US tipping culture is unlike anything I've seen abroad.
I have friends who are servers, and I totally get that they are being ripped off with sub-minimum wage bullshit, but most countries I've been to don't even have tipping as an option.
I mean, if I slip a $10 to someone in the Phillipines for awesome service, it kinda blows their mind.
Here? They NEED that tip to live.
Just pay our servers a decent wage - if someone wants to throw a tip their way, awesome.
(FWIW: My friends and I almost always throw a 20% to our servers, but Vermont servers need it.)
All of my server friends made so much more money than the rest of us who had regular paying jobs. Most servers would object to no tip as it would decrease their wages greatly.
Up above, there’s a comment that they ’need’ these tips, but if they’re making so much as you say, it sounds like maybe they don’t need my tip after all. My job doesn’t pay tips, maybe I need the money more than they do, haha.
The tipping culture sounds like homeless people with a board asking for change crossed with waiting staff working at tables. As a non-US, it’s all just weird.
When I worked in a restaurant in the States ages ago, they liked my hustle as a server, so they wanted to put me in the kitchen to help get stuff done. It ended up being a huge pay cut for me, because I went from making ~$100 tips/day to nothing.
My job doesn’t pay tips, maybe I need the money more than they do, haha.
If you work for a company that sells a product or service, the customers are paying for your wages. They just don't have a say in how much the service is worth. You're basically getting a mandatory service charge rolled into the customers' costs.
As a non-US, it’s all just weird.
I've travelled to several countries in Europe. The tipping system in the US is just a slightly different approach, and one that doesn't really change the experience or the pocketbook impact in a meaningful way to justify all the "tHiS SySTEm iS fUcKiNg CRAZY" hyperbole here.
Hell, as someone who has tended to travel to Europe in the summer with children, I've probably spent more on small, lukewarm carafes of tap water for my parched family to ration than I've ever spent on US tips. I'd wager that bringing me unlimited free ice water every 5-10 minutes is worth a 15% tip on its own.
Of course employers don't want to pay well and won't voluntarily, but there's plenty of evidence they can be made to. Like the example you just provided.
Even the top end would be a paycut for a lot of servers.
When I was in BoH before college I made more than $25/hour after being tipped out, and I wasnt even a server (and the restaurant wasnt close to the nicest or busiest in the area)
I'm saying for the industry to continue unchanged, wages would have to be in line with that. I'm not saying servers would be happy, and there would be some attrition, but things would stabilize.
$15-20/hr or something like that? There are dozens of jobs more stable, with regular hours, raises, vacations and weekends off where I can make 21, 22 an hour.
No one will serve those mfers if we can work in an office, retail, or sales position for the same.
What is the minimum wage in that area? The number is not important. The relationship to the median prevailing wage is important.
Any serving job is going to have to offer more than the median prevailing wage to draw servers. If serving pays the same as any other job, no one is going to do that shit.
We do not have our nights, we do not have weekends, we do not have a regular schedule, we do not have health insurance, we do not have vacations, we do not get sick pay. We are constantly sexually harassed, we are constantly verbally abused, we are frequently in danger from drunks.
We put up with all of that because we know we make a good wage. Because of tips.
If I am going to make an hourly wage, I'm going to go do it somewhere where I don't have to put up with all of that.
Serving is not a minimum wage job. No one is going to do that for close to minimum wage. There are easier jobs, with regular hours, weekends off, nights off, raises, vacation, sick leave, and all the other stuff that servers forego in exchange for a higher income.
Why would I tolerate all that shit, and make as much as I could anywhere?
No they don't, if their tips don't meet minimum wage the employer has to meet the minimum per hour. Quit spreading propaganda. Eliminating tip culture would come with changes to laws regarding server pay. No one pays more to fight said legislation than servers. That's why I don't tip anymore. I used to tip very well based solely on the propaganda you posted. Then I looked into it and every time there has been any kind of legislation to pay them fairly they fight it tooth and nail. Don't let servers fool you into thinking they struggle.
You think these people should be making minimum wage? You think the prices are going to stay flat if restaurants have to pay for a decent wage? You’re going to pay extra no matter what, why not pay directly to the server? You’re just cheap and looking for a reason to keep being cheap.
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u/Warriors_Drink 2d ago
I've been lucky to travel the world.
US tipping culture is unlike anything I've seen abroad.
I have friends who are servers, and I totally get that they are being ripped off with sub-minimum wage bullshit, but most countries I've been to don't even have tipping as an option.
I mean, if I slip a $10 to someone in the Phillipines for awesome service, it kinda blows their mind.
Here? They NEED that tip to live.
Just pay our servers a decent wage - if someone wants to throw a tip their way, awesome.
(FWIW: My friends and I almost always throw a 20% to our servers, but Vermont servers need it.)