Worker advocacy groups are pushing to eliminate the tipped-wage system, while the restaurant industry warns these shifts hurt business and employees.

Imagine having to pay a living wage, burger prices would explode!

Except, for example, there is a 12.82€ minimum wage in Germany and a hamburger ist still around 2€ at Burger King (about 1:1 in $ atm). Food and work safety are stricter too iirc. Workers also have 20 days of vacation minimum (if your work full-time), 60h weeks maximum @ 40h on average, as well as extra pay for night, weekend and holiday shifts. And health insurance is about 200 a month at that income I think.

Edit: Oh, and of course still 5-20% tipps.

You are getting screwed over completely. Anyone who claims otherwise is your enemy.

I mean...

2016, I went to a bar and got a 16oz beer, a burger and a basket of fresh fries for $18. I was happy to throw $3-5 on that for decent service, hell even subparbaervice.

Now it's an 11oz beer being sold as a 12oz beer for $9 and a $22 burger, add fries for $4

If I get 2 beers, it's $50 with a tip.

The fuck?

You can bet there was some more tolerance for it when there was some guilt for office workers staying at home while service roles had to stay on site during the height of covid.

The fact that so many point of sale make it a default thing to put it directly out there for someone to tip before any service is done and with that decision in view of everyone around doesn't sit well either

Tipping was essentially an American invention to not pay black people. (Who were the majority of service industry workers in the late 1800s/1900s?)

Also keeps that servant/master power dynamic.

Tipping culture and systems need to die off. Sadly, because they often get paid more via tips than they would by increased hourly wages, tipped employees are often against such reforms.

And, to be fair, for most restaurants, it would be really hard for them to pay their wait staff appropriate wages in many cities where rent is extremely high and the cost of the food products they use to create their meals is rising as well. It’s not a simple matter of “the employer should pay their employees’ wages, not the customer.” The industry is built around tipping, and that’s not something that can be changed overnight.

Still, I firmly believe it needs to happen. And if that means increasing the price of restaurant meals, so be it. I suspect people eat out too much these days anyway and should learn to cook themselves. I used to eat out a lot until I did some calculations and realized I was spending way too much on it. Since learning to cook, I’ve saved a lot of money and now prefer my own cooking to a lot of restaurant fare out there (although not the really good stuff—I’m no professional chef).

I've been tipping more, but that's mostly because I live in a relatively low-income area and I know people around here are cheap/frugal. I've also worked in food service before (though not deliveries) and I know just how awful it can be. I hope I can be the one delivery that allows the person to call it an early night and spend time with their family. Shit like that.

That being said, I don't know what kind of notes the drivers get when they see my order pop up, but I will say that 99% of the time, my service has been impeccable. They know.

HOWEVER, don't take this as approval for tipping culture. I hate it and would love to do away with it. Unfortunately, I understand that these people depend on my tips for a living wage and that sucks.

The worst part is when you go to a place you need to pay before service is rendered.

If I go to the bagel shop and get a dozen I pay before I pick them out. TIP? Are you kidding me, what what, you have not served me yet.

A tip is to reward good service at a sit down place. I still think it shouldn't be and if we have it, it should be back to the 5-10% like most countries that have tipping.

But if you ask for a tip before you render service i get a little angry.

This is why I upped my tipping on the rare times I do eat out.

Edit: yeah, how fucking dare I?

Blame the companies, not the customers. I bought a $12 water at a concert and the attendant acted offended I didn't tip. Don't get mad at me.

I wonder if all of the places like Subway that are asking for tips and getting $0 because who the hell tips at a Subway, are throwing off this stat at all.

I will tip wait staff because I know they rely on it. Someone at the counter at Starbucks? No. They're not getting less than minimum wage and expected to make up the difference in tips.

American tip culture is fucked, and it has been for a very long time. Once gas stations started begging for a tip on my soft drinks I figured it was about time to rip the band aid off.

Unfortunately tipping less means wait staff are gonna get fucked -- no way to soften that. We need to get to a place where their livelihoods aren't dependent on generosity.