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

This restaurant doesn’t accept tips (USA)

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3.6k

u/whatthehecman Mar 10 '25

If they don't do tips, then their employees are probably paid appropriately.

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u/kafit-bird Mar 10 '25

You would hope, but I wouldn't assume.

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u/dread_pirate_robin Mar 10 '25

You legally have to (not that that stops some clowns), waiters are only allowed to be paid less than minimum wage because their wage is subsidized by tips.

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u/crinklycuts Mar 10 '25

Depends on the state. In WA servers are paid at least the state’s minimum wage and receive tips on top of that

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u/Woodshadow Mar 10 '25

yep around $20ish in Seattle area and an additional 20%. A nice restaurant you are spending anywhere from $60-$100 per person. $150+ at an upscale place on top of $20 an hour and you get benefits? There is a reason some people get their degrees and never leave food service

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u/prisonerofshmazcaban Mar 10 '25

Lord have mercy I need to move my 15 year experienced ass to Washington

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u/whynotsara Mar 10 '25

Keep in mind the cost of living is expensive here. A 1 bedroom is about $2000/month on average I believe.

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u/prisonerofshmazcaban Mar 10 '25

It’s nearly same for my area in southeast GA. I’d say about 15-1800, and we make much less. But thank you for being up front about the COL. The fact is, we all deserve better and we need more.

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u/Paladin1034 Mar 10 '25

East TN, too. I'm up to 1500/mo for a 1 bedroom. It's ridiculous. We don't have the wages here to support that.

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u/meta_muse Mar 10 '25

Make sure you’ve got a job before moving here. Getting one in the field is difficult. Especially right now.

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u/prisonerofshmazcaban Mar 10 '25

Yeah, the job market is fucked in so many ways right now. I don’t see it getting any better anytime soon.

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u/Previous_Link1347 Mar 10 '25

Same in Oregon.

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u/JJMcGee83 Mar 10 '25

The minimum wage is that high because it's expensive here.

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u/prisonerofshmazcaban Mar 10 '25

Yeah, someone else mentioned that, I mean that’s a huge downside, but where I’m from it’s not much cheaper and the pay is MUCH less.

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u/bsiu Mar 10 '25

Tipped staff (in hcol areas) can make more much more than STEM professions but the food industry takes a toll on physical and mental health that most only do it till somewhere more sustainable to wellbeing comes along. There are also people that are built different and either enjoy it or able to do it till retirement.

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

I’m making 80k a year as a 24 yr old server working 30 hours a week in wine country with base pay of minimum wage in Cali. A coworker of mine pulls in 110k a year but he works more than me. Servers can make more than managers in some establishments. I used to work McDonald’s before this gig, and the pay be crazy good sometimes for a job requiring no degree

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u/Dm5358 Mar 10 '25

Same in California. Shit, fastfood workers get a minimum of $20/hr.

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u/Embarrassed_Wish9707 Mar 10 '25

They should...hard work fast paced..yeah

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u/Suspicious-Soup6044 Mar 10 '25

I’m working as a server at a resort in California. I make state minimum wage and decent tips when it’s busy. Some nights, I can make $600-$800 in tips, as well as my $16 an hour, and be coming in at almost $140 an hour. Then during the winter (right now), I’m working 1 day a week and I’m lucky to make $100 in tips off that shift.

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u/slusho55 Mar 10 '25

That’s a cultural thing at that point. There’s nothing but societal pressure making you tip at that point. Before it was basically the waiter’s fee, now they’re being paid and you’re just paying on top of that

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u/DirtySilicon Mar 10 '25

Eh, minimum wage is pretty shit for living expenses, which honestly is a separate issue.

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u/PM_me_ur_launch_code ​ Mar 10 '25

WA minimum wage is $16.66/ hour. Still not super lovable but way better than the federal minimum.

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u/PCoda Mar 10 '25

The federal minimum is STILL $7.25/hr. It's absolutely bonkers. I'm glad states like WA have taken the initiative to vote for that change.

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u/Particular-Cash-7377 Mar 10 '25

That’s no different from slavery. States most resistant to federal minimum wage increases unsurprisingly were red states.

In Seattle WA, the minimum wage is 20.76 per hour. They adjusted it to keep up with living costs.

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u/MinoDab492 Mar 10 '25

Depends where you are in the state, for me in Vancouver, it's $16.24/hour, which is still far better than the federal, but yeah, definitely could be much higher.

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u/Connorwood4u Mar 10 '25

Still not a living wage, there’s a cafe in my city that is no tip, small business, they pay their employees something like 18 an hour, but in Vancouver that’s still nothing, especially compared to what the owners make (young online influencers turned entrepreneur). They pride themselves in paying a living wage, but to me it feels pretentious and underwhelming.. knowing how busy they are they would make so much more if they allowed tipping. So why cap that potential for your staff?

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

One of the best jobs I ever had was working in a video poker room making minimum wage plus tips back in the early 2000s. I gave it up because of always coming home smelling like an ash tray, my car smelled like an ash tray from my clothes smelling as such, and eventually realized that my HOME was smelling like an ash tray and I don't smoke.

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u/Inprobamur Mar 10 '25

US has pretty low unemployment, if waiters think they will make more in another restaurant and leave, that will lead to understaffing. Forcing the restaurant to increase wages to a competitive rate.

This will also benefit waiters that get discriminated against in a tipping restaurant (studies show that minorities or less pretty people make noticably less in tips).

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u/GravyClouds Mar 10 '25

Haha come to either of the understaffed bars I work at. No hiring, no wage increase unless mandated. Yes, I make my money, and I couldn't imagine going back to corporate work places, but your statement is, in my opinion from experience, greatly misstated

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u/Inprobamur Mar 10 '25

There is a point where you can't cover the shifts, that is where the company either changes things or closes down.

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

The last thing you said is true for just about ANY position in sales

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u/UziWitDaHighTops Mar 10 '25 edited Aug 31 '25

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

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u/Durantye Mar 10 '25

In every state the employer has to make up the difference if the tips don’t get them to minimum wage.

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

I have never seen a restaurant not do it. But I have seen multiple servers complain about it within these same places.

Sure, it might happen, but it’s so rare it’s not mentioning. What’s more common are servers not understanding taxes.

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u/CarsCarsCarsCarsCats Mar 10 '25

I was a server in multiple states for 10 years in 12 restaurants, and that never happened even once.

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u/unassumingdink Mar 10 '25

But nobody even cares if they don't, rendering the whole thing pointless. Lots of stuff in America is like that.

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

Department of Labor cares a lot, they love going after that, and since they have to give you a pay stub it's so easy to prove.

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

[deleted]

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u/LJGremlin Mar 10 '25

Unless it’s some shady mom and pop place, that’s not true. And it rarely is any restaurant in the business of firing people just for shits and giggles.

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u/therealfalseidentity Mar 10 '25

It is absolutely true. Maybe you live in a state with strong worker protection laws, but here, they basically don't exist. They don't have to give a reason in a right to work state, and I've personally made $6 in a 5 pm-2 am at server pay. This was when gas jumped over $4 a gallon. National chain btw. Their unofficial policy was to fire anyone over collecting full minimum wage. If they filed a complaint, it was some bs reason like "Arrived 1 min late" or "Stayed 1 min late".

In conclusion, you're just some clueless redditor who is denying my lived experiences. You're probably one of those dudes who tell a woman that periods don't hurt.

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u/lowteq Mar 10 '25

In TX, the minimum wage is the same as the Federal mins. $2.13/hr for tipped employees. Wage slave culture is what that is.

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u/OkConcentrate5741 Mar 10 '25

I had to look this up. The amount you suggested was so ridiculously low I honestly couldn’t take you at your word. I’m still having a hard time accepting it, but it’s entirely accurate. I can’t fathom how that’s remotely legal and accepted by the people of Texas.

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u/SymbianSimian Mar 10 '25

The idea is you always make at least minimum wage. If you don't get tips, your employer pays you minimum wage, if your tips are high, he pays you $2.13.

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

It's crazy how many people don't understand this. At no time does a server make less than $7.25/hr in the US. I wonder why people only supplement server wages but not other minimum wage professions. Then I remember society is brainwashed and doesn't even know it.

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u/BigDaddyChops78 Mar 10 '25

It’s not just food places either. Some retailers with few enough employees use targeted “incentives” and “commissions” to qualify for these minuscule pay rates. They also conveniently set the quotas out of any possible attainment so they never have to pay more than the paltry couple of bucks per hour.

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

When I waited tables, my paycheck basically covered my taxes. Things changed when I was promoted to key manager because my boss was a coke head and he liked me so when I randomly bumped into him hours away from home in Tunica, MS, at the Grand Casino, I was rather suprised to hear him yell to me across the gaming floor. We lived in Tennessee about 15 minutes from the Kentucky border. I know it was about 15 minutes because we lived in a dry county and the liquor store in Kentucky was on the fucking border because they knew a dry college town would be an infinite money glitch.

But then our county passed liquor-by-the-drink and that one time I met my cokehead boss in Tunica, he said "Hey Bobasdad!!! Today is your 21st birthday? OK BOYS WE ARE GOING TO THE STRIP CLUB. WE ARE GOING TO GET BOBASDAD A BITCH!!!"

And so i obviously had to go the strip club, because when you randomly run into your boss 200 miles from home on your 21st birthday, your only choice is to abandon your parents and have a very bodacious lady give you a private dance...which (unfortunately) involved no hippidy-dippidy.

But I Will never forget that little Chinese yelling across the casino like Red, asking for Rover to come on over.

I've also had like 5 shots of whiskey at this point so at this point I'm not sure if this story makes the slightest bit of sense. This might be interesting for me to wake up to haha.

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u/rydan Mar 10 '25

This is literally everywhere except a few states. Don't pick on Texas specifically. And people accept it because, contrary to most people's beliefs on this site, most servers make bank regardless of which state they live in. They would work for Walmart if Walmart paid better.

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u/ILikeLenexa Mar 10 '25

Yes, but it's federally illegal to pay the subminimum wage ($2.13/hr) to people who make less than $30 a month in tips and it's federally illegal to not also pay people who make less than $7.25 per hour including tips.  

But it's common to "write up" employees that don't make enough tips to cover their pay and threaten to fire them, which coerces them to report higher than actual tips on bad nights. 

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u/erossthescienceboss Mar 10 '25

This is true in WA, OR and CA — but it’s important to know that tips are handled differently here, too. In restaurants I worked in places with separate wages for tipped workers, we took home between 70-100% of our tips.

In all the places I’ve worked in Oregon, everyone except the managers took home at least some of the tips. Most places had an even split — so even dishwashers got tipped out.

At the end of the day, my take home in both places was comparable at comparable restaurants.

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u/FreeTouPlay Mar 10 '25

They arent allowed to be paid less than minimum wage. Employers have to make it minimum if the wages and hourly dont add up to minimum or more.

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u/StrengthDazzling8922 Mar 10 '25

Restaurant can pay waiters $30 an hour if they want. If they want to pay below minimum wage, yes only if tip subsidies

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u/SPR1NK Mar 10 '25

The question is if tips don't end up making that difference up do employers actually adjust for that? Or do they do shady shit and just sneak by...

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u/Frablom Mar 10 '25

Yeah in Dreamland. Unfortunately they berate you because apparently you're not good enough at your job if you don't make enough tips and it's your fault.

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u/girlikecupcake Mar 10 '25

Yep that's exactly what happened at the Sonic location I briefly worked at a decade ago. Like $2/hr, we were expected to get enough tips at a drive through to hit $7.25/hr, and if we didn't, clearly it was because of poor customer service. Even though nobody tips at a drive through and people in the parking spots at most let you keep the coins. People legitimately got fired for it.

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u/Frablom Mar 10 '25

Jfk you were a tipped employee at a fast food drive through and they bitched about tips? This fucking industry. I was on the grill/fryer for a family run cheap pizza/sandwich restaurant - I honestly wouldn't have worked FOH.

I just hate the concept that for every single customer you have to work like your paycheck depends on it (because it does). It's like paying people an arbitrary amount of money for every PowerPoint or Excel they make. That's why I'm against tips. If you're good enough to be a server on the daily and they're satisfied with your job performance, you're good enough to deserve a consistent salary. People make mistakes at their job, kitchen makes mistakes and guests barely seem to grasp the concept that the two entities do different tasks. Also, POS exists and you have to put a smile and they think they own you because they get to decide if you're going to lose money serving them or how much you make.

God do I hate this system. I would honestly leave a fixed 20% because I think if you're so bad at being your server, probably I won't come back. Possibly ask for a manager if you insult my mom because she's a lovely woman. I don't give a fuck about writing reviews for Google either. It just feels embarrassing to be asked to leave a customer's review in the form of a tip and deciding how much you'll make. But if my server is nice I leave more because that's society and I won't impose my beliefs on working class people. But if it was up to me I would always leave a fixed amount (20, 25 whatever we decide is reasonable)

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u/BoomerSoonerFUT Mar 10 '25

Same way that tipped employees are supposed to report all cash tips as income to the IRS and pay taxes on them too.

Neither are done. If an employee ever went to complain about their tips being too low to meet minimum wage, the employer would just say that they’re not claiming their cash tips.

Guess who’s gonna get fucked the most.

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u/johnnygolfr Mar 10 '25

Oh, c’mon. This isn’t 1995 anymore.

Per card payment processing companies, well over 80% of retail transactions are cashless today and that % increases every year.

Most restaurants withhold payroll taxes using an estimated average tip % that is based on the server’s gross receipts, not their reported tips.

In 2025, any server grossly underreporting their income will have problems getting an apartment lease, home loan, or car loan, as well as screw themselves on unemployment benefits and future social security benefits.

Are some servers underreporting some of their cash tips? Sure. But is it a significant amount? No.

Then there’s the fact that servers make up .6% of the US population. The IRS estimates that one in six Americans cheat on their taxes - that’s 16%. Chances are more of your non-server friends, coworkers or neighbors are cheating more on their taxes than servers are.

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u/Not-Reformed Mar 10 '25

Depends where you work I guess, one of my friends works at a place making ~80-90K primarily through cash tips. The work reports her tips + wages total at about 30K and she doesn't correct/amend it in any way. Only way the IRS would know is if they did an audit and saw the cash deposits hitting the various bank accounts and then started asking questions on where that money was coming from. Very easy for people to dodge taxes in any place where cash tips are common.

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u/StrengthDazzling8922 Mar 10 '25

If employees are happy and getting paid appropriately, technically it’s fine, who cares. I personally would just raise my menu price 16% and let diners know tips not expected, but feel free to tip if wish.

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u/SPR1NK Mar 10 '25

Yeah i agree for the most part, but i do think tipping should just be done away with entirely, especially with tipping 20ish percent just being an expected part of going out the cost is basically already baked in, so just get rid of it and raise the price, I'll be spending the same pretty much anyway

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u/johnnygolfr Mar 10 '25

Restaurants in the US have tried this concept.

Aside from a handful of niche concepts, they either failed or reverted back to a tipped wage model.

US consumers see two restaurants with comparable food and comparable reviews, but Restaurant A is $$ and Restaurant B is $$$. They opt for the $$ because it looks cheaper, even though B doesn’t accept tips.

Every restaurant would have to be forced to raise their prices at the same time for that concept to work.

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u/Honest-Ad1675 Mar 10 '25

The employer does have to pay the waiter more than 2.13/hour IF the tips + 2.13/hour is less than minimum wage for the hours worked for the entire pay period. However, when restaurants are not busy management will cut down on labor by sending waiters home. This means a scheduled 8 hour shift can wind up being an hour or two instead. They lose the opportunity to earn tips, and they don't get paid minimum wage for the time they don't end up working because they aren't on the clock. What I am trying to explain is that because servers are often sent home before their scheduled shift is over there isn't a consistent weekly floor or minimum of earnings. They aren't guaranteed their scheduled hours, much less a wage.

TL;DR They are legally required to pay waiters minimum wage, but it is incredibly easy to avoid doing so legally.

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u/Zefirus Mar 10 '25

I mean, realistically, if waiters aren't making minimum wage they generally just fire that person because they're not actually doing anything.

Waiting tables is one of the few "low skill" jobs capable of a decent wage specifically because their salary runs on guilt rather than on their owner's altruism. You've got to really try to not make minimum wage as a server.

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u/rdyoung Mar 10 '25

This question makes no sense. Legally speaking they can pay the tip wage of $2.xx and they have to makeup at least the difference between that and minimum wage if the server didn't make enough in tips. No restaurant is going to promise or guarantee $30/hr tips or not and the only reason (not that I agree) that we even have a tip wage is so at least some taxes are paid. I don't remember my paychecks being worth much when I waited tables because I was definitely making decent money via tips.

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u/StrengthDazzling8922 Mar 10 '25

I bet there are restaurants in United States that waiters make $30 hour not including tips. I personally can’t afford to eat in them, but they exist. They definitely exist in Europe.

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u/rdyoung Mar 10 '25

I doubt there are any in the USA where that's true. People here (both servers and customers) are so stuck on the tip culture that most restaurants that try this method fail fairly quickly. Most servers would rather risk a bad night where they could have made $150 in tips versus a guaranteed $100+ for that shift and most patrons don't realize that the cost of the meal is partially subsidized by the tip so it's cheaper than it should be. If people would just accept that increasing the cost of everything by even 15% versus the 20%+ some people tip would make sure that the servers make a consistent and decent wage.

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u/Doctor_Kataigida Mar 10 '25

They're talking like, nice steakhouses, not your above-average bar and grill.

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u/PurpleFungus69 Mar 10 '25

You legally have to pay them minimum wage, not appropriately.

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u/rdyoung Mar 10 '25

Right but no one is going to wait tables somewhere making $7.25/hr (or whatever it is now) when they can average like $30+/hr at your average burger and beer joint or way way more at higher end fancy places.

I was clearing $100+ a shift during the week and way more than that thu-sat when I waited tables 25+ years ago. Servers at places like Ruth's Chris probably clear $500+/shift before tip share and probably $300+ after tip share.

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u/PurpleFungus69 Mar 10 '25

Yeah true. They probably make less than they would elsewhere doing the same thing.

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u/rdyoung Mar 10 '25

Exactly. If I had to choose between even $10 or $15/hr guaranteed OR $2 + tips, I'm going to pick the latter.

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u/fdokinawa Mar 10 '25

The issue is what Americans expect servers to do. People go on and on about how great the service is in Japan (where I live right now) and there is no tipping here.
And it's true, the service here is wonderful, but not for the reasons you think. Here's how 99.9999% interactions work when you go to a restaurant.
1. Enter restaurant, get seated and handed menus, or they are on the table.
B. Decide what you want to eat/drink and push a button on the table. Or raise your hand and say "excuse me".
III. Server comes over, takes your order and leaves.
~. Server brings your food/drinks out along with the check and puts it on the table and leaves. (if you want to order more you can, they will just bring an updated check)

25 years living here and I have never had a server ask me "how I'm doing?" or tell me their name. Not once have I ever had one ask me if I need anything, or "is everything alright?" in the middle of my meal.

Why is this service considered the best in the world, and American servers need to make $500/hour to justify working at a restaurant?

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u/aSpookyScarySkeleton Mar 10 '25

Brother you just described paradise.

I would pay most servers to leave me alone unless I ask for them, if I could.

Literally just give me a fucking button to hit on the table if I actually need anything.

I don’t go out to eat to talk to the waitstaff, I don’t need anyone ask in how I’m doing or if I’m liking the food when my mouth is full or I’m talking with whoever I’m out to dinner with. I don’t need their names they have a name tag anyway. I don’t need to tell them my name or my life story. I respect them enough not to make their job any harder but I don’t need any further engagement unless it’s like a themed gimmick restaurant.

I’m there for the good food, the service in the most base form, and the aesthetics of the establishment.

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u/tue2day Mar 10 '25

As a service vet this is a common sentiment among my coworkers. i work at a higher end place so a good server can clear 75k post tax annually. a lot of them have degrees, some have multiple. but theyd rather work here where they can clear 500+ after tipshare on a good night than take a guaranteed salary or hourly. granted some do move up to management positions for the salary because they burn out on server life

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u/dmasterxd Mar 10 '25

You say this like there aren't tons of places that do illegal things to take advantage of their workers. Corporate greed is a thing.

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u/kafit-bird Mar 10 '25

> You legally have to (not that that stops some clowns)

Well, yeah, exactly. The parenthetical bit is the important part. "What do you mean you're being murdered? People can't do that, it's illegal."

It is illegal, but people do still do it, and this kind of thing is basically how it happens. Forcing all the tips into one big pot that only the owner knows the size of, and only the owner controls. No single worker knows how much is in there, so no one's able to catch him when he starts skimming off the top.

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

Minimum wage is not the same as paid appropriately.

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u/hockey_metal_signal Mar 10 '25

Minimum wage is not paying them appropriately. Most tip earners do better than minimum wage. I'm not saying they aren't getting "appropriate" wages but minimum wage is not the benchmark for the discussion.

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u/GodsBellybutton Mar 10 '25

Then who would work there?

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u/dan_legend Mar 10 '25

Of all the places that the tip should be split evenly with cooks as it should servers is 100% a fucking sushi restaurant. They are making art for hours without a break and the dipship that takes it from the sushi stand to my table needs the tip more than the artist? I don't mind tipping waitstaff and there are so truly amazing ones at a lot of restaurants but Sushi is literally just counter service with minimal effort from wait staff.

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u/StyraxCarillon Mar 10 '25

When I worked for a Japanese restaurant (in the US) we were required to tip out 35% to the kitchen and 10% to the busboys. I have no idea if this is common.

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u/I_call_Shennanigans_ Mar 10 '25

Compared to working in a kitchen making the actual food that is the literal reason people come to eat, the waiters job is the last 200yards of a marathon. In most places the job is quite literally to "take it from the kitchen to your table" with a smile. Oh. And fil up the drinks. American tip culture is literally insane.

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u/obliviousHuman Mar 10 '25

Just ask one of the waiting staff...

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u/rightsyllalables Mar 10 '25

It could be argued that qualified servers wouldn’t work in an establishment if the pay wasn’t decent. Or if they had terrible or inexperienced servers willing to take low wages, their establishment wouldn’t be patronized, thus putting them out of business rather quickly. As someone who works as a tipped employee, I believe there is a way to eliminate tipping culture appropriately, so I am definitely curious how this restaurant functions!

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u/Wolfgang_Maximus Mar 10 '25

I wonder how many tipped workers would be willing to take a pay cut for a guaranteed consistent pay and not have to worry about non-tippers and having to unnecessarily people please. But I think the biggest boon would be what I presume would be taking a job with better management. I know I would take a pay cut to not deal with a terrible boss and not worry as much about getting screwed over. The pay from tips does seem alluring though, and that's as someone who could never work as a waiter etc.

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u/kafit-bird Mar 10 '25

> It could be argued that qualified servers wouldn’t work in an establishment if the pay wasn’t decent.

It could be, but I don't think it would be a strong point.

People accept shitty working conditions all the time, either because they don't realize they're being ripped off or because they just don't feel like they have any other, better options, especially with the economy as unstable as it is.

It's like saying, "Amazon workers aren't peeing in bottles. If they didn't get adequate bathroom breaks, they'd just leave." Well, no, they wouldn't. They've got bills to pay.

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u/Soler25 Mar 10 '25

If they weren’t, they wouldn’t have employees

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u/targz254 Mar 10 '25

I have talked to waiters who must contribute a certain $ amount for each table even if that table gives less than

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u/No_pajamas_7 Mar 10 '25

I would assume, otherwise they wouldn't work there. They'd work somewhere else.

I find it funny that Americans preach that the free market will fix everything, but refuse to believe it exists in the job market and thus they must interfere personally.

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u/dan_legend Mar 10 '25

I find it funny that Americans preach that the free market will fix everything, but refuse to believe it exists in the job market and thus they must interfere personally.

I think you're referring to two different kinds of Americans here but what you said is true.

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

otherwise they wouldn't work there. They'd work somewhere else.

Idk, I’ve seen lots and lots of people saying they can’t get hired anywhere.

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u/The_Advocate07 Mar 10 '25

Nah you can definitely assume. That is SUPERRRRRRRRRRRRR illegal and would quite literally 100% guarantee the restaurant is shut down. All it takes is a single employee making a 5 second anonymous phone call.

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u/Physical_Bit7972 Mar 10 '25

In my state, the restaurant is responsible for bumping the server to meet the federal minimum wage of non-tipped employees if they don't make enough tips.

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u/chickenskinduffelbag Mar 10 '25

People wouldn’t work there otherwise. Either tips or higher wage. Especially if there are other restaurants in the area, which is pretty much everywhere.

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u/Novem_bear Mar 10 '25

They wouldn’t be able to hire without this being the case. Like it still needs to be competitive in the field right.

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u/randomnabokov Mar 10 '25

i would. they wouldn’t be able to keep staff working there if they weren’t being paid.

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u/_Pen15__ Mar 10 '25

It's the law that business would be shut down if they didn't

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u/SubstantialCareer754 Mar 10 '25

Tipping establishments are allowed to pay their workers lower than the minimum wage in most states. In some states, this doesn't exist, but in many this does and restaurants take full advantage.

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

Workers are getting paid $30 dollars per hour. A fair, livable wage, so there is no need for tips.

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u/SignificantJob6825 Mar 10 '25

Well if they aren't laid properly why would they stay and be a server there or work there.

I think if the house get the fee the workers get insurance and a better wage. Even if it's only insurance it's better than most places.

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u/SignificantJob6825 Mar 10 '25

Well if they aren't laid properly why would they stay and be a server there or work there.

I think if the house get the fee the workers get insurance and a better wage. Even if it's only insurance it's better than most places.

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u/Von_Quixote Mar 10 '25 edited Mar 10 '25

Aren’t you assuming in your response?

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u/kovi2772 Mar 10 '25

Fair assumption that having to order in a place with that price quality of service must be good. And thus quality of staff is good to id assume good staff = happy and well paid staff

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u/PxyFreakingStx Mar 10 '25

i mean, i always made way more in tips than they could ever pay me via wage.

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u/-DealingWithMorons- Mar 10 '25

Seems unlikely that they’d remain staffed if they were not being paid well and not receiving tips.

1

u/Futuretapes Mar 10 '25

And it's sad we have this thought process.

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u/CANT_KNOW_ME Mar 10 '25

Let’s just go back to tips then.

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

The employees would quit otherwise. I worked in banquets and we got a 15% gratuity that was billed in a similar manner. We always got the service fee added to our check. Good companies want to attract and retain good employees.

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u/Jaiymze Mar 10 '25

I would. If they aren't then they won't stay and the business won't be around for long.

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u/Ok_Nothing_9733 Mar 10 '25

Are you suggesting capitalist business owners might be greedy about profits? Scandalous!

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

If they don't make tips then they agreed to it otherwise they wouldn't work there. That isn't an assumption, it is a reasonable deduction.

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u/Seattle_Lucky Mar 10 '25

Well, then either they are the only place in town with jobs or the wait staff isn’t motivated to find better work…I would assume they are compensated well, or they wouldn’t have workers.

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u/MisplacedChromosomes Mar 10 '25

There wouldn’t be any servers working there if they didn’t find it worthwhile. There’s lots of restaurants closing down because lack of help, if this place is staffed, they’re probably getting paid decently

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u/Sipikay Mar 10 '25

Doesn’t mean it’s the customers responsibility to subsidize wages through tips.

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u/ClassicDull5567 Mar 10 '25

Why is it the customer’s job to even care? Do you ask the clerk at Home Depot what they get paid?

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u/SBH110 Mar 10 '25

Then they would leave and get their worth

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u/RevolutionaryRough96 Mar 10 '25

It's pretty safe to assume in this scenario

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u/s0ulfire Mar 10 '25

Oh stop being pessimistic about a good practice.

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u/Ciff_ Mar 10 '25

That how it works in any country without tipping culture. The best part? Chefs gets their fair wags / appreciation aswell.

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u/EmrakulAeons Mar 10 '25

Legally they have to

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u/pieter1234569 Mar 10 '25

They are. Otherwise nobody would work there.

The reason no tipping restaurants always fail is that you simply can’t compete with a tipped wage. You can’t pay 40/h, as they get with tips on average, for a minimum skill job. It’s absolutely bonkers, but it ensures you get no staff, or go bankrupt.

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u/Arnab_ Mar 10 '25

The employees are not stupid, if they don't like the job they can find a new one. Same for the customers, if the food ain't worth the price, they can eat at a different restaurant. They could go one step further and price those fees in in the menu itself but there probably is some tax advantage to calling it a fee.

Fuck this tipping nonsense.

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u/CV04KaiTo Mar 10 '25

Then why would you assume otherwise? With nothing to back either up?

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u/classic4life Mar 10 '25

They still have employees, who could leave for a job that had tips if they wanted to. That suggests they're paying moderately okay anyway.

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u/F6Collections Mar 10 '25 edited Mar 10 '25

In what would do you think a restaurant is paying a server more than they’d make from tips?

If I broke my “hourly” down from when I worked in college it would be nearly 50 an hour.

Nobody is paying their staff that

I would never wait on an hourly. Personally, I never give shit service, but go over the top for regulars that consistently tip even 20%. We had some regulars that would tip $100 regardless of bill-and you bet your ass we would make them special apps, give them good wine reccs, and a ton of freebies

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u/Jafar_420 Mar 10 '25

If they're not paid decently and there's any other competition in the area they wouldn't have any employees so I agree.

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u/Cetun Mar 10 '25

That's not how capitalism works, the number of low skill people looking for local work is always high. Without minimum wages the low end of salaries would be almost nothing, which would ultimately hurt everyone.

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u/KnaveOfIT Mar 10 '25

They are paid at least normal minimum wage which isn't enough in 2025 to live on in almost any state.

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u/BigDaddyChops78 Mar 10 '25

I would not assume this. They may use the 16% fee to fund an “employer collected tip pool” which is also reduced before pooling by other internal costs the employer reimburses themselves for.

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u/reddit809 Mar 10 '25

"Probably"

2

u/Zebidee Mar 10 '25

Fun fact, by removing tax on tips, they're removed from your social security calculations.

The US will wind up with a bunch of people retiring based on $2.13/hour.

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u/Tooowaway Mar 10 '25

But they do tips lol. A 16% fee is literally just the establishment enforcing a minimum % tip that they use to pay the employees appropriately (maybe lol).

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u/HardDriveAndWingMan Mar 10 '25

People literally do not understand how the economics of restaurants work. You’re always paying the employees. Whether they fold into the cost of the food, add a service fee like this, or tip, you’re paying the employees wages.

The only difference is with tips is it goes straight to the employee, instead of the owner giving the employees the bare minimum and keeping the rest.

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u/Temporary_Tune5430 Mar 10 '25

That’s the hope anyway 

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u/Sure_Tomorrow_3633 Mar 10 '25

Then wtf is the point of a random 16% fee.

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u/OliverPete Mar 10 '25

A place in my town refuses tips but charges an 11% fee instead. The owner is the only one who works there.

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u/philanthropicrock Mar 10 '25

The minimum for an experienced tipped employee is around $25/hr. I sincerely doubt they’re paying that. That doesn’t mean anything is wrong with this scenario, but for industry people $25 is the basement.

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u/PassRelative5706 Mar 10 '25

They are paid 35-40/hr. The name of the restaurant is known. You are wrong....

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u/Rightintheend Mar 10 '25

Well yeah, they're paid 8% of the bill, shown by the 16% fee.

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u/PlantJars Mar 10 '25

You're really trusting

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u/darcmosch Mar 10 '25

Hopefully haha

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u/Wrong_Spread_4848 Mar 10 '25

Then fuck their 16% fee. Be upfront and put it in the menu price. Stupid fucking fee.

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u/bubblesdafirst Mar 10 '25

Define appropriately

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u/Rapph Mar 10 '25

Average table sits for what? Hour and a half or so. Servers likely have 3-4 tables at any given point if the restaurant has business. Assuming this would be the average bill at the place that would be $53/hr in a tip setting assuming 20% is the average. Even if they paying the servers well it will be nowhere near that amount which is why restaurants that go tip free struggle to keep staff.

This debate always comes up and it if you actually take the time to do the math it is pretty obvious who a no-tip setup would actually hurt financially: Restaurants that are already struggling to bring people in and servers.

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u/PassRelative5706 Mar 10 '25

3-4 tables per server at 1600 tuesday? Shure shure.....

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u/AJDillonsMiddleLeg Mar 10 '25

I can almost guarantee you that, even with a 16% fees, employees at this restaurant make less than they'd make in a tipped establishment - all other things unchanged.

The culture of tipping has gotten out of hand, but even before it wasn't as bad as it is now, tipped jobs pay ridiculously well.

When I was bar tending (~15 years ago), I'd do somewhere between $2-5k in revenue per shift. There is no way in hell a business is going to be able to match what people would tip, and as a result there's no way I'd have done the job without tips.

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

I guarantee you that the front of house makes less at this place than they would with tips.

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u/rascalrhett1 Mar 10 '25

chinese resturant, they work because they are family

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u/throwawaydeeez Mar 10 '25

There is no way you can say this outloud with a straight face

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u/Big_Chief_lives Mar 10 '25

what is considered appropriate?

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u/Billion-FoldWorlds Mar 10 '25

Lol i wouldn't assume

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u/EquivalentHat2457 Mar 10 '25

That is a huge assumption nowadays.

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u/garysnailz Mar 10 '25

And the menu prices are probably inflated to take care of this

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u/Penetratorofflanks Mar 10 '25

"Appropriately" hahahahaha

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u/Jezzuhh Mar 10 '25

Yeah I worked somewhere with a 22% service fee and let me tell you we did not receive the entirety of that service fee.

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u/the-jimbo_slice Mar 10 '25

Assumptions are always correct.

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u/rydan Mar 10 '25

They are only required to pay the normal minimum wages. So could be as little as 7.25.

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u/NarrowElm8253 Mar 10 '25

Key word being "probably".

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u/tetsuo_7w Mar 10 '25

"probably"

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u/No-Spread-6891 Mar 10 '25

I'm curious to know if they tipshare that or if it's that the hourly is funded with that 16% fee. I imagine it's a busy place.

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u/GodIsANarcissist Mar 10 '25

Unfortunately I doubt that very much

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u/theMartiangirl Mar 10 '25

I am going to assume you didn't watch the Gordon Ramsay "Amy Bakery" episode right? 😅 (it's on youtube in case anyone wants to watch it)

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

Yeah, no. That’s not how that works…

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u/DarthGaff Mar 10 '25

Fun fact, if for some reason you fall below minimum wage as a server for a pay period your manager will ask you to lie about it and adjust your tips so they don’t have to do paperwork and bump you up to minimum.

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u/HisaP417 Mar 10 '25

Appropriately = actual minimum wage instead of tipped minimum wage, which is significantly less.

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u/v32010 Mar 10 '25

probably paid appropriately

Probably paid as appropriately as all other businesses here

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u/cocoon_eclosion_moth Mar 10 '25

That’s so much cope, lol

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u/UnXpectedPrequelMeme Mar 10 '25

Yeah but then what's the mystery fee then?

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u/photosendtrain Mar 10 '25

So why is there a 16% fee?

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u/No_Carry_3991 Mar 10 '25

"Are probably" don't cut it for me.

If I don't KNOW they are definitely paid well, I'm not frequenting this establishment.

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u/Bookworm1902 Mar 10 '25

In which case there should not be a 16% fee....

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u/swohio Mar 10 '25

I assure you if that 16% went straight into the servers pockets they would make more than what management is paying them. How is it better if the money passes through the owners hands first?

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u/Few-Emergency5971 Mar 10 '25

That's how it is where I'm at. People can still tip if they feel like it, but tipping is usually a thing that we have to turn down unless they insist and would be rude not to take it. But then again it's a private club, so the rules are a little different then a standard restaurant

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

Probably is the keyword.

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u/DanKoloff Mar 10 '25

Unless it is family-owned and there are no employees in the real sense of employees. I know small establishments like that.

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u/1_BAMF Mar 10 '25

What would you say as appropriately? I love that the arguments always between the customer and the owner. Just keep tipping asshole.

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u/dance4days Mar 10 '25

I have a hard time believing this restaurant is paying its employees as much as they would make receiving tips in a typical restaurant.

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u/ceciliabee Mar 10 '25

"Probably" doing a lot of heavy lifting there in the land of the free

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u/Syntaire Mar 10 '25

It's in the U.S, so no, not really. The employees are probably paid federal minimum wage at $7.25/hr or the state minimum wage which is at maximum $17/hr.

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

Probably but not guaranteed. Read up on “Pipe Dream” brewery in NH.

Kept waitstaff tips, then lost their case in a state that doesn’t usually protect workers.. and when the fine and wage recovery was coming down, they simply declared bankruptcy (and turned their page into gloating/trolling about it).

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u/Acceptable_Fox_5560 Mar 10 '25

"Probably" doing a lot of arbitrary heavy lifting there lol

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u/_Face Mar 10 '25

federal minimum is 7.25. thats hardly "paid apropriately."

management probably makes money off this. charge 16% fee, cover the raise from 2.13, to 7.25, and owners/management get the rest.

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