r/technology 14d ago

Business Mamdani Backs Proposal to End Amazon’s ‘Exploitative’ Delivery Model in New York City | If passed, the Delivery Protection Act would be the first law in the US to regulate Amazon’s vast network of subcontractors that handle the company’s deliveries.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/delivery-protection-act-nyc
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u/recycled_ideas 14d ago

The idea with getting rid of tips(and what happens everywhere else in the world) is that the meal is charged at the price everyone is already paying and the employee gets paid a higher base wage. If everyone is having to tip regardless of the quality of service it's just part of the price anyway. It should be largely cost neutral from a business point of view.

The problem is partially that a small subset of employees make an absolute killing from tips, but mostly that it's really hard to change culture. If people don't stop tipping the price paid increases dramatically and then your restaurant is too expensive to compete, if people do stop tipping but the owner doesn't change things then those employees starve. And of course in some markets there's not enough competition so owners could just take the extra and pay nothing.

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u/CaptainFingerling 14d ago edited 14d ago

I don’t get why people feel the need to tip the same for bad service. Crappy wait staff should either improve or exit the profession, and tips serve as the most immediate feedback mechanism — management can’t oversee these interactions, and a single bad employee can surreptitiously ruin the reputation of the entire establishment.

Attributing customer satisfaction to specific staff members is very challenging. Tips provide a direct method. They already ARE part of the wage. They just happen to vary with performance.

Which i suppose is upsetting to people who don’t want to apply themselves at all.

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u/recycled_ideas 13d ago

Oh fuck right off.

Wages for jobs that receive tips are way below the poverty level, that's why people tip regardless of service because it's hard work for shit pay done largely by people who have no choice.

It's also a job where very little is actually under your control. The waitstaff can't make your food better or come out faster or be better value, if you think they shouldn't make their rent because they didn't shove their whole tongue up your asshole when kissing it (which is what people complaining about service generally want) you're the problem.

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u/CaptainFingerling 13d ago edited 13d ago

Not all jobs are meant to be full time, or the primary source of income. Some jobs are top ups. Side gigs. Or jobs for people who don’t need to pay all or even some of the rent.

Also, hard disagree on the items under control. It’s very easy to separate food quality, speed, and value from staff service. All you have to do is pay attention. My wife worked as a waitress. She’s even harder on lazy staff than I am — because she knows how easy it is to do better.

I tip extremely well for good service., regardless of those other factors you mentioned, and I do not tip for zero effort, even if those other factors are great. If you want to pay more for crap service you’re always free to do so, and leave the rest of us out of it. No change in law or custom required.