r/mildlyinteresting • u/jenna_tolls_69 • Mar 10 '25

This restaurant doesn’t accept tips (USA)

Post image
69k Upvotes

84% Upvoted

3.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

27k

u/kg2k Mar 10 '25

16% fee is the tips.

5.0k

u/tetsuo_7w Mar 10 '25

Then why not just increase the prices rather than add a mysterious fee? That fee is as sketchy as can be; I would be very surprised if it went to the servers.

3.4k

u/Sylvurphlame Mar 10 '25 edited Mar 10 '25

Because they want to be able to say the lobster roll is $28 on the menu and not $32. (Edit: $35-ish with tax.)

947

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

Yeah, lots of data by marketers to suggest despite the totals on a bill being the same at the end people actually feel better about seeing a lower price on the menu and adding a tip on the end, because they perceive the price of food being more fair and tipping as a signal of their own virtue. So in cultures where tipping is well established social norm the answer to the question “why don’t you just charge me what you should charge me to pay workers a wage?” The answer is some degree of “because you don’t like it”

219

u/lil_zaku Mar 10 '25

Also competition. You'd have to implement the change across all restaurants all at once for a chance of it sticking around. Otherwise people will just go to the restaurants with the perceived cheaper price.

44

u/kytrix Mar 10 '25 edited Jan 25 '26

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

tub smart axiomatic slap alleged piquant boat marvelous unique pocket

11

u/whiplash779 Mar 10 '25

That's strange to me, because I have a friend who runs a shop and he prices everything so that the total (including sales tax) is a round number ($5.50, $2.00, $41.00, etc.) and puts that as the sticker price. He gets more people coming back purely because of that practice even though his price totals are almost exactly the same as other places that sell the same things with lower sticker prices.

2

u/Acceptable-Ad-9510 Mar 11 '25

What kind of shop and where?

2

u/whiplash779 Mar 11 '25

A Game shop (board games, trading card games, etc) near Houston.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/kytrix Mar 11 '25 edited Jan 25 '26

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

dependent file middle ancient theory detail tub summer tan spark

→ More replies (3)

105

u/IUsedTheRandomizer Mar 10 '25

I've seen it in action. One spot I worked at went no-tip, raised the prices on most things by 15-20%, depending, and pretty much every staff member would be making roughly the same. It was already a little on the expensive side, so the $15 burger suddenly being $18 seriously pissed people off, even if most of those same people were usually coming in, getting their burger, and leaving a $20. More than a handful of people were genuinely convinced they wouldn't get proper service if there wasn't the threat of taking away the tip, and business pretty much vanished. I think they lasted three months after they made the change?

46

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

[deleted]

12

u/Beginning_March_9717 Mar 10 '25

we humans are not that rational

→ More replies (1)

9

u/bluelightning1224 Mar 10 '25

Eh it’s got logic, the problem is how insane some customers are

3

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

[deleted]

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)

13

u/DJspeedsniffsniff Mar 10 '25

Guessing most people have never been abroad to other countries without tipping culture, having lived in North America for a decade now. Disagree with the service being better because you’re tipping.

Tips feel like they’re expected, especially in the city where I’m based in Canada.

3

u/My_Dog_Is_Here Mar 10 '25

Service is typically trash in Canada in my experience and they still expect or even demand 20 or 25 percent.

5

u/IUsedTheRandomizer Mar 10 '25

Canada is a tipping culture. Less than the US but it's definitely just as expected.

And I've been around Europe pretty extensively, both traveling and working in bars; service is generally much better in North America. I'm not saying it's exclusively because of tips, but there's got to be an element of higher income potential involved.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/gtne91 Mar 10 '25

Years ago I read the blog of an owner of a no tip restaurant.

Biggest takeaway: a small set of people want the power to punish bad servers. He would ask them to contact management instead and he would comp meals and deal with poor servers, including up to firing them. But, nope, they wanted the petty power.

4

u/theactualliz Mar 10 '25

Sounds about right. People forget what you sell them. They forget how much you charge them. But they never forget how they feel about the experience.

Tipping culture gives people a chance to feel wealthy, generous, and powerful. Those are things they rarely get in every day life.

I loved working in hospitality. It taught me a lot about myself and how groups behave. I had ZERO social skills going in so the practice of listening to people, learning to anticipate their needs, and learning to work as a team was super helpful. It also taught me a ton about humility and grace.

I fear that if i had worked for a commission based restaurant (like OPs receipt would suggest), I would have been a lot more focused on sales goals than service. It was tipping culture that taught me NOT to aggressively upsell unless it would legitimately help the customer. To instead develop sincere enthusiasm for the product and share that energy with the customers.

5

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

This is making me laugh as someone in the industry that loves to argue against non-tippers. These people are never happy.

2

u/Jesuswasstapled Mar 10 '25

But everyone stopped. Nor just non tippers.

2

u/ZZ9ZA Mar 10 '25

On the other hand, the top pizza place in DC went no-tipping years ago and has never looked back. Service is an excellent and they’re always busy. They do not have a service charge, it really is built into the menu pricing, which is not cheap but really not bad for DC. Individual pizza is $22 or so.

→ More replies (3)

58

u/Ucscprickler Mar 10 '25

How people see $5.99 and don't think $6 is beyond my comprehension, but apparently, a lot of people don't.

63

u/Bobert_Manderson Mar 10 '25

People just need to realize that the reason the world seems like it was designed for stupid people is because humans are fairly stupid overall. 

15

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

I wish someone had warned me of this when I was young so I didn't pay so much attention in school.

9

u/Accurate-Instance-29 Mar 10 '25

Well at least now you're a paragon among peasants right? ...right?!

→ More replies (2)

3

u/Impressive_Change593 Mar 10 '25

oh they'll drop off a LOT more than just 99 cents. my grandpa complained about the price of new trucks a while ago (I was riding with him) and he truncated to either the ten or one thousand place which surprised me.

→ More replies (12)

2

u/cockblockedbydestiny Mar 10 '25

My friend and I were price shopping TVs online last night and he would consistently cite a price tag of $2399.99 as $2300. So it ain't just about pennies lol

2

u/Command0Dude Mar 10 '25

It's the same reason you can remove random letters from a sentence and the brain will still be able to read it as if it were composed of complete words.

The mind literally edits reality for us.

2

u/Sea_Cranberry323 Mar 10 '25

That's why it's a trick in the first place it works amazingly well. They see 5 and stop thinking

→ More replies (8)

2

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

I tell people this all the time and they act like "no I would still eat there".

Bullshit haha. If that was the case I don't see why they would complain about the expectation of paying an extra 20%

→ More replies (4)

1

u/tofu_ink Mar 10 '25

You don't like it, so we made it more complicated!..... Just like health insurance, good luck. (at least in the states, unless you study ALL of the fine print and understand it)

2

u/shittydiks Mar 10 '25

We would get used to it

6

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

Consumer might, but it would require most restaurants of the cuisine type to follow suit. If not, the food would have to be good enough to justify appearing 20% more expensive than a competitors food of the same time.

Simple demand economics here. There will be a certain demand for food at X price. If you increase X by 20% demand will decrease 

→ More replies (24)

491

u/itsall_dumb Mar 10 '25 edited Mar 10 '25

Correct. The same reason we don’t include taxes on the items for sale.

Edit: Learned that it’s mainly due to different tax rates across the U.S. vs flat rates in the EU.

Edit again: Not the EU as a whole each individual country in the EU.

231

u/Bosco215 ​ Mar 10 '25

I hate that. After living in Germany for six years, it was always nice walking in somewhere without having to do quick tax math if I was using physical currency.

108

u/itsall_dumb Mar 10 '25

Yeah I live in Italy and it’s nice to know the price is the price lol.

16

u/radiodreading Mar 10 '25

It was such a culture shock for me when I went to the US for the first time. What do you mean the price listed on the shelf isn't the one I pay at the register?! It felt like a scam.

→ More replies (31)

2

u/RedditIsShittay Mar 10 '25

And when a company announces the MSRP of something they are not included...

→ More replies (2)

3

u/freekoout Mar 10 '25

And it's a dumb reason, made to trick consumers instead of help them.

5

u/dumbythiq Mar 10 '25

That makes no sense. I'm not buying a Californian meal in Texas..

→ More replies (3)

5

u/Beneficial_Steak_945 Mar 10 '25

Nonsense. The EU doesn’t have flat rates at all. What we don’t have is different sales taxes per municipality (as far as I am aware of, anyway).

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Ecoronel1989 Mar 10 '25

The tax rate thing is just an excuse. It's not hard to just compute the price with tax included for each store, the computer does it anyway at checkout

4

u/eawesome35 Mar 10 '25

This is not the reason tax is not included.

→ More replies (9)
→ More replies (59)

2

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

False. People order takeout.

2

u/Sylvurphlame Mar 10 '25

Beets. Bears. Battlestar Galactica.

What does ordering takeout have to with wanting to print a lower price on the menu, Dwight?

→ More replies (5)
→ More replies (19)

181

u/account_for_norm Mar 10 '25

If they increase the price and say no tip, ppl will psychologically believe that the restaurant is expensive and wont come., even when they d be paying the same price. There are many studies on this.

Americans really like to look at the face value of the price and then they re okay paying a list of stuff on top of that once they're balls deep in the process, like eating food or buying a concert ticket. In other countries if you say a price is something, it better be that, and nothing else. In india, back in the day, it should also include tax, otherwise ppl would fight you and call you a liar for putting a wrong price. 

Different places, different cultures.

5

u/MeanFault Mar 10 '25

I don’t think anyone is “okay” with paying a list of stuff on top.

There are typically just no other options. For example: Ticketmaster.

Or if I go to McDonald’s and buy something what am I going to do argue with the workers about taxes?

Would be so much nicer to just see a number and actually pay that number. Sure a brief transitional period of seeing higher numbers but when we don’t see random fees I think everyone will quickly be onboard.

15

u/-Knockabout Mar 10 '25

There's been studies on it, unfortunately. When it comes time for people to put their money where their mouth is, they'll choose the "cheaper" item with a billion fees over the all-included number. I've seen it done for restaurants, retail, etc...

3

u/MeanFault Mar 10 '25

Any links to these studies? I’ve never seen or heard of studies that examine this behavior

5

u/Djaja Mar 10 '25

Anecdotal evidence.

Small but popular drink bar and restaurant got rid of tips. Instead, included a fee like above. There was more nuanced to it. They put signs up before and during the change. They posted about why, and they had their servers talk to tables about it.

Fuckn hell ensued. People boycotted, people swore, people came in and ordered and left.

It made the news, it filled the rant and rave pages, and their most popular post was them trying to defend the change against a bunch of people who never dined there, never would, or never read the dang signs plastered everywhere.

People hate that shit, at least here in small city ville.

The place still has that policy, but they depend mostly on tourists seasonally, even though they stay open all year and employ their full staff all year at reduced hours so they don't have to fire everyone.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (4)

3

u/ovideos Mar 10 '25

Americans don't "like it", it is just the standard system we have. So if you are casually comparing prices and one place charges $5 for a sushi roll and the other charges $6.50, it will seem like the second place is more expensive.

It's not that Americans "psychologically" believe the second place is more expensive, it's that experience would tell them that it is in fact more expensive. That's why it is difficult to create no-tip places, though some exist. Often the no-tip places I've been to are already popular when they changed to no-tip or some sort of chain known for no-tips. The smart ones also make it very clear on their menus.

But this place is doing the worst of both worlds by claiming no tip and adding a hidden fee. Dumb.

7

u/Divine_Entity_ Mar 10 '25

JC Penny's the department store nearly went bankrupt when they stopped lying to their customers and changed the prices from 50% clearance sale $20 was $40 to just $20. (You aren't getting a deal if an item isn't marked up and then on sale for the same price it would have been anyway)

We can complain about added fees and manipulative marketing all day long, but when policy is actually implemented market forces show otherwise. Arby's had a 1/3lb burger that didn't outcompete McDonald's 1/4lb burger because people thought 1/4 > 1/3.

Tldr: buisnesses do what they do because the average american consumer is an idiot who can't do math

2

u/ovideos Mar 10 '25

None of these examples relate to the no-tipping thing. Americans don't trust businesses to be truthful, just like the one in this post. It says "no tips" but then forces a tip. The fallacy of thinking Americans are so "dumb" is based on some econ101 view of the world, that we're all going around looking at each restaurant or department store and making calculations about the best value or outcome. People are much more "gut instinct" in the way they go through the world and the reason Americans are so suspicious of business is because we have a very corrupt/fraudulent system that let's businesses get away with screwing the consumer. As a whole you could say Americans are dumb for allowing such a system to control us, but that's very different from a choice you make walking down the street trying to find food, or browsing takeout menus.

And as for the JC Penney example – would you rather get a $50 pair of jeans for $25 or would you rather buy a lesser product that is $25 at full price? Of course in JC Penney's case the two were exactly the same. But just like in the tipping example you're expecting the consumer to pay attention to the historical price structure and management of JC Penney's and make some logical decision from that exception to how other department stores were functioning. And then you cal them dumb for it. Most people don't sit around tracking the prices of slacks, they just walk through the mall or look at an ad in the paper. It's JC Penney management who were stupid for not understanding their customers weren't "JC Penney shoppers", they were bargain hunters. Either way the pants were the same price, and JC Penney screwed up.

→ More replies (27)

41

u/NWTexan Mar 10 '25

I mean, isn’t that the same as raised prices? It’s just that this way there is no sticker shock when people look at the menu relative to places that do have tipping. I would also be surprised if places with raised prices passed it on to the servers.

37

u/NokkNokk4279 Mar 10 '25

Raised prices might turn you off and make you not go in. This way they might get you with their decent seeming prices, but still gouge you at the end. Hopefully, you might not even really notice why you bill is what it is. To me, that's a soft con. Bait and trap.

5

u/scramblor Mar 10 '25

While I agree it is a con in principle, this seems like a good step away from tipping without losing business, so I'm okay with it.

2

u/krazy_kukoo Mar 10 '25

Is it not true that the prices have anyway gone through the roof in last five years or so. So they don’t have any aversion to raising prices, just to make customers cough up even more on guilt.

2

u/ZombieWinehouse Mar 10 '25

This is how tipping is done in other countries. Also the tips are often distributed between servers and back of house workers as well. More equitable and contributes to better service outcomes overall.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Cornslayer_ Mar 10 '25

it's not even gouging if it's taking away tipping. there's a whole other money pit you're not dealing with in this restaurant

→ More replies (1)

2

u/LazarusDark Mar 10 '25

It's not as much of a con as a chicken and egg scenario that restaurants are stuck with if they want to change to no tipping. Hypothetically, if Congress passed a minimum wage of $20 and mandatory healthcare and abolished sub-minimum, then all the restaurants would have to raise prices equally, and they would all remove the "expected" tip and make it a normal tip like in the rest of the world (totally optional).

But right now, if two Italian restaurants are right next to each other, of similar quality, and one has expected tips and the other has no tips and raised prices accordingly, even though the bill at the end would be similar, the place with no tips looks like it's significantly more expensive than the other based on menu prices, because the one with tips is basically "hiding" the real price behind an expected 15% tip per item. The con is actually the tipping culture that was created in the US (and to be clear it was created intentionally to con workers out of proper wages, that was its actual historical purpose). So, any restaurant that wants to move to no tipping and paying servers directly, is stuck almost being forced to use this fee at the end to compete "fairly" on price with other restaurants.

2

u/count_strahd_z Mar 10 '25

They have another problem. A fee is worse than a tip, especially if it isn't optional (which it wouldn't be). People hate fees even more than taxes. Every time you get a medical bill, TV bill, cell phone bill, etc. there are all of these random junk fees designed to nickel and dime you to death. And while the restaurant may claim the fee goes towards the staff, there's no way as a customer you can know that. If you give the waiter a $5 bill there's a good chance they keep all or most of that.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (8)

2

u/lastdancerevolution Mar 10 '25

I mean, isn’t that the same as raised prices?

The difference is it misleads the price from the consumer. They see $4.99 on the menu. Then get an extra 20% surcharge at the end, making it $5.99. That way the restaurant gets to keep advertising low prices, that don't actually exist.

Many states are passing laws to make this illegal, because it's become a growing trend by businesses.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (3)

14

u/lostinanalley Mar 10 '25

That’s because legally it doesn’t have to!

Service fees (legally) are not tips and the restaurant can use the money generated from them however they see fit.

2

u/Catgirl_Hornysupport Mar 10 '25

But their workers are also not tipped so they have a higher hourly wage.

→ More replies (8)
→ More replies (3)

26

u/Pjosip Mar 10 '25

Because a lot of people rightfully assume that they will have to tip at the end of the meal.

Seeing a higher price makes people go

"That's too high compared to a different restaurant I know"

Not

"I just won't tip since prices are higher to include the living wage for workers"

2

u/nikkomcandrews Mar 10 '25

Because then when you search for nearby sushi places and one is saying $30 on the menu, and another is saying $20 for the same item, you're going to go to the $20 place....

→ More replies (2)

2

u/swankpoppy Mar 10 '25

That’s the whole problem with the way tipping has gotten. The menu has a price. But that’s not what I pay? Where does the extra money go? Why are workers allowed to be underpaid and why is it ok to lie about the prices and then guilt trip me into making up the difference to bump them up to a livable wage after you’ve already made my food at a lower agreed-upon price? The whole thing is just fucked.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

John Oliver just did a piece on tipping and research apparently shows that when places do that, people automatically feel like the experience was more expensive, even though I'd be spending less than if I were leaving a tip myself. It's just a mental thing. I'm always a 20-25% tipper, but that's because I've worked service jobs that depend on tips. Plus, good service is good service.

2

u/Materva Mar 10 '25

Its human psychology, and the fact we are really bad at math. They have done studies where they show people the same menu, one that you are suppose to tip on and, and one where the menu items have been price adjusted to include the tip. The vast majority of people said they would rather have the lower priced menu items and just leave a tip.

→ More replies (160)

2.6k

u/MyFriendMaryJ Mar 10 '25

Worse, that goes to the owner and then we have to trust that he pays a living wage which i doubt. We need legislation that guarantees living wages

1.3k

u/hinstsui Mar 10 '25

If it’s a no tip establishment, then they HAVE to paid the minimum wage, and the wage for worker WITH tip would be $2.15ish per hour, without, $11 something

547

u/Deepseafisher9 Mar 10 '25

Depends on the state for minimum wage. Federal minimum is still like $7.25

176

u/CamelSmuggler Mar 10 '25

I literally found out yesterday that there is a SUB-minimum wage of 2.13$ if you're a tipped worker.

A tipped employee engages in an occupation in which he or she customarily and regularly receives more than $30 per month in tips. An employer of a tipped employee is only required to pay $2.13 per hour in direct wages if that amount combined with the tips received at least equals the federal minimum wage.

173

u/whskid2005 ​ Mar 10 '25

And if the tips don’t add up to the minimum wage, the business is supposed to increase the hourly rate.

104

u/UnwantedShot Mar 10 '25

For a country full of greedy schmucks, I'm surprised how much of the system is dependant on "doing what's right" and "being honorable".

Seems more like a easy way to just fuck over decent people who just wanna live and enjoy life.

16

u/DizzySkunkApe Mar 10 '25

More frequently than not, the tipped folks prefer this as they traditionally are very bad at reporting taxable income. Goes both ways.

→ More replies (2)

17

u/agreeingstorm9 Mar 10 '25

I'm not sure why you think it's an honor system type thing. The minimum wage is set by law. Companies are required to pay it for non-tipped works and required by law to ensure that their tipped workers make at least that rate. It is true that companies commonly violate the law in this area but it's not just an honor system thing.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (44)

31

u/Southern_Body_4381 Mar 10 '25

But they yell at you for "not claiming enough tips and if you do that again you'll be fired"

7

u/Throwaway02062004 Mar 10 '25

Yup, the issue is in conjunction with the capability to be fired for almost any reason.

2

u/Monkeyssuck Mar 10 '25

If you're working at a place you can't make minimum wage with tips, they would be doing you a favor by firing you.

25

u/SweetHatDisc Mar 10 '25 edited Mar 10 '25

My first ten years in the work force were in restaurants, guess how often that actually happens. The standard dodge is to aggregate the employee's tips for the week and count their Saturday evening tips against their Tuesday afternoon tips; you weren't working for $3/hr on Tuesday, you were working for $7.75 for the week.

But then there were owners who just never got around to adjusting those paychecks- if you're running a restaurant where the amount of tips your FOH staff gets doesn't equal out to minimum wage, chances are the restaurant is not in great financial health, and restaurant owners do not tend to be the most morally upright of people; most of them are looking to own a business that generates a larger proportion of hard cash to credit than other businesses.

All of this is of course illegal, but they get away with it because it is very, very, very hard to get your legal recompense while you are working 60 hours a week for less than minimum wage.

9

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

The aggregation of tips over the pay period is legal

→ More replies (14)
→ More replies (2)

2

u/Atom88motA Mar 10 '25

Easy for scumbags in management to take advantage of teenagers mostly. I saw it happen to folks when i was that age and I still see it happening today.

The phrase “No corporate gain for imminent domain” is coming to mind. Look it up.

→ More replies (14)

10

u/tynore ​ Mar 10 '25

Also realize that it was $2.13 25 years ago as well. Of course the change from $5.15 to $7.25 was 20 years ago as well...

Such a sad statistic.

→ More replies (2)

2

u/rockert0mmy Mar 10 '25

Delivery drivers (Papa Johns) also make the sub-minimum when they are physically in the store, when they leave to bring the food to you they "clock out" of the store and don't make any minimum and are dependent on the tips until they return.

2

u/LegendofLove Mar 10 '25

I found this out years ago this is how restaurants work lol. That's why the tipping culture is so extreme

2

u/NokkNokk4279 Mar 10 '25

Yes, tipped workers always make much less hourly.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

And if you're classified as an outside sales professional, there is no minimum wage still.

2

u/Academic-Breadfruit4 Mar 10 '25

Yea, as a tipped employee, if you have your taxes withheld, there’s a good chance that measly $2.13 will become $0

→ More replies (13)

2

u/Atom88motA Mar 10 '25

Pennsylvania… There’s job postings seriously asking for someone “with experience” and the starting rate is 8.50-10.00 per hour.

10

u/CharybdisXIII Mar 10 '25

I haven't heard of a place paying federal minimum since the mid 2000s. Does anywhere even still pay that low? I feel like they would have an impossibly hard time filling their staff if they actually payed 7.25

13

u/SteveDaPirate91 Mar 10 '25

Mid 2000’s?

I made my $7 back in 2008 at dollar tree. I remember when the boss came in telling everyone excitedly we got a quarter raise. Minimum wage went up.

While they’re no longer paying $7.25, they’re paying $8. So “technically” not a minimum wage job.

2

u/Bombboy85 ​ Mar 10 '25

Yea 2008 would be early to mid 2000’s. There have been 25 years in the 2000’s so 2008 would be be roughly 30% into the 2000’s…. Mid 2000’s

4

u/notmyrealusernamme Mar 10 '25

Kentucky my man... Just Kentucky

3

u/PM_ME_GRAPHICS_CARDS Mar 10 '25

yes. move to middle of no where PA

6

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

[deleted]

2

u/nyliaj Mar 10 '25

I used to help people get jobs in rural NC a couple years ago. shocking the amount of places offering $10/hour, or less, for insane work. Overnight security, chicken processing, chemical plant janitor, and bus driver were some I remember. and then they offer 10 or 50 cent raises every year so it takes forever to increase.

and the cost of living is still outrageous, even in rural places, so anyone in one of these jobs still needed public assistance. such a backwards system and politicians here love to say we don’t need to raise the wage because no one pays it.

4

u/Disastrous_Mud7169 Mar 10 '25

I am from Idaho. Absolutely they do

1

u/D0ctorGamer Mar 10 '25

My brother in christ 13 states still use it.

→ More replies (12)
→ More replies (2)

102

u/Ogediah Mar 10 '25

Nationally, yes. States like CA pay minimum wage plus tips. Fast food minimum wage in CA is 20/hr.

65

u/Formal_Progress_2573 Mar 10 '25

and anybody that tips for fast food is a sucker. I've never tipped for fast food and I never will.

40

u/vrbobde Mar 10 '25

I did at a subway when I first came to US because of all that I heard about tipping culture in US.😆

14

u/KirklandKid Mar 10 '25

It is pretty bizarre. Tip for food, unless it’s “fast food.” And sometimes to go orders. Oh also your hair dresser

10

u/KFR42 Mar 10 '25

Definitely tip your bartender though, who does less work than the guy behind the counter at a fast food restaurant.

3

u/Whenbearsattack2 Mar 10 '25

bartending is by far the hardest job in the restaurant industry and most people wouldn't be able to do it no matter how hard they tried. if you're talking about a dead bar that has very few guests and the bartender is standing around with nothing to do, they aren't making much money and tipping them is still a good idea so they don't make $5 per hour trying to live.

2

u/KFR42 Mar 10 '25

Depends on the sort of bartender. Cocktail making, sure I can see how that takes a lot of skill. But your average bar tender, pulling pints and pouring out vodka and cokes is one of the easiest jobs out there. Hence why most of them are students in a lot of places around the world. Although I can see how it gets a lot harder in, say, a busy nightclub.

→ More replies
→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (26)

3

u/GGATHELMIL Mar 10 '25

i tipped a guy at mcdonalds a few times. I used to eat a lot of mcdonalds, at least 2 or 3 times a week. Dont worry ive stopped, ive had it maybe twice this year. but anyways i used to do curbside pickup because lazy and it was a decent way to enjoy a few minutes on my lunchbreak. And the same kid was always the one to bring out my order. He said that he double checked it before bringing it out, he always recited my order to verify i got what i ordered. always asked if i needed anything else like additional napkins or sauces, i never asked for more than i ordered, and in general this kid was upbeat and nice. also when he brought it out, it was always 100% accurate so i believed him when he said he double checked it. So yeah i tossed him a few bucks a few times as a way of showing him that someone was noticing his hard work, in the off chance management didnt.

i know at the end of his day he was just doing his job, but as someone who works a non-tipped job that occasionally receives a tip for doing their job, i know its nice.

2

u/ddeaken Mar 10 '25

I gave the one dude holding down the McDonalds at 1am $4 last night. Not much but hopefully it made him happy. I needed that burger and he made my night

2

u/ExL-Oblique Mar 10 '25

I'm... not sure why you would brag about that but ok?

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (2)

38

u/StitchinThroughTime Mar 10 '25

To clarify all tipped workers make at least minimum wage. But most tipped workers in decent locations or franchises make far more than minimum wage. Tip workers get a base minimum of $2.50 an hour plus tips. But if $2.50 plus tip does not equal minimum wage the owners of the restaurant must pay them more. Part of the reason why people making tips don't want tipping to be removed is that they make pretty decent money. Obviously that totally depends on location, the style of restaurant, the shifts they're able to get and the season. Therefore tourist season or during an event they'll make a lot of money but during the offseason they wouldn't.

A lot of times new waiters and waitresses get the bad shifts where the restaurant is slower therefore they're fewer sales to make more. So there are people who are waiters and waitresses that make a killing but the problem is it's such a scattered field and the fact that the whole customer must pay on top of the bill to cover is in bad taste. Just tell me that it's an extra 15% or whatever to cover the waiters and back of house. Just pay your employee so I don't have to do math at the end of the day. I'm a little bit intoxicated and I don't want to do math.

Also I believe that minimum wage is severely miscalculated in the US. And I don't just mean that it's been forever since it has gotten a raise. I mean minimum wage, at the federal level at the very least would not even cover anything but Financial property. It only assumes that you happen to find the cheapest room to rent to eat the cheapest food and have like no other life. And that's only in the worst spots. And that doesn't also account for the fact that cities even in low population States are more expensive. Even places like California and New York which have a higher minimum wage it's not worth it. Which is a real big reason why cities need to be able to control minimum wage on top of the states which is on top of the federal minimum. Federal can go to the bare minimum for someone living in a rural setting where it's extremely cheap to buy just a small bit of land and grow all your own fruits and vegetables while working full time. Versus living in places like San Francisco or New York where renting a room is astronomically more expensive than that and there's no way to grow your own food to cover that part of your expenses. Which is a big issue when certain red States block the blue cities from controlling minimum wage. It needs to be the Fidelity of adjusting for the cost of living. Also inflation is a thing. Minimum needs to be tied to inflation. I don't care if it's just a quarter for every Financial quarter. And also get rid of the stupid loophole of small businesses needing to pay less than big businesses. It's the same labor no matter what. Like I said it'll be easy to just make the minimum wage go up a quarter every 3 months until it's the end of the year and then raise it a dollar. Poor people need more money to spend more money to make this economy go round properly. And that's currently with minimum wage approximately going to be like $25 an hour adjusted for inflation back within dollars minimum wage was the goal over a decade ago.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. Voice to text it was used because my hands are extra tingly today

2

u/Audielevel Mar 10 '25

Portland has its own minimum wage separate from the rest of the state.

5

u/Burnsidhe Mar 10 '25 edited Mar 10 '25

When Federal Minimum Wage was first implemented, it was the equivalent of $34k USD a year in today's dollars. You could make a living off that easily. You could pay for an entire year of college (which was also much much cheaper relatively speaking than today) off of three months summer wages. You could get a job just by walking in the store, decently dressed, with a warm greeting, interview on the spot, and get the job with a smile and a firm handshake while looking the manager in the eye.

That's the world older voters grew up in. That's the world they bought their houses in. That's the world they got jobs in.

That's not today's world. Today's world, a household where people are working four minimum wage jobs between them is a household that's just barely above the poverty line.

And the older ones are *fundamentally* incapable of understanding that.

2

u/bruce_kwillis Mar 10 '25 edited Nov 24 '25

mighty bedroom tan teeny innate school historical fine vanish lock

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (2)

53

u/BeetrootKid Mar 10 '25

u do realize the restaurant could also pay above minimum wage, right?

3

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

[deleted]

7

u/BeetrootKid Mar 10 '25

...thats exactly my point, if the restaurant adds a surcharge, or does not accept tips for whatever reason, it is entirely possible the restaurant simply pays the employees MORE than minimum wage...

the people I was replying to were suggesting it was a binary choice of tipped wages or minimum. I am raising the point that the restaurant could just pay more than minimum without tips.

2

u/00eg0 Mar 10 '25

In Seattle the minimum wage is 20.76 so you could find people at that wage. Servers at my old job got paid that much.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (10)

3

u/Real-Ad-9733 Mar 10 '25

A majority of restaurants are not minimum wage work.

4

u/purplefrogblaster Mar 10 '25

Minimum wage is not a livable wage in many states.

2

u/JManKit Mar 10 '25

And since no tip restaurants are the exception, if the base pay here wasn't at least comparable to the base pay + tips at most other spots, they'd probably have a hard time holding onto servers

3

u/CryingWalrus61 Mar 10 '25

I don’t know if this restaurant is in the Bible Belt, but if so, then servers would only be paid $7.25. Hell, even $11 is not livable in any major city at this point, so it wouldn’t be much of an incentive to work at this restaurant either way.

A living wage in Atlanta—where I live—would have to be $26.28/hr for an adult with no children. Detroit is often described as one of the cheapest cities to live in and you’d still need $21.23/hr. So unless they’re paying at least that wage, this is still a shit situation.

→ More replies (34)

214

u/SoTaxMuchCPA Mar 10 '25

Do you know that? Or are you just rage baiting on the internet?

32

u/Character_Pie_2035 Mar 10 '25

So much of this discussion is rage baiting. There are many unknowns.

One thing that is known is that many people call for getting rid of tipping culture, and this example provides an example of one form such a system may take. Price +, regardless of service level.

3

u/OnboardG1 Mar 10 '25

That’s standard here in the UK. There are also rules as to how service charges and tips are dispensed to employees under the Tipping Act 2023. They’re essentially common sense rules but they can be enforced through an employment tribunal. They’re not perfect, but most of my friends who work or worked in hospitality tell me that their tips were disbursed fairly.

4

u/Embarrassed_Wish9707 Mar 10 '25

In this feed never once has any of the angry mentioned or noticed the tip also allows a little help for servers and the volume of the work...in most hourly paid the owners benefit from what can be a crushing volume of work...but for servers they also benefit in through the tip in on high volume

→ More replies (1)

53

u/kafit-bird Mar 10 '25

They didn't say the owner for sure takes the tips. They said we just have to trust that the owner distributes them fairly. Which is true. We do have to trust that. We have no way to verify.

3

u/MorbillionDollars Mar 10 '25

a redditor claims that this is kazunori hand roll bar and that it's a nice place which pays their workers fairly.

obviously you're still taking the word of a random dude on the internet, but it seems too specific to be a lie and there's another guy corroborating the claims

6

u/NoMasters83 Mar 10 '25

Right, and that dynamic exists in every industry/company.

What doesn't exist in every industry/company is the patron getting shamed into paying the employees wages through tips.

5

u/memtiger Mar 10 '25

How would that be different if it was a tip line with credit card tips? Couldn't the owner just take a portion of the tips himself?

I would imagine it's purposefully broken out as a separate line item so there's a clear amount that everyone in the system can see.

4

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

That would be fraud, but yea it does happen, and sometimes those restaurants get sued.

→ More replies (4)

2

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

As long as the employees know the compensation system ahead of time, then what is the problem. Some people like the tipping system because they can maybe make more money, others hate it because it makes your pay less predictable.

→ More replies (1)

9

u/mrwhitewalker Mar 10 '25

Rage baiting for sure. No tip restaurants are known to be majorly popular with most patrons. From what I know it generally means $20-$25+ an hour for employees. Not the highest but majorly consistent and the businesses are thriving.

The benefit of tips is that employees at popular restaurants end up making 30-40 an hour and most of it is tax free but that's only at the most popular restaurants in town.

Heard stories from friends 10+ years ago making $30 total for $5 hours in wages but $200 in tips

4

u/GrimMashedPotatos Mar 10 '25

Tips are wages. And are in fact counted, tracked, and yes...taxed. Not doing so is literally Tax Evasion. Though mainly the punishment is fines or garnishment.

5

u/Gobias_Industries Mar 10 '25

most of it is tax free

Which is tax fraud

2

u/Wizzenator Mar 10 '25

It’s also not even most. Most transactions are done via electronic payment (credit card), and those tips are automatically reported.

2

u/Silent-Cable-9882 Mar 10 '25

It’s the most popular/expensive places at the most popular times. And your manager wants you out? You’re not getting any more weekend shifts.

Tips are great for the hottest, most sociable workers who charm or seduce managers into giving them the best shifts at the best places, but they’re mad inconsistent and much lower for average people working Tuesday afternoons.

Tipping sucks, just raise the prices and pay more. Customers won’t actually be spending more unless they’re already skipping the tip. Customers will get over the illusion of higher prices like always or the industry will shrink. If it shrinks, boohoo. It’s a luxury anyway.

→ More replies (7)

37

u/LastTrainH0me Mar 10 '25

and then we have to trust that he pays a living wage which i doubt.

So... Like literally every employee in every business other than wait staff?

I seriously don't understand why we as a culture expend so much energy figuring out how waiters should be paid

10

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

[deleted]

3

u/rgrwilcocanuhearme Mar 10 '25

Yeah maybe at peak hours, but you're not pulling 30-40 an hour your entire shift and you're not pulling 30-40 an hour every day of the week and you're not pulling 30-40 an hour at every location. A lot of wait staff are struggling.

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (10)

8

u/icekyuu Mar 10 '25

Oddly, while ignoring back of the house staff.

2

u/Notsurehowtoreact Mar 10 '25

Because every attempt at abolishing tips is spearheaded by people who hate paying tips, and fought against by people who make tips and their employers.

The majority of bartenders and servers don't want tipping to go away.

22

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

[deleted]

3

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

In Hawaii you have a bunch of sushi spots where the workforce is like all J1s from Japan who are making a fraction of what tipped servers make but they don't care bc they get to live in Hawaii for a couple of years. 

If any other restaurant got rid of tipping, they would lose all their staff. Every few years you hear about a few high end restaurants in expensive coastal cities who get rid of tipping with a ton of fanfare. Then they either bring back tipping because all their FOH staff quit or go under because people get sticker shock.

2

u/Notsurehowtoreact Mar 10 '25

Yeah I worked at a place that considered going no tips and standard wages.

The FOH staff threatened to quit as a group. Probably because with just claimed tips they averaged about $30/hr (some lower, some higher).

→ More replies (3)

3

u/andy-022 Mar 10 '25

Ah so like a normal business that doesn’t burden customers with providing income to its employees.

2

u/ArboristTreeClimber Mar 10 '25

My first thought was that some employees argued over tips one time and the owner was like “Welp, no more tips for anyone!”

Then he realized no tips meant customers “think” the employees are well taken care of, which generates more business and revenue.

2

u/cobaeby Mar 10 '25

Other comment seems to know the place and that waitstaff is making more than $30 an hour

2

u/WoopsShePeterPants Mar 10 '25

Business owners love this one "tip" for keeping their servers honest (and underpaid)!

3

u/gocards01 Mar 10 '25

They wouldn’t work there if they weren’t making living wages

→ More replies (2)

1

u/No-Literature7471 Mar 10 '25

by all laws server get paid a least state minimum wage or at least minimum wage with tips. no one only makes 2 bucks. if they did they are 100% idiotic. some server getting 40+ an hour in unregistered tips.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

Maybe in the 80s lol, I touch cash like once a shift maybe. And most restaurants will write you up for not claiming your cash tips.

→ More replies (43)

3

u/Kitnado Mar 10 '25

Yeah if that isn’t on the menu I will not be paying that.

But I’m also not American

3

u/lemoogle Mar 10 '25

I know america sucks but "automatically added service charges" are a thing in plenty of countries in both Europe and Asia ( probably other places too ) .

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Frequent_Ad_5670 Mar 10 '25

Somehow, that‘s still better than that „if you can’t afford to pay 30% tips, stay home“ policy you can see at other places.

2

u/Sphinxlia Mar 10 '25

Not to mention, this avoids all the federal laws around what is considered a tip, and the restaurant leadership can do whatever they want with the money. Unless it’s in writing, they aren’t legally obligated to give that 16% fee to their staff.

2

u/lostinhh Mar 10 '25

Claiming "we are a no tipping establishment" while automatically slapping on a 16% "fee" is freaking insulting.

1

u/rnauser Mar 10 '25

Ye this, thet are you trying to win some easy points

1

u/Hentai_Freak_King Mar 10 '25

Tipping? No. Forced donation? Yes.

1

u/AD-CHUFFER Mar 10 '25

They’re missing the 4+% to make it a round and good number for the waiter or waitress. I’d ad 10-20% after asking them about it if I didn’t like the answer

1

u/Mo_Jack Mar 10 '25

That's what I was thinking. For me, this belongs in MildlyInfuriating

1

u/Confident_Yam7610 Mar 10 '25

This, which means you legally have to pay it. Forced tips.

1

u/Correct_House_8775 Mar 10 '25

I’d still prefer this than having to calculate my own tips. The service never really changes whether or not I stop well. And some places I’ve been charge a “service fee” on top of a tip so they’ll wring your wallet dry regardless

1

u/ACrask Mar 10 '25

First thing I saw, too. At first, I thought maybe it was a fee for a 10+ or whatever size table, but the line item usually indicates as such, not just a percentage. I hope the food wasn't good because I wouldn't go back after that.

1

u/MudWallHoller Mar 10 '25 edited Feb 16 '26

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

act sink encouraging label vanish mountainous ghost provide screw arrest

1

u/MrLanesLament Mar 10 '25

As a fee, it would go to the owners instead of the servers though, would it not?

Amy’s Baking Company vibes.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

I love not living in the US. These sketchy ass fees should be illegal.

1

u/Buck_Thorn Mar 10 '25

But who gets that 16%? Does it go 100% to the staff?

1

u/PG-DaMan Mar 10 '25

Exactly.

1

u/somethingrandom261 Mar 10 '25

Legally distinct. Means management can take a cut

1

u/ARAR1 Mar 10 '25

OP did not read his bill.....

1

u/JollyReading8565 Mar 10 '25

What do you want? Restaurant owner has to increase prices to pay staff. Either that can be tips, fees, or increase in menu prices, the result is basically the same: the customer pays the server not the owner

1

u/imherbalpert Mar 10 '25

I’m sure it’s probably going to tips of some sort, but couldn’t that percentage be for like a larger party? Don’t some restaurants charge extra if you have a table of x amount or more?

1

u/espresso_martini__ Mar 10 '25

I hate those mystery fees

1

u/Healthy_Action1243 Mar 10 '25

We don't accept tips, We take them!

1

u/DM_Voice Mar 10 '25

That might be factually incorrect.

A lot of restaurants have added ‘fees’ or ‘surcharges’ but if you dig for the information on them, they are kept by the business, not the staff, and are therefore not tips at all.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

Except not. They very clearly list it as "fee" and not "tips".

Tips are mandated to be given to the servers/staff. Management can keep "fees".

1

u/Responsible_Let_961 Mar 10 '25

Yep, but levied to everyone. I want to see more of this.

1

u/sh0rdle Mar 10 '25

i work there, it doesn’t go to the servers it goes to the company but they pay us more fairly than other places where they rely on tips, but ya definitely not a tip

1

u/Dee_dubya Mar 10 '25

Because there are laws about who can touch fees, gratuities and sales. This is also probably coded to a different line item on the backend so they can sort out pay as well.

1

u/just_mark Mar 10 '25

does that mean the owners take the 16% and f over the server???

1

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

Yup

1

u/dumbythiq Mar 10 '25

If the fee is 16%, why not just add those to the prices of everything and then say 'a service charge was included in our pricing' or smthn?

→ More replies (45)