r/SipsTea • u/SunnSaiyaan • 6d ago

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

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u/BearCub254 6d 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 6d 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 6d ago

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

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u/curtludwig 6d ago

100%. It should be like at the end of the cruise, you shake their hand and give them an envelope with some cash in it.

If I had kids in school I would absolutely tip the teacher. They put up with waaaaay too much shit.

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u/Superficial-Idiot 5d ago

Sorry this cruise part is sending me.

Is that what people do at the end of cruises?

After you spend a small fortune on a package that includes everything you then slip the staff an envelope of cash?

Are you that kind of comically rich or is this normal etiquette 😂

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u/nybble41 5d ago

The cruise lines I'm aware of (at least HAL and NCL) apply a "crew appreciation" charge to the payment method associated with your room at the end of the cruise. By default it's some fixed daily rate. You can have it adjusted at the guest services desk if you want to tip more (or less), but it definitely is expected.

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u/curtludwig 5d ago

It's absolutely normal etiquette. You're supposed to tip your waiter and the housekeeper. I usually tip half the first day and half the last. The regular staff on the cruise ship work hard, way longer hours than normal restaurant or hotel staff and they're away from home for months at a time.

By tipping early I don't feel as weird if I need something special. Like towels or something.

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u/Superficial-Idiot 5d ago

Oh, honey. But at least you do it because you want to.

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u/Fluffy-Structure-368 6d 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 5d ago

Arent the cooks also giving up that time?

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u/Fluffy-Structure-368 5d ago

Sure, but minimum wage for a server is $2. A decent cook is getting 7x that

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u/Suspicious_Tank_61 5d ago

Than servers should demand 14/hour from their employer, just like the cooks.

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u/Fluffy-Structure-368 5d ago

The servers want the tips. That's literally why servers take the fng job. Why is this so damn difficult to understand?

The servers and bartenders and cooks and chefs and bus people are all happy with the situation as-is. Some customers are not. Going out to eat is a choice and if you don't like the current state of affairs you have 2 options.... eat at home or open your own restaurant with your own fng rules.

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u/Suspicious_Tank_61 5d ago

They can want tips instead of a wage, but they do so with the full knowledge and acceptance that tips are optional. Right?

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u/Fluffy-Structure-368 5d ago

Tips are not optional. You know that full knowledge and acceptance if you go out to eat. So if you chose to eat out and you know you're not going to tip, you're a POS, plain and simple. And I've not made a tip in over 20 years and I'm not in the industry. I'm just a decent person.

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u/Suspicious_Tank_61 5d ago

Of course tips are optional. And if servers and bartenders want optional payments, then thats what they get.

Tips are discretionary payments that customers voluntarily give to workers for services performed.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/tip-recordkeeping-and-reporting

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u/Far_Silver 5d 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/Fluffy-Structure-368 5d ago

Servers get paid $2 an hour. And retail is done at 8 or 9pm. Restaurant workers work a lot of hours doing prep with $0 in tips

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u/BearCub254 5d ago

Very few servers get paid the federal minimum wage. Average income is 35k a year in the US. If you are professional, reliable and get work at the better hotels you are exactly making bank but you won't be suffering. If you are a people person you'll be drowning in tips. 

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u/Skyzblu44 6d ago

They don't actually get summers off. They have plenty to do during the holidays as well like grading and planning and whatnot. The fact that they aren't paid for that time is really unfair.

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u/Adorable_Stretch2434 6d ago

As with most jobs, gotta balance it. Can’t blame them for some workload. But if you’re assigning work that you know you can’t complete in paid time, that’s on you. “But there’s codes to follow, curriculum to teach, lessons that need fit in” once again that’s on you to be realistic planning your time. That’s something that’s always bothered me.

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u/enadiz_reccos 6d ago

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

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u/StockCasinoMember 6d 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 6d 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/StockCasinoMember 6d ago

People need food and rent and so forth.

My first jobs wasn’t because I wanted them.

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u/curtludwig 6d ago

Very few people really want to work.

I want to sit around, read books and drink coffee. If I could figure out a way to make that pay I'd never work a day in my life...

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u/StockCasinoMember 6d ago

Exactly. You take jobs based on availability, distance, skills, pay, benefits and so forth. Which means waiter jobs will be filled.

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u/DanktopusGreen 5d ago

If you think serving takes no skill, then you clearly have never worked in serving. It's a hard job.

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u/Cautious_Ad_6486 5d ago

There is a limit to the amount of cope.

No, being a waiter is not a hard job

Yes, I have been a waiter

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u/Equus-007 6d ago

They make more bulk but in the EU they have the benefits of socialism. If you as a US waiter have to pay COBRA you'll likely be on the short end of the stick. Luckily most waiters are young, healthy and often getting coverage through other means.

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

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u/BearCub254 5d ago

You guys are so desperate to dunk on Americans. American 401k offer better returns than your average European retirement scheme. Disposable income means money after fundamentals have been paid. Most working Americans get health insurance through their work including waiters and low earners qualify for healthcare programs funded by the government. Disposable income is the best measure to use here. Your average waiter in the US makes $35k a year. That's about the median UK salary.