this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2023
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Hey Folks!

I've been living abroad for over half my life in a country where tipping is not the norm. At most you would round up. 19€ bill? Here's a 20, keep this change.

Going to the US soon to visit family and the whole idea of tipping makes me nervous. It seems there's a lot of discussion about getting rid of tipping, but I don't know how much has changed in this regard.

The system seems ridiculously unfair, and that extra expense in a country where everything is already so expensive really makes a difference.

So will AITA if I don't tip? Is it really my personal responsibility to make sure my server is paid enough?

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[–] masto@vlemmy.net 66 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Yes. You really have to tip. 20%. Sorry. And tax isn’t included in the prices of things. That’s the way things work here and you can choose to spend the whole time being annoyed by it or not. But please don’t make a personal protest that only hurts some of the lowest paid and hardest working people.

[–] Nyefan@lemmy.ml 42 points 1 year ago (4 children)

To be as clear as possible - the minimum wage for tipped staff is $2.13/hr. That's why you have to tip.

[–] MDKAOD@lemmy.ml 26 points 1 year ago (3 children)

This is deceiving though. In The US tipping is literally everywhere now.

If you are waited on, I. E. Sat at a table or served at a bar, tipping is expected. If you go to a counter and place an order and someone hands you something while you're standing there, those workers aren't making 2.13/hr.

[–] meekah@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

usually people differentiate between fastfood and actual restaurants.

[–] MDKAOD@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 year ago

It's not just fast food though! Everywhere from the tiny ice cream shop to the boutique waffle place. Starbucks (who are becoming increasingly unionized) to the local sandwich shop that only does sandwiches, doesn't have tables and doesn't deliver all have tip jars now. It's up to the patron whether to do it or not and our laws should be updated to ensure people don't need them.

[–] c0mbatbag3l@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I don't tip if there's no service being provided. Bringing my food to my table after I ordered it from a kiosk and filled up my own drink at the soda fountain doesn't qualify.

[–] fadedmaster@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

And this isn't universal either. For example, Culver's will bring your food out to you but you don't tip. So I would add that if you're waited on and pay for the meal AFTER eating and being waited on, then you tip.

[–] Jake_Farm@sopuli.xyz 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Not true, restuarants have to make up the difference in their wage if they dont make enough in tips.

[–] this@sh.itjust.works 17 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Yes, up to minimum wage, which is still often not enought to live on.

[–] joe@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's definitely not enough to live on, but that's beside the point, isn't it? I don't tip any other people because they earn minimum wage-- do you? The point is that the person isn't actually making only $2/hr-- they're making at least minimum wage, with the opportunity to make more via tips.

Tipping needs to end, and the laws changed to reflect it.

[–] ch00f@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Being a waiter is a skilled job that deserves more than minimum wage.

[–] joe@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't disagree, but that is irrelevant to the discussion, is it not?

[–] ch00f@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's just my response to the argument that you can choose to not tip because waiters will make minimum wage regardless. Minimum wage is not an appropriate salary for that line of work.

However, yes, I agree that laws should be changed to remove tipping or at least to require restaurant owners to pay an appropriate wage for the work with optional tips on top for exceptional service.

[–] joe@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Is it a customer's responsibility to ensure an employee gets paid enough?

[–] PowerCrazy@lemmy.ml -3 points 1 year ago

Do you tip the Walmart Greeter? Why or why not?

[–] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 8 points 1 year ago

Yeah, legally.

In practice? Lol

[–] goGetF1@startrek.website 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This does depend on which state you’re in (some states don’t have a “tipped wage”), but the vast majority of service workers are not raking in the big bucks, so be generous if you can!

[–] pingveno@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oregon has kind of a hybrid tipped wage. There's a minimum tipped wage, but if tips don't add up to at least the regular minimum wage then the establishment needs to make up the tips for the shift.

[–] TrippyTortuga@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

A higher federal minimum wage would solve this problem. Employers are required by law to make up the difference between the base wage and the federal minimum wage ($7.25/hr) if nobody tips.

But obviously $7.25 isn't a living wage either, so any tipped employee that actually makes the federal minimum is living almost entirely on tips.

https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/wages/wagestips

[–] SilentStorms@lemmy.fmhy.ml 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's assuming that employers follow the law, which for restaurants is rarely the case.

[–] TrippyTortuga@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

Fair point. And this is why unions are beneficial to the working class, and also why shitty companies like Starbucks try to bust unions.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If the service is bad I would go for 10%

[–] catshit_dogfart@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

Only if it's really bad though, and on purpose.

If it was something the employee couldn't control or just a generally bad experience that was nobody's fault, still 20%. Place is swamped and the waiter never gave me a drink refill because they're the only one on the floor, still 20%.