Complain all you want, but not tipping is straight up taking money from someone who is getting paid $5 an hour. Complain to ownership, write your congressman and state legislators, but not tipping only punishes someone who is barely scrapping by.
So, dear reader, notice how whenever defenders of tipping come along, it’s always the same story.
Oh boohoo my poor minimum wage (which is pegged to the same minimum wage as non-tipped workers in states where most people live).
Ever wonder why it’s always about the minimum wage and never about how much money they make?
Any server with 2 brain cells clears $40 an hour in untaxed cash wages every shift.
They never report it on their taxes, and yet they will cry about their poor wittle wage at every opportunity expecting people that make half their salary to tip them 100% for rudely dropping off a plate once and never coming back, making you wait 20 minutes to close a check.
Notice the pattern. Remember how I was right next time.
Ask them if they’d rather abolish tipping next time. Notice how none of them say “yes”.
I’m 100% on board with ending tipping, i am just saying that stiffing your server won’t do anything to end it.
Employer is obligated to make up the difference so that perosn gets at least min wage.
So this statement is factually incorrect
A couple issues with this take every time it’s mentioned.
- That isn’t on a per-hour basis. That is based on a usually weekly or bi-weekly cycle depending on your state. So if someone made a lot of reported tips on Saturday night, effectively making a couple hundred per hour, and no tips the entire rest of the week, they might still make the overall minimum wage for the week, effectively working 30+ hours for $2.13 an hour (federal tipped minimum) instead of $7.25 (federal minimum) or more depending on the state.
They’re making on average of a good amount, but most of that work is for shit pay no one would ever consider doing at that pay rate. It is very good money during that busy time, but anyone that’s ever worked food service knows busy times like that are an insane amount of work in comparison.
Report them to the proper state authority… How is this my problem as a consumer?
Am I supposed to hold owners accountable?
This factoid is, at best, disingenuous. They only have to match minimum wage across the entire pay period, which is typically two weeks long. One bad shift isn’t going to make the employer pay you more, because the other 9 shifts in the same pay period balanced it out to be just above minimum wage. But that one bad shift will be felt by the employee, who went home with less money that evening.
Or even worse, if the restaurant requires tipping out the back of house, situations can arise where the employee ends up losing money in a day. Because if you get stiffed on a big 20 person party, (which happens a lot. Every individual at the party assumes someone else tipped), then you have a massive check with no tip. But the restaurant requires that you pay a percentage of the check (not the reported tip. The total check), to the back of house staff. So if tipping out is 5%, that 20 person party took two hours, and you got stiffed on an $800 ($40 per person. Not unreasonable for a restaurant) check? You’re only making $2.13 per hour (minimum wage for tipped workers) and just had to pay the back of house staff $40 out of your own pocket. You just lost $35.74 in those two hours. Because all of your time was spent catering to that party and you only got paid $4.26 for it.
How any of this my problem?
At best tipping a moral obligation… There is no legal requirement to do so.
Also waiters seem to like this clown system…
When I relaized this, I went back to tipping 15%
If this clown behavior keeps up, it will be 10%.
Sticking that stupid device with 25% will not be tolerated.
Not for each transaction. So not tipping is like reaching over to another table and taking some of their tip for your table. They are still paid less than minimum wage for the service they provided you, but someone else’s tips will still keep them out of minimum wage for the shift.
So yes, at they’re worst they should get at least minimum wage for each shift. But per customer, their rate is below minimum wage without tipping, which is an awful system we need to get rid of.
That’s some mental gymnastics but sure, you can look at it this way.
I didn’t realize that going out to eat required me to get this involved in some shiti food joints business model and compensation structure for their staff.
Note that a lot of tips don’t even all go to the waiter… What’s your excuse for this.
Also tipping is for actual table service. If you just hand me some food I’m not tipping you for handing me food.
I recently ordered some parts for an e-vape online. At the payment page it asked for a tip. I was in disbelief. (I didn’t take a screenshot, but in retrospect I should have.)
No services rendered, no food being made, nobody personally delivering it to my house. But it still wanted a tip, with the explanation that it was “to support our team!”
Where to even begin…
I’m tired of this excuse. These people took the job knowing what the pay rate was, and are demanding the customer pay their salary directly rather than the employer like virtually any other conventional job does. Customers have had it, they’re being told to give employees raises along with rising food costs, even at businesses that don’t do a damn thing for the customer except maybe hand them a to-go box. 20% for that? F no. Grow a spine and demand real pay, people have had it. IDK how I can travel almost any modern place else in the world, pay for a good meal, and only have to leave the approximation of $1 or so for appreciation of the service, but in America I pay for the food and a separate charge for the employee’s “pay”.
Thrn stop going to restaurants that expect a tip. Don’t go to a restaurant and stiff your server. I spent 6 months last year living on $300 a week because people weren’t tipping at the bar i was working at. The bar is still open, but the new bartender is in the exact same position.
You don’t take a job at a restaurant or a bar because your life is doing great. You are there because you have no other options.
I don’t have a problem with tipping. I have a problem with restauranteurs taking the profits and the customer being asked for more and more tips. I can’t help people’s life situations, and I’m sure they aren’t all down on their luck any more than someone working retail. Yeah, I avoid places that expect big tips, so the servers get no tip at all instead of some tip.
yeah I basically stopped going to restaurants because is screwed either way. It actually used to be something we would do but the norm became wierd and like so many things nowadays it became just drop out of participation.
Yeah, I’m not defending tipping in the US, but not tipping is only screwing over the server. You don’t end up working at a restaurant because you love it, you are there because your life is a mess and it’s closest thing you can get to a stable job. If you don’t want to tip, then don’t go out to eat.
Back in October i had a guy “leave a tip” that said “Kamala bullshit” because he was mad his double of jack and coke cost $8. I don’t set the prices, i also think it’s bullshit, but i was weeknight bartending because I couldnt find any other job.
yeah but that is what I meant. We did not want to keep tipping at the old norm if it was under tipping so we just stopped being in the system. I have seen the standard go from 10% to 15% to 20% and thats when we stopped. Through most of it 15 was sorta standard and 10 was like I don’t want to stiff you but our experience was not the best and 20 was like omg you were great. stiffing was like I wish I had not come out and this was a horrible crazy experience. Im really not sure the what would actually have to happen for that as it never came up but maybe doing two nazi salutes or something might cause it.
In WA everyone is paid at least 16 an hour, over 20 in Seattle and in many high COL areas.
Its unfortunately a catch 22 though because continuing to tip kinda enables it to keep happening if everyone stopped tipping then places would likely have to pay a decent wage in order to get people to work as even if you’re extremely desperate for money its still not really worth it to work for tipped minimum wage with no tips also im not sure if it applies to all places but if your compensation + tips falls below the federal minimim wage the company must pay you the difference if I am not mistaken
That’s over the course of a pay period though. So if i make $40 on a slow night, but $200 the next night, that evens out and the boss doesn’t have to pay out.
I am not defending tipping, but change will only happen from the top down. All the full time servers at the restaurant i work at are at “i cant pay my bills” level of struggling right now and we live in a super cheap area. Stiffing your server won’t end tipping, it’s just taking a meal away from them or their kids while the owner is just fine. Legislation is the only thing that will end the system, qnd that’s where the reform needs to happen.
I’m paying
straight up taking money
lol, where can I find this magical money?
Servers usually have to pay in X% of their total sales to the back of house. So if you stiff me on a $90 check, i lose $3 because i still have to pay that much in. I actually had a slow night where bith tables stiffed me so i actually left the restaurant $4 poorer than when i entered. Because ihad a better night the next shift, the owner was able to average me out so that he didn’t have to pay me more than the server minimum wage.
Yes. If you can’t afford to leave a decent tip, then don’t get the service.
