systematic exploitation of working class people onto yourself under the misplaced guise of personal guilt. There may not a way to immediately fix the problem, but I can guarantee it will never get fixed if we dont change anything.
What are you suggesting is changed though?
He’s suggesting “fuck the worker, it isn’t my problem if they can’t pay rent, they should learn to code.” And somehow that will make the business owner pay them a fair wage and not replace them with a machine or a 16yo kid.
In some cases we’re talking about people making $2.13 an hour in a country where you’re easily paying $1,000 a month or even more for a studio apartment. I’d say if you don’t tip you’re the bad guy.
This type of change isn’t going to come from people just deciding that waitstaff should starve and refusing to tip. If anything it will come from unionization of waitstaff or from legislation.
I mean, in a lot of ways it already is. More and more people aren’t taking theses jobs that pay shit, and yours constantly seeing places fold or be understaffed. It’s also a little disingenuous to use the extreme as an example. The vast majority of tourist destinations (relevant because OP) are not paying below minimum+ tips. It would be helpful if OP Said where they were going but assuming it’s a popular destination, they don’t need to be heavy handed. It’s also misleading to paint it as black and white “assume tipping 20%” everywhere is bad advice. There is no expectation to tip for over the counter service, take out, etc. That is a fairly recent evolution and one that is already backfiring. If OP isn’t sitting down in a restaurant where they have a server waiting on them for 30-60 minutes, they are probably absolutely fine not tipping. 15% is also still acceptable, 20% is excessive unless the service was absolutely excellent.
No, the bad guy is still the employer, and the culture that exploits both employees and customers and pits them against one another.
Meals in the US are not cheaper than meals in other countries. The menu price is roughly the same. Meals plus tips in the US cost significantly more than meals in other countries.
However staff generally benefit from this arrangement. Places that have trialed better wages and no tips have found that staff make less than what they did if they got tips. So only the customer actually wants a fair deal out of it, and everyone else isn’t willing to change.
It’s actually not necessarily the employer’s fault- if they don’t own the restaurant (and most don’t) the commercial landlord can force them to hire at tipped wage because they likely have a revenue sharing agreement.
just assume everything actually costs 20% more and tip.
And by “everything”, you mean “not actually everything, but you’d need a 400 page manual to describe what gets tipped and what doesn’t”.
In most states it’s legal to pay less than minimum wage (literally around $2 per hour) for workers who get tips.
One issue is that workers generally make more money off tips than if they just got minimum wage. So it’s not just employers that are unwilling to change.
Yes, you do have to tip. Maybe not if it’s Chipotle or a place like that. But if someone is waiting your table you have to tip. Yes tipping culture is stupid. No, nothing has changed in the US. They do not have a living without tips, so refusing to tip cuts into their living expenses after they have courteously served you your food. It’s rude
trouble is that by tipping you are enforcing tipping culture, giving the employers an excuse to underpay. You can’t win…
Yeah, but you can change that by going to the rare places that have a no tipping policy. Don’t just refuse to tip servers knowing that that’s the only way they get paid.
Tipping culture comes from minimum wage laws. Laws need to change before culture could change.
Only time tipping should be observed is when you’re at a restaurant that seats you at a table and takes your order. And when you order delivery. Anything else is just people gaming the system to get whatever they can from people.
Edit: I missed bartenders (sorry!). Tip your bartender! They will take care of you if you tip well.
Delivery as well. If you don’t top the pizza delivery person I would assume they will very much not like you.
This is the way
American here. Here’s the three common contexts for tipping. Everything else is something someone’s trying to make a thing rather than actually a thing:
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Restaurants: If someone is bringing food from the Kitchen to your table
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Delivery: If someone’s delivering food. Or they’re personally delivering groceries.
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Transportation: If someone’s driving you personally. Like a Taxi.
Some say you should tip bathroom attendants. I’ve never even seen a bathroom attendant, but that seems like such a bizarre job to tip for, even by American standards.
Bartenders are a case that you’ve missed. A standard cash rate is $1 per drink. Bartenders have a lot of leeway when it comes to how quickly you’re served, and how strong your drinks will be, so tipping well may be in your interest.
And barbers/hairstylists. Unlikely to come up during a short visit though.
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I have come across a couple restaurants that specify that they are “no tip.” I try to keep an eye out for those and try to give business to them. Or I avoid places with that expectation. But I usually tip around 20% in those common circumstances mentioned in this thread. I hate the system though. It’s parasitic and manipulative.
i hope i can avoid ever having to come to the US.
I feel the same way except I’m already here.
Yes. You really have to tip. 20%. Sorry. And tax isn’t included in the prices of things. That’s the way things work here and you can choose to spend the whole time being annoyed by it or not. But please don’t make a personal protest that only hurts some of the lowest paid and hardest working people.
To be as clear as possible - the minimum wage for tipped staff is $2.13/hr. That’s why you have to tip.
This is deceiving though. In The US tipping is literally everywhere now.
If you are waited on, I. E. Sat at a table or served at a bar, tipping is expected. If you go to a counter and place an order and someone hands you something while you’re standing there, those workers aren’t making 2.13/hr.
I don’t tip if there’s no service being provided. Bringing my food to my table after I ordered it from a kiosk and filled up my own drink at the soda fountain doesn’t qualify.
And this isn’t universal either. For example, Culver’s will bring your food out to you but you don’t tip. So I would add that if you’re waited on and pay for the meal AFTER eating and being waited on, then you tip.
Not true, restuarants have to make up the difference in their wage if they dont make enough in tips.
Yeah, legally.
In practice? Lol
Yes, up to minimum wage, which is still often not enought to live on.
It’s definitely not enough to live on, but that’s beside the point, isn’t it? I don’t tip any other people because they earn minimum wage-- do you? The point is that the person isn’t actually making only $2/hr-- they’re making at least minimum wage, with the opportunity to make more via tips.
Tipping needs to end, and the laws changed to reflect it.
Being a waiter is a skilled job that deserves more than minimum wage.
I don’t disagree, but that is irrelevant to the discussion, is it not?
That’s just my response to the argument that you can choose to not tip because waiters will make minimum wage regardless. Minimum wage is not an appropriate salary for that line of work.
However, yes, I agree that laws should be changed to remove tipping or at least to require restaurant owners to pay an appropriate wage for the work with optional tips on top for exceptional service.
Do you tip the Walmart Greeter? Why or why not?
This does depend on which state you’re in (some states don’t have a “tipped wage”), but the vast majority of service workers are not raking in the big bucks, so be generous if you can!
A higher federal minimum wage would solve this problem. Employers are required by law to make up the difference between the base wage and the federal minimum wage ($7.25/hr) if nobody tips.
But obviously $7.25 isn’t a living wage either, so any tipped employee that actually makes the federal minimum is living almost entirely on tips.
That’s assuming that employers follow the law, which for restaurants is rarely the case.
Fair point. And this is why unions are beneficial to the working class, and also why shitty companies like Starbucks try to bust unions.
If the service is bad I would go for 10%
Only if it’s really bad though, and on purpose.
If it was something the employee couldn’t control or just a generally bad experience that was nobody’s fault, still 20%. Place is swamped and the waiter never gave me a drink refill because they’re the only one on the floor, still 20%.
Just FYI, we have recently had a huge influx of electronic systems asking for tips in places that tips didn’t exist before. I only tip when I sit down to eat at a restaurant and they serve me. If you walk up to the counter to order, you don’t tip. If you are ordering takeout (even at a sit-down restaurant), you don’t tip.
It’s a really fucking stupid system that most of us hate, but if you don’t participate, you are the asshole according to our culture (even though we know it’s really the businesses not paying their employees enough that are really the assholes)
Edit: oh, and then “suggested tip” went up around the same time that these electronic systems popped up. My whole life, a 10% tip was bad, a 15% tip was average. A 20% tip was good. Now it seems the “suggested tip” says you should tip 20% minimum. I think this is bullshit, and I ignore it. The people who are suggesting the tip are the ones that benefit from it going higher. They are always going to try to increase it as long as they can get away with it. I stick to the 10/15/20% rule.
There’s been a small movement towards going tipless that hasn’t yet caught on because tip culture is primarily backed by greed. Restaurant owners want customers to pay their employees directly instead of providing them with a decent wage.
I know I’m likely misrepresenting, but that’s the gist as I see it, and until greed goes away everything @dandroid@dandroid.app said holds true.
“I could do profit sharing and have all my employees benefit from busting their ass, or I could pay them next to nothing and force the customers to supplement their income out of respect or pity.”
It shouldn’t shock anyone that the practice of tipping has a racist history.
Please continue to tip service workers.
Restaurant owners want customers to pay their employees directly instead of providing them with a decent wage.
A lot of employees want this as well. Those who do well in well traveled restaurants or bars then to make WELL over the minimum wage. This is why the employees get mad at the patron/client rather than their employer when they don’t get a tip. It works… it’s what many of them want.
The sad part is that prices for things have already been going up considerably… So what was a $5 tip @ 10% years ago is now closer to $20 tip @ 20% today for the same meals/amount of food. It isn’t a 2x increase at all… Since it’s % based on subtotal and those costs have been going up… it’s significantly more if you follow their “minimum” percent tips.
I follow something similar to Dandroid and refuse to change. I only tip for sit-down restaurants where an actual servers brings me my food. If I get shit service, you’re not getting a tip. If it’s basic service, you’ll get 10%… 15% for “good”… 20% for outstanding. Although looking at the laws in my state, I’m debating on cutting it back considerably. Minimum wage in my state is not the $3.and change per hour for those positions. It’s just about $11 and the normal minimum wage is $13 and change. So if I’m the only table in their whole section, and I tip 2$ per hour, they’re making minimum wage. And people here still complain about the tipping… The only explanation is greed… and I can’t stand that at all.
As I recall, restaurants can get by with giving workers well below minimum wage because of tips.EDIT: I just re-read your post
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped
This is a great resource when these discussions come up. Many states do NOT adhere to the $2.13 tipped wage.
In my state (AZ) it’s $10.85. People here still complain about tips. The minimum wage here is $13.85. The $3 difference is nearly guaranteed as long as long as you have 1 table an hour. Forget that the normal where I live is probably closer to 3-4 every hour. [I recognize that other areas may not have such traffic. But I can only comment on what I observe]
If the average table is leaving ~$5 in tips… you could easily make $30 an hour in wages.
This is why I say what I say… It’s absurd when I hear local news or something complaining. $30/hr is stupid “livable”.
I had one friend whose personal rule of thumb was:
- did they come to my table to take my order?
- did they bring my food to my table?
- did they bus my table for me after?
If they did 2/3, then they got a tip.
If you’re eating fast food, you don’t have to tip, though they’ve been asking much more than usual lately.
If you’re at a sit-down restaurant or having something delivered, tipping is standard.
15-20% is normal.
And it’s more offensive to tip low than to not tip at all. A low tip means they did a bad job, no tip might just be a protest against tipping.
Yeah, tipping culture sucks. I prefer eating at places that deliberately tell you not to tip, but they are few and far between.
So will AITA if I don’t tip? Is it really my personal responsibility to make sure my server is paid enough?
ABSOLUTELY NOT Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. It is and should be employers job to pay their workers a living wage in a rich country not the buyers.
Culturally, there will be people who will look down on or say nasty things to you if they find out you do not/did not tip. This happened to me. Some of the nasty comments (these are not said by the employees) people say are "The employees will remember this and may spit in your food or tamper with it in some way next time you order, which has got to be illegal for health code reasons for employees to do and is guilt tripping on the person who says this comment. Not only that, but those who say such awful things are continuing the nasty treatment of employees by the ruling class by saying such nasty remarks.
With all that said, until things change, for sake of the underpaid employees, please tip just know you don’t have too. If they treat you kindly and respectfully, tip, if not, smallest tip possible.
If it should be the employers job to pay a living wage, why would you take it out on the employee? Most establishments in the US pay waitstaff way under minimum wage ($2-$3 per hour). If you don’t tip your waiter at an establishment like this, you are basically denying that waiter their wage, and it has no effect on the employers bottom line. You should be prepared to tip, otherwise don’t go at all.
And for the record, I agree with your first statement: the owners should be paying their employees a living wage. Tipping as a practice should be largely eliminated. However not tipping doesn’t help that situation, it just hurts the employee. If you want it to change you should boycott restaurants that do this and be an advocate for fair wage laws.
Please reread my post. Where did i say don’t tip?
It is strongly implied until the last paragraph, where you advocate tipping as little as possible if you don’t like their attitude. Horrible, cruel take.
So i should tip someone who is very rude or treats my spouce/partner badly? I didn’t say “no tip”, did i?
Yes. Unless there’s clearly bigotry of some kind behind the behavior, yes. You never know what someone might be dealing with. They could have been denied that day off to attend a funeral for a family member (which absolutely happens in that industry), or they could just be completely burned out and unable to perform the emotional labor and / or masking to appear kind and respectful any more. I’ve been there personally. I’ve also had situations where guests thought I was being rude, when there was just a culture difference and I was trying to communicate. I’ve almost lost my job because I wouldn’t give a customer free product. My “no” was interpreted as rude because I was completely burned out from working 12+ hours straight that day, with no overtime pay, and just couldn’t fake a smile anymore. As a result, unless someone is being openly homophobic, etc, I never tip less than 20%, because my feelings and read on the situation shouldn’t impact someone’s ability to feed themselves.
Nobody should be put through that. Employers should pay you and everyone a living wage. Work should, seriously not be needed for survival in my eyes, but something that is done, purely for passion or fun. Our society should set goals to push to eliminate capitalism as long term goal and in shorter term work to end systemic issues such as what you described how you were treated badly, how other workers are treated badly, how peoples lives are ruined when they lose their jobs. I’m on your side on improving this.
That’s great! I assume, then, that this means you wouldn’t deny a service worker needed resources because you thought they were a little grumpy?
The fact that you truly believe this is a great example of how bad tipping culture, and work culture has gotten in the US. It’s as if the word “tip” has been completely redefined to mean “compulsory tax on services”. Based on your post, I wouldn’t be surprised if a good portion of youth today legitimately believe that to be the definition.
What if I told you that all the distress you’re directing toward low/non tippers should be directed at your employer who isn’t paying you properly, is over working you, and doesn’t have your back in the face of shitty customers demanding free stuff? Instead of getting upset about people who rightfully reject a bullshit tipping culture, go unionize. That’s literally what they’re for. Force your employer to treat you like a human being, don’t let them pit you and the customers against each other while they laugh all the way to the bank.
You make some big assumptions about my politics here. Believe me, I’ve got plenty of ‘distress’ for employers. None of this changes the fact that if you know that service workers are grievously exploited and you choose to have them wait on you while not compensating them, then you are also committing an immoral act. You and the employer then have something in common: you both know that the worker ought to be compensated fairly for their work, and you’re both refusing to do it.
Am I absolved of sin when buying clothing that I know is produced in a sweatshop because ‘well, the employer really ought to improve working conditions, but that’s not my problem’?
The employer first exploited the worker, then you went in, benefited from their labor for free, directly reducing their income, supporting the business that exploits them while not supporting the worker, and somehow, your hands are clean?
You could choose to simply not give businesses who don’t fairly compensate their workers your money, but instead, you give them the cost of your dinner and reduce your server’s hourly wage?
If people want to reject tipping culture, they need to reject businesses that practice it, not fund them.
Culturally, there will be people who will look down on or say nasty things to you if they find out you do not/did not tip. This happened to me.
Emphasis mine. You said you don’t tip, and you are stating that they wouldn’t be in the wrong for not tipping. Just because you don’t outright say they shouldn’t tip, doesn’t mean it isn’t heavily implied by your wording.
We can agree that tipping should be eliminated, but if you knowingly go to a restaurant where your waiter requires tips to make a living wage, and you don’t, you are most certainly AH. The solution is to not go to these restaurants.
So, you are engaging in ad hominem towards me. This is not an appropriate way to handle a situation like this. You said you agreed that things should change, let’s focus on ways that we can change things for the better from a systemic manner, instead of supporting capitalist ruling classes who don’t care for us average poor people and engaging in ad hominem personal attacks please.
you are most certainly AH
This is not ok, i am talking from a systemic place and encouraging change to the entire system, employees should work purely for passion and not out of need in my eyes, employees who work in our current system should be paid well by their employees. Tipping should not be a requirement for customers, please stop with name calling.
Fallacy fallacy. No ad hominem here.
Stop. Name calling is personal attacks/ad hominems.
if you knowingly go to a restaurant where your waiter requires tips to make a living wage, and you don’t, you are most certainly AH
…was the full quote. Even if we accept that this is ad hominem, you would have to engage in the described behavior for it to be so, which certainly doesn’t hurt their argument that you implied people shouldn’t tip.
Are you going to apologise for this?
Most establishments in the US pay waitstaff way under minimum wage ($2-$3 per hour). If you don’t tip your waiter at an establishment like this, you are basically denying that waiter their wage
I don’t think you know how “minimum wage” works. It’s not a suggestion, it’s a legal requirement. If your tips don’t make you at least minimum wage, your employer is required to make up the difference. If they’re not doing that, talk to a lawyer, that’s a slam dunk case. You’ll get back pay.
That’s all good in theory, but in practice? Look up statistics on wage theft in the restaurant industry (hell, look up wage theft as whole in the US), and you’ll see that many, many workers go under paid.
And even if employers always met the minimum wage, the minimum wage is far less than a “living wage,” in this country.
Again, I want to stress that the practice of tipping is absolutely outdated, and should be removed. My point is simply that not tipping your waiter does more harm to them than their employer.
We should be encouraging these places to unionize, and demand that their employers pay them fairly.
Totally agree that minimum wage is not as high as it should be. No disagreement there. My point is that workers in the restaurant industry are not uniquely able to make below minimum wage. Any employer can break the law and pay under what they’re legally required to, not just in the restaurant industry. And yet we’re saying that the onus for making sure this doesn’t happen in the restaurant industry uniquely falls on the customers. That’s just not a reasonable argument to make.
It’s identical to shifting the blame for climate change from corporations to individuals. It’s not a customer’s fault for not tipping any more than it’s Joe Schmo’s fault for having a gas heater, poorly insulated house, and having to commute an hour every day in a gas car. Both can only effectively be solved through regulation.
We should be encouraging these places to unionize, and demand that their employers pay them fairly.
Totally agree.
Considering that most of the country has a separate wage (under $3/hour) for employees that are expected to be tipped, YES, you absolutely are an asshole if you do not tip.
If you don’t want to tip, don’t go to an establishment where tipping is expected, otherwise you are just a self-centered prick
“These are not said by the employees, because of the power dynamic where if they say anything I could and would get them fired out of pure pettyness, so they just silently hope I die in a car crash on the way home.”
Ftfy.
With all that said, until things change, for sake of the underpaid employees, please tip just know you don’t have too. If they treat you kindly and respectfully, tip, if not, smallest tip possible.
A’ight, that’s cool at least as long as you tip in the current system but push for change, no prob there. But make no mistake the only reason the employee doesn’t say anything is the power dynamic, they’re thinkin’ it!
Yes you need to tip if you are at a sit-down restaurant with a server taking your order at the table.
Whether or not you or anyone else agrees with that, it is the cultural norm and you would absolutely be rude not to.
If you are uncomfortable with this, choose to eat somewhere where you won’t be expected to tip. Don’t knowingly go to a restaurant where tipping is expected and then refuse to do so out of principle.
Also tipping at bars is generally expected.
In America, if you don’t tip for things like restaurant table service or delivery, rides (like taxis or Uber), car valet, room service, or someone helping you with your bags, yes, you are the asshole. Yes, tipping is usually just subsidizing employers’ payrolls, which is bad, but it is also the cultural norm here. You are likely to be publicly dressed down if you fail to tip, even accidentally. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is until we get some real worker organization and empowerment going.
No, you don’t have to tip. Really unfortunate that some people rely on tips for their wage, but If you don’t tip, you’re NTA.
You don’t have to tip but… You’re the asshole
Yes you are. Punishing service workers is not how you fix tipping culture
I read somewhere that if you don’t make minimum wage with tips the employer needs to make up for it. Is that wrong?
Not sure how you could not be the asshole in that scenario.
“yes, it’s wrong. but if you don’t tip, you are making the waiter go hungry”
WTF? no, the bosses are. generally bosses are making their employees go hungry, but in the restaurant business they just managed to shift the blame unto the customers. it seems really twisted to me
where i live tipping is really optional, and most don’t, unless they’re rounding up the bill. i have several friends who do or did work as a waiter and i aways found it sad how they would talk with resentment about the customers they would pretend to like, not sparing a word for their bosses who were sucking them dry with low wages, unpaid extra hours and a fuckin’ sick workplace culture
