this post was submitted on 01 Feb 2025
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Paying extra for service has inspired rebellions, swivelling iPads, and irritation from Trotsky and Larry David. Post-pandemic, the practice has entered a new stage.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I really like (mostly East) Asian culture where tips are considered condescending, and employees will be visibly upset if you try to give more than the bill states. And of course all taxes are already included in the list price on the menu. Dining in Asia is so much more pleasant than in the US, and unfortunately this cancerous habit has also infested most parts of Europe.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I feel like there's a small group of people in the US that over emphasize the negative aspects of tips and never consider that the overarching culture in the US makes people making money as a tipped employee one of the few retail employees that get paid enough to thrive.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 month ago (2 children)

That's exactly the point, employees shouldn't be thriving off of an almost mandatory donation, but should be fairly compensated in the first place.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They should be, but if tipping were abolished in the US they'd just become underpaid like every other blue collar worker.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Until they'd all find something else and employers would have to up the salaries or do the shit jobs themselves. You can't treat the root cause without addressing the symptoms first.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

You can’t treat the root cause without addressing the symptoms first.

What? No. This is absolutely false.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

employees shouldn’t be thriving off of an almost mandatory donation, but should be fairly compensated in the first place

This seems callous and cruel. What are you even saying?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'm saying fair wages and no tips would benefit everybody.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The problem is that you're proposing getting rid of one of the few ways to make a living wage as an incentive to possibly change to a better system. Gotta find a way that doesn't require taking good pay away from people or you're just being cruel because of a fixation on not wanting to pay tips.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

My point is rather that the tipping system has become so exploitative and expected, that some people rather don't eat out at all than don't tip to avoid stigma.

So this is less about canceling tipping rather than reining it back in. Getting rid of it would be preferable imho because it ensures everybody gets at least minimum wage and can set their priorities straight with regards to setting expectations, but 'back to the roots' where 10% was considered exceptional.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

everybody already gets at least minimum wage unless the employer is breaking the law.

Your suggestions seem hellbent on making life worse for millions because of an aversion to cusom.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Can’t speak for elsewhere but most places in the US carve out an exception to minimum wage laws that allows tipped workers to be paid less on the assumption that they’ll make up the difference in tips.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

All of those laws include a provision that the employer must pay at least the minimum wage of a non-tipped worker in any pay period where the tips received don't account for the difference between the tipped minimum wage and the non-tipped minimum wage. Thus, everyone is receiving at least the non-tipped minimum wage unless the employer is breaking the law.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

ugh south america has it now.

fuck this tipping bullshit.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago

The most recognizable, these days, is the iPad pirouette, evoking an upturned palm. Gerard Knight led the design team at Square, one of the major tablet-payment providers, when it first rolled out its tipping feature. “Turning around the interface to say ‘Give me money’ can be kind of an obnoxious gesture,” he told me. Originally, the designers used a Trojan horse, of sorts. “The idea was you turned it around anyway, to capture a signature”—most credit cards at the time required one—“and in that process you prompt that customer for a tip.”

[–] zipzoopaboop 7 points 1 month ago

I've gone back to only tipping when eating in, or independent family businesses. Maximum 20%