r/antiwork Jan 14 '22 Silver 5 Helpful 16 Wholesome 10

So sorry, I'm broke so I can only pay you $77 for my food. You were great though.

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30.2k Upvotes

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2.3k

u/matchak7 Jan 14 '22

Tips are stupid

1.0k

u/DizzyPomegranate13 Jan 15 '22 edited Jan 15 '22 Helpful

Tips are fine when they are optional.

Over here in Europe, there is no pressure to tip. You give it if you received good service, that’s it. In the US, tipping is mandatory no matter what based on a bizarre social stigma, which like you said is very stupid.

They should just be paid properly for doing their job instead of relying on tips to survive.

176

u/matchak7 Jan 15 '22

Yeah but when a place pays them 3 bucks a hour and says that the customer will cover the rest with tips is bullshit

195

u/DizzyPomegranate13 Jan 15 '22

That’s what i’m saying. Tips shouldn’t have to be a thing at all because restraunts should just pay their fucking staff actual living wages.

50

u/there_is_a_spectre Jan 15 '22

Tips are such a big thing in america because it was originally a way to not pay newly-emancipated formerly-enslaved people

23

u/Rei_da_Manteiga Jan 15 '22

Shit, even here in Brazil where we lived something similar we don't have this culture, tips are a bonus. We have federal laws that give us paid sick leaves, paid commute and things like that. The US labor laws are just fucked up

2

u/nymphetamine-x-girl Jan 16 '22

Paid commute sounds amazing!

3

u/riflinraccoon Jan 15 '22

Ding Ding Ding. This 👆🏽

2

u/ExaminationQuirky251 Jan 15 '22

Where I live (Ontario Canada) the servers get 15$ an hour and there is still the intense social stigma that everybody must tip at least 15% or it is considered rude and insulting to your server. My girlfriend serves and makes fucking bank. Things are different in the states I guess, seeing how apparently they have like 3$ wages but up here it’s livable wages and for some reason tipping is still absolutely necessary.

-1

u/HisuitheSiscon45 Jan 15 '22

they don't because of loopholes. probably made for small businesses and not chain restaurants

8

u/Dissidence802 Jan 15 '22

Yes, as we all know, US laws are DEFINITELY influenced by small businesses and not the rich.

1

u/HisuitheSiscon45 Jan 15 '22

the law was made in the 1930s, you know.

24

u/Cleverusername531 Jan 15 '22

The business is required to make up the difference to minimum wage if they don’t make enough in tips. Which would be fine if minimum wage was a living wage.

1

u/matchak7 Jan 15 '22

Ok but the customer has to pay for the food and then the employee. And it's based off nonsense. It's off how much the bill is

6

u/-SmashingSunflowers- Jan 15 '22

Legally the boss is required to pay them the full minimum wage if tips don't compensate the rest.

0

u/AutomaticRisk3464 Jan 15 '22

Theres been points in my life where i was almost pushed into living in my car again due to not having money.

If a job didnt cover my bills i didnt take it, it would be a waste of time and would add more stress.

That being said, i went to worksource office (didnt qualify for unemployment) and he wanted me to work at a restaurant for something less than $4 an hour but "yOu GeT TiPs". Yeah i just walked out, if the servers all quit working the slave wages then they will get paid real money.

0

u/Additional_Habit9012 Jan 15 '22

The employee will always make minimum wage if their tips don't being them up to minimum wage.

If I work for $3 an hour and make no tips the employer then has to pay me minimum wage.

If I work for $3 an hour and my customers tips me enough that it equates to minimum wage or more than my employer only pays me $3 an hour.

2

u/matchak7 Jan 15 '22

Still dumb no other job has that

3

u/CrazySD93 Jan 15 '22

In Australia most tipping was paying in cash and saying “keep the change” when you don’t want to carry around extra shrapnel.

3

u/BugabuseMe Jan 15 '22

A lot of places might see a tip as an insult too!

If I go to america I don't think I'll go to a restaurant or anything, would be too weird to me

2

u/codify7 Jan 15 '22

The messed up part is despite knowing this I still feel pressure to tip when I got to Europe because of the culture I live in

2

u/UrLate4Tea Jan 15 '22

I'm curious what the price difference is for food in countries without tip culture vs. Here in the US. Do you mind sharing what you'd pay for a large one topping pizza where you are and the currency you'd use? That's the #1 complaint consumers here in the US use to rail against eliminating tipped wages 🙄. "BuT eVeRyThInG wIlL cOsT mOrE!"

...it already does if you tip like you should. 20% more to be exact.

2

u/DizzyPomegranate13 Jan 15 '22

Oh I doubt that wouldn’t be the case at all!

It’s kinda hard to answer your question though because prices differ depending on Restraunts and where in Europe you are.

I can tell you that London specifically is become just like America in it’s tipping culture except prices are high as fuck for food in a restraunt yet you are still expected to tip.

I should just move back to France or Italy honestly.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

This is why I order to go instead if sitting down

-2

u/lailanicole Jan 15 '22

FYI, I get taxed and have to tip out on my total sales, including take out meals. Just so you’re aware, not tipping on take outs is still screwing your server.

2

u/smenti Jan 15 '22

They don’t care because they are sticking it to the system, which makes them feel good.

1

u/DL_ Jan 15 '22

Why is there no user called TAKE OUT or something that you can put the order under so it does not get tipped out on?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

Unionize, organize strikes, and force your employer to treat you like a human being.

0

u/EverlastingEmus Jan 15 '22

While I agree the system is stupid, people who chose to take their criticism of the system out in their server by not tipping are even stupider

11

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

I mean there's that and then some servers get insulted when you dont tip them enough. Sometimes you give them 15$ in tip and they look at you like, "seriously??"

Its like, brenda, I want to tip in the way tipping is supposed to be like, not do some fucking mental gymnastics and figure out the average tip in a restaurant i decided to go to randomly for a meal and then create the exact tip that would make you feel fucking thankful for once in your life. 15$ is a big ass tip in my eyes, and some people act like you have to read the entire restaurants history and culture before you should ever fucking dine in because you want food.

0

u/DoctorPapaJohns Jan 15 '22

15-20% of the total bill at a restaurant or $1 per drink at a bar. I agree tipping culture sucks but I wouldn’t really call that “mental gymnastics” imho.

-11

u/EverlastingEmus Jan 15 '22

$15 is a good tip on a 60 dollar meal. But if your check was 200 dollars that server made absolutely nothing on that, even if they got a bad tip its still mandatory for them to pay 2% of the check total to the busboy, 5% of the drink total to the bartender, 1% to the host etc… and when they do their check out at the end of the night the computer will assume a minimum of 10% if you say you didn’t get tipped to prevent “tax cheating. So for a larger check a $15 dollar tip can easily be -$5 for the server. If you still think that’s not your problem then fine but know what it is you are criticizing

2

u/Krakino696 Jan 15 '22

I would assume for orders that large you would automatically charge gratuity. Or atleast they did at my place I worked.

2

u/EverlastingEmus Jan 15 '22

Most places don’t. And places that used to have started to get rid of it because of new tax regulations, the Olive Garden for instance ended auto gratuity a couple of years ago where I live because it would have changed the category of their workers under a new rule.

5

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

My check was nowhere close to 200$. A few mojitos and a pasta. And no, -$5 is wrong. They do not get money taken away from them in the scenario I experienced.

Also you mentioned olive garden, no, it is not olive garden. If you have built up stress from that place and tipping dynamics, that is frustrating, but that has nothing to do with my personal restaurant experience I described. Projecting solves nothing.

-1

u/EverlastingEmus Jan 15 '22

I have absolutely gotten money taken away from me. Not at every restaurant I have worked at but most, some managers will do you the favor of cancelling that check for you, but most won’t, they still expect you to tip out the bussers, host and bartender. Worst experience I had was nearly negative 12 dollars on a check. Made up for it on other tables but wif I had not gotten that table I would have made more.

Please be aware that that is the norm.

-1

u/EverlastingEmus Jan 15 '22

I did not say that I worked at the olive garden, I said they are one of the companies that discontinued automatic gradtuity on large parties

-5

u/EverlastingEmus Jan 15 '22

So I told you why you are being a dick and just downvoted an moved on. Nice

2

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

? I downvoted nobody lol. Calm down, just brought up a seperate yet equally frustrating issue.

-4

u/EverlastingEmus Jan 15 '22

I will not be calm.

-1

u/smenti Jan 15 '22

TIL basic math is “mental gymnastics”. It’s 20% dude. Take the total and divide by 5, take the total and times it by .2, or take the total divide by 10 and times it by 2. Anyone of those can be done in your head, no need for a pen and paper, no need for gymnastics.

3

u/geeky_username Jan 15 '22

Then raise the prices 20% and pay the workers more

0

u/Orea1981 Jan 15 '22

Mandatory huh? Where in the US do you live? In Nevada only parties 8 or greater get an additional 15% added to their bill, and that's only in some places.

6

u/DizzyPomegranate13 Jan 15 '22

I think you might of misread, I started off by saying “over here in Europe…”

I’ve visited the US a number of times and while yeah it’s not a law or anything to tip, it is HEAVILY expected of you and you are shunned if you don’t do it as we can see in this post by OP.

My point is not that tipping is bad, of course it’s not. But you should tip based on service and not some mandatory social stigma.

Meaning that waiters and waitress should get paid enough to fucking live by these restraunts without having to rely on the kindness of others, because otherwises you get cases like what OP posted.

2

u/Orea1981 Jan 15 '22

Gotcha, my mistake. I agree, I only tip good service. I've had some really shitty service and the only tip they get is what I round up to the nearest dollar, if they're lucky.

1

u/DizzyPomegranate13 Jan 15 '22

No problem!

Like I said in europe we tip based on actually good service rather than it being forced at all. It’s much better that way because then the staff get recognized when they actually do a good job too.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

Is it like the law or something?

1

u/TradyMcTradeface Jan 15 '22

Is not mandatory but they guilt you into it. I once had a Korean place chase me down because I didn't tip them enough. Lol

1

u/anapoe Jan 15 '22 edited Jan 15 '22

This doesn't seem any better tbh? The amount you pay should be fixed and independent of level of service IMO. The last thing I want to be doing when I'm dining out is participating in some weird money-based server rating system.

2

u/freecraghack Jan 15 '22

Also the notion of better service equals better tips has been studied and concluded to be wrong. You know what does give you higher tips though? Being a woman

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

It’s not a bizarre social stigma it’s that if they don’t get tips they don’t make money it’s stupid

1

u/Dreamylantern Jan 15 '22

There is a whole thing on tiktok where drivers are literally saying "if y'all dont tip, i wont pick up your food" which in a way its understandable, you wouldnt drive a long distance for 5$ order but the fact that they blatanly tell viewers that they will either 1. Not even pay attention to your order 2. Do stupid shit like leave it IN FRONT of the door so if you try to open the door to get it, it might tip the drink 3. Take forever because FU, u didnt tip. And mind you, a BUNCH of people prefer to tip cash to prevent the company keeping the money or simply because they want to make sure the driver gets the money 100%. For them to expect a tip BEFORE they even did the service is stupid.

1

u/suk_doctor Jan 15 '22

The other side of this is many tip earning restaurant workers make bank, albeit not consistently, so there are some that absolutely love the system the way it is. Even if it is disproportionately and inconsistently rewarding.

I have known plenty of people that can make rent and spending play money for 15 hours of work as a bartender or server.

1

u/Mugungo Jan 15 '22

tipping in the US isnt really tipping anymore. Its a guilt tax.

Particularly with ordering food, where you usually tip before it gets there at all! so its less "lets reward the delivery guy" and more "how guilty am i feeling vs how tight is money right now"

1

u/yibbyooo Jan 15 '22

A lot of places will just give you your money back if you try to tip here (NZ).

1

u/LEANiscrack Jan 15 '22

Thats true only from the customer point of view. Everyplace ive ever worked at that had tips instatly started tp skew. Pays get worse its already one of the worst places to work cuz most employee protections dont cover servers. Not to mention that many times the tips are pooled togethter and then distributed ”fairly”among the whole staff.

1

u/Additional_Refuse_46 Anarcho-Syndicalist Jan 15 '22

I was told people in europe tip out of convenience? like their total is £15 so they throw a 20

1

u/johnteaser Jan 16 '22

So what actually happens in US if I don't pay any tip?

1

u/DizzyPomegranate13 Jan 16 '22

They insist, complain, and in more extreme cases, they will chase you down the street telling you that you forgot to tip them, etc.

1

u/nymphetamine-x-girl Jan 16 '22

I have been conditioned by the US to tip everywhere. As an American leaving 30% tips throughout all of europe, I always got the best bar service imaginable.

Yet even though they are paid a living wage, food and drink were cheaper in every country I've worked in. It's incredible the amount of US greed in the resteraunt industry.

-2

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

What is “paid properly” to you? I make 35$ an hour on weekdays and 50$ an hour average on weekends. I’m a tipped employee. Who’s gonna pay me that much other than tips? Nobody in Europe is paying 50$ an hour lmao

0

u/unique1001 Jan 15 '22

Tips aren’t mandatory, they’re literally always optional. It sucks that jobs that rely on tips do have to rely but again, it’s an option.

0

u/moobear92 Jan 15 '22

It's not mandatory. Just become part of dining culture so you are meant to feel guilty for not tipping but technically just pay what you owe and leave.

0

u/geon Jan 15 '22

NO!

Tips for any reason will lead to passive-aggressive expectations. As long as tips are customary, no one can just NOT tip without being considered an asshole, and thus the tip is no longer optional.

There is nothing exceptional a waiter can even do. Just bring out the food and leave the guest tf alone.

0

u/redvinebitty Jan 15 '22

They are not mandatory

13

u/AussieJonesNoelzy Jan 15 '22

Tips should be extra reward for excellent service. Not to earn the bare minimum for their labour. If business can't afford to pay their staff a liveable wage, then the business shouldn't exist. Isn't that what these free market fetishists keep bragging about while calling workers socialist or communists for wanting to earn enough to put food on the table.

2

u/TheShapeShiftingFox Jan 15 '22

Reminds me of how a “bonus” in corporate is also guaranteed on the big position no matter what they did that year. While it should also be for particularly good results only

3

u/ormuraspotta Jan 15 '22

in iceland we don't tip usually, it's not rude or anything it just isn't a thing here.

2

u/matchak7 Jan 15 '22

Makes sense

2

u/BasicLEDGrow Jan 15 '22

Tip o' this dick. Amirite?

1

u/bigtittiesbigpeepee Jan 15 '22

im so glad i see these kind of posts. OP expected people to be like "omg they didn't give you free money? how rude"

1

u/rawrmeowchirp Jan 15 '22

If you feel that way, eat and drink at home ONLY.

5

u/brainwrinkled Jan 15 '22

Nope.

If I go to a business, a product or service should have a price. You pay, you receive. That’s it.

Tips should be for genuinely above and beyond service, it’s just another thing that Americans do entirely backwards.

1

u/matchak7 Jan 15 '22

Yes

1

u/brainwrinkled Jan 15 '22

Muricans gonna murica

3

u/matchak7 Jan 15 '22

Don't always have to do things just because they were done in the past. Logic and reason are truthful

1

u/brainwrinkled Jan 15 '22

So stop tipping by default lol no other country does.

1

u/rawrmeowchirp Jan 16 '22

Does your ego require that you take it out on the people who are subject to this system and rely on tips to survive?

1

u/brainwrinkled Jan 16 '22

Do you think I’m American? I don’t talk down to waiters etc, obviously, but nor are they struggling to survive without tips like the states.

1

u/rawrmeowchirp Jan 16 '22

Terrific. Then don't come here and contribute to making a shitty system worse by hurting tipped workers.

1

u/brainwrinkled Jan 16 '22

I’m sorry what? Explain your tantrum or keep it to yourself pal.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

[deleted]

1

u/rawrmeowchirp Jan 16 '22

Congratulations, you fixed the problem. You think a worker subject to tips has the power to change the system as an individual? Truly, sit on it and spin

0

u/matchak7 Jan 15 '22

Imagine having to tip your mechanic

1

u/rawrmeowchirp Jan 16 '22

Imagine giving a fuck whether people are able to pay their bills. You're a bad person.

1

u/matchak7 Jan 16 '22

No you miss understand. Tips are not the only way to pay for someone

1

u/rawrmeowchirp Jan 16 '22

When you go out to dinner or drinks at a place that employs tipped workers, how else would you suggest doing so without a dick joke bro

1

u/matchak7 Jan 16 '22

😑😑😑 what everyone but you is saying, is that it doesn't have to be that way the company can just pay the employee like every other job. It's not a hard concept. Do you tip your fucking doctor???

1

u/rawrmeowchirp Jan 27 '22

Go legislate it then, or boycott every restaurant that doesn't pay a living wage. Taking it out on individual people who are themselves subject to a system in this way is wrong. It's not complicated.

1

u/mkobs Jan 15 '22

No it isn't. It allows people with a lot of money to make even more money, while giving other people (with a lot of money) a chance to exploit those same workers in their struggle to survive. It's genius in an evil way

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

Tips are stupid but I'd never put myself in that situation. Don't eat in. Take it away to go from the start