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u/Ezomic 7h ago
Yeah just stop calling it tips
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u/AnalogReborn 7h ago
Yes it should be called “externalized salary for underpaid employees”!
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u/archlich 6h ago
I prefer the original term, allowing systems where racism is allowed to thrive. That’s why tips are a thing. So white people could pay black people less after equal pay laws were passed.
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u/Remarkable_Ship_4673 6h ago
Source?
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u/archlich 6h ago
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u/IllLynx562 16m ago
God I love when this happens, someone do a love this smug or coaxed Into a snafu about times someone actually has sources on deck
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u/OnDeathAndDying 7h ago
The funniest part about waiting tables was the paper check I got for $0.
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7h ago
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u/PicksburghStillers 7h ago
servers don’t want a set wage. they make a killing from the tip structure.
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u/el_grort 7h ago
That would be fair if they didn't whinge so much when they didn't get tipped. If you want a donation system, you are signing up for some people not to donate. You can't have it both ways, and trying to is what gets all the grief.
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u/Infamous-Barely 7h ago
The problem is expecting tips to feel mandatory while insisting they're still "optional."
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u/xclame 7h ago
Exactly!
There are tons of countries around the world where tipping is typical within certain sectors, the difference is that they don't DEMAND that you tip and they don't put you on blast on the internet if you don't, they might mumble about you being cheap if you make them work extra and maybe tell their coworkers about you, but that's it.
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u/ropahektic 6h ago
Tipping is normal in Europe, some places make a fortune from tips too.
But people leave what they want and that's okay. Even a single coin is okay if that's all you have. And even if you don't leave anything at all, it's also okay. Yet i'd say 99% of people leave at least something in restaurants.
but 10-20% of what you've consumed? obligatory? that's a couple of tiers above what i would consider acceptable.
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u/Neamow 6h ago
Yeah it's not as common but when you do you just leave the remainder for a round up, like if you were gonna pay something silly like 27,75€ at a restaurant you leave 30€. And even then most people don't do that, they just pay and get the difference from the waiter and nobody bats an eye.
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u/VeryluckyorNot 6h ago
1000 this. I am ok to leave 1 or 2 more € for them if they are quick, it's NOT obligatory. Americans still don't understand, why everyone hate their tipping culture and they even try to import it.
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u/Kevydee 6h ago
We have a chain restaurant that's just opened here locally (North East England) serving American BBQ. They are trying this, mandatory tips, it didn't go well for them.
It's not that we don't tip, we just won't tolerate that type of bullshit.
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u/Small-Heron-6799 6h ago
It's crazy that how the american people have made it seem mandatory, when the word itself is LITERALLY called 'Tipping'
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u/VFrosty3 6h ago
That’s the issue I had over there. I’m fine tipping people, if the service deserves a tip (as I do in any country I visit and at home too). But when a bar person rounds up a drinks order to the nearest $10/20 (“We’ll call it an even twenty”) after pouring a couple of drinks and not even saying please when asking for the money, it’s not an optional tip, I’m being forced to give extra.
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u/nonowords 7h ago
that's a valid, but people are under the mistaken impression that servers are subjected to tipped wages and not actively defending the practice, so bringing up the fact that they prefer tipping (something like 90%+ last I checked) is important context.
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u/el_grort 7h ago
Oh, aye, I know. I left a servers subreddit because it devolved into most European servers complaining that half the posts were just Americans whinging about not being tipped and then viciously defending the tipping system, which was just... taxing for most everyone else. Came across very Marie Antoinette.
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u/Sgt_Daisy 6h ago
Trust me, as an hourly paid line cook it's even worse. Hearing a server complain they only made $100 usd during what's normaly a busy shift when I made less than $20 while making all the food they were getting tipped for sucks.
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u/PineappleOnPizzaWins 6h ago
This is what truly confuses me as a non American.
They wrote my order down, then picked up the plates and carried them to the table. If I was going to tip someone in this transaction it would not be them.
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u/MajorAd3363 6h ago
This is basically what the whole business model of America.
The middleman takes the biggest chunk.
It can't last forever.
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u/marli3 6h ago
Wait Chefs dont get tips?!!??!
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u/nonowords 6h ago
it is illegal in most places to disburse tips to BOH. It happens but is extremely rare.
"chefs" should never get tips tho. They are managers. Cooks probably should IMO
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u/fdokinawa 6h ago
But they told you their name and asked you how you were doing! that's worth at least a 30% tip. /s
Everyone defends it by saying they "do extra work" or "go above and beyond".. what? doing your job? That's you job. What you were hired to do. Want a tip? Do my taxes next time.. that's above and beyond. Your job is to take my order, bring me my food. Nothing else needs to happen unless I ask for something. It's just that simple.
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u/nonowords 6h ago
Bro I almost punched a dude for whining about 15 bucks on a 90 dollar table. It's nuts.
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u/RudePCsb 6h ago
I can't stand servers vs cooks. Sorry but writing down an order and bringing it out is not close to hard compared to prepping, cooking the meals to come out together, and making sure it comes out right. Just confusing why people think they deserve 20% for walking out with the food. The other one is breweries. You poured a beer that cost 10 bucks....
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u/averagecounselor 6h ago
Do they not split tips between the front and back of the house? I never worked in this industry but I thought tips were split.
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u/You-Asked-Me 6h ago
I saw a post where a Server from Alinea was complaining that the owners were "pocketing" the service charge. Everyone was grabbing pitchforks until someone else posted that the lowest paid position start at $22, has a matching 401k and health insurance.
Is $22 amazing for Chicago? No, but I have never known a restaurant to have a 401k, and even heath insurance is rare. Those benefits are a real substantial value.
I think this was a few years ago, wages have likely gone up since then.
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u/Sneezy6510 6h ago edited 6h ago
I had a zero tolerance for tip bitching when I was in charge of servers. The problem is the disparity of good hours between new servers and servers that have been there for a while. New servers make NOTHING, while they’re trying to hang on long enough to get the hours that let them make bank.
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u/Callen0318 7h ago
Getting tipped is why they make more. Everyone who doesn't tip is literally hurting their income. Which is the main reason the practice should be abolished entirely.
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u/reece0n 7h ago
Exactly.
Which is what makes the "you're an asshole if you don't tip, they need those to survive" argument stupid.
If they make much more than if they had a set wage, they can more than manage with a few tourists deciding not to pay.
They're trying to have their cake and eat it.
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u/Educational-Gate-880 6h ago
Yep I’ve heard several times they love the tip system because it’s way more than hourly could possibly pay them!
Not every table will tip great but it all comes out in the wash.
Our tipping culture has blown out of control in recents years.
Got my ac fixed a couple years ago at the tune of about $1,400 and get the invoice via text/email and there was a line/question if I wanted to give my technician a tip for his work 🤣🤷🏻♂️ WTF! No I want to pay for the service and say thank you for your work!
I go to this little Italian spot in town, I love it when I pay with card they swipe press the buttons and give me my receipt! No awkward questions to answer when I’m picking up food if I want to tip they on their own press no, the tip question is for when you dine in for the servers! Imagine that! And the servers look happy!
If you don’t like the tipping system get a different job is what I say 🤣🤷🏻♂️
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u/Rexxington 6h ago
This depends very heavily on the location, restaurant, and even time of day. As someone who has worked tip based jobs, I did make a killing back when I worked for dominos for a local university. Some nights I would walk away with a couple hundred dollars, other nights barely anything because school was out. Same applied when I worked as a server for another restaurant, but it didn't have much business which meant tips were low.
Tipping as a whole us problematic and in the end you just end at net zero or below typically month to month. As each night isn't consistent as t all, and means you can barely make anything in tips one night. Then make a ton another night, or only make a ton one day out of a week. In extreme circumstances, such as working at a high class establishment or very popular restaurant. You can earn more than usual through tips, but the mass majority of the time you don't earn enough at all to justify its continued existence.
Tipping just needs to be done away with and workers wages need to be increased. Which can be done contrary to what companies want to tell you. It's just keeping it at the status quo benefits them handsomely, and is why they push hard against it.
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u/Electrical_Ad_5732 7h ago
Tips are supposed to be extra, not substitute your wage because their employer is a shitty one that refuses to pay adequate money to their employees.
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u/Nothinglost7717 6h ago
Always this. I can't take servers seriously when it comes to defending tipping culture.
They don't want to work for 15-20 an hour. they want to make 60-80 an hour.
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u/MotherPay565 6h ago
I dono why it doesn’t work like *gets paid living full wage and also gets tips from generous and caring customers?
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u/Several-Opposite-746 6h ago
The norm used to be a standard 10% and only more if there was something special. Now the norm is 20% along with those extra recommendations. It's become such a scam.
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u/cheeseburgercats 6h ago
Tip structure in big cities make it a corporate ladder of waiters where if you can make it to the elite restaurants you are making $300k+ waiting tables, but on the low end it’s a struggle to make 50k and survive the city expenses
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u/PhillyCider 6h ago
I owned a bar for 7 years. Twice I tried to bring up getting rid of tips in exchange for better hourly wages. Both times the servers unanimously voted to keep tipping. From my perspective as at the time it was because my servers were all young and wanted unreportable income. In the end, unless people stop tipping the tipping culture will never stop.
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u/StonedLonerIrl 6h ago
Great then they can stop pissing and moaning when one or two customers dont tip.
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u/not_a_moogle 6h ago
In high end maybe, but no way thats true at chili's.
My take away from that is minimum wage is just not good pay. Which we all know already.
Pay servers $30 am hour and I sure they'd care less about tips.
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u/3-car-garage 6h ago
No, half of them do, the other half struggle. And "half" is generous here, there are a lot more coffee shops and restaurants underpaying their staff than there are swinging bars and nightlife mainstays providing a killing.
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u/Cockblocktimus_Pryme 6h ago
Some do some don't. There is a world of haves and have nots in the serving game and it highly dependent upon location.
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u/NOSWT-AvaTarr 7h ago
the worst part is when you go to a restaurant and they have forced 20% "gratuity". calling it gratuity should be illegal, its a 20% fuck you fee
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u/Tremaj 6h ago
The entire tipping system is toxic. Created by greedy business owners.
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u/Christian3574159 7h ago
I'm paying a tip for good service not for compensating a bosses greedy ass. It's not the job of the customer to pay for a shitty system. Maybe I'm to German to understand because this problem doesn't seem to exist here.
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u/NudaVeritas1 7h ago
It doesn't because it's illegal in most EU countries to don't pay your employees
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u/Accomplished-Staff-9 7h ago
100%! Plus as the general quality of the cuisine goes down at most restaurants, prices go up for no improvement to quality, I’m not going to tip you for subpar service on top of everything, even better, I’m not going to go to your restaurant at all!
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u/LordJeanDog 6h ago
UK too buddy. Optional not expected. If the services blows your socks off, above and beyond, show some appreciation if you want. If it's standard or shit. Kiss my arse
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u/No_Advertising1858 6h ago
Most places in Australia since covid just have a QR code at your table to order and it asks for a tip at the end and it’s always no tip. I don’t really see any scenario when going to a restaurant you would think I’m going to give this person who wrote down what I ordered and delivered the correct order 25% more then the price because they done what I asked and what they are paid to do.
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u/CommercialWindowSill 21m ago
Also why do I have to pay $4 dollars for a $20 dollar dish and $20 dollars for a $100 dollar dish? The waiter didn't do anything different. Or the one I hate the most, tipping the bartender for every drink you get.
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u/CombatRedRover 6h ago
I mean, knowing people who worked World Cup events...
I'm sure some WC fans didn't tip, but the vast majority did. And tipped well enough that they more than made up for those that didn't.
...or were you making up stories to make a point about something other than the World Cup?
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u/AdSmall3663 5m ago
This was my experience as well. But this narrative has been pushed so hard by anti-tippers in the US when in reality it was the opposite, there was no odd coordinated push for no tipping or announcements from tourists except in these weird people’s heads
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u/whitedsepdivine 7h ago
Just like most systems in America, this is setup to put all the risk on the plebs.
You are actually proving to the owners their system works. They still get their profits, if someone doesn't want to pay a higher cost. (Bill + Tip)
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u/HombreDelMar247 6h ago edited 6h ago
Most restaurant owners also hate to pay overtime. I have an owner who gets upset when bartenders are counting tips, tips that go to their fellow bartenders( they split tips, when one is cut they divide it up) and barback. After dividing the tips, they still have side work that needs to be done. Also if there is a mistake with their paperwork(ie wrong tip entered, credit card accidentally cashed out, ect) the bartender still needs to be on the clock to access those checks and run a new report.
The owner is acting like paying the bartender the extra half hour, less than $5 is going to make the place go under. Paying the bartenders who are still actively working comes to less than $40( a busy day will have 8 bartenders throughout the day). The daily sales for the bar and restaurant on a busy day averages well over $20,000.
Yet the owner gets upset about paying bartenders for an extra half hour at the end of their shift....
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u/nathan-makes-incense 6h ago
Restaurant owners are some of the most unhinged individuals you'll ever meet.
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u/IceBuurn 7h ago
Eventually they will run out of servers if the tips stop coming, people will still need severs, thus, some places will have decent payment for work
Or not, i dunno how North Americans think, good luck
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u/KillTonyRegular 6h ago
There is no chance servers would make more on an hourly schedule
The tip system greatly benefited me when I was working my way through college. I have no idea why you guys hate that there's an unskilled labor position that makes money
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u/KillTonyRegular 6h ago
I was a server, and I would never work at an establishment paid hourly instead of letting me get tips
I have no idea why people pretend that this system doesn't benefit the staff
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u/pineapplecom 18m ago
Sure it does. But what's insane is tipping for take out and tipping seemingly increasing every year. At this rate we'll be expected to tip 50%
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u/montxogandia 7h ago
what about making a law against it? protesting? voting?
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u/pollardandsprout 6h ago
People have been marching, voting and lobbying for raising wages since the CEOs started multiplying their salaries in the 70s, acquiring enough wealth and power to set the trajectory in stone. No protest is stomped out faster than one for wages. Until people here wake up, en masse, and accept that general strike SHOULD HAVE BEEN step one, we'll keep sinking into this hole. I don't know how to organize 330 million people across 4000 miles, but I fucking wish I did.
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u/Savage9645 6h ago
Because it's not actually a big issue in the real world. It ranges from a minor annoyance for the customers to the preferred system for the servers themselves.
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u/sebastianinspace 7h ago
that would be “communism” or “socialism” according to a lot of americans so thats why they won’t do it.
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u/uncoveringlight 7h ago
Nah, because those servers quit if people stop tipping. When they quit the owners will be forced to reconcile the system or risk not making money
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u/ADadWhoDoesntKnow 6h ago
Wrong. Because the restaraunt industry is literally designed to accommodate high turnover rates. Their entire business model is oriented around the idea that there will always be somebody willing to work shitty jobs for shitty pay for at least a few weeks/months.
-Sincerely, a former busser/expo/host/cashier/dishwasher
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u/not_accepting_now 7h ago
Well it comes from the old day when everyone got paid enough to live off low income even. We kept the tip culture but we didn't get the raises accorss the board.
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u/danielsabino 7h ago
I don't agree with U.S. tipping culture, but I still tip when I'm there because that's how their service industry works and I'm the visitor. You don't have to like a country's customs to respect them. I expect Americans visiting Europe to extend the same courtesy.
For me it's about respecting local social expectations rather than whether tipping itself is "good" or "bad."
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u/WinterAsleep319 6h ago
He seen this post maybe 100 times on reddit now and every person who said they visited the US all said they tipped well. Many servers confirmed it as well.
Stop posting this junk without any article or evidence backing it up.
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u/DeapVally 7h ago
The servers don't want to be paid a wage that would stop people tipping lol. They make excellent money just the way it is in a busy place. It works for both the owners and the staff, that's why nothing changes.
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u/GoVolt_Mine 6h ago
People in Europe still tip for service, even though the servers already make a decent wage.
Just not 20%, though.
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u/hulk14 6h ago
True that. It only doesn't work for customers
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u/Akiias 6h ago
It's only a psychological thing there though. Assuming we wanted to give the servers the same pay as they get through tips now meal prices would go up by the average tip percentage. You would effectively pay at best the same. But now it also goes through a business which will be taxed, and taxed again as income so to pay the same amount you'd have to raise the prices even more! And that's assuming the business doesn't take their cut(lmao).
US tipping is just paying a server directly for service. More of that money goes to the server than if they were paid a higher wage.
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u/nathan-makes-incense 6h ago
This is not true. Some servers are doing well because they have the seniority to get the good shifts at busy, high-end places, but the rest are barely keeping their heads above water. (I have actually done this job)
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u/Shipwrecklou 6h ago
I dated a bartender years ago. I was actually amazed by what she brought in nightly
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u/strangetimes69 6h ago
You all sound like you’re talking about banker’s bonuses. These are working class jobs that make 40k a year.
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u/bshjbdkkdnd 7h ago
Probably fake, but if true what assholes.
Am I a fan of tipping culture? No, not at all, but when Americans go over to other countries they get a terrible reputation for not following cultural norms. Tipping is a cultural norm in America, if you are a tourist visiting expect it and expect to follow the culture. Otherwise you are no better than the annoying Americans y’all complain about.
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u/Savage9645 6h ago
Definitely fake. Like I am sure there were a handful of tourists that made cringe statements like that but most of these restaurant, bars, and employees working at them made an insane amount of money during the WC.
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u/SalivateTheStarfish 6h ago
You either get people who are actually behind trying to make sure people get paid a livable wage or you get the people who show off and say fuck school and fuck you because they made 130k because of tips. There's such a disparity.
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u/radjoke 7h ago
$5 milkshake costs $5.44 but then you tip $1..why not just make it a $6.50 milkshake instead of the theatrics. Not to sound like Mr Pink here but it's kinda dumb.. That said, I respect the culture when visiting. Except at McDonald's.... Because.. Umm?
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u/SendMeIttyBitties 6h ago
If they are asking for tips at McD's report them to corporate. McD's has a strict no tip policy.
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u/ItAintThickButItLong 7h ago
Never had a McDonald’s ask for a tip. Must be a local thing
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u/DonJota5 7h ago
Youre a solid human for respecting the culture, but yea only at restaurants or like maybe a taxi that helps you with a shitload of bags or something maybe. The cashier tip shit needs to gtfo
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u/Clobazam_ 6h ago
I don't understand America. The hell do you guys mean something costs more than it's advertised as? Here in New Zealand, a $5 drink will only cost $5
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u/otherealnesso 7h ago
i’m not sure if this is a popular opinion but the reality is that US restaurants are just notoriously horrible businesses to turn a profit in, i think the average profit margin is somewhere between 3-5% for a sit down place. chains like applebees/chilis/whatever with all of that infrastructure can usually get up to around 10%. with the way we are fundamentally structured in the US it’s a lot more expensive to operate than in many of the mainland euro countries, especially when you factor in how europe is so walkable comparatively. that’s why you might actually see yourself paying more for the same thing in the US that you would europe once you factor in a tip. also a lot of euro restaurants charge for stuff like water and refills on drinks.
totally anecdotal but in my city we had two restaurants go “no tip” and they both closed within a year, surveys that went out noted that people thought it was too expensive even though the restaurants picked up a couple % of the cost to pay servers and the rest went into menu increases. one of the restaurant owners still owns a place in my town that doesn’t do that and they’re a good spot.
i’m saying this to say it’s not even just the business model that restaurants operate in, it’s our fundamental structure that makes restaurants just a terrible idea for people trying to make money. and with the last few years (hell the last year alone) making prices rise across the board it’s eating at that 3-5%, which is why you actually are seeing so many places shutter.
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u/Born_2_Simp 7h ago
If employers increased waitres' salaries and forbid them to accept tips, we'd have a waiter's revolution bloodier than WWII.
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u/nonowords 7h ago
Don't even forbid it. Just disperse tips to the full staff and watch the streets run red.
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u/Puzzled-Caterpillar4 7h ago
Why would they be forbidden to accept tips? In the UK, waiting staff get paid at least minimum wage to do the job and any tips they receive is an a bonus on top. They are not reliant on the patrons generosity to live.
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u/Hot_Frosty0807 7h ago
Many of the places in the US that went to a living wage/no tipping policy make it explicitly known that tips are forbidden. The example that sticks out above the rest, to me, is a chain called Joe's Crab Shack. They started paying their servers something like $25/hr, raised their prices, and put out a placard on the tables that basically said "tips are forbidden because we pay our employees."
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u/Acceptable-Two5692 7h ago
Why would they forbid them to accept tips? You can still tip someone if they do a formidable job but then as an extra not as a fundamental part of their wage. In the Netherlands waitstaff get a normal wage without expectation to tip but if you like to tip that is fine.
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u/Conscious-Sock2777 7h ago
My oldest (college freshman) works at an Ice Cream place and is making crazy tip money. Do I agree they need living wage but pulling 100-200 a shift in straight cash for 4-6 hour shift
Meanwhile I’m in emergency services and we haven’t had a true living wage ever. Ask your emt friends about that
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u/Dazzling-Bear3942 7h ago
As a consumer you can't have it both ways. It's reasonable to think a business owner should be paying a wage to their employees and not depending on guests to tip them. However you can't go into a business that you know is not set up that way and enjoy the lower priced menu and then not tipping. This does not hurt the business owner just the worker.
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u/YourMothersLover_69 6h ago
Not true. Literally everywhere here in downtown Seattle added gratuity to their checks in order to avoid this during the Cup.
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u/-Goofy-Gooner- 6h ago
Servers are not unionized, so they cannot realistically just tell their bosses to do this.
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u/Girthmatters23 7h ago
Which in turn restaurants automatically added gratuity to your bill.
Dipshits.
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u/Nerevarine91 7h ago
Yeah I’m sure that will totally help the servers. You fixed it!
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u/Secure-Egg-7194 7h ago
unironically make more money through tips plus if you're sneaky don't have to report them through taxes
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u/Old-Freedom8735 6h ago
People who do this are petty and they know damn well they arent hurting the bosses. They wouldn't ever be able to handle the accountability of getting the rules changed in a lasting or beneficial way so they just say fuck the servers instead. Spiteful parasite behavior.
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u/arachnid1110 7h ago
I was in Boston and Dallas both for World Cup time, most of the places I went close to the activity were charging auto 20% gratuity. I’ll be interested to see if those business just keep the policy in place after the fact. I saw a movie last night and the damn concession stand had an automatic gratuity built in.
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u/OwlIndependent1425 7h ago
If u work at a nice steak house u make a killing. Was a server/bartender in my early 20s before going blue collar. I’m just now at 27 years old making more a year on a hourly job than I did when I was 21-23. On average when I was 21-23 would work 4 days a week and make 300$ a night…. Averaged 55,000 a year in KY as a server…..
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u/DoctorBlock 7h ago
Server's don't want real wages from their bosses. They make a lot more money from tips than they woulda normal restaurant wage. And it's fine if you want to do away with tipping just know service quality is going to take a huge hit when all the servers go do something else.
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u/HombreDelMar247 7h ago
Exactly. I know servers who can easily clear $500 on a busy night. No way a restaurant owner can afford to pay that much.
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u/Hot_Frosty0807 6h ago
Menu prices would effectively double, and the person doing the job would have very little incentive (aside from strong work ethic/moral compass) to do anything outstanding for anybody. It's a flawed system, but it's held together by the things that make it work. People love to bitch about "fairness" and "tipping culture," but the minute those menu prices skyrocket, no one is going to ask if the staff is fairly compensated, they're going to go somewhere cheaper or stay at home. This really is a Pandora's box. Prices go up, service efforts go down, restaurants close, and now everyone takes up the mantle of bitching about how they could go out for a nice meal and some service in the good old days.
On top of that, "a living wage" is a different thing to different people. My wife makes about $100/hr at her tipped job on a good weekend. If you're going to try to tell someone who is making $100/hr that their new "living wage" is $20-$25, they're going to tell you to get bent.
I despise these arguments, because no one cared about the tipping system until Reddit or the news or whoever is behind it started pushing their propaganda and forcing people to choose sides, and now you have a bunch of uneducated people lining up to take down the restaurant industry in the name of social justice.
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u/DoctorBlock 6h ago
You're 100% right. Even in this thread people are telling me that servers would rather make a steady 20 bucks an hour rather than get tipped. Like brother, just tell me you never worked as a server and move on.
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u/HombreDelMar247 7h ago
Only table I know that did not were from Argentina, which is funny because if an American visits their country they are expected to tip.
We had some at the bar Scottish guys who were very generous.
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u/John_Bittercult 6h ago
As a french former bar/restaurant operator, I'm interested by this topic but I would like to have some numbers for better understanding, like how much is the minimal wage and how much does an averager waiter make with tips ?
Here in France, basic income would be around 1500/1600€ for 39 hours a week (numbers might be a little bit off, I left the sector 10 years ago), some smart bosses pay more than that to keep good recruits but most are paid the minimal wage. The tip here is optionnal, but a good waiter/waitress can easily make 20/50€ daily in tips, even when shared with all the staff !
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u/LollisGunsBikesTits 7h ago
I know you USians don't get this concept but a tip js something the customer decided based on quality of service. The fact your owners don't pay a living wage and still charge exuberant prices like servers get $30/h is your problem. Go out protest. Downvote to hell all you want but your system is broken AF, do something about it.
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u/oboshoe 7h ago
The biggest supporters of tipping isn't business owners.
It's servers.
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u/LurkinRhino 7h ago
I had a conversation with a server once and she fully admitted that she wouldn’t care about her job and give shitty service if she was paid the same as the cooks at her restaurant($26/hr).
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u/gunnisonyeti 7h ago
I would agree.
As a server, if I make tips, on a good night I can bring in $500-$700.
If I made the line cook wage (the aforementioned $26/hr), by the time I saw that money on my paycheck it would be the equivalent of ~$18/hr after taxes/Medical/Soc Security/etc. I'd make less than $150 for the same 7 hour shift.
Yeah, I would give much less quality service if I was going to make $500 less.
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u/SlimLacy 6h ago
But "less quality service" - what if I just want you to not spit in my food? Just lift the plate, and drop it in front of me, even from height is fine, as long as you don't spill the food.
And as a European, if it means you cba to come to my table every 5 minutes to ask me how everything is, it's more of a bonus!
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u/ChemicalCrazy4329 6h ago
What does much less quality service look like? I mean you take orders and bring them to the table...how much wiggle room is there for much less quality in doing that?
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u/Myke190 6h ago
My buddy was a waiter and he would always leave his tables hanging to come smoke weed in the back with me. So at least that bad.
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u/ollie113 7h ago
So weird that in Europe the wait staff are paid a living wage and actually still care about their job.
You spoke to someone and got an opinion though so I guess that invalidates the experience of an entire continent
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u/Fun_Version827 6h ago
What? Customer service is notoriously dogshit in Europe.
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u/ollie113 6h ago
I've lived in both Europe and the US.
The primary determinant of the quality of service I receive has been how high end the restaurant is.
That's it.
Free drink top ups are not "quality service"
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u/anarchy13c 6h ago
In every place ive been theyve been completely fine and honestly very genuine people.
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u/SummonBahamutZero 7h ago
Apparently only Americans should respect the whole “when in Rome” concept.
Regardless of your condescension, the eurotrash isn’t fucking the cheap owner, they’re fucking the server that worked for them.
As a former waiter from nyc, Europeans have always without fail been the absolute worst tables.
They aren’t protesting, they’re cheap fucks.
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u/Definitelynotagolem 6h ago
Guess we shouldn’t forget that Europeans were the original colonizers and culture erasers. They’re still doing it to this day and plenty feel entitled to have others bend to their ways. Not saying Americans don’t do it too, but Europeans in general like to be on their high horse about “cultural diversity” and still take part in that system. You also hear a lot about how people of color are often treated worse in many Euro countries because they don’t believe they have a problem with racism.
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u/_coolranch 7h ago
I know you (OP) don't get this concept, but that's not how it is in the U.S., unfortunately. If you're going to travel somewhere, get familiar with the customs. The U.S. isn't the rest of the world. It's far from perfect, and if you don't like the way the restaurants are, there are grocery stores and QSR places you can go and not subject these folks to your ass-hattery.
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u/Mor_Padraig 7h ago
In another thread, a poster refuted this, anyway? Foreign visitors did indeed tend to tip, but apparently this ' They refused to tip ' thing took off on social media.
Not sure what is the truth although we all know social media and rage bait.
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u/el_grort 7h ago
I mean, it's still tipping, it's still a voluntary extra donation, people can absolutely choose not to pay this and there isn't legal recourse because it isn't theft of services like skipping out on the bill is. So people will and can choose not to tip in the US, as anywhere else. And as much as people will crow to go elsewhere if they don't want to tip, people will still eat out and not tip, because that is permitted and legal, you can't force a donation.
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u/Fair-Bus-4017 7h ago
The problem is that with the current system waiters who work at a good running place will make more money under the current system.
So the majority of servers won't rebell against it. Ultimately students and customers get fucked by this system.
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u/philthy_barstool 7h ago
I can't stand the term "USians", I can't take anyone seriously after "USians". Same as "sportsball"
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u/yukiki64 7h ago
It's fine if you don't want to tip you don't have to. But don't try to act like you are doing it because you care about the employees and want them to be paid better you just don't want to tip.
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u/vladfan27 6h ago
TIPPING is a scam to push the responsibility of paying your workers onto the customer. The idiots accepted this. STOP TIPPING PEOPLE
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u/HighSeasArchivist 6h ago
No servers want a set wage, because they rake it in from tips. My daughter was pulling in $100/night+ when she was in high school just working for a small family restaurant right by our house. No way she could have matched that in three hours at a regular wage.
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u/Mairon12 7h ago
Two things can be true.
The tipping culture in the US is strange.
But also…
When in Rome.
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u/SpringFell 6h ago
Tips are optional in the USA. The customer decides whether or not to tip and how much.
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u/bonyCanoe 7h ago
Tips are optional but they are also totally not optional. Fuckin' sort it out, USA...
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u/Different_Bridge_983 7h ago
I mean, they’re optional. You as the customer get to decide if your server deserves to be paid above minimum wage. If you don’t want them to be paid above minimum wage then you’re legally allowed to tip nothing to send them a message that you think they deserve minimum wage for the service they provided you.
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u/DimeloFaze 6h ago
Own two restaurants outside Boston, about an hour from gillette stadium and they tipped our staff real well. Ustedes se pasan
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u/RussianPravda 6h ago
What happened to respecting people's cultures. I'm joking tipping in the US is dumb because the companies took advantage of it and now small shops cant affort to pay full wages with out charging 30 dollars for a sandwich. It all sucks
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u/Apprehensive_Ant4596 6h ago
Did this really happen or was this because tipping doesn't exist in some other countries that were visiting?
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u/hiimtoddornot 17m ago
Considering that a lot of tip based earners are fucking slaying it and would very likely get ass blasted by whatever this would change into if it were to happen, and considering by not tipping these folks are no better than the thing they are trying to protest. What the fuck?
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u/SoRosenberg 7h ago
This post is screaming fake news
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u/Th3_Accountant 7h ago
The part that foreign tourists are refusing to pay 20% tips is very real btw.
It's a very weird system by European standards and I'm pretty sure many tourists are simply unaware or don't want to participate. A 10% tip is considered generous in Europe. Most people will just round the bill up. So a 197 dollar bar tap will leave you a 3 dollar tip.
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u/M1sfit_Jammer 7h ago
I don't even tip 20% anymore... beer went from $3.25/ea to $8/ea in my lifetime... I've always tipped a dollar a beer and now that prices have moved on I'm still gonna tip $1/beer. Now I'm just drinking less beer because I used to be able to buy 4 beers, leave a $5 tip, and still have a couple bucks for taco bell... Now I can't even afford 2 beers thanks to prices and the societal pressure to tip 20%
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u/NudaVeritas1 7h ago
as a European myself, it's not.. we have a tipping culture in most EU countries, but the tip is a optional reward for good service, not the base salary for the waiter
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u/HumaDracobane 6h ago
Tips are for going beyond the expected service.
Ask your employee for your salary, not the clients.
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u/Deep-Management6567 7h ago
Why not protest for real wages?
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u/vladfan27 6h ago
Because they love the tipping payment over set wages. It's all bullshit, they don't want a set wage
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u/Impressive_Net_116 6h ago
The only people who want to get rid of tips and give waiters higher wages are... people who aren't waiters.
Waiters make absolute bank AND its tax free now.
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u/ThrustTrust 7h ago
Yes this is correct. A foreigner should not feel obligated to tip when on vacation to America.
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u/UPMichigan83 7h ago
Most counties don’t encourage tips at restaurants, bars, etc.
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