Hey Folks!

I’ve been living abroad for over half my life in a country where tipping is not the norm. At most you would round up. 19€ bill? Here’s a 20, keep this change.

Going to the US soon to visit family and the whole idea of tipping makes me nervous. It seems there’s a lot of discussion about getting rid of tipping, but I don’t know how much has changed in this regard.

The system seems ridiculously unfair, and that extra expense in a country where everything is already so expensive really makes a difference.

So will AITA if I don’t tip? Is it really my personal responsibility to make sure my server is paid enough?

  • teawrecks@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    23·
    1 year ago

    Most establishments in the US pay waitstaff way under minimum wage ($2-$3 per hour). If you don’t tip your waiter at an establishment like this, you are basically denying that waiter their wage

    I don’t think you know how “minimum wage” works. It’s not a suggestion, it’s a legal requirement. If your tips don’t make you at least minimum wage, your employer is required to make up the difference. If they’re not doing that, talk to a lawyer, that’s a slam dunk case. You’ll get back pay.

    • hotspur@lemm.eeEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      That’s all good in theory, but in practice? Look up statistics on wage theft in the restaurant industry (hell, look up wage theft as whole in the US), and you’ll see that many, many workers go under paid.

      And even if employers always met the minimum wage, the minimum wage is far less than a “living wage,” in this country.

      Again, I want to stress that the practice of tipping is absolutely outdated, and should be removed. My point is simply that not tipping your waiter does more harm to them than their employer.

      We should be encouraging these places to unionize, and demand that their employers pay them fairly.