*edited post title to make it clear that this is a joke
People who make more in daily interest than the worker does from the shift , I don’t think have the moral high ground on tipping.
Guy taking home $250k salary with health care griping about $10 extra. Really.
Sure, income and the economy should be different. The worker can’t pay for housing with idealism.
I think you’re missing the fact that the bosses of the establishment aren’t paying their employees fair wages and thats the only reason the tip is needed. Im not paying 25% for shit service. Tips are a GRATUITY for doing a good job and equate to a BONUS. They are not, nor were they ever, a defacto part of someone’s earnings.
Have you ever worked for tips or been a close friend of someone who did?
You don’t work for tips. You work for a wage. And yes I worked years in the service industry and still have many friends in it.
Your experiences are different. My friends who work for tips tell me they rely on that money. Losing those tips would have an immediate and real adverse impact on their health and safety.
You’re not really grokking what I stated. No one should ever rely on tips. They should rely on a fair wage. Tips are a thank you, a gratuity, and no one owes them to anyone. The rich bastards not paying a living wage and turning this into an “us vs them” discussion are the problem here, as is the mindset of tips being earnings.
Eat the rich, not your clientelle.
No one should rely on tips, but they do. Refusing to tip now just hurts people , real people, immediately. You have to live in the world as it is while trying to improve it.
The bartender can’t eat your idealism nor find shelter from the elements in it.
And with inflation, I can’t afford to tip. If I to go to a bar I budget for it, but these minimum tip barriers preventing me from tipping without breaking the bank lead to me saying no tip if they wont allow me to customize it.
That said I go to a bar once a year now because of the cost. I mostly hit this BS on the rare occasion I need to drive my wife to a doctors appointment and I stop at Starbucks or the closest coffee shop and get a brewed coffee. They take thirty seconds to pour a cup and pass it to me and then expect a 25% tip. Meanwhile their CEO flies his personal jet to work everyday.
I tip at bars because servers are providing an experience. But even then, if i cant get the persons attention for half the night, and they are just on their cellphone talking to the bartender… no tip. I worked in bars. I watch. I reward good service. I wont reward half-assery.
No worries, I have absolutely no problem with that
POS systems including tip requests really piss me off. We recently discovered a great local restaurant and we order food from them (and pick it up, to take home) a few times a month. They have one of those POS systems and it really irritates me to have to tap ‘No Tip’ in plain view of the cashier every time. We’re picking up food; I’m walking up to a counter, collecting a bag, swiping a credit card and leaving. Why the fuck would I tip for that? I don’t tip at the grocery store and cashiers there do the same amount of work.
As a bartender, if someone is picking up a to go order it’s expected that they won’t tip.
Most places mark Togo orders such that the staff aren’t tipping out on them (for obvious reasons) so it shouldn’t make a difference to the worker that they didn’t get a tip on it.
Who gets the tip of they do? Back of house or owners?
If an owner is taking the tips owed to the employee that’s illegal. Most places have a tip share suggested policy. At my place the kitchen gets 10% of food sales as a tip… Typically whether or not the customer has chosen to actually tip.
In the UK you’re legally supposed to split it among the staff rather than the owner.
Whether that actually happens or not is anyone’s guess.
I don’t tip at the grocery store and cashiers there do the same amount of work.
You will soon!
Why the fuck would I tip for that?
Because many restaurants split tips with the back end, and, well, somebody made the food.
The costs of goods and overhead like employee wages should be included in the price. Raise your prices to what they apparently should be instead of begging your clientele to help give your employees a living wage out of the goodness of our hearts. Such a system only punishes the considerate by milking them of their cash (likely more than they wouldnif your prices were corrected) and rewards the assholes by artificially deflating their prices.
I worked at many restaurants when I was in college and only one of those many split tips. It’s far from a universal rule.
I worked in the kitchen of 2 restaurants in college and got no tips, only a low hourly wage. Also quit both jobs without giving a fuck because they sucked.
By the logic, i should pay tip for every item i buy, it is produced by somebody in a factory somewhere.
Or you should stop visiting restaurants that ask for tips entirely.
It’s not like the waiter is doing the majority of the work for your meal when you sit down.
I’ve only ever found one restaurant that does not take tips.
Ah yes the solution to tips is boycotting my favorite restaurants, that will show them that I don’t want to tip!
“You have my favorite food and great service, but I would rather you just raise your prices and pay your staff more.”
Yep that’s what they would see from my boycott
The waitresses and waiters and everyone can’t survive without tips, so let’s just give them no business and no tips!
It’s the idea of the Applebee’s 10 dollar meal that’s actually 12 dollars. What business wouldn’t want to give their employees top dollar and have to advertise higher prices? It’s a win-win for the business. They aren’t going to change until forced or highly encouraged.
Getting rid of “Tip wages” would be the solution
No one should be required to rely on tips as income
It should be known no one is required to rely on tips as income
Then we can all stop with the tips
Where do you imagine the rest of the money from the receipt goes?
To the owners. Do… do you not know how private businesses operate?
That’s it, you sure got me, I don’t know how businesses operate. Do you?
Restaurants need to pay their staff a living wage instead of expecting patrons to subsidize the owners’ greed.
It’s also a matter of trust … we’re handing off money to a restaurant that will pass on the amount to the employee or employees … who decides who gets it? do they share it? do just the waiters get it? does the owner get a cut? do the kitchen staff get some? is it shared equally? Do they add up everything at the end of the day? end of the week? end of a shift?
Some places are good and fair with distributing tips but some places aren’t and no one ever gets to know what any one does with the funds.
This happens a lot, often tips are stolen from immigrant workers by the restaurant. I was at an Indian place and the guy I was with knew our server. I already had my suspicions about the place so I just asked the guy if he gets his tips. He says the owner takes all tips.
He ended up standing with his back to me so I could put $10 in his hand. Fucking absurd.
In some restaurants the waiter or waitress gets to decide how much of their tips they’re going to share with their busser.
My first job was a bussing tables, and my first waitress was this old, mean, greedy woman who never shared her tips no matter how good you did.
It was my first job so I didn’t stand up for myself, but I had some older German tourists come in one day and the man basically made me take a huge tip because “you are working so hard!” Told me to keep it for myself. Thank you German couple! You helped me realize my worth and that job didn’t last the summer.
I’ll never work in food service again.
Me fucking either. I worked at a franchise of a huge pizza chain. After two years, I was general manager. I was in that position for six years. It was absolute hell. I was salary at the federal minimum of $36k a year. Commonly worked 60+ hour weeks. When I was off I was doing the scheduling and answering calls and texts all day from the employees and assistant managers.
We were a high volume store. Sometimes over 200 products an hour. 40 employees during the busy season. This job damaged my already poor mental health and put my alcoholism into overdrive. It was absolutely abusive.
I did learn a lot of people skills. I learned how to work under extreme pressure, although I wasn’t good at dealing with it at the time. My district manager would sometimes hire people and I could usually tell within five minutes if they were worth a shit or not. I was rarely surprised.
I participated in this abusive system through scheduling. Everyone but the delivery drivers and assistant managers made minimum wage or slightly above. It was $5.15 when I started and $7.25 when I left. If someone was good I would schedule them 30 or 35 hours. If I wanted someone gone I would schedule them two four hour shifts so they would quit. That way we didn’t have to pay overtime or unemployment.
Everything about it was abusive and sick. 20% of the customers were absolutely insane assholes. The assistant managers were lazy and constantly called off knowing I would have to cover. I wasted most of my 20s at this shithole.
Never again will I work food service. Never again will I manage a large team.
Sure, and theoretically that’s covered by the price that was listed on the menu. If it’s not, it’s the restaurant’s problem, not mine. Fuck that noise, seriously.
it’s the restaurant’s problem, not mine
But you’re supporting the restaurant. You’re keeping the system afloat.
Tips keep the system afloat. The reason there aren’t mass strikes demanding an end to tips is because the system works for most.
Sure, racial minorities are significantly discriminated against and many will receive hardly minimum wage with tips but the majority of tipped workers is fine with it. And that’s all that is required for an unjust system to persist.
Tipped workers are fine with it because they make more money with tips than they would on hourly wages. This is directly the fault of people feeling the need to tip egregious amounts. If people stopped tipping, or started tipping significantly worse, tipped workers would stop being okay with it really fast, and would demand an end to the system.
If I go sit down in a restaurant and get table service, I tip, but I do that once a year, maybe. If I get delivery, I tip the driver. But I will absolutely not tip if I go into a restaurant, pick up food at the counter, and walk out. Never.
I’m confused why you draw the line there but not in the first two examples. In all your examples, those people are doing their jobs that they should be getting paid adequately for already.
I don’t like being waited on; it makes me uncomfortable, even when it’s someone’s job to do it, and I alleviate that discomfort by tipping them for it. When I put myself in that situation I feel like I’m being lazy (“I could pick this up myself, but instead I’m having someone do it for me”), and it feels appropriate that I should pay more for the privilege of being lazy. The tip is my way of saying “Sorry you’re having to do this.” It’s silly, I know it is, but you asked, so there’s your answer.
I’m supporting the restaurant by eating there, and paying menu prices for food. If they need me to pay more, they can raise their menu prices. I’m not going to guess how much things actually cost.
spot on. I’ve had enough of tipping. I have gone out to eat and anywhere i get service so much less this past year, but it has been worth it. I’ve saved money and sparked interesting conversations with people in my circle when I bring tipping up. this is a weird hill for me to die on, but I do not care anymore.
how about a discount from the restaurant because I was polite to my servers and was not a disruptive customer? no, because that doesnt make any sense lol
tipping has creeped its way into everything and has turned us against each other for a batshit insane concept that should have never been normalized.
if they want more money, charge more money. this guilt trip at the end of the bil they force upon me at the end of my meal is just so insane. they’re just asking me to give them more money for no reason, full stop.
A buck. And never return. Fuck that.
Or no sale and never return. The cancel button is right there.
I’ve definitely noticed that my favorite takeout place’s POS makes giving no tip as hard as possible (Other->No Tip->Yes). “Fortunately” that is also a place where the owner is a prick and doesn’t share tips with the staff so they encourage you to leave no tip.
And the really funny thing? If it wasn’t about the same number of presses to leave a custom tip, I would generally round up at most POSes. Which isn’t a lot, but it does tend to cover credit card fees on the average and makes card statements easier to skim. Of course, I have also noticed a rise in “Regular” and “Cash” pricing where those fees are explicitly passed on to the customers to begin with so…
I’ll tip quite generously for a sit down meal or something like a haircut. For calling me up to the counter when my takeout is ready? Fuck off.
owner is a prick and doesn’t share tips with the staff
This is fraud and should be illegal. Even though it’s not illegal, the staff can sue him and will win.
I’d report the owner to the DoL. I’m fairly certain they’re breaking the law
Breaking the law does not mean that the business will get punished. And if it does, it’s a fine.
When the punishment is a fine, it means that it’s a law against poor people.
I see you’ve never witnessed the DoL fuck a small business to death over stuff like this. The owner would be required to pay back, at minimum, the x amount he stole from the employees. Often it’s several times as much, which could easily bankrupt them.
The real issue is that employees don’t usually know what the boss is doing is illegal.
- There is a lot of wiggle room about how POS based tipping is treated from a legal perspective
- The food service industry, much like repair/contracting, is notorious for being largely unenforceable for fines like this
- Let’s just say that I like the crew that does the actual work there and I am pretty sure none of them are in this country legally…
Look them in the eye and say “no tip, thank you.” Smile. Be nice. Let them be mad. It doesn’t matter. They won’t remember after a few other customers. Ask anyone working a register in food service, there’s so many that it’s easy to forget who we are.
Note: this does not necessarily apply if you’re a cute femboy or twink. I still remember all of them
OP, just saying “(not real, fyi)” in the text part of the post seems a bit misleading.
Sorry, I’ve posted lots of this guy’s stuff here and I assumed most are familiar with him, but I just had the afterthought to add that text to the post body since this one seems sort of plausible.
I’ll tweak the title to be more clear.
Why don’t you just put the $1 in the bill if it is mandatory?
POS: “Please tell the cashier.”
Me to the cashier: “This place needs to pay you a living wage. Let me know if you and your coworkers need help setting up a union.”
“Here’s your tip in cash. Remember to not report it.”
A lot of establishments force employees to put tips into pooled tip jar, which the manager distributes. Maybe they are fair. Maybe they keep a chunk for themselves.
I assume they’re robbing their employees. Whenever possible I do a stealthy hand-off.
If they want to get involved then they can pay their employees more. If they’re leaving it up to me, then it’s literally none of their business.
POS: “not like that”
“Actually cancel my order, this make people tip to avoid an awkward interaction is bullshit and I’m not spending any money here.”
Bruh. Not EVERY interaction with a cash register or payment portal is meant to include a tip. The bill is for the goods or service for which I am doing business with you company, i.e. the only reason you are getting my money in the first place. The tip is for the individual that performed a service to me beyond simply providing the previously mentioned good or service. And ideally it is for service beyond the bare minimum (but due to shitty minimum wage laws for roles that expect tips making them dependent on them, there still exists an expectation to tip even for mid or bad service). I will happily tip a server, bartender, barista, barber (there are a weird number of service jobs that start with ‘bar’…), or someone that is interacting with customers, providing an experience of service, and will adapt to my shitty needs and requests as a customer, particularly if they are dependent on tips as a portion of their wage. But I am not tipping a cook for making my food in a restaurant. I am not tipping my mechanic for doing an oil change. I am not tipping a cashier for taking my money. I am not tipping MY FUCKING LANDLORD! You are already charging me for the things you are doing. I am not going to voluntarily inflate the price you are charging me for no damn reason. Fuck, sometimes it isn’t even clear who would be getting the tip. I’m surprised they don’t already ask for tips at the grocery store self-checkout. This shit is dumb.
What if we only gave money to the people working in the front and the back of the house, and just don’t give any money to the owner?
The punchline is that the cashier doesn’t get any of the tips; they’re pure profit for the business.
Yeah. Only ever tip in cash and in person. The suave 20-in-the-handshake looks cool but it’s risky.
How is it risky? Once I bribed two people within five minutes in Chicago to get on a flight I was late for. What did I risk?
Yup, bribes aren’t illegal unless it’s to government employees. And even then, I think it’s only illegal to accept bribes, with maybe an exception if you bribed someone to get away with a crime.
So yeah, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with bribes, I just don’t do it because screw that noise.
“Hi customer, would you like to give us bonus money for no reason other than your accommodating nature?”
I’m so used to telling homeless folks I have no money that I’m pretty sure I can look the barista or whoever straight in the eye and say “No tip.”
Actually kind of fucked society pushes us to that point, huh?
I really almost never have cash on me anymore so my soul is unburdened. I sometimes do charitable acts but it rarely involves giving money to people on street corners. That’s just a 9 to 5 for a bunch of them.
I always carry cash, but it’s in unreasonable denominations (usually $100 and a $50), and it’s only there “just in case” (i.e. lost my phone and need a cab home, and my credit cards aren’t working). There’s no way I’m giving $50 to a homeless person, I’d rather donate to a local shelter instead.
That said, if I have the time, I’ll offer to take them to get some fast food. They can tell me about their life story, and I know they can’t use my money to buy drugs.
Tipping culture is weird and I only ever hear people mention it in the context of hating it. Yet they seem to have the mindset that there are no other options.
Have you talked to a lot of servers about it? I have a few friends who are servers who hate the idea of cutting out tips and just making minimum wage because they would make significantly less money.
Tips were first used as a way for rail lines to avoid having to pay black coach attendants a wage.
It isn’t surprising that service workers don’t want to abolish tips, since that’s primarily how they get paid now - but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t abolish them. The owners should have to pay their workers a living wage. By making that the consumer’s responsibility, it frees the business owner from the responsibility of paying their workers for their labor.
Tip wages are exploitative, plain and simple.
Exactly. Servers can make bank on tips, especially on holidays.
I don’t think we should ban tips, but we also shouldn’t let restaurants pay servers under minimum wage and there should be something printed on the bill/POS about tips being appreciated but not required. Also, tips shouldn’t be required to be shared, customers should be able to select who gets the tips (waiter, cooking staff, or shared).
For maybe a month or two, but when the restraints are no longer to hold on to good staff at minimum wage, employers will have to start offering more to get people to work for them.
Yeah – The goal is not to keep servers, etc. working at minimum wage, it’s to eliminate tips in favor of employers paying a livable wage.
I’d rather the menu prices reflect the actual cost of the item, including the service workers’ wages, than have to tack on another n% at the end. And, at least back in the before-times for the like, month, I worked as a server, I would’ve loved to go to work and not worry about “Oh shit, it’s the Sunday church crowd” and resign myself to not making any money that shift.
I like your optimism.
That’s the tipping I like. When I’m getting served. I want to sit at my table and enjoy the whole experience. I want my water refilled, I was to be asked if I want another drink. I want the courses the flow on and off the table. I want to be able to talk about the dishes. Then I want to tip based on how well it all went.
Obligate tipping for counter service is bullshit.
Crazy thought, really really outside the box lateral thinking type shit, but how about paying them a living wage instead? Seems to work for other industries. I’m not tipping my welder.
I mean, if we’re waving a magic wand, I have a huge list of other improvements for society
Legally mandating a minimum wage is not magic. It can be done, other countries have already done it, and the US is already doing it, in other industries. This is really not as far fetched as you make it out to be.
As a server, tips for me were huge.
But that’s for a role that’s a bit more involved than fillings gas or pouring coffee. The waiter’s our agent at the restaurant, fighting with (armed!) kitchen staff always on the verge of a breakdown, rejecting shit product and passing along tips for good stuff, etc.
I’m tipping drivers if the toppings aren’t slid to one side. I’m tipping my cabbie. I’m tipping my barber as he does a lot with very little.
But I’m not tipping people where there’s little interaction or judgement for me specifically. My bus driver, the flight attendant, the pilot, the gate agent, the carny operator, the pet food guy, my grocer, my pharmacist. No weasel no grease.
And if it’s forced it’ll be the last. That’s it. I’m still boycotting restaurants because they couldn’t abide by the regional health officers instructions on masking. I can do this.
Having said that, minimum wage is the minimum. Enough of this bullshit where tipped staff makes less base pay.
If I saw this I’m taking a picture, turning around, and filing a chargeback with my bank before I make it to the car
ESPECIALLY if it’s for food, hope it hits your bottom line, assholes
