Complain all you want, but not tipping is straight up taking money from someone who is getting paid $5 an hour. Complain to ownership, write your congressman and state legislators, but not tipping only punishes someone who is barely scrapping by.
So, dear reader, notice how whenever defenders of tipping come along, it’s always the same story.
Oh boohoo my poor minimum wage (which is pegged to the same minimum wage as non-tipped workers in states where most people live).
Ever wonder why it’s always about the minimum wage and never about how much money they make?
Any server with 2 brain cells clears $40 an hour in untaxed cash wages every shift.
They never report it on their taxes, and yet they will cry about their poor wittle wage at every opportunity expecting people that make half their salary to tip them 100% for rudely dropping off a plate once and never coming back, making you wait 20 minutes to close a check.
Notice the pattern. Remember how I was right next time.
Ask them if they’d rather abolish tipping next time. Notice how none of them say “yes”.
I recently ordered some parts for an e-vape online. At the payment page it asked for a tip. I was in disbelief. (I didn’t take a screenshot, but in retrospect I should have.)
No services rendered, no food being made, nobody personally delivering it to my house. But it still wanted a tip, with the explanation that it was “to support our team!”
A couple issues with this take every time it’s mentioned.
That isn’t on a per-hour basis. That is based on a usually weekly or bi-weekly cycle depending on your state. So if someone made a lot of reported tips on Saturday night, effectively making a couple hundred per hour, and no tips the entire rest of the week, they might still make the overall minimum wage for the week, effectively working 30+ hours for $2.13 an hour (federal tipped minimum) instead of $7.25 (federal minimum) or more depending on the state.
They’re making on average of a good amount, but most of that work is for shit pay no one would ever consider doing at that pay rate. It is very good money during that busy time, but anyone that’s ever worked food service knows busy times like that are an insane amount of work in comparison.
I just had a long conversation with my sister, a restaurant server, yesterday.
I remarked that the value the restaurant gets from her didn’t go down because she did a good job. Why should they get to pay her less when she over performs?
Yes. Don’t go there. Don’t support businesses that exploit their workers. Just because it’s legal that doesn’t make it moral. Slavery was legal as well, we got rid of that shit (mostly, still 100% legal for prisoners).
Your exact logic supports slavery. Might want to think about that.
This factoid is, at best, disingenuous. They only have to match minimum wage across the entire pay period, which is typically two weeks long. One bad shift isn’t going to make the employer pay you more, because the other 9 shifts in the same pay period balanced it out to be just above minimum wage. But that one bad shift will be felt by the employee, who went home with less money that evening.
Or even worse, if the restaurant requires tipping out the back of house, situations can arise where the employee ends up losing money in a day. Because if you get stiffed on a big 20 person party, (which happens a lot. Every individual at the party assumes someone else tipped), then you have a massive check with no tip. But the restaurant requires that you pay a percentage of the check (not the reported tip. The total check), to the back of house staff. So if tipping out is 5%, that 20 person party took two hours, and you got stiffed on an $800 ($40 per person. Not unreasonable for a restaurant) check? You’re only making $2.13 per hour (minimum wage for tipped workers) and just had to pay the back of house staff $40 out of your own pocket. You just lost $35.74 in those two hours. Because all of your time was spent catering to that party and you only got paid $4.26 for it.
At best tipping a moral obligation… There is no legal requirement to do so.
Ah okay, you’re the person who fails the shopping cart test. Got it. If you want to change tipping, most would agree with you. But protesting at the tip line is only hurting the wait staff. I agree that tipping has gotten out of control, and 15% should be normalized again. But I’m the type of person who has no issues with just using the “custom” line and entering my own tip.
Not for each transaction. So not tipping is like reaching over to another table and taking some of their tip for your table. They are still paid less than minimum wage for the service they provided you, but someone else’s tips will still keep them out of minimum wage for the shift.
So yes, at they’re worst they should get at least minimum wage for each shift. But per customer, their rate is below minimum wage without tipping, which is an awful system we need to get rid of.
That’s some mental gymnastics but sure, you can look at it this way.
I didn’t realize that going out to eat required me to get this involved in some shiti food joints business model and compensation structure for their staff.
Note that a lot of tips don’t even all go to the waiter… What’s your excuse for this.
I feel like “mental gymnastics” has become grossly overused, and I don’t think it applies, but regardless you are involved in the shitty food joint’s (read: all that have wait staffs that operate on tips) business model, by being their customer. By going to a business that you know pays their wait staff less that minimum wage, you are agreeing to their shitty business model. So then, not paying a tip is essentially taking a discount on your order at your wait staff’s loss. The business owner isn’t hurt by that, they still get the full rate for the food. And as long as SOME customers pay tips, they don’t have to pay any more (hence the taking from other tables comment).
It is a shitty system, but you agree to participate in it if you go to those restaurants. Which, for sit-down restaurants in the US, is most. If you go to one of those restaurants and don’t tip, you aren’t making some protest against tipping culture, and you aren’t hurting the business owner. You are only saying that the wait staff should be paid at $2.13 per hour to serve you.
Lobby against the labor laws that allow less-than-minimum for tipped employees, or don’t go to restaurants that rely on that model. Anything else, you’re just taking a discount from the wait staffs’ paychecks by not tipping.
And I absolutely can not believe that such anti-worker, pro-business owner bullshit is happening here. I cannot stress enough, you not tipping does nothing to the business owner. Billionaires jack up prices, stifle wage increases, and we’re out here complaining about having to tip a person who otherwise would get $2.13 an hour, because somehow that’s legal.
That being said, starting at 30% is ri-goddamn-diculous.
Also, since I didn’t get to your later point, I’m not sure of its relevance to what I was saying. You have no control (and usually no knowledge) of how tips are distributed. So not sure what you are expecting from me here.
You are only saying that the wait staff should be paid at $2.13 per hour to serve you.
This is not true in my state at all
They get paid base that’s above federal minimum wage.
But you are right, I ain’t got to go out to eat so barely do it anymore due to these parasitic tactics of the owners and strong feeling of entitlement from the wait staff to be tipped 20% or more.
I’m tired of this excuse. These people took the job knowing what the pay rate was, and are demanding the customer pay their salary directly rather than the employer like virtually any other conventional job does. Customers have had it, they’re being told to give employees raises along with rising food costs, even at businesses that don’t do a damn thing for the customer except maybe hand them a to-go box. 20% for that? F no. Grow a spine and demand real pay, people have had it. IDK how I can travel almost any modern place else in the world, pay for a good meal, and only have to leave the approximation of $1 or so for appreciation of the service, but in America I pay for the food and a separate charge for the employee’s “pay”.
Thrn stop going to restaurants that expect a tip. Don’t go to a restaurant and stiff your server. I spent 6 months last year living on $300 a week because people weren’t tipping at the bar i was working at. The bar is still open, but the new bartender is in the exact same position.
You don’t take a job at a restaurant or a bar because your life is doing great. You are there because you have no other options.
I don’t have a problem with tipping. I have a problem with restauranteurs taking the profits and the customer being asked for more and more tips. I can’t help people’s life situations, and I’m sure they aren’t all down on their luck any more than someone working retail. Yeah, I avoid places that expect big tips, so the servers get no tip at all instead of some tip.
yeah I basically stopped going to restaurants because is screwed either way. It actually used to be something we would do but the norm became wierd and like so many things nowadays it became just drop out of participation.
Yeah, I’m not defending tipping in the US, but not tipping is only screwing over the server. You don’t end up working at a restaurant because you love it, you are there because your life is a mess and it’s closest thing you can get to a stable job. If you don’t want to tip, then don’t go out to eat.
Back in October i had a guy “leave a tip” that said “Kamala bullshit” because he was mad his double of jack and coke cost $8. I don’t set the prices, i also think it’s bullshit, but i was weeknight bartending because I couldnt find any other job.
yeah but that is what I meant. We did not want to keep tipping at the old norm if it was under tipping so we just stopped being in the system. I have seen the standard go from 10% to 15% to 20% and thats when we stopped. Through most of it 15 was sorta standard and 10 was like I don’t want to stiff you but our experience was not the best and 20 was like omg you were great. stiffing was like I wish I had not come out and this was a horrible crazy experience. Im really not sure the what would actually have to happen for that as it never came up but maybe doing two nazi salutes or something might cause it.
Servers usually have to pay in X% of their total sales to the back of house. So if you stiff me on a $90 check, i lose $3 because i still have to pay that much in. I actually had a slow night where bith tables stiffed me so i actually left the restaurant $4 poorer than when i entered. Because ihad a better night the next shift, the owner was able to average me out so that he didn’t have to pay me more than the server minimum wage.
Its unfortunately a catch 22 though because continuing to tip kinda enables it to keep happening if everyone stopped tipping then places would likely have to pay a decent wage in order to get people to work as even if you’re extremely desperate for money its still not really worth it to work for tipped minimum wage with no tips also im not sure if it applies to all places but if your compensation + tips falls below the federal minimim wage the company must pay you the difference if I am not mistaken
That’s over the course of a pay period though. So if i make $40 on a slow night, but $200 the next night, that evens out and the boss doesn’t have to pay out.
I am not defending tipping, but change will only happen from the top down. All the full time servers at the restaurant i work at are at “i cant pay my bills” level of struggling right now and we live in a super cheap area. Stiffing your server won’t end tipping, it’s just taking a meal away from them or their kids while the owner is just fine. Legislation is the only thing that will end the system, qnd that’s where the reform needs to happen.
Complain all you want, but not tipping is straight up taking money from someone who is getting paid $5 an hour. Complain to ownership, write your congressman and state legislators, but not tipping only punishes someone who is barely scrapping by.
Your opinion is a result of class warfare propaganda, to get working class people arguing with each other. Direct your anger to the employer.
So, dear reader, notice how whenever defenders of tipping come along, it’s always the same story.
Oh boohoo my poor minimum wage (which is pegged to the same minimum wage as non-tipped workers in states where most people live).
Ever wonder why it’s always about the minimum wage and never about how much money they make?
Any server with 2 brain cells clears $40 an hour in untaxed cash wages every shift.
They never report it on their taxes, and yet they will cry about their poor wittle wage at every opportunity expecting people that make half their salary to tip them 100% for rudely dropping off a plate once and never coming back, making you wait 20 minutes to close a check.
Notice the pattern. Remember how I was right next time.
Ask them if they’d rather abolish tipping next time. Notice how none of them say “yes”.
I’m 100% on board with ending tipping, i am just saying that stiffing your server won’t do anything to end it.
It will when servers refuse to work those jobs
Also tipping is for actual table service. If you just hand me some food I’m not tipping you for handing me food.
I recently ordered some parts for an e-vape online. At the payment page it asked for a tip. I was in disbelief. (I didn’t take a screenshot, but in retrospect I should have.)
No services rendered, no food being made, nobody personally delivering it to my house. But it still wanted a tip, with the explanation that it was “to support our team!”
Where to even begin…
Employer is obligated to make up the difference so that perosn gets at least min wage.
So this statement is factually incorrect
A couple issues with this take every time it’s mentioned.
They’re making on average of a good amount, but most of that work is for shit pay no one would ever consider doing at that pay rate. It is very good money during that busy time, but anyone that’s ever worked food service knows busy times like that are an insane amount of work in comparison.
I just had a long conversation with my sister, a restaurant server, yesterday.
I remarked that the value the restaurant gets from her didn’t go down because she did a good job. Why should they get to pay her less when she over performs?
I’m not sure she got it.
They frequently don’t.
Report them to the proper state authority… How is this my problem as a consumer?
Am I supposed to hold owners accountable?
Yes. Don’t go there. Don’t support businesses that exploit their workers. Just because it’s legal that doesn’t make it moral. Slavery was legal as well, we got rid of that shit (mostly, still 100% legal for prisoners).
Your exact logic supports slavery. Might want to think about that.
How would I know what owner does with the tips i paid?
This factoid is, at best, disingenuous. They only have to match minimum wage across the entire pay period, which is typically two weeks long. One bad shift isn’t going to make the employer pay you more, because the other 9 shifts in the same pay period balanced it out to be just above minimum wage. But that one bad shift will be felt by the employee, who went home with less money that evening.
Or even worse, if the restaurant requires tipping out the back of house, situations can arise where the employee ends up losing money in a day. Because if you get stiffed on a big 20 person party, (which happens a lot. Every individual at the party assumes someone else tipped), then you have a massive check with no tip. But the restaurant requires that you pay a percentage of the check (not the reported tip. The total check), to the back of house staff. So if tipping out is 5%, that 20 person party took two hours, and you got stiffed on an $800 ($40 per person. Not unreasonable for a restaurant) check? You’re only making $2.13 per hour (minimum wage for tipped workers) and just had to pay the back of house staff $40 out of your own pocket. You just lost $35.74 in those two hours. Because all of your time was spent catering to that party and you only got paid $4.26 for it.
How any of this my problem?
At best tipping a moral obligation… There is no legal requirement to do so.
Also waiters seem to like this clown system…
When I relaized this, I went back to tipping 15%
If this clown behavior keeps up, it will be 10%.
Sticking that stupid device with 25% will not be tolerated.
Ah okay, you’re the person who fails the shopping cart test. Got it. If you want to change tipping, most would agree with you. But protesting at the tip line is only hurting the wait staff. I agree that tipping has gotten out of control, and 15% should be normalized again. But I’m the type of person who has no issues with just using the “custom” line and entering my own tip.
Not for each transaction. So not tipping is like reaching over to another table and taking some of their tip for your table. They are still paid less than minimum wage for the service they provided you, but someone else’s tips will still keep them out of minimum wage for the shift.
So yes, at they’re worst they should get at least minimum wage for each shift. But per customer, their rate is below minimum wage without tipping, which is an awful system we need to get rid of.
That’s some mental gymnastics but sure, you can look at it this way.
I didn’t realize that going out to eat required me to get this involved in some shiti food joints business model and compensation structure for their staff.
Note that a lot of tips don’t even all go to the waiter… What’s your excuse for this.
I feel like “mental gymnastics” has become grossly overused, and I don’t think it applies, but regardless you are involved in the shitty food joint’s (read: all that have wait staffs that operate on tips) business model, by being their customer. By going to a business that you know pays their wait staff less that minimum wage, you are agreeing to their shitty business model. So then, not paying a tip is essentially taking a discount on your order at your wait staff’s loss. The business owner isn’t hurt by that, they still get the full rate for the food. And as long as SOME customers pay tips, they don’t have to pay any more (hence the taking from other tables comment).
It is a shitty system, but you agree to participate in it if you go to those restaurants. Which, for sit-down restaurants in the US, is most. If you go to one of those restaurants and don’t tip, you aren’t making some protest against tipping culture, and you aren’t hurting the business owner. You are only saying that the wait staff should be paid at $2.13 per hour to serve you.
Lobby against the labor laws that allow less-than-minimum for tipped employees, or don’t go to restaurants that rely on that model. Anything else, you’re just taking a discount from the wait staffs’ paychecks by not tipping.
And I absolutely can not believe that such anti-worker, pro-business owner bullshit is happening here. I cannot stress enough, you not tipping does nothing to the business owner. Billionaires jack up prices, stifle wage increases, and we’re out here complaining about having to tip a person who otherwise would get $2.13 an hour, because somehow that’s legal.
That being said, starting at 30% is ri-goddamn-diculous.
Also, since I didn’t get to your later point, I’m not sure of its relevance to what I was saying. You have no control (and usually no knowledge) of how tips are distributed. So not sure what you are expecting from me here.
This is not true in my state at all
They get paid base that’s above federal minimum wage.
But you are right, I ain’t got to go out to eat so barely do it anymore due to these parasitic tactics of the owners and strong feeling of entitlement from the wait staff to be tipped 20% or more.
I’m tired of this excuse. These people took the job knowing what the pay rate was, and are demanding the customer pay their salary directly rather than the employer like virtually any other conventional job does. Customers have had it, they’re being told to give employees raises along with rising food costs, even at businesses that don’t do a damn thing for the customer except maybe hand them a to-go box. 20% for that? F no. Grow a spine and demand real pay, people have had it. IDK how I can travel almost any modern place else in the world, pay for a good meal, and only have to leave the approximation of $1 or so for appreciation of the service, but in America I pay for the food and a separate charge for the employee’s “pay”.
Thrn stop going to restaurants that expect a tip. Don’t go to a restaurant and stiff your server. I spent 6 months last year living on $300 a week because people weren’t tipping at the bar i was working at. The bar is still open, but the new bartender is in the exact same position.
You don’t take a job at a restaurant or a bar because your life is doing great. You are there because you have no other options.
I don’t have a problem with tipping. I have a problem with restauranteurs taking the profits and the customer being asked for more and more tips. I can’t help people’s life situations, and I’m sure they aren’t all down on their luck any more than someone working retail. Yeah, I avoid places that expect big tips, so the servers get no tip at all instead of some tip.
In WA everyone is paid at least 16 an hour, over 20 in Seattle and in many high COL areas.
Believe it nor not, most people do not live in Washington.
Point being these fuels are local…
In my state 2.25 is not the rule, their base pay is above federal minimum wage
yeah I basically stopped going to restaurants because is screwed either way. It actually used to be something we would do but the norm became wierd and like so many things nowadays it became just drop out of participation.
Yeah, I’m not defending tipping in the US, but not tipping is only screwing over the server. You don’t end up working at a restaurant because you love it, you are there because your life is a mess and it’s closest thing you can get to a stable job. If you don’t want to tip, then don’t go out to eat.
Back in October i had a guy “leave a tip” that said “Kamala bullshit” because he was mad his double of jack and coke cost $8. I don’t set the prices, i also think it’s bullshit, but i was weeknight bartending because I couldnt find any other job.
Double JD and coke for the equivalent of 5-6 quid isn’t cheap, but it’s definitely not expensive.
yeah but that is what I meant. We did not want to keep tipping at the old norm if it was under tipping so we just stopped being in the system. I have seen the standard go from 10% to 15% to 20% and thats when we stopped. Through most of it 15 was sorta standard and 10 was like I don’t want to stiff you but our experience was not the best and 20 was like omg you were great. stiffing was like I wish I had not come out and this was a horrible crazy experience. Im really not sure the what would actually have to happen for that as it never came up but maybe doing two nazi salutes or something might cause it.
I’m paying
lol, where can I find this magical money?
Servers usually have to pay in X% of their total sales to the back of house. So if you stiff me on a $90 check, i lose $3 because i still have to pay that much in. I actually had a slow night where bith tables stiffed me so i actually left the restaurant $4 poorer than when i entered. Because ihad a better night the next shift, the owner was able to average me out so that he didn’t have to pay me more than the server minimum wage.
Its unfortunately a catch 22 though because continuing to tip kinda enables it to keep happening if everyone stopped tipping then places would likely have to pay a decent wage in order to get people to work as even if you’re extremely desperate for money its still not really worth it to work for tipped minimum wage with no tips also im not sure if it applies to all places but if your compensation + tips falls below the federal minimim wage the company must pay you the difference if I am not mistaken
That’s over the course of a pay period though. So if i make $40 on a slow night, but $200 the next night, that evens out and the boss doesn’t have to pay out.
I am not defending tipping, but change will only happen from the top down. All the full time servers at the restaurant i work at are at “i cant pay my bills” level of struggling right now and we live in a super cheap area. Stiffing your server won’t end tipping, it’s just taking a meal away from them or their kids while the owner is just fine. Legislation is the only thing that will end the system, qnd that’s where the reform needs to happen.
You’re probably right. This shouldnt be an issue for the customer but it its
Yes. If you can’t afford to leave a decent tip, then don’t get the service.
If there is a magical amount of money you want to receive so you don’t get pissed off at me, just make that the price.