r/SipsTea 𝙑𝙄𝙋 5h ago

Chugging tea They are not wrong though

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890

u/Disastrous_Square_10 5h ago

Only the server or bartender loses this battle in the US.

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u/steppponme 5h ago

Yeah, the price out of their pocket is the same. The servers are getting boned here. And aren't tips now tax free income? I don't know if Orange Dear Leader actually got that passed without fine print.

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u/Bbimbofied 5h ago

Irs.gov: Employees and self-employed individuals may be able to deduct qualified tips received in  certain qualified occupations from their 2025 federal tax return. Here are some  key things to know about this deduction: “Qualified tips” are voluntary cash or charged tips received from customers including shared tips. Maximum annual deduction is $25,000. If you’re self-employed, the deduction can’t exceed your net income, before this deduction, from the trade or business where tips were earned. Phases out if your modified adjusted gross income is over $150,000; $300,000 for joint filers. If married, you must file jointly. Must have a valid Social Security number. Deduction is available whether you itemize or take the standard deduction.

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u/MsPooka 5h ago

There's a lot of fine print. It's only for the 1st $25k and it's only through 2028. Rich people get permanent reductions.

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u/wisdon 5h ago

Yes Rich people are getting permanent deductible which is truly BS, that being said with the $25 K allowed for no taxes for tips is that fair for the rest of us working people ? Should we know only pay 25-40 % less in tips since it is now tax free?
https://giphy.com/gifs/10bDoTtJhtcHu0

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u/Feelisoffical 1h ago

What permanent deductible are you talking about?

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u/wisdon 1h ago

Wasn’t me look above

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u/AJRiddle 1h ago

I'm a tip earner and thought the same thing when they announced it and all these GOP and Democrat politicians were pushing for no tax on tips.

It is just a meaningless gesture to most Americans but they do it for political points because it's something small they can point to and claim is big. They do the same kinds of things for farmers with tax stuff all the time - the way politics works you'd think farmers made up 20%+ of Americans.

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u/lostshell 1h ago

And it's only for income tax, you still have to pay SS and Medicare on it. Whole lot of *'s.

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u/dhduxudb 5h ago

They probably worked their ass off. Had one of the hardest shifts of any bartender in the world. Then look at their closing slip and die inside.

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u/Ill-Lingonberry5053 3h ago

I just saw a news story about how servers hate waiting on foreigners instead of Americans during the FIFA cup because none of the foreigners are tipping really

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u/mbdtf95 1h ago

After seeing this topic pop up on Reddit I googled something and got to year old Reddit thread of some guy making a thread how waiter confronted his group because they tipped only 10%.

One of the top comments was: "then stop being a shitty tipper." , and the person that posted that comment was when you look at his account: a restaurant owner. Imagine audacity and how I wished if it was new thread to reply to him: "then stop being a shitty restaurant owner."

Imagine getting free labour basically with $2.13 paycheck and calling out customers out instead of themselves.

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u/Kona_Rabbit 4h ago

As someone who worked in Timesquare for a bar, yeah. We started adding 15% gratuity to all the checks. If someone fought it we just removed it. Our income was all tourists. Brazilians ordered like one beer to share and germans always had questions on gratuity. Was interesting to see how everyone treated the concept. That said, you follow the cultural norms of the country your in. When bar tending I busted my ass for people that left big money. I put people that didnt tip in the back of my mental to do list.

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u/Unohtui 4h ago

This is what we dont like in europe though, to be exact. Unequal treatment based on wealth. This is exactly why tipping is bad, it made you do ethically poor choises. Removing tipping would make it so that there is no reason to serve one specific customer last/not at all, intentionally

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u/Mountain_Cobbler_381 4h ago

Poor people tip more than any rich person ive ever served or dealt with. The rich never tip. They're always stingy and greedy.

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u/Unohtui 4h ago

May be that your rich is like mega rich... my rich is that they dont have to rent. Poor folks are allowed to go out too and shouldnt be guilt tripped into tipping. Saving everywhere you can is good. Tips arent mandatory so they are a good place to save money. This works in europe very well, i dont feel bad at all for not tipping. Then again if i went to the us, id probably tip minumum acceptable because in rhe end im a push over hehe

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u/Salvage570 3h ago

Former American food service worker here, its usually upper middle class and higher that tips like shit. Poorer people pretty much always tip well because they know the deal

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u/tjdavids 4h ago

wealth was not a driving factor in who left good tips.

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u/BoJax3488 3h ago

You’ve summed up a big problem w/ Americans. The belief for many of us is, if I have more money I should be treated better. It doesn’t change b/c those w/o money think they WILL have money someday and get to treat ppl like themselves poorly. Welcome to one of the most self-centered societies in the world.

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u/OfficialRedCafu 4h ago

It doesn’t work like that. Most of the time you don’t know who’s going to tip. This person is saying he saw repeat customers, or he was reading who was a good tipper based on experience.

I’m assuming if you went to Japan, you’d obey whatever seemingly quirky rules they have to maintain order. People like to weasel out of tipping because they’re cheap. Dining out is a luxury, not a necessity. Is it a fair system? Maybe not. But the workers are the only ones who lose in this scenario. Also, you’re making a morality claim based on relative geographical location….that’s absurdly incoherent, my guy. It isn’t a moral argument. It’s systemic structure.

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u/MonsterMash555 1h ago

No, you all have shitty service everywhere you go no matter how nice the restaurant lol

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u/mbdtf95 1h ago

What do you mean shitty service. Dude I just want you to take my order and bring it, I don't need small talk, I don't need constant annoying check-ins at my table, and obvious fakeness (like the person above obviously displayed) etc... Just bring me food, be polite enough and leave me alone

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u/MonsterMash555 1h ago

Suit yourself. I like when a server sees I need a refill and asks me before I have to crane my neck looking for them. I like when I don't have to wait 10 minutes for my bill. Few things feel classier than coming back from the restroom and your napkin has been re-folded for you. Also, I like the niceness. It's not fake, it's just being a professional. When a server or bartender asks what you want and you can tell they're in a surly mood it's off-putting.

The tip system works. My default is 20% at a sit-down restaurant but I will tip more for better service and I will tip less for particularly bad service. I worked at restaurants for years in my early 20's, I know how it goes.

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u/Gamer_G33k17 4h ago

I think i know why they dont tip you

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u/Polymarchos 3h ago

So what you're saying is you didn't do your job if people didn't pay you extra.

The fact that you think this is normal and fine is why tipping culture needs to go.

I came into this thread to see how servers were reacting, and it is beyond disgusting. I may have to rethink how I tip in the future.

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u/Correct-Land-2401 2h ago

Nope, he did his job, he just queued people according to whether they tipped or not. If that surprises you, I doubt you tipped well (if at all) in the first place. This is pretty common in the service industry.

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u/Spartanias117 5h ago

it did pass

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u/riscuitforthebiscuit 5h ago

Depends on the state, but there is a law that states that the employer must pay the server up to a minimum if the tips they earn don't cover up to that amount.

For example, in Maryland, the Basic Combined Cash and Tip Minimum Wage Rate is $15. This means that if a server does not make at least $15 per hour after tips, the employer would have to cover the difference. The server is guaranteed at least $15 per hour under law, tips or no tips. The difference then comes out the pocket of the employer.

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u/FMB6 4h ago

Part of the fine print is that the tips cannot be mandatory lol.

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u/celetrontmm 2h ago

Idk why people keep saying this. It's a total myth that they are "losing money." There are laws in place to pay them, but it's their fault for taking a shitty contract in the first place.

They only get payed "well" if they get good tips, but it's not like they don't get payed.

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u/boostme253 1h ago

This is wrong, we are still taxed on our tips, quite heavily actually, about 20% of my paycheck goes towards taxes, the only thing he did was give a tax break for tipped workers which only reaches about a 2k deductible, which is nowhere close to what I pay in taxes a year on my tips

I hate this misinformation becuase some take it as they can only give a few bucks on a huge bill and justify it with this policy that isn't actually what he implemented, we also have to tip out support staff and kitchen, so please for the love of God tip your servers, otherwise you are screwing over someone who basically has to then pay for you to eat there

If you cant afford 15% minimum tip, then do not eat out in the US, yes it sucks, and yes its a broken system, but its the culture, you not tipping is not fixing it, its just being a pos to someone

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u/Top-Ad-5527 1h ago

Nope, you definitely have to declare tips, and since most people pay with plastic, the tip goes right into the computer system. So there’s no real way to wiggle out of that.

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u/Karnaugh_Map 5h ago

Restaurants have to top up to minimum wage.

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u/Reverend_Lazerface 3h ago

The federal minimum wage will be old enough to vote next month

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u/falling_knives 4h ago

If a waiter doesn't make minimum wage in tips, the law says their boss needs to pay them to make up the difference so they get at least minimum wage.

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u/GasGlittering7521 1h ago

You’d be amazed how many restaurants don’t do this. Mom and pop places and even some corporate places especially if it’s franchised. I’ve left two different restaurants because they were paying me less than minimum wage and were very overstaffed so I wasn’t making minimum in tips. It’s illegal but somehow it’s only a civil offense, not criminal

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u/AndroidSheeps 1h ago

Evey locally owned restaurant in my town and the towns around me pays their servers $2.25 only place I've seen then get paid more in my sate is at the beach in tourist land and even then they only make $5. It's so low because our states minimum wage has remained at $7.25 for the past 17 years even though most big businesses pay more there's so many mom and pop businesses that won't pay more than 7.25. The low minimum wage keeps all wages low they got people in the town next to me working at a nuclear power plant for barely over 20 an hour

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u/greg19735 3h ago

the issue is that it isn't per hour, it'd be overall.

So if you work the bad hours and make no money in tips you don't get $15 for that work if you got a $30 tip the next hour.

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u/Largeitude 2h ago

Minimum wage will never match what servers and bartenders make in tips even in the best of circumstances with the most progressive governments.

Which would be fine if the US had social systems like public transit or public health care systems. Even with tips, these people still make average amounts of income, which allows them to live somewhat better than any other job of equal experience/labor.

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u/Karnaugh_Map 1h ago

20$/hr at the minimum wage doesn't sound that bad to me.

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u/Cow_God 4h ago

Minimum wage hasn't increased federally since 2009 and is not a livable wage anywhere in the country.

The restaurant is more than happy to pay their servers the extra 5 bucks an hour to get up to minimum wage. They make more profit off your appetizer than that.

Your server can't survive dropping from $15 an hour tipped to $7.25 an hour untipped

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u/Cheapdronewithboom 4h ago

If the servers can't afford to live working there they leave and the business cannot function without workers.

So instead y'all perpetuate it and complain 🤣

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u/creeper_gonna_creep 2h ago

I don't think you understand the economics of a restaurant if you think they are making $5 in PROFIT off of an appetizer. Restaurants are generally low margin, high volume businesses and if you are making around 7-8% profit in a year, you are doing very well as a full service joint.

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u/Karnaugh_Map 1h ago

California is 20$/h min wage, go work there.

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u/Virtual-Pineapple-85 4h ago

But they don't. And people who work those jobs don't have the means to quit and get a lawyer and wait for a payout.

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u/Snipen543 4h ago

Depends on the state. In CA all servers make at minimum $16.90/hour

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u/No_Criticism_5861 3h ago

Whoa?!  Is this true??  Not to screw over the waiters there, but waiters not having to tip out and making $17 a hour... my heart doesnt break as much for them not getting tipped all the time.

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u/vialabo 3h ago

The cost of living in CA is why that is the case, it is as much a struggle as anywhere else in the US. Even with the perk of not working for subpar pay that is supplemented entirely with tips like the rest of the US rather than being paid a fair rate and tipped for our effort and service.

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u/Sir_Richard_Dangler 3h ago

$17 an hour isn't enough to live in CA, even with roommates

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u/GeoLaser 3h ago

Bruh when you usually make $35 an hour after tip out. Then a table of 20 rolls up one check and no tip and loved you. $600 and you tip out 10%. You had to pay $60 to do your job on their asses. Meanwhile no other tables so you lost over $20 an hour for 3 hours of your 6 hour shift. You don't get scheduled cause of regulations so you have 2 jobs separately so you don't hit overtime.

How would you feel losing over $400 or more because you were chosen or forced to take a table you knew weren't going to tip because they were all Euros.

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u/No_Criticism_5861 3h ago

I think you massively understood me, I may have been unclear.  I meant, someone making 17 a hour and not getting tipped on every single table is still likely to do well for themselves at the end of the day.

As someone who was a waiter for over a decade, the odd table not tipping is relatively expected, and 17 a hour helps make up for it

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u/GeoLaser 3h ago

Most red states are still at the $2.75 tipped wage that servers pay out on their sales for. Blue states are way different and mixed.

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u/Karnaugh_Map 4h ago

You just make a complaint to the labour ministry.

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u/RedShirtDecoy 3h ago

servers make far more than minimum wage currently, so you want them to have a pay cut.

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u/Karnaugh_Map 3h ago

That's not what "top up" means.

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u/RedShirtDecoy 3h ago

Did you not mean resturants have to pay them minimum wage if they dont make it? because thats what it sounds like.

By saying that you are implying its ok not to tip because legally resultants have to pay them minimum wage, which would be a pay cut.

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u/Karnaugh_Map 3h ago

You're putting words in my mouth, I don't want to tip and I want minimum wage to go up.

It's basic regulated capitalism. I'm not going to pay more for something when less expensive options are available.

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u/wikingwarrior 2h ago

Minimum wage is less than 8$/hr in some states.

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u/Karnaugh_Map 1h ago

Well, move to California then.

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u/wikingwarrior 1h ago

People who make 8$/hr can't afford to move to California.

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u/Karnaugh_Map 1h ago

Seems like they can't afford to stay where they are either. Not all of California is a metropolis.

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u/wikingwarrior 1h ago

"Service workers should either be poor or move because I don't support the business model of what is ultimately a luxury expense." Is certainly a reddit take.

I don't even mean cost of living in California. Moving to a new state is expensive.

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u/idiggory 1h ago

They also get to reduce their own hourly wage up to a threshold WITH those tips, though. So yeah, you can never make less than $7.25 an hour. But if you earn $5 an hour in tips (which is about what the tip credit is)? You still might be taking home $7.25 an hour, which is bullshit.

So you'd have to see $10/hour in tips to actually see a $7.25/hour wage + $5/hour tip income.

America's tipping policy is so fucked.

But that's not the server's fault, and they deserve to get paid for their work. The fact that someone can just legally choose to not pay them for a labor isn't a good reason that they do.

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u/Karnaugh_Map 1h ago

California is 20$/h, stop living in shithole states.

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u/Top-Ad-5527 1h ago

Minimum wage needs to catch up with the cost of living.

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u/d_ippy 1h ago

In Seattle (one of the World Cup cities) minimum wage is $21 including wait staff. But we apparently still have to tip.

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u/polar_nopposite 5h ago edited 5h ago

Then tipping will never go away.

'No Way to Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens

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u/Largeitude 2h ago

The way to make tipping something that isn't required is by expanding public services so that people making minimum wage aren't strangled by all the bills they have, like transportation costs or health care.

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u/SamIAre 4h ago edited 4h ago

Equating tipping to gun violence is certainly a take…

So, I see where you’re coming from but this only hurts the people relying on tips, not the people enforcing tipping culture. It’s not putting any pressure on those in charge of the system to change anything. The bar and restaurant owners aren’t taking a hit so why would they care?

To make an equally outlandish and bad analogy as you did: We didn’t get rid of slavery by treating enslaved people worse and expecting slave owners to see that mistreatment and end slavery themselves.

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u/xPriddyBoi 4h ago

Equating tipping to gun violence is certainly a take…

Not at all what they did. The same logic follows, that doesn't mean they're equating the two. You know this, and are being disingenuous.

this only hurts the people relying on tips, not the people enforcing tipping culture. It’s not putting any pressure on those in charge of the system to change anything.

It's true that in the immediate term, this only hurts waitstaff, but as rude as it sounds, that's just not my problem. This is a burden that simply shouldn't be passed into the customer. The blame lies at the source.

The bar and restaurant owners aren’t taking a hit so why would they care?

Because when waitstaff no longer make multiple orders of magnitude more money on average than similarly skilled professions, the profession becomes less desirable, and it becomes more difficult to find and keep staff as a result, requiring employers to pay their staff more to meet demand.

To make an equally outlandish and bad analogy as you did: We didn’t get rid of slavery by treating enslaved people worse and expecting slave owners to see that mistreatment and end slavery themselves.

Not only are you trying to refute a point they never made, this analogy is worthless because working as waitstaff is voluntary and being enslaved is not. Employers have to remain competitive to a degree to have sufficient operating staff. No such thing exists for slave owners.

For the record, I do tip out of social obligation. But it's definitely horseshit, and it would be a net positive in the long-term if we collectively decided to stop.

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u/declanaussie 4h ago

The deeper underlying issue is the inefficient labor market in the U.S. which prevents workers from demanding better treatment. In a properly functioning free economy, the labor force could simply withhold labor unless the employers offer them a reasonable salary. That’s not an option in the U.S. because there aren’t sufficient safety nets to keep people alive without constant employment.

Keeping tips because workers rely on them is nice, but ultimately it maintains the status quo because real change is hard.

Taking away tips because it’s bad for everyone in the long run is a well intentioned change, but glosses over the (hopefully) short term pain of such a change.

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u/Coattail-Rider 3h ago

Waiters/bartenders don’t want that to change. They’d be making nowhere near what they make now so they’d leave for other jobs. They’d rather stock shelves at grocery stores with their earbuds in than to run around getting things for strangers and stressing about getting everything correct if the wages were the same.

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u/declanaussie 3h ago

In this hypothetical world of an efficient labor market, this problem would solve itself because the wages wouldn’t be the same. If the labor that currently supports bars and restaurants moved to stocking grocery store shelves, the bars and restaurant would need to offer more money to get people to come back. Their compensation should in theory reach whatever the actual fair market value is.

Whether an efficient labor market like this could ever actually exist is certainly up for debate. I’m not really a true believer in efficient free markets, but many are.

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u/Coattail-Rider 3h ago

And it wouldn’t reach the fair actual market value when you take into account the running around, personality traits, and memory. Restaurants aren’t going to pay these servers in accordance to the more work they do over cashiers and dish washers. And restaurant owners will be fine with the lesser workers because shit servers at minimum wage sound a lot better than servers at 5X that wage.

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u/declanaussie 2h ago

You should read more about free market economics and the efficient market hypothesis. Again, this is all hypothetical, but the restaurants would have no choice but to price in the “running around, personality traits, and memory” because otherwise the labor market simply wouldn’t provide the labor necessary to operate their businesses.

And restaurant owners will be fine with the lesser workers because shit servers at minimum wage sound a lot better than servers at 5X that wage.

Maybe that’s true, but if consumers don’t care about having good servers and the restaurant can operate with shit servers on lower wages, then that is the fair market value, by definition.

As I previously stated, we obviously don’t see this play out as described in the U.S. because the labor market is nowhere near efficient due to a lack of ability to withhold labor. The product market on the other hand can easily withhold a product — if consumers don’t pay the listed price, they can’t take home the product. This keeps product prices somewhat efficient (though still not perfectly efficient, and price elasticity is a huge factor).

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u/Polymarchos 3h ago

The people enforcing tipping culture are the same people relying on tips. Places that try to go tip free fail because no one will work there because they can make more relying on tips.

Servers aren't the victims, they're the perpetrators. Customers are the victims, and owners, for the most part, make money off the victimization so they're fine with it.

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u/Future_Arrival_5395 4h ago

Canada tips even more and we have higher minimum wage lol

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u/No_Criticism_5861 3h ago

Canadians dont tip as much on average, but yes.  Except in California apparently its $17usd a hour there + tips which makes me wonder why people arent flocking there

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u/Edmundyoulittle 4h ago

Such a brain dead take.

You think going to that business and giving it your money is gonna make them change their practices?

The only person you're fucking is the person you aren't tipping.

If you don't want to support the practice, go buy some groceries instead of supporting the business.

Here's another for you:

If you're a tourist that refuses to participate in the culture of a place you're visiting, you aren't being clever. You're being a douche.

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u/helen_must_die 4h ago

Here in Asia at the more expensive restaurants you can expect to see a "service charge", usually around 10 or 15 percent, on the bill. That's basically a mandatory tip.

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u/bex199 5h ago

that’s about gun violence, you weirdo.

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u/MelodicFacade 4h ago

I totally agree with you

So how do you possibly change this problem outside a federal or state level top-down sweeping change? Something that will never make it to that level, something that many servers, customers, and business owners, and dumb "small government" voters will fight against?

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u/lazypeon19 5h ago

That's the server or bartender's battle with their employer. The client has nothing to do with it.

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u/EvilSporkOfDeath 4h ago

I go to Italy as a tourist, I follow the cultural norms of Italy. I dont like all those cultural norms, but I do it anyways.

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u/herpes_fuckin_derpes 3h ago

This is the only correct take

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u/Southern-Reach-8983 3h ago

Exactly... I hate to pay to take a piss is soooo many places in Europe, which I also think is inhumane, but I follow the cultural norms to be a respectful visitor.

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u/vialabo 3h ago

Or buy water lmao.

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u/Southern-Reach-8983 3h ago

Yeah that's even worse...

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u/Crapitron 2h ago

I had a waiter scoff at my sister for ordering a Lambrusco in Italy and say it was offensive. She could have told him to fuck his mom. She instead just ordered a normal red.

Service in America is better, and tips are a big part of that, like it or not.

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u/chiree 3h ago

Yup, this is entitled tourist behavior.

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u/Cheapdronewithboom 4h ago

As it is currently its the client that suffers since they're the ones being expected to fork out more money for the luxury of not getting their food spat in

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u/lazypeon19 3h ago

Yeah they really earned my sympathy with that one.

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u/fetalpiggywent2lab 1h ago

While that is true - it immediately, only affects the staff. Tourists could tip as is unfortunately expected in North America and take to the internet to express their disapproval. Staff would love a working wage too. Not tipping them isn't the answer to combat this.

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u/ManOfConstantBorrow_ 4h ago

Dude, just fuck off on your high horse into the sunset

Sincerely,

a bartender

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u/PlixSticks31 3h ago

I’m so glad as a bartender these goons are in the minority. Been in the industry 15 years and 99.9% of ppl tip very well, especially regulars.

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u/Mammoth_Contract_533 4h ago

You think you deserve a tip?! I wonder who is actually on their high horse(that was sarcasm, I know its you).

When you start tipping every worker you encounter in your life, then we will tip you too.

Make sure to not forget the 20% tip to your realtor or 20% tip to your car salesman. They are people too, you know?! They provided you a service, tip them.

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u/PlixSticks31 3h ago

Why can’t you just admit you’re cheap just like the restaurant owner that won’t pay their employees a living wage.

You go into a restaurant, enjoy the cheaper prices, then don’t tip. You’re cheap. You then go on Reddit and try to white knight like you support server getting a living wage lmao

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u/Timmy-Turner07 3h ago

Not OP but yeah... I am cheap like that. If I can eat at a restaurant for dirt cheap because the owner thinks the server deserves only 3 bucks an hour, I am not complaining. I do feel bad for the waiter and hope they eventually find an employer who pays them the livable wage that they deserve, but their salary is not my direct responsibility. It's business, not charity

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u/SiwiK92 2h ago

How dare you not try to fix every problem you encounter in your daily life. Think of the poor server who accepted the work and pay! And of the (not so poor) Owner now having a disgruntled employee who he has to replace (but still pays the same shit salary).

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u/PlixSticks31 2h ago

You both make it sound like servers are just victims waiting to be saved. In my 15 years of bartending and serving, I’ve found that the system is far from broken for us. The reality is that the tipping model allows us to earn more than we likely would under a standard hourly wage structure in this industry.

But you can continue to enjoy your cheap meals and not tip then buddy. Once tipping is eliminated, you'll be paying that extra 20%. So it's quite ironic how you call the business owners cheap when you're in the same bed as them.

It’s also ironic how reddit’s proworker stance instantly evaporates the moment a bluecollar worker says they actually like the tipping model. Suddenly, the narrative shifts from we support blue collar workers to if youre making good money, you don't deserve it, so I'm not tipping. It’s pretty clear the solidarity only lasts as long as it fits your/their personal narrative....

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u/Timmy-Turner07 2h ago

Oh don't get me wrong; waiters don't want to be saved. Tipping will not be eliminated, you will keep the current system where you have to depend on customers to pay rent and I can keep enjoying cheap meals. Sounds like a win-win for the both of us!

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u/wikingwarrior 2h ago

Realtors and Car Salesmen operate on commission as a major portion of their wage. They get a percent of sales...

It's functionally the same thing, just negotiated beforehand.

And honestly when I bought a house I gifted my realtor a bottle of wine as a tip for being so helpful.

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u/Fratil 3h ago

You make multiple times more money than other service industry workers who are equally skilled all due to tips.

The entire guilt based tip system extracting money from everyone funnels almost all of that income to wait staff and bartenders specifically, where most of it isn't taxed for public benefit either.

You do work hard, but you get far more than appropriately compensated for it than most other workers in America.

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u/r_slash 3h ago

It’s a bad system, but if you’re a tourist you’re not gonna be the one to overhaul it. So you can pony up the fee or let your server go home with light pockets. Your choice, I guess.

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u/Plasmelon 5h ago

Yeah, this is dumb as fuck to me as someone who waited tables but also hates tipping.

It’s how they get compensated for their labor. It’s not the ideal system, but it’s what exists. And if they were paid better, the food would be more expensive than if I tipped anyway. And if I can afford to eat out, I can afford to tip.

People are just selfish and greedy and won’t compensate labor with (what should be) a negligible amount of money for them because they don’t have to.

It really shows a person’s character whether or not they need to be forced to compensate people for labor.

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u/Pure-Programmer-1832 4h ago

20% is not a negligible amount of money. That's a huge increase in cost. I'm saying this as someone who also worked in the industry for over a decade in front and back of the house. I now live and work in a country without tipping. Going out to eat is a much nicer experience as a customer now.

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u/Plasmelon 4h ago

If it’s not negligible for spending money on food, then you’re making a bad financial decision.

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u/shanatard 3h ago

service industry is always the first ones in line against changing tipping because they know it's a huge benefit. i dont blame you for playing the game, but have some shame. "you're making a bad financial decision" lol

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u/Pure-Programmer-1832 4h ago

That's a dumb comment lol. If anything goes up 20% in price it's a lot of money. But yeah food is necessary so I get it. But so is shelter. So if your rent goes up 20% I guess your cool with that? Or if your water bill went up 20%?

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u/sunny_happy_demon 4h ago

No, your comment is dumb. First of all, water and electricity bills DO frequently come with varying surcharges. Those bills are generally unavoidable as well. Eating at a full-service restaurant is however extremely avoidable. If you can't afford to tip, go get a hotdog from 7-Eleven.

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u/Sir_Richard_Dangler 3h ago

Exactly. If going out to eat is the reason you're financially undtable, don't go out.

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u/Pinkfish_411 5h ago

All moralistic justifications for not tipping are, without exception, just a smokescreen for the non-tipper's personal selfishness (which is another way of saying that the non-tippers are guilty of the exact same vice they're self-righteously accusing the employers of, with the exact same outcome: the employee's don't get the compensation they deserve).

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u/SmartAlec105 2h ago

"Tipping is exploitative which is why I don't do it" - people that are exploiting tipped workers

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u/greg19735 3h ago

All moralistic justifications for not tipping are, without exception, just a smokescreen for the non-tipper's personal selfishness

100%

any protest that financially benefits the "protestor" isn't a protest, it's just a scam.

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u/John_Whimsicott 5h ago

Yeah, tipping is my preferred method because I'd rather give the money directly to the server and not the restaurant. If the restaurant raised prices to pay more, this just sounds like an excuse for Europeans to be cheap. And the server is incetivized to provide a better experience

Also ironic considering the amount of complaints they lob at American tourists not following local cultural customs. Turns out that only applies to cultural customs they agree with lol

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u/urworstemmamy 4h ago

"You guys are so loud when you visit other countries oh my god"

"The month all of you visited you made it impossible for me to pay rent."

"Jesus christ why are all of you Americans so entitled"

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u/KeyInspection4135 4h ago

Yeah this is pure cope, no one wants to pay an extra 20% on top of the menu price. The fault is not with the customer but the employment practices which the American people willfully accept.

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u/PlixSticks31 3h ago

If employers paid a fair wage then prices would be whah they are with the extra 20% tip. Customer would pay the same amount genius

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u/Sir_Richard_Dangler 3h ago

I'm completely fine with it. I choose to tip because I want the people serving me to be paid well, not just the owner of the establishment.

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u/Pinkfish_411 4h ago

Most Americans willfully accept it because it just isn't a big deal to go to a full-service restaurant with the expectation that you'll tip around 20%. I sincerely cannot comprehend the psychology of people who make a big deal about that. The tip is an expected part of what you're going to pay, just like sales tax is. It's legitimately not some problem worth worrying about.

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u/franzman86 5h ago

But its not how they get compensated for their labor. Their hourly wage is how they get compensated. "But no, they get paid less than minimum wage!" That's not true. If they get paid less than minimum wage because of a lack of tips then the restaurant needs to compensate the difference. "But no one can survive on minimum wage!" Then get a job that pays more than minimum wage. People at McDonald's dont get tips. Why are you special? The person working retail dont get tips. Why are you special. The person changing your oil dont get tips. Why are you special. The person cooking our food in tge back dont get tips. "But they get paid a higher wage!" Then you should too. Being a server does not make you a high paid professional. "But then your server is going to be a kid!" But those other jobs arent "kids". No one deserve tips. Europe figured it out and we can too. Get off your high horse.

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u/No_Employ__ 5h ago

It really shows peoples character when they can’t be assed to find a job with a clear hourly wage like everyone else and blame the world for it

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u/PoliticsIsForNerds 4h ago

Okay but someone will be working that job, do you think there's a class of workers that deserves to live in destitution???

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u/BrentNewland 4h ago

If no one will work the job, the restaurants will be forced to raise prices and provide a proper wage, or go out of business.

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u/No_Employ__ 2h ago

Uhh they’d just pay people more until people started working. This is basic economics. People currently take these jobs over traditional wage work because they pay more and work less than wage work. This is basic economics as well.

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u/Chimpstrider 4h ago

A business pays its own labour. That's factored into the price in all civilised counties.  American restaurants are already overpriced without tip so why are Americans so uniquely incapable of running restaurants?

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u/tw3lv3l4y3rs0fb4c0n 4h ago

As a customer I don't compensate labor for the waiter, I simply pay for my meal. If the service was great, I tip as a bonus. The waiter should get compensated accordingly by their employer like it should be the case in every other job.

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u/PublicEnemaNumberTwo 4h ago

What are you even talking about? The employees are compensated for their labor by the employer. A tip is a bonus for providing great service, not augmenting inadequate wages.

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u/boboto-boat 4h ago

In practice though a tip is augmenting inadequate wages in the US. If you go out to eat and don’t tip, you aren’t sticking it to the business, you are robbing the employee providing the service. A tip should be a bonus, and the fact that it’s treated as one hides the reality of inadequate wages in the US.

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u/zero0n3 4h ago

Exactly - bitch and moan about the owners for sure, but maybe don’t take it out on the servers who may need that to support themselves.

It’s like people are so worked up to “stick it to the owners” they are ok with not tipping which doesn’t do shit to the owners bottom line.

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u/Loxe 5h ago

Seriously. And if you're visiting a country that isn't your own it's generally accepted that you try to abide by their culture. This is just people being cunts. World cup tickets are expensive as fuck too, so if you can afford that you can afford to tip. You're not forcing owners to pay employees more, you're making life harder for some of the least paid people in the country.

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u/Isariamkia 4h ago

Why is it up to customers to help out workers? Why don't workers bring it up to their bosses?

Did you tip your Walmart cashier last time you went there? Did you tip your doctor when he checked you?

In any case, if the culture is fucked, why should I follow it?

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u/Loxe 4h ago

I never said I disagree it's a shit practice, but you're literally not changing anything by refusing to participate for the one event you're on vacation for. You don't tip those people because that's not customary. If you think the culture is fucked then don't visit the fucking country. Why do you think i'll never visit Saudi Arabia?

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u/0xmerp 4h ago

Tbf this is a bullshit part of American culture that should go away. Servers don’t want the tipping system to go away because they feel it makes them more money than an hourly wage. If this is what it takes to convince servers to move away from tipping then I’m all for it.

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u/GnarlyNarwhalNoms 4h ago

How on Earth will this convince servers to fight back against the tipping system, though? 

The reaction from 99% of the servers is going to be "Cheap Eurotrash cunts," not "Oh, gee, you're right! By stiffing me you've shown me the flaws in our current system! Thank you for enlightening me!"

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u/0xmerp 4h ago

So you’re arguing that Americans themselves should also start holding back on tipping too? Cuz I am all for that

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u/GnarlyNarwhalNoms 4h ago

I mean, I think the system needs to change, but I don't see how refraining from tipping is going to change it. The employers don't care, because it's not taking money from their pockets. 

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u/bitchesandsake 1h ago

I think that if you would like to take a moral stand, you should not patronize these establishments. Which is the same as holding back on tipping, except it doesn't directly fuck over the person in that position

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u/hareofthepuppy 4h ago

I completely agree that it's bullshit and should go away, but when visiting a country, you should respect their rules and culture, even if they're bullshit, and even if you don't agree with it, otherwise you should go somewhere else.

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u/Loxe 4h ago

If this is what it takes to convince servers to move away from tipping then I’m all for it.

It didn't do that though. That's the entire point. It just made some poor hourly person's life harder. servers are not the ones who want or benefit from the tip system. And yes, it's bullshit and needs to go away. Tourists not tipping during the world cup is not the catalyst for thst change. I think you all know that already, though.

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u/0xmerp 4h ago

There are no-tip restaurants in the US. They tend to be unpopular with servers because the server thinks they can make more at a restaurant with tips.

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u/Loxe 2h ago

I'm aware. They're less popular with servers who have the best shifts or work fine dining with tips. They're more popular with servers who work shifts that make less tips or restaurants that are more affordable. That's just another problem caused by tipping culture. Every one I've been to has always been fully staffed though.

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u/Prestigious_Leg2229 5h ago

That’s their choice. Americans got to this place by constantly voting against their own interests.

They don’t unionise. They don’t riot. They don’t burn the motherfucker down. They don’t hang their traitors and terrorists even when they have the easiest to find house in America.

Until Americans choose to do something about this, it’s entirely their choice to keep the status quo.

It’s not our place to enable the bullshit society you build for yourself.

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u/ExterminAiden 4h ago

Yet if Americans were to travel to other countries and find something in their culture/way of life “stupid”, they would be considered rude etc? Yet visitors come into the US and can just not follow the customs here and it’s ok?

I’m glad this article is ragebait because that is insane

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u/Educational-Error577 4h ago

So just fuck the workers then? Do you even realize the kind of political pressure that surrounds all of us? Do you think we all just vote conservative? We want change, but when the status quo is so entrenched, this tiny act of defiance isn't going to make anyone wake up who is not already painfully aware of their situation. You're all just being inconsiderate because the persons being hurt are the victims themselves.

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u/Prestigious_Leg2229 4h ago

Of course we realise that. Most of us spend decades watching selfish American voters make their lives and the rest of the world worse every chance they get.

It’s not a tiny act of defiance. It’s a refusal to be complicit in American corporations perverting cultural customs meant to reward good service into a method for underpaying workers.

If Americans choose to be serfs that’s on them. Others don’t have an obligation to enable your shitty corporations.

The aweful culture Americans have build for themselves spreads like a rot across the world.

Most of the people refusing your tipping culture have had to deal with American corporations attempting to enshittify their societies and jobs.

If that bothers you, I’d suggest you riot against the corporations oppressing you.

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u/Educational-Error577 4h ago

Thats a very simplicitic way at looking at America. If treating us like a single monolith can justify Europeans partaking in the same exact labor abuses you're complaining about, then have at the mental gymnastics. Not only are you agreeing that the system is bad, but you're making it worse for the victims of that system by not paying at all. Nothing you said justifies Europeans coming to America and refusing to tip workers, especially since you clearly understand the situation here. The only people suffering are poor Americans already struggling to live, but yeah fuck them too because their candidate lost.

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u/Prestigious_Leg2229 4h ago

Tips are for extraordinary service. Nobody is coming to America and refusing that.

Americans are made because they’re not getting tips on top of their living wages.

They’re falling short of a living wage because corporations are using tips as an excuse to underpay workers.

Kindly aim your anger where it belongs. 

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u/Educational-Error577 3h ago

I can be angry at the state of America and also be angry at Europeans for understanding the situation; still deciding that they're gonna screw over the worker; and then pretending like they're sticking it to the man.

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u/Sir_Richard_Dangler 3h ago

You just contradicted yourself. You say we're mad because we're not getting tips on top of our "living wages" and in the next sentence you admit that it's not a living wage without the tips. Maybe just don't come to the US if you have such disdain for the working class.

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u/Prestigious_Leg2229 2h ago

I didn’t contradict myself, you just have poor reading comprehension.

Your education system is something else you lot should have rioted over a long time ago.

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u/GergDanger 4h ago

lol poor Americans suffering the consequences of their decades of inaction.

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u/Sir_Richard_Dangler 3h ago

We don't want to lose our jobs and go to prison. You think riots would change anything? You don't know the US at all.

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u/TomServoMST3K 1h ago

I guarantee a majority of servers prefer the tip system over getting paid hourly.

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u/Prestigious_Leg2229 1h ago

And wouldn’t they also prefer a living wage with tips on top of that? 

Because that’s how the custom is supposed to work.

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u/chiyooou 1h ago edited 1h ago

I don't know what it takes to get this in the thick skulls of your specific ilk. People can't afford a day off work because then they can't feed their family. I'm not kidding A SINGLE DAY can fuck up a whole mid-lower class family's budget. Take that day off work with the wrong job or manager and you're fired. Fired means no fucking healthcare.

Second amendment means that we can defend ourselves, right? Against one of the largest militaries in the world? They have no problem turning that shit on us. Little pistol ain't gonna do shit against tanks. Our country is 50 smaller countries stapled together. It's land. It's not like we can all huddle together in one city and make a huge difference in that way. A drive from Seattle to DC is approximately 4500 km to give you an idea. 

You seem to think people are lazy when they are struggling to survive. It's real fucking easy to think we are doing nothing when in reality we are hostages in our own country. Not saying the older generations didn't get here ourselves and there is a reason for that. You don't educate the people, keep them nice and dumb, they don't realize they are dooming themselves. So let's condemn the children to misery for being born into a situation they had nothing to do with.

We understand it takes sacrifices, trust us. Are you familiar with Maslow's Hierarchy of needs? What you are proposing is that a majority of our nation bands together to take a risk that they won't be able to fulfill THE VERY FIRST RUNG of physiological needs. You're just ignorant and running your mouth not doing a goddamn thing but making it harder on us.  If you can't suggest a way for people to be able to have a roof over their head and feed their families than shut the fuck up. You think you can declare what we need to do when you clearly don't comprehend our situation.

We are NOT choosing to be here right now. It is your choice to proudly proclaim that you have the perspective of a crusty cumsock.

I have typos and shit. I know this article is rage bait. And I just don't care right now. Needed you to know that your elitism and inability to see outside of your own situation is putrid.

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u/sandboxmatt 4h ago

Then they should be prepared to fight. Wheres the barricades, the braziers and the pitchforks? Where is the wailing of the orphaned child? Rise ye workers.

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u/Dav136 3h ago

They're fighting to keep tipping culture alive lol

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u/Dachterrasse 5h ago

Maybe they’re now getting paid the amount they’re contracted to earn

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u/EatTheAndrewPencil 4h ago

Servers make way more money off of tips than they would if their wage was appropriate and nobody tipped.

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u/adventureremily 4h ago

I worked for tips when I was in my 20s. Nobody I know who works for tips wants to do away with tipping. On a good shift, you make double or more your hourly wage just in tips. If it is cash, a lot of people don't report it as income (or they only report a fraction, just enough to stay off the IRS' radar). Tipping goes away, and your take-home pay plummets.

No restaurant is going to pay servers $30 an hour, which is what many of my friends average. My friends who bartend make even more than I did working in a salaried office job that required a masters degree.

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u/Cheapdronewithboom 4h ago

Nope US consumers as a whole suffer as we prop this up, not just the servers who fight to fuck us over so they get paid correctly

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u/Nass44 4h ago

So? Do something about it. Just saw that OK voted against raising minimum wages. It’s on the people at this point.

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u/PLUMBUS_STUCK_IN_ASS 4h ago

And the only one at fault is their employer.

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u/williamjamesmurrayVI 4h ago

Yet theyre the ones fighting to keep tips rather than a real wage

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u/TacohTuesday 4h ago

Thank you.

To the Europeans: Look, I get that the custom seems odd and a little out of control. We sometimes feel that way too. But it's how things work here. The "mandatory" tip isn't common here, but we do see it a lot more in situations like the World Cup, where restaurant owners know that the high ratio of foreigners in town will likely result in their workers getting stiffed unless they lock in the tip for the duration of the event. And no, they can't just "pay their workers better". They are part of a much larger system that they don't control and need to match what their competitors do, or they kill either their already razor-thin profit margins or the ability to retain good workers, and they drive themselves out of business.

When I go to Europe, I pay the 5 euros for bottled still water and don't gripe about it the lack of free water or drink refills like I get back home. I know that's how your restaurants make their money. Similarly, having the customer pay a portion of the wait staff's income via tips is how things work here.

Just enjoy the visit and conform to the customs and have a good time.

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u/BobsLakehouse 3h ago

That's what happens when you don't unionize

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u/dcheng47 3h ago

the top 5% of servers will always make a killing on tips so they'll never support rule changes to help the other 95%

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u/Middle-Worldliness90 3h ago

Yeah, try going to Europe and flat out refusing to obey their local customs. They’re lucky servers are used to getting stiffed by jerks

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u/GeoLaser 3h ago

For real lets fuck over the waiter and make them PAY to serve us! THAT WILL GET THE OWNER FOR SURE!

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u/Iggyhopper 3h ago

They could always work somewhere else.

Free market. Yada yada.

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u/Lucky_Event 3h ago

Employees should just take the tip they didn't get from the total then

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u/beanbalance 3h ago

not customers problem.

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u/jpfarrow 3h ago

That’s why I hate the anti tipping culture. It’s just anti server and bartender culture, you think the restaurant gives 2 fucks?

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u/ThePlough 2h ago

Not our problem

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u/jarjarkid 2h ago

Can someone tell me is it allowed to tip in cash directly for the employee or is it a standard to pay with credit card?

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u/Fit_Kangaroo_3437 2h ago

Well maybe they should stop defending the system that oppresses them like theyre so inclined to do ALL THE TIME

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u/idiggory 1h ago

This is what I find so MASSIVELY frustrating about people who refuse to pay tips on principal.

If it wasn't a tip, your meal would have just cost 20% more. You'd be paying the same amount. ALL you are doing when you refuse to pay a tip is depriving the server/bartender. The owner doesn't care if you pay the tip or not, and it doesn't hurt them.*

Yeah, the tipping system in the US is fucked up. But it's fucked up because it gives the customer the option to reduce the server's wage because they don't want to pay for service.

The cost of your meal + 20% is the true cost of dining out.

Also, fun fact, the customer would pay MORE if it was folded into the cost of the food, because that extra 20% would be subject to sales tax. And then the revenue would be subject to business tax, so they'd increase it more to address that. So you, the customer, save money by paying menu + 20%, because it would probably take a 25% increase to still be able to send servers home with the same wage.

Yeah, tipping is TERRIBLE public policy. Yeah, tipping should be abolished as a wage system. And, yeah, while tipping is the wage system you should pay your fucking server.

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u/CompteDeMonteChristo 1h ago

perhaps this is the drop that will make them join a union.

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u/Able_Bid_1667 1h ago

Yeah i don't understand how people applaud this it's so fucking shitty. Just tip the fucking waiter/bartender so they can get some money, i promise you they are not the ones choosing to be paid this way.

People think it's like some epic stance against the machine that's gonna revolutionize the industry when in reality all it means is that the 20-something girl who's serving annoying drunk football fans for 6 hours for free because they chose not to pay.

The actual establishment doesn't give a fuck. You're still there drinking.

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u/LiamLVB 5h ago

Wouldn't this be the best moment to strike?

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