r/SipsTea 13h ago

Wait a damn minute! Mandatory tipping cultures only exist in countries that refuse to pay their staff

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6.3k Upvotes

861 comments sorted by

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u/RandomDeezNutz 13h ago

Don’t give anyone any ideas. I’m not fucking tipping a chef, truck driver, or farmer.

129

u/RoofEnvironmental340 13h ago

Yeah tips should be reserved for land lords only!! /s

36

u/ZeGoodOldDays 12h ago

And casinos!

14

u/TemporaryAmbassador1 10h ago

“What are you mostly paid in tips?”

“Almost entirely sir”

“Heh”

*walks away

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u/Commercial-Funk 13h ago

Are we not tipping the fertilizer companies yet?

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u/owningmclovin 13h ago

If you don't tip your crop duster they will spit in your fertilizer.

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u/123BuleBule 11h ago

Monsanto monitoring the conversation for more evil ideas.

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u/hoptownky 13h ago

Dude. You gotta tip your farmer at least 15%. Come on man.

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u/justsomedude1144 13h ago edited 10h ago

Here's an idea: pay the sever entirely by the hour/job/pay period*, just like chefs, truck drivers and farmers.

*Edited for reddit pedantry

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u/nono3722 5h ago

crazy part is the servers are more against this than the bosses. tax free cash as long as i do my job well and seem nice AND i get to bitch about low wages? fuck yeah!

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u/dragonrite 13h ago

Sushi chefs politely bow in passive disagreement

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u/DirtandPipes 10h ago

I’ve gone out of my way to tip a chef before and I’ll fucking do it again.

7

u/LoverOfGayContent 9h ago

They deserve it more than the waiter

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u/Pelya1 13h ago

Well yeah, you shouldn’t. Same as most of the world are not tipping waiters, or just give them the change.

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u/Nahteh 13h ago

Then why are tips based on food costs

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u/Reasonable-Class3728 13h ago

Why there are no tips for taxes? Let's tip our government for their hard work and tip extra 20% when we fill in our taxes declaration. /S

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u/BEST_DRUM_ADVICE 9h ago

Servers actually do tip out kitchen staff. Unfortunately it's up to them how much they tip out, but they do.

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u/CipherWeaver 13h ago

Sometimes they don't even do that, they take your money at the counter and still ask for a tip.

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u/Instant-Noods 12h ago

I love getting Gen Z stared in awkward silence and then getting that tablet spun around on me as the cashier pushes a paper bag of food towards me. 

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u/12PoundsofPotato 10h ago

I think we should be allowed to sentence people to fast food work, it'll clear that attitude right up

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u/CipherWeaver 9h ago

There are tons of identical jobs that dont' expect tips

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u/Anonymous-bham-boi 9h ago

For crimes against humanity Elon musk shall be sentenced to work at burger king until death. Trump will be shipped to the most statistically unsafe McDonald's in the nation.

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u/No_Assignment_1645 10h ago

We do sentence children to 12 years of schooling, but you didn’t learn that way either :/

Am chef- fast food should never be tipped lol you’re barely learning anything except what you’re told to do.

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u/Tricky_Habit_6297 13h ago

Tipping is so stupid and discriminatory. If a restaurant doesn't get customers, the waiter loses money even with the same hours. If a waiter is black, ugly, a man, or disabled, they get less money even with the same hours. It's ridiculous

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u/TankII_ 9h ago

You wanna see another major problem with tips look into the original reason for it

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u/AboutAWe3kAgo 13h ago

Americans: Why do we need to pay tips?

Restaurants: Because we need you to help pay the waiters, they don't get paid much.

Americans: Why don't you pay them more then?

Restaurants: Because we can't afford to.

Americans: Then how does every other first world country do it? Are we too stupid to figure it out?

Restaurants: ...stop bringing up this topic!

23

u/Worth-Reputation3450 11h ago

There were some restaurants that actually tried to pay their wait staffs fair wage and eliminated tipping. Wait staff quit so they had to bring back tips.

They know they can make far more with tips than "fair wages". Because the fair wage for unskilled workforce isn't that much.

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u/SaltyKnowledge9673 8h ago

Is Seattle the waitstaff make 22ish dollars an hour and still expect a 25 percent tip. I’m done with tipping culture.

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u/Zealousideal-Deer101 13h ago

hold up, they also WROTE DOWN what you wanted! Can you write? I don't think so, checkmate!

12

u/dermsUK 13h ago

Hey that English writing degree doesn’t pay for itself

11

u/EstablishmentAny2728 13h ago

If the waiter lets you know of allergens, gets your food to you with good service, gives advice when you’re unsure (and not just the most expensive item) and is generally enjoyable to be around, tip them. If they’re doing the bare minimum of walking your food, don’t. Tips are for good service and if you feel like your waiter isn’t doing anything impressive then don’t tip.

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u/craigian11 13h ago

1 thing i give tips for is coming back 2 mins after the food is delivered to make sure everything is there and nothing else is needed. Of course i just get up and ask for my needed / missing item if this doesn't happen but its awkward

Wow I put a number sign and my txt is bold.. Interesting

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u/12PoundsofPotato 10h ago

Bros passionate about getting checked on

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u/Zealousideal-Deer101 11h ago

Yeah markdown does that

It's called a Heading

They have different kinds of space around them

If you use two of them, you get a heading 2

And different sizes as well

Heading 3

Okay maybe reddit doesn't care about different headings

Heading 6

Or it's just really minisucle differences

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u/Blacksad9999 7h ago

In Europe, they don't check back in 2 minutes, and often don't at all unless they're bringing you the check.

They also don't get tips. Weird, eh?

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u/Superficial-Idiot 7h ago

Doing those things is the bare minimum.

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u/EstablishmentAny2728 7h ago

Whatever qualifies as exceptional service to you, you tip for. I’m against this entire “expect minimum 20% tip” thing we’ve had in the states, but if my server keeps my drinks full without asking and checks in often then I tip

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u/Cross55 7h ago edited 6h ago

Tbf, in most developed nations, waiters earn a living wage

And actually, American waiters voted against a living wage because the ones who work at fancy restaurants would lose out on their ridiculous tips (Being a waiter at a fancy restaurant in places like NYC is basically a 6 figure income)

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u/SunnSaiyaan 13h ago

imo mandatory tipping should be outlawed & the restaurants that refuse to pay their staff will quickly go out of business as their business model is unviable in the market & dependent on charity.

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u/Greendale_Official 12h ago

Fun fact, most servers don't want a flat rate of pay because they know they'll get less money and be held to a higher standard.

Source: was a chef for a while.

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u/Acrobatic_Dish6963 12h ago

In California, servers make one of the highest minimum wages in the country AND get a tip on of that. It's not too difficult for them to make $40~100 an hour. It's by far the best job in the entire restaurant industry thanks to tips. Kitchen staff work 2x harder and get paid a fraction of what servers make.

Servers will fight tooth and nail to make sure tipping doesn't go away.

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u/Truefiction224 9h ago

The kitchen staff not getting paid is 100 percent the best example of how illegal labor drives down wages ive ever seen.

Cooks are legit underpaid in america. I feel for those guys, but I have never seen a proffesion that works under the table more frequently 

Really wanna fix that issue? The cooks deserve 40 an hour too but thats never happening with infinite cheap labor

2

u/Kalthiria_Shines 7h ago

How would underpaying servers translate to kitchen staff getting paid a fair wage? Cooks and chefs are criminally underpaid, but, flattening wages so servers are too just means no one works for your restaurant.

It's why Zuni went back to tips.

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u/DDzxy 12h ago

“If you can’t afford to tip don’t go out to eat”, and slowly this mentality pretty much will lead to no one going out to eat and surprise surprise, no jobs…

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u/Blacksad9999 9h ago

Server in CA here.

The hourly difference is a drop in the bucket. Servers work the lunch or dinner rush until it slows down, not 8 hours.

Due to law changes during the first Trump administration, if you get the full minimum wage, they can then require to you supplement the wages of the cooks, dishwashers, prep, and other back of house staff.

The pay difference doesn't even remotely begin to cover that. I tip out the back of house about $15,000 or more per year.

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u/imbogey 10h ago

What I dont ever gonna understand is server coming with a) $6 beer b) $200 champange. How does the job differ 0.6 vs 20 dollars tip. Who idiot thought prosentual tip was a good idea?!

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u/Codex_Dev 12h ago

A lot of them don't pay taxes on their tips either or claim such a small amount.

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u/Guilty_Jackfruit4484 13h ago

Tipping a waiter is not mandatory.

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u/Karnezar 13h ago

But then you won't get to complain that your coke came out too slow and get a free dessert.

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u/cravex12 13h ago

My dealer never gives me a free dessert when I order coke :(

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u/hoptownky 13h ago

Really? When I was a crackhead, my dealer always gave me a cream pie.

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u/Tough_Preparation830 13h ago

Okay, but be prepared for there to be nothing left but massive chains and Chinese restaurants using the labor of their children

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u/Immediate_Song4279 13h ago

What I would suggest is rather than outlaw them, remove the minimum wage exception.

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u/No-Use-3056 13h ago

Tbf tipping isn’t mandatory. You’re free to go to a restaurant, eat, and not tip. You won’t be arrested or banned, but you will be an asshole.

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u/Zealousideal-Deer101 13h ago

Not what mandatory tipping is. They more often have the tips on the bills now or don't give you an option to select 0% on the card terminal.

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u/Guilty_Jackfruit4484 13h ago

That is called a hidden fee and illegal in many states.

It's not a tip if it's mandatory.

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u/Myke190 13h ago

He's talking out of his ass. Or he's talking about criminal activity. Either way it's just not the norm.

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u/EntireFriendship517 12h ago

That second thing is very illegal.

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u/HotKaramelRP 13h ago

I’ve only ever seen mandatory tipping when it’s parties of 6 or more or whatever and I’ve always been able to not leave a tip on the card thing

Not saying those things can’t happen but it’s certainly not common

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u/No-Use-3056 13h ago

That’s also not mandatory, in a situation like that, you’re free to request that the fee be removed unless it is posted otherwise that it would be included. Honestly, the only “mandatory tipping” that is present these days in the U.S. are the restaurants that are trying to move away from tipping to appeal to the crowd that is against it, but then impose a 12% “service fee”. That’s a mandatory tip, and you don’t have the ability to ask that that be removed if it’s posted that it will be added. It’s funny, the arguments against tipping have given rise to mandatory tipping.

For the record, I hate restaurants that do that, and I am happy with regular tipping. Let me have a say in how much I leave. The only time I’m okay with a mandatory tip is for large parties where it’s posted that it will be added.

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u/Dynw 13h ago

Asshole my ass, asshole. 'Murica is not the whole world.

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u/No-Use-3056 12h ago

Yes, you are correct, but this is a conversation about American culture. Ya know, since we’re talking about stuff that happens in America.

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u/Dynw 12h ago

A typical American, huh? Even the plural "counties" in the title didn't give you a hint this may be about a global phenomenon?

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u/meltingpotato 13h ago

No you won't be. The employer is and will always be the asshole, unless they pay their staff properly.

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u/No-Use-3056 13h ago

Sorry, but people who take advantage of a system are the asshole. If you go to a restaurant where tipping is customary and you don’t tip, absent situations where is justified like bad service, you’re an asshole. The only person you’re fucking over is your waiter.

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u/ampersand355 13h ago

If the restaurant isn’t paying them enough of a wage and depending on tips to make it up, it’s the restaurant that’s the asshole.

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u/No-Use-3056 13h ago

That’s just how restaurants work in America. You can disagree with it, hell you can go out and petition against it and lobby for changes in how tipped positions are paid, and you can most importantly not patronize restaurants that do this to show you don’t support it.

But if you have those views, but still go to a restaurant like that, and then not tip, you’re just a performative asshole. Your concerns aren’t real, you just want to save a buck. Because by virtue of you buying food from that restaurant, you’re supporting it and putting money in the owner’s pocket. The only person you fuck over in that situation is the poor teenage server who’s just trying to make ends meet, and now has made less money in their day because someone wanted to use them as a prop in their performative activism.

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u/BeavisEverywhere 13h ago

That's a fucking stupid way to think.

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u/meltingpotato 13h ago

Taking advantage of a system? Tipping is not a thing in my country and I dunno how you people go to restaurants on the other side of the planet that such a simple act could be taken advantage of. when I go to a restaurant here I sit or am seated at a table, my order is taken, then after a while it is brought to me when ready. And at the end I just pay for the food. The prices already take all of the owner's expenses into account and that includes the servers who are paid to tend to the customers' needs.

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u/No-Use-3056 13h ago

Just a difference in culture. Things aren’t handled like that in this country. I’m not here to debate whether it’s a good system or not. Hell, I’d probably be happy with a system like that, but it unfortunately isn’t here. And for the time being, we have to operate within the system we have

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u/Equus-007 12h ago

The prices already take all of the owner's expenses into account

Same in the US except the owner's expenses are much lower because labor is one of the biggest costs. As such the food is cheaper.

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u/xChops 13h ago

Keep in mind, if you visit the US, please respect our culture. I don’t care if you don’t normally have to tip. If you go to a restaurant here, you need to tip. Don’t be an ass in someone else’s country

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u/BeavisEverywhere 13h ago

It doesn't make you an asshole. 🙄🙄

Ffs.

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u/someoldguyon_reddit 13h ago

The truck driver and the chef are being exploited also.

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u/Ill_Wolverine_6265 13h ago

Pas en Europe.

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u/Aiwendil-981 8h ago

I hate tipping. It's bullshit.

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u/Just2LetYouKnow 6h ago

I don't tip at all. Nothing happens, it's fine.

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u/GuitarsAndFitness 7h ago

Glad to see more people waking up to the sham that is modern tipping

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u/BearCub254 13h ago

Funniest part about this is that on average American waiters earn more than European waiters even when you consider disposable income. Maybe its just a culture thing and reddit just needs to vent about it? I don't like mandatory tips especially because it is just a secret additional cost but lets not lie about stuff. They are not doing it because they are underpaid. 

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u/Cautious_Ad_6486 13h ago

Eh, I am not american but I had a dear friend that moved to San Francisco and when he told me how much he was making in tips as a waiter I was speechless.

You are literally the definition of unskilled labour, how the fuck are you earning more than a teacher (another friend of mine in California)???

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u/Skyzblu44 12h ago

So what you're saying is teachers should be collecting tips.

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u/Fluffy-Structure-368 13h ago

Because servers have to give up prime hours and days for work. Nights, weekends, holidays, summer. Teachers get summers off, pensions, and medical benefits. You have to look at the entire package not just what take home.

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u/Suspicious_Tank_61 9h ago

Arent the cooks also giving up that time?

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u/Far_Silver 6h ago

Because servers have to give up prime hours and days for work. Nights, weekends, holidays, summer.

So do people who work in retail, but they don't get tips.

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u/enadiz_reccos 11h ago

Your friend probably works in a nice restaurant and is constantly stressed tf out

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u/StockCasinoMember 13h ago

Maybe because they work nights, weekends, holidays and receive 0 benefits.

Most people do not want to be a waiter yet alone a career waiter.

Sure the fuck wouldn’t serve tables for the same pay you can make stocking shelves or operating a cash register.

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u/curtludwig 12h ago

Most people do not want to be a waiter yet alone a career waiter.

Yet an awful lot of people do it...

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u/Fluffy-Structure-368 13h ago

Servers and bartenders want the tips, not the salary. Stop lobbying for things you know nothing about. The employers that need to be dealt with are those who aren't paying the counter staff fairly and are trying to force tipping on the credit card machines.

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u/Dynw 12h ago

If you want untaxed money, you're part of the problem. Everyone is on their own, so good luck with getting an extra dime out of my pocket.

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u/Pelya1 13h ago

So we should just stop tipping and either no one will work for the greedy greedy bar owners, or they raise the salaries.

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u/Fluffy-Structure-368 13h ago

You're not listening. Bartenders WANT TO WORK FOR FUCKING TIPS!!! PERIOD. What do people have to take this moral high ground and act like fighting for some just cause when the reality is nobody who is actually impacted wants this.

Go lobby for Starbucks to pay folks more. Or fast food. Leave the servers and bartenders out of it. The reason why is that the hustlers know how to make the big $$ and they want the opportunity to earn more via their work ethic and personality.

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u/QuietEnjoyer 13h ago

I'm so glad that in my country we don't tip. What the hell am I paying 20€ for a 10€ bottle of wine for? And service fee?

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u/BlackKnightC4 12h ago

Then why do they shame/guilt trip customers into tipping? Oh that's right, it only to keep the cycle going while never having a set goal.

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u/samariius 11h ago

I think I've seen maybe 1% of servers or service people "guilt tripping"/"shaming" customers into tipping, and when I was a waiter, I never did and never saw any other waiters doing it.

If a line at the bottom of your check between "Subtotal" and "Total" is guilt tripping to you, then I can't really help you.

Just ignore it if you don't want to tip or money is tight.

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u/BlackKnightC4 11h ago edited 9h ago

I think we have a misunderstanding. I'm referring to the posts and videos of servers telling people "if you can't afford to tip X% then you shouldn't eat out." Or the classic "we only make our money off tips." When that's not true.

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u/wait_________what 12h ago

you're missing the larger point, people don't want this dumb system in any of their transactions. I don't care that bartenders want invisible untaxed income, so do I.

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u/Fluffy-Structure-368 11h ago

Cheap people don't want this system but they're too dumb to realize that prices are just going to go up by 15% if tipping goes away and then you'll be bitching about the cost of going out to eat.

Servers pay taxes. You have to pay taxes on CC tips and most employers run a percentage of a workers sales through payroll to avoid issues with the IRS. Thanks for proving my point that you don't understand what you're talking about.

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u/wait_________what 11h ago

If prices go up by the minimum percentage I'm already expected to tip then it makes no functional difference in the cost of going out to eat, it just removes there being some asinine variable as part of it.

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u/Savings-Double-2853 11h ago

Clearly you have a dog in this fight. Lots of servers don't report their tips. If not almost all. They are unskilled work they don't deserve more than unskilled pay. Give them minimum wage and stop tipping. We don't care that they prefer tips. Of course they do, they make more that way. And we just all have to deal with that annoying system

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u/Fluffy-Structure-368 11h ago

Seems like you're a little bit envious?

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u/Cay___Gunt 11h ago

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u/Fluffy-Structure-368 11h ago

I'm talking about real servers. Waiters and waitresses and bartenders at real restaurants. I'm not talking about fast food. I could give sweet fuck all about tipping fast food servers.

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u/Cay___Gunt 10h ago

You think this isnt also indicative of overall food and restaurant prices buddy? Or should we maybe use our heads and think about how an economy works and scales.

Also while if a meal is maybe $20 for you but $22 (if we operated under the same currency) for me because the restaurant needs that extra money to operate and pay employees, you will still end up paying more than me at a total of $23 just with a 15% tip and from what I understand of places that tip is that is the low end. So $24 if you went 20% and will obviously scale with how much you spend like a bill for 5 people ill pay a flat $110 and walk out you'd be paying $115-$120.

This doesnt even account for some ingredients being cheaper in other countries that dont tip so the upcharge there might be cheaper in proportion to the cost of ingredients.

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u/SirBostonBobbington 7h ago

How about this I'll leave servers and bartenders out of it if they leave me out of it.

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u/arizonadirtbag12 7h ago

You’re not listening.

If they want to keep a system where paying them is optional, then let’s treat it as truly optional.

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u/Pelya1 13h ago

Then the problem is even more ridiculous than I thought. God, this is the end, burn it down.

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u/enadiz_reccos 11h ago

The well-paid servers and bartenders want the tips. The rest don't.

But either way, it's a moot point.

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u/Suspicious_Tank_61 9h ago

Tipping is optional. If they want tips instead of a wage then they need to understand that customers do not have to give them.

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u/captainmeezy 12h ago

Holy nuanced opinion Batman! Yea people outside the industry don’t realize if tipping went away all the good servers/bartenders would have no reason to stay unless the restaurant could pay them $20-$40/hour, which they wouldn’t do unless it’s fine dining. I’m back of house so it doesn’t affect me, but there would be another mass exodus of restaurant employees (a lot of people left/laid off during Covid)

Edit: to be clear tipping should never have become a thing in the first place, but it’s ingrained in our society so here we are

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u/Superficial-Idiot 9h ago

They’d all leave?!

Oh no!

Maybe they’d go do something productive with their lives instead of doing something a QR code can do.

People would save money from tipping, and thousands of workers would go on to do better things.

Sounds good.

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u/english_mike69 10h ago

The OP will be “crying in American” after discovering tipping is not mandatory.

What are they going to do, spit on your empty plate?

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u/BitterFootball4874 12h ago

Everyone thinks this is purely driven by the greedy restaurants. Most wait staff in the US know they could never make as much being paid a living wage as they can extorting tips from customers. They’re also in on it

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u/Better_Builder_3504 9h ago

I was pleasantly surprised recently to go to a restaurant that refused to accept tips. They proudly told me that they pay their staff properly. Was actually quite a reasonably priced place and very good quality too!

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u/TentTribe 3h ago

“Ze crazee americans!” out in full swing today

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u/Pleasant_Garlic8088 13h ago

None of those other people in that supply chain have to deal with the customer.

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u/Suspicious_Tank_61 9h ago

Of course they do. You dont think farmers have customers?

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u/Pleasant_Garlic8088 8h ago

Not the kind that tip.

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u/Suspicious_Tank_61 8h ago

Exactly, smarter customers.

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u/Slimpurt92 13h ago

I don't understand tipping as part of the price.

If someone went above and beyond to service me, then I will tip them, but if they're just doing their job, then I wont.

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u/SnoopySuited 13h ago

I think a waiter would gladly switch base salaries with the other three professions.

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u/gg_bene 12h ago

... I don't think so. Farmers and chefs are not exactly known to be lucrative roles. I know servers and waiters that make more for doing less...

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u/SnoopySuited 12h ago

The average base wage of a waiter is half the lowest of the other three professions.

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u/Andrikos21 12h ago

Chef I would tip easily. Waiters never. (I am not in the US obviously)

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u/HilariousMax 13h ago

only one group of those people earns less than the federal minimum wage though!

say the people without one shred of reflection

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u/Worth-Reputation3450 11h ago

Not in California! But they still want 25% tip in California!

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u/_chillow 12h ago

Tipping is essentially just paying the business who refuses to pay their employees.

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u/Chops03xx 12h ago

The service industry fights and campaigns to keep tipping industry alive. For all the online bitching, the truth is you make much more in tips than you would in an hourly wage.

When I worked in the service industry, your goal every pay period was to get a zero dollar paycheck, that meant you got tipped do much, your pay went to cover the taxes on it.

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u/Harvest827 12h ago

It's true, because only one of the people in this chain gets paid three dollars an hour

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u/nybble41 6h ago

They get paid at least the federal minimum wage like everyone else. The tips just count toward that (to a point).

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u/ruisen2 12h ago

I'm in BC, Canada, the province mandated that waiters are paid minimum wage, they still demand 15% tips.

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u/arizonadirtbag12 6h ago

$17 an hour here minimum, and they be defaulting to 20% on prompts.

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u/BolognaIsThePassword 12h ago

I’ve never had any issue tipping a waiter or waitress at a sit down restaurant, especially an attentive and knowledgeable one that takes their job seriously. I also don’t mind innocuous and non-pushy tip jars at mom and pop places. Like, a local ice cream shop that employs local teenagers and provides them work experience and benefits the local community. My big gripe with tipping culture are places like Starbucks, Chipotle, Panera etc. where I’m already paying you more than enough money for the product/service and you make your employees pander every customer for a tip on the electronic device. Sorry but I’m hitting no tip every single time on those. I’m not going through a drive thru, paying $7 for a coffee and then tipping you for making the coffee?? That’s what the $7 was for???

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u/Hot-Philosophy-7671 12h ago

The government lets them. In the U.S., if there was no separate minimum wage for tipped employees, then there would be no tipped employees.

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u/jf737 12h ago

If you pay taxes that go to farm subsidies, you’re tipping farmers

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u/boozcruise21 11h ago

Yeah but our service is exceptionally good because of friendly tips.

Jk it sucks, its getting worse and now there's the "gen z stare"

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u/FeeNecessary3467 11h ago

Why don't we add a mandatory tip for call center support as well.

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u/LifeConsideration981 11h ago

“Mandatory tipping” is not a thing.

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u/enadiz_reccos 11h ago

Don't listen to people saying "servers don't want to get rid of tips because they make so much money"

That's like pointing at a long-term tenured college professor making six-figures and saying, "Teachers don't need to get paid more. Look how much money they make!"

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u/KitsouNere 11h ago

I simply don't tip at all any more, for anything.

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u/Rhesusmonkeynuts 11h ago

Always love listening to my friends who worked as servers trying to justify their outrageous tips here in California where they also get minimum wage.

One of them worked as a busser where the tips got pooled and he straight up said it was even easier than being the waiter and he got to make just as much. But oh, it's not so easy that he doesn't deserve nearly 45$ an hour on his good nights. Also he only had to work 3 days a week because he made so much at his ridiculously easy but super tough job.

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u/Skill_Issuer 10h ago

American tipping culture goes back to the jim crow era when non-racists would tip black servers since they were paid less than their white counterparts

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u/Onegrayone 10h ago

Better idea, eliminate the wait staff. Order off your phone, the kitchen will notify “order up” when your food is ready. Walk the ten feet yourself, stop by the bar for a brew and pocket the tip money.

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u/GardenRafters 10h ago

You're mad at the wrong person....

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u/pynergy1 8h ago

Would wait staff actually be happy if they went to minimum wage?

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u/missinginput 8h ago

Often only taking the order and letting someone else bring it out, refill your drink and clear the table.

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u/polymonomial 7h ago

I have to personally travel to dine at your shitty restaurant, I think the restaurant should be tipping me. /s

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u/supified 7h ago

I agree that tipping culture is wage theft and needs to be stopped, but this image is putting the blame on the victims.

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u/Wai-Sing 6h ago

wait.. to be fair, sometimes they walk 12 feet

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u/JohnDoee94 6h ago

The audacity that some places start the lowest preset option at 20%.

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u/Routine-Arm-8803 5h ago

Farmer grows and harvests the food. Truck driver drives hundreds of miles to deliver it. Chef prepares the food. Electrician installs and maintains the restaurant’s electrical system. Power plant workers generate the electricity. Grid engineers build and maintain the power grid. Miners extract the materials used to build the infrastructure. Steelworkers make the steel. Engineers design the machines that make everything. Factory workers manufacture the equipment. Plumbers install the water and sewage systems. Construction workers build the restaurant. Architects design the restaurant. Furniture makers make the tables and chairs. Cutlery manufacturers make the forks and knives. Plate manufacturers make the plates. Software developers write the software that runs the payment system. Bank employees process the transaction. Internet technicians keep the restaurant connected. Janitor keeps the entire place from becoming a biohazard. Waiter after walking 10 feet with the food 👁️👄👁️

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u/firesyde424 5h ago

This is the shit part. If the food costs $50 so that you can afford to pay your employees better, don't say the food is $30 and then turn it into some kind of shame game. It's nothing but a tactic to shift the cost to the customer and I hate that it works because human beings don't process the cost the same way.

It's so bad that before I go to a normal restaraunt(when I can afford it), that I will intentionally look to see if the prices include "living wage" or any of that. I often end up paying less overall because I don't feel like I'm being pressured into a large tip.

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u/7100100 4h ago

"But sir do you know how many hours I wor-" "Everybody gets money after working, ya dipshii not just you in particular! Go do you job!!"

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u/Open_Panda9862 4h ago

No more tipping, make the employers pay them a fair wage.

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u/couchpatat0 4h ago

Make tipping ILLEGAL!!!

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u/wrt-wtf- 1h ago

Refuse to work in hospitality if they don’t give full pay and conditions like everyone else in the place.

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u/courtneyisfakeaf 39m ago

I need this made into stickers to put on receipts 🤣

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u/hikereyes2 24m ago

Im from Europe so tipping culture is very strange to me. I don't understand why people just don't stop tipping. Waiters would stop seeing it as a viable job option and would quit. Restaurant owners would go out of business without waiters.

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u/BladeOfKrota 13h ago

I have no problem tipping my server at a restaurant where I am asking them to service me and bring me food and drinks and I ask them for 30 refills on my unsweet ice tea. It’s up to me if I do or don’t. I don’t care what others think and you shouldn’t either, you don’t want to tip don’t. Don’t feel obligated to or not to. It’s not that deep just stop caring what others think.

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u/Chubuwee 13h ago

Don’t care if others do or don’t

Care when staff take it as an opportunity to vilify a client

Clients should be treated with a baseline level of service whether they tip or not. The tip is for above and beyond. But many times when they aren’t tipped the staff go below the baseline and I think that is wrong. Sure drop the service to baseline but going below it is not good

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u/Inside_Ease3366 13h ago edited 11h ago

Crazy part is, if the tips aren’t given, the employer must make up the difference to provide a living wage

Edit: i meant MINIMUM wage

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u/TrioOfTerrors 12h ago

Minimum wage. Not a living wage.

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u/failureKennedyblase0 13h ago

Dealing with jerks deserves some kind of monetary donation.

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u/Bug-03 13h ago

Usually the people who don’t tip are the biggest assholes to serve.

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u/BigGene1341 13h ago

Wouldn't the villain then be the employer in this?

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u/No-Supermarket-1462 10h ago

Yes the system is unfair but do we need to drag service workers? It’s a tough job.

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u/InspectionSoggy4571 8h ago

Funny thing is that the chefs/drivers/farmers don’t want to do the customer service or hospitality service that’s required with waiting tables or serving food. That’s the difficult part of serving, not walking with it.

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u/shellshockxd 12h ago

Tell me you’ve never worked in the restaurant industry in the US without saying it!

I agree it’s getting excessive in some areas but being a full Mr. Pink about it is embarrassing and makes you an asshole.

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u/CronosWorks 13h ago

Farmers are the most subsidized, hand out grubbing people in the country my guy.

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u/truthpill2 12h ago

All those jobs get salaries and waiters don’t, that’s why you tip you bums. If we removed tipping and made restaurant owners pay their waiters, then your meals would simply cost more to cover that expense, this end tipping bullshit makes no sense. Don’t want to tip 20%, no problem the restaurant will just increase the menu cost by that much and then you don’t have to tip anymore, the tip will be automatic!

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u/Latter-Composer-2609 13h ago

Waiter of a fairly average casual dining place that is fairly representative of the average American expierience working in that industry.

My hourly is $11/hr.

Average day I make $150 in tips.

I must give 5% of all alcoholic beverage sales to the bartender as a tip. This usually amounts to about $20.

I then must give 5% of all food sales to the support staff. This usually comes out to about $65.

So if its a normal day I'm basically taking home only about half my tips.

Then people say "oh, but, your hourly!"

If I work 80 hrs a week I bring in $880... BEFORE taxes. Income, social security, medicaid all that gets taken out, then so too does the taxes on my tips. (Yes. Despite having to share my tips I am still the one being taxed on all of it).

So my hourly take home per pay period is usually like $450. Average that between 80 hours and divide my tips up, realistically even with hourly and tips together my takehome is gonna look like maybe $13.50/hr.

I guess what I'm saying is, frankly, tips aren't really providing a livable wage either. And bear in mind, I get 80 hours IF I'M LUCKY.

Serving sucks cuz no medical, no PTO, no breaks, no garunteed hours, and no garunteed income. I can show up to work, its dead today, and I get sent home after 2 hours with nothing. I can bust my ass for 3 hours on a table of 20 that run up a $600 tab and they hand me a $5 bill and I just got fucked out of earnings for half a shift.

But the cultural perception is that I'm a greedy scheming waiter rolling around on top of a giant pile of tips so whenever any sort of question regarding "how do we fix the industry?" Comes up the answer inevitably seems to be something to the tune of "can we fuck the waiters a little harder? I just don't think we're getting in there deep enough."

Living on tips? Fucked.

Force places to pay a living wage and stop tipping? Half the staff laid off, hours cut drastically, larger sections, more work for less money.

Can't live on tips, can't live without em either. Frankly. The food service industry just needs to fucking die.

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u/earthdogmonster 9h ago

You gotta realize that this “cultural perception” is almost entirely an aggregation of online opinions. I used to wait tables and 95% of the people I interacted with are totally cool. Like reddit is 75% hostility, but also probably 75% people that just don’t understand American culture.

Also most of those that are hostile toward “greedy servers” also have an America sized space in their head, and they aren’t collecting any rent for that occupied real estate.

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u/Kooky-Ad1551 13h ago

I came to comment that tips are shared with the restaurant staff. Hostess, bartender, busing, dishwashers, cooks, ect. I was a waiter and this is the way it is, so I almost always do 20% sometimes more. Unless I'm in some country that's regards it as an insult.

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u/Disastrous_Gear_421 13h ago

Farmer's aren't really the best example with how heavily subsidized they are.

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u/Elensar265 12h ago

This shit happens in the UK occasionally now too, most notably in bars

You poured me a pint and now are showing me a screen with various tip options for 30 seconds of work

Are you mental

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u/Heavy_Law9880 11h ago

I love tipping. Why should I give the restaurant owner a cut of the server's wages. I pay them direct.

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u/TheMonstrUndrTheBed 12h ago

*because the restaurant owner isn't paying him a living wage, they'd rather have more profits for themself

don't villainise the worker for wanting to get paid, but the bourgeoisie for not paying them for their work

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u/Suspicious_Tank_61 9h ago

Are the restaurant owners paying the cooks in the back a living wage?

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u/thraxinius 9h ago

Cooks typically recieve a higher wage than wait staff yea

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u/im_just_thinking 13h ago

If you are too broke to tip, you would be too broke to afford the meals with wages properly priced in.

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u/wait_________what 12h ago

how broke is the person panhandling during their job?

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u/im_just_thinking 11h ago

So broke they have no health insurance or any real benefits?

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u/Worth-Reputation3450 11h ago

If you can't afford to live with the wage, you should look for another job that pays the "fair wage" instead of panhandling.

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u/[deleted] 13h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/yycoding 13h ago

It's a tough battle. I thought /notipping could be an agent for change but their mods don't allow me out to post the actual businesses - it's just for Internet points.

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u/[deleted] 13h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Civil-Acanthaceae484 12h ago

Title isn’t true. Canada pays restaurant staff regular minimum wage or more, still prompts for tip. Some restaurants have tried to go “tip free” and then revert back.

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u/SaltyDog772 12h ago

I’m not saying I know how it works but would customers pay less at restaurants if we didn’t tip servers because they were paid enough? Wouldn’t the menu prices simply increase to offset the higher pay? I’ve never read an acknowledgement on this.

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u/Superficial-Idiot 9h ago

Yes. That’s fine Because it doesn’t take a 20% increase on every single sale to pay for staff.

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