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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3.7k

u/hyperbolic_retort Jan 15 '22

Yep. It's on the servers boss if they're not getting a livable wage.

5.2k

u/Quinn0Matic Jan 15 '22 Gold Helpful Wholesome

Tipping should be illegal, and I say that as someone who relies on tips.

781

u/DanTheRocketeer Jan 15 '22

Tipping shouldn’t be illegal, it should be bonus. That’s how it’s is pretty much everywhere other than the US - the servers get paid a living wage and if they get tipped it’s either theirs to keep or split amongst all the servers (the former being the better system).

332

u/codify7 Jan 15 '22

In Japan they get offended if you tip, in their system they price the food at value for what it’s worth and to tip extra is to be insulting.

240

u/Vpc1979 Jan 15 '22

In Japan they will pay for the your uniform ( if required) your train pass to work, you also have a government pension and health care. Pretty much you only have to pay rent and food

107

u/Nirmalsuki Jan 15 '22

Do people have to pay for work uniforms in any country? If I was ever asked to pay for a work uniform, I won't even go the first day.

166

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22 edited Sep 13 '22

[deleted]

27

u/rednut2 Jan 15 '22

That is insanity. Can you claim it on your tax return at least?

19

u/SwitchRicht Jan 15 '22

It would have to be above the standard deduction for you to start claiming . So depends why other expenses you are claiming .

2

u/wyte_wonder Jan 15 '22

you can write it off as well as millage at like 0.54cents a mileas well as alot of thing

2

u/Cloberella Jan 15 '22

If you spend less than $3,000 (I believe), you just get the standard deduction.

1

u/paku9000 Jan 15 '22

No, but you can deduct your private jet...

1

u/Loki_61089 Jan 15 '22

As long as the uniform they require you to purchase and wear does not have their branding on it, you cannot claim it on your taxes, nor are they legally required to reimburse you for the purchase, unfortunately.

43

u/NoMusician518 Jan 15 '22

I had to show up to my first day of work with 350 dollars worth of tools out of my own pocket.

9

u/Cloberella Jan 15 '22

Join a Union, they'll provide you with your equipment. I know people bitch about the dues, but the benefits greatly outweigh the $35 a month. I mean, with your Journeyman card that's only one hour of pay a month anyway. Plus, pensions are a beautiful thing.

5

u/Dulcinut Jan 15 '22

As a union carpenter of over 50 years, carpenters are required to provide their own hand tools. The contractor furnishes power tools. Yes, the benefits are outstanding

2

u/Cloberella Jan 15 '22

Huh, I'm at the Laborer's Union and I'm a Hall Clerk, so I guess maybe it differs from contract to contract or trade to trade. I'm still kinda new but I could have sworn I heard a BA tell someone they didn't need to buy their own tools. Maybe it is no for heavy tools, but for hand tools, you do.

Well, TIL, thank you :)

2

u/Dulcinut Jan 15 '22

I don’t believe laborers in our area supply so much as a hammer! I know that first year carpenter apprentices have a minimum required list of tools. Once I purchased what I minimally needed I would try to buy a tool a week. The tools you need for a concrete job are way different than for a drywall or finish job.

1

u/Cloberella Jan 15 '22

Hmmm. I don't handle any of the job site stuff, mostly what I do is handle dues payments, contractor payments, and coordinate benefits. Either I misunderstood or it was a job-specific agreement I guess.

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1

u/NoMusician518 Jan 16 '22

I am an ibew apprentice. We still have a tool list that we are responsible to bring. Specialty tools and power tools are on the contractor which is great but hand tools are still our problem.

1

u/nohwhatnow Apr 17 '22

I was a auto mechanic and my tools cost me over 10k and I paid 50 a week to Snap on to keep my tools current. Heck, my tool box alone cost $5400

I'm 60 and retired now and have north of 60k in tools I rarely use, My kids get them when I'm gone

21

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

[deleted]

4

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

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1

u/HerefortheTuna Jan 15 '22

To be fair office jobs require clothes too. Not a uniform per say but have to look a certain standard. And you could have painted your nails at home or just not gotten them done and let them be natural.

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2

u/SoftNSquishy Jan 15 '22

When I worked for dildomino's I got paid like $5.50 an hour and had to buy my own uniforms. The owner of that franchise is a (ultra Christian Conservative) gaping asshole anyway though, should have ran when I had the chance. So glad I don't work those kinds of jobs anymore, it's absolutely soul destroying.

2

u/MemphisGalInTampa Apr 26 '22

1975 was a fucked up age

2

u/[deleted] Apr 27 '22

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u/Djildjamesh Jan 15 '22

Well this is fucked up

4

u/Cloberella Jan 15 '22

Yep, and if you bought it from them (a lot of places will sell you their uniform rather than have you source your own pieces) and don't return it when you leave, they can withhold your final check, or dock your pay.

5

u/Djildjamesh Jan 15 '22

I dont even think that would be a legal thing to do in the Netherlands .... and even if it would be I don't think company's would be on this level of regardless..

3

u/Cloberella Jan 15 '22

It really does depend on the job and company here. The biggest thing is that there's very little regulation for how companies can treat their employees. We have a few minimum requirements that are very low due to begin set decades ago and businesses are essentially on their honor to rise above. In the name of profits, most don't, and in fact, many look for ways to drop the bar even lower.

That being said, there are no rules preventing companies from being wonderful either. And Unions do exist. My current job is Union and it's a stark difference from my other positions. For example, I get free stuff, including "uniforms" (if you want to call them that, they're nice hoodies with the Union name on them that I wear all the time).

So, it really just depends but more often than not businesses in the US choose to be terrible because they can. Wooo freedom, I guess.

2

u/Djildjamesh Jan 15 '22

Good to hear, thanks for the details!

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3

u/Triquestral Jan 15 '22

I’ve never had a job requiring a uniform in Denmark, but my daughter works part-time in a grocery store and they just gave her the logoed polo shirts that she has to wear. I am 100% sure that’s standard.

3

u/Sansabina Jan 15 '22

You folk need to unionize!

3

u/Vexachi Jan 15 '22

Does this include PPE for you guys??

2

u/something6324524 Jan 15 '22

yeah i've refused to work anywhere like that, unless the dress code is just wear some regular decent cloths then nope. If it is just wear some regular decent clothes then i'm fine and i just put on a normal shirt and pants

2

u/one-hit-blunder Jan 15 '22

They start them young. Even school uniforms are typically purchased at the expense of the student/ parents, here in Canada at least. B.s.

-4

u/Sammy279123 Jan 15 '22

Start your own business and set your own standards. 🤷🏻‍♂️

57

u/commanderjarak FALGSC Jan 15 '22

The US.

8

u/UnlikelyKaiju Jan 15 '22

At least you can claim the cost of your uniform on your taxes, but that typically requires keeping the receipt until you finally file.

6

u/hippoctopocalypse Jan 15 '22

And knowing the horribly arcane tax code

-2

u/UnlikelyKaiju Jan 15 '22

Not really. A lot of tax filing systems and services usually have an option to claim such things. Same goes for college text books.

4

u/Codered0289 Jan 15 '22

The standard deduction eliminates having to itemize anything for the vast majority of people. If you get a w2 and don't have more than 12.5k to write off, there isnt a point.

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u/meowpitbullmeow Jan 15 '22

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

1

u/Cloberella Jan 15 '22

If you spend more than the standard deduction on uniforms in a year I'd be impressed.

4

u/firelord237 Jan 15 '22

I suspect the argument is that people in the US want to have the freedom to make alterations and to use their uniform like it's theirs? Maybe to keep it afterwards for sentimental reasons? Maybe to get them custom tailored?

idk man I feel like the US is built around mandatory freedoms that you have to pay for and it doesn't work but it's cheap for those in charge or the well off so on it shall go until civil war or something

6

u/meowpitbullmeow Jan 15 '22

We don't want to, we're just forced to

3

u/firelord237 Jan 15 '22

Unfortunately yeah, the vast majority of people probably don't care to buy their own uniforms. Should be the other way around, where they assume you want to borrow one from your job and then if you want to order a custom one for yourself go right ahead and it'll cost money /shrug

Or hell when I worked as a lifeguard they just gave away shirts and pinnies. I would hope the same goes for shirts at retail stores and restaurants

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/firelord237 Jan 15 '22

Yep exactly. Lots of freedom comes with owning your own stuff but the cost is usually money

19

u/fleetingsparrow92 Jan 15 '22

I got one uniform and one work shoe allowance when I worked at Tim Hortons in Canada. Anything extra we had to pay for/buy ourselves.

5

u/Hopeful_Mouse_4050 Jan 15 '22

I was given the name of a shoe retailer to use if I wanted a discount when buying my own nonslip shoes.

3

u/lorenzomofo Jan 15 '22

Damn, they give you one shoe and make you pay for the other shoe.

24

u/Ghost0fDawn Jan 15 '22

You DONT have to pay for your work uniform?

In the US you're pretty much responsible for anything you wear, almost always.

I work outside, in different weather conditions and this generally means having cold weather clothing, extra layers, clothing im willing to get dirty and damaged from use, waterproof boots, gloves for cold or physical protection so I don't get hurt or strained. Hearing protection.. etc.

Never once have I ever had the cost of those items put on the company. They would laugh in your face.

19

u/BornListen6622 Jan 15 '22

If you work in the US, it's an OSHA requirement that your company buys your PPE for you. The uniform may on you, but your PPE like hearing protection is required to be covered and supplied by your company. If your company isn't providing you proper PPE, that's a major OSHA violation

3

u/Delicious-Ad5161 Jan 15 '22

I didn’t know that. There have been spats between the various employers on my work site that have resulted in people going without PPE if they don’t purchase their own. I’ll keep this in mind for the future.

13

u/Occyfel2 Jan 15 '22

At my workplace in Australia my uniform was free and I got a few dollars a week to cover the cost of cleaning the uniform. What is wrong with the US

10

u/BloodyRob68 Jan 15 '22

I'm an archaeologist in Sweden. My employer has provided me with two pairs of protective shoes, two pairs of trousers with knee pads, a goretex jacket with detachable lining so I can use it year-round, several pairs of gloves (winter and summer), sweaters, loads of tshirts with company logo, underwear, hats, helmet etc. All in all, I reckon I got about 10000 SEK (1200$) of work wear. I've paid for nothing. That's the norm here. I've never hears of anyone having to pay for work stuff, it's absurd.

9

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

That sounds like a fucking scam and if it happened to me in my country I'd go straight to the labour board and complain about it. Surely a breach of the worker laws, I'd expect all tools and equipment for me to do my job to be provided by my employer. USA is getting stranger every day, what a country. It's all just exploitation of the people who barely have anything at all.

8

u/Gauffrier Jan 15 '22

No in Europa, Netherlands you don't pay for your workcloathes... Hard-nose boots etc is paid for.

5

u/Steffelonio Jan 15 '22

And you can't get fired for bullshit reasons.

3

u/RenoHex Jan 15 '22

Generally, in jobs that required me to wear a uniform, it was either provided by the employer straight away, or they gave me the specs and reimbursed against a receipt. They tend to prefer the former because it's cheaper for them, Economies of Scale or something.

My favourite was the job that required me to wash my work clothes at home. In return, they gave us enough laundry detergent every month to last me two months (I live alone, everyone else had families).

3

u/mediamalaise Jan 15 '22

Also gonna have to disagree on that 'almost always'

Casino industry guy and everyone who is required to wear an actual uniform gets it issued to them and maintained by the casino except for footwear and, like, underwear. The rest of us office worker types in the back who have to adhere to a dress code? We're on our own for that.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

I would rephrase to :"You HAVE to pay for your work uniform?!?!"

2

u/bonfire_hearts Jan 15 '22

The US is definitely fucked regarding this.

2

u/jersey_girl660 Jan 15 '22

Totally depends on state. Though it should be federal. In my state that’s not allowed. However there’s a difference between a job uniform(that’s specific to a place like McDonald’s uniform, hooters, etc) and a dress code. So they’ll pay for your uniform at McDonald’s or whatever but if you’re expected to wear a certain color of business casual or something like that it’s on you.

And across the country Amazon does pay for that stuff. But there’s some kind of term for when a company does the same thing everywhere even though it’s only the law in a few states.

1

u/SitueradKunskap Jan 15 '22

Never once have I ever had the cost of those items put on the company.

...That really puts the whole "business owners are the risk takers" dealio in perspective.

(Also, I'm not from the US either, and having to buy tools/equipment out of pocket is not something I have ever heard of.)

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

Im my state you would get an outer layer (so work jacket and pants, and work shirt in the summer) paid by the company. What you do underneath is on you though

1

u/Dulcinut Jan 15 '22

Aside from PPE the only item of clothing a contractor ever supplied me with was rain gear. I would be as wet from sweat as I would be from rain wearing that stuff. Typically I would work until wet and miserable and call it a day loosing pay for the day.

1

u/ciao_fiv Jan 15 '22

i worked at a Tram for a few months in the US, it gets super cold on top of the mountain, didnt have to pay for the company uniform or the jackets

3

u/meowpitbullmeow Jan 15 '22

It comes out of your first paycheck

3

u/Triddy Jan 15 '22

My part of Canada, if the Dress Code is something Generic (eg. Wear a Black Button down Shirt and Jeans), then it's legal to require the Employee to provide that.

If the Dress Code is specific (T-shirt with the company logo), or a safety requirement (Chef Uniforms), then the employer must pay for it.

2

u/jersey_girl660 Jan 15 '22

It’s the same in my state in the us and many others though it should be federal. Federal law encourages employers to at least reimburse employees for such things but doesn’t technically require it.

2

u/Stratostheory Jan 15 '22 edited Jan 15 '22

My last job I think I paid $50 total for 11 shirts and pants, all of them had my name patch sewn on them and then like $20 a week for laundry services. Was a machine shop and I got covered in a lot of oil and solvents working there so laundry service kept that shit out of my washer at home.

I wasn't required to wear the shirts and pants, but the other alternative was to ruin my regular jeans and t-shirts and have to wash that nasty shit out myself so I shelled out.

2

u/Classic_Beautiful973 Jan 15 '22

In the US, often, not sure about elsewhere

1

u/King_Dead Jan 15 '22

yes. I've gone to supermarkets and seen big piles of subway uniforms, where i assume workers have to buy from.

1

u/geovanadarkness Jan 15 '22

In Brazil many companies demand it. More so if you require bigger clothing (like my brother with his 150kg).

1

u/ShutterBug1988 Jan 15 '22

In Australia it’s common to pay for a work uniform particularly in retail and hospitality but you are either paid a laundry allowance into your wages or you can claim it on tax

1

u/richter1977 Jan 15 '22

Kmart tried when i only had 2 weeks left to work. I had worked overnight and LP, which allowed me to wrar normal clothes. When i put in my 2 weeks, they for some reason decided to put me on day shift for that time. Told me they'd deduct the cost if a uniform shirt from my check. Told them the hell they would, i wasn't paying for a shirt for a job i was leaving.

1

u/According_Gazelle472 Jan 15 '22

Yes,it comes out of their paycheck .And they only get a certain amount of uniforms for the whole week.

1

u/Prestigious-Slide-73 Jan 15 '22

I worked at a theme park called Light Water Valley in the UK in 2007 and had to buy my uniform. It was most of a day’s wage as I only earned 4.10 an hour.

1

u/aphrahannah Jan 15 '22

Every time I've worked in a clothes shop I've had to buy uniform. It's generally very reduced price, but still a bit of a joke. Particularly when the top I bought sold out,because I was a good salesperson, and then I got told I had to stop wearing it and buy new uniform, as I couldn't wear sold out items.

1

u/Wyldesolos Jan 15 '22

I'm in the US and everywhere I've ever worked has required me to buy my own uniforms.

1

u/Thathitmann Jan 15 '22

America. We get a little catalogue and it comes out of our paycheck.

1

u/CentipedeStar Jan 15 '22

Well my job requires thousands of dollars worth of tools to do, buying a uniform ain't that bad.

1

u/Tiphiene Jan 15 '22

Where I work (seasonal work, April to September), they keep some money from your first loan as deposit. You get it back when you hand you uniform, keys etc. in in September. Never has been an issue. Got new t-shirts (without holding in anything from the deposit) when I needed it, because I had used my old ones for almost three years, so it made sense that they needed replacing.

1

u/Cloberella Jan 15 '22

I used to work for the chain Ruby Tuesday's in college. Their uniform was a white button down shirt with dark jeans and a black half apron that only covered your thighs. We also served all kinds of messy dishes and splash back happened.

One day I was working a lunch shift and a server carrying a tray of French Onion Soups crashed into me, covering both of us in brown stains. She was at the end of her shift so she just dropped the soups off, cleaned her section, wrapped up with that table and clocked out.

I was at the beginning of my shift, and my boss was furious that my shirt was so dirty. To work there we were required to purchase two shirts, two pairs of pants and a pair of nonslip shoes. They provided the apron. He asked me to go home and change into my spare shirt, but I had worked all week and that shirt was also dirty, which I explained.

So he told me I could go to the Burlington Coat Factory in our plaza and purchase a new uniform shirt for $25, or I could leave, permanently.

I walked out, actually bought the shirt, but then wore it while I applied to other stores in the plaza for work. My boss called and asked if I was coming back, I told him no, he made it clear I buy the shirt or I'm fired, so I'm at a job interview and won't be returning. He freaked out. I hung up.

1

u/Daladain Jan 15 '22

There's an entire market just for scrubs for health care workers in the US. They only pay for your scrubs if you work in the surgery units at the hospital where my wife works.

1

u/ManyDeliciousJuices Jan 15 '22

Depends... here in the US I haven't heard of someone having to pay the company for their uniform, for example, a polo shirt with the company logo on it that can only be obtained from the company. But if it's generic clothing, such as "black shoes and pants" or "scrubs" that can be purchased wherever then yeah you're definitely on your own. A possible exception being safety equipment.

1

u/Delicious_Payment_22 Jan 15 '22

Yes in most jobs here in TX they do and they will break it up in a few payments and take out of your check smh.

1

u/moonydog5555 Jan 15 '22

In the US, there's specific conditions on whether or not an employer pays the uniform or you have to pay. I believe if there is a specific design (usually the company name) then the employer history pay, and if the uniform is something generic like a red short (no company name) the the employee has to pay.

So at my current work place, our work shirts have the company name so my company paid for my shirts. But as far as the pants go, because they are generic dark wash Levi's I have to pay out of pocket (they want me to pay $75 for a pair of jeans that I xcan get for literally over half of that price online)

1

u/Nirmalsuki Jan 21 '22

I have since read/seen that some companies make you pay for the (branded) uniform that they themselves sell.

3

u/MossyTundra Jan 15 '22

I worked at a restaurant that was heavily sponsored by Under armor. I had to wear under armor shoes (70$ out the gate) and 25$ for our shirts.

-1

u/major_slackher Jan 15 '22

Okay Japanese propaganda bot

1

u/Proof_Celebration_47 Jan 15 '22

Any job you work, you'll get a government pension??

1

u/Vpc1979 Jan 15 '22

Yes, even foreigners get a pension. It’s similar to our social security.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

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1

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1

u/_ThatsWhatSheSaid_47 Jan 15 '22

Welp, moving to Japan!

1

u/Memjggji Jan 15 '22

In the vast majority of civilized world, not only in japan

133

u/yes_thats_right Jan 15 '22

I had a cab driver get out of the car and chase me down to return the tip. They view customer service as part of their job. Amazing concept right Americans?

38

u/Nightshader5877 Jan 15 '22

It's because America feels like it's built on too much greed.

53

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

It's because America feels like it's built on too much greed

2

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

The movie “Wall Street” from 1987 has the famous quote “greed, for lack of a better word, is good”. It seems American Businesses heard that quote and ran with it as hard and as far as possible with it. We’ve lost our perspective here and forgot to give a shit about our neighbors.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

I can hear Michael Douglas' delivery even though I haven't seen that movie in years!

1

u/Sansabina Jan 15 '22 edited Jan 15 '22

Didn't tipping in the US become prevalent because in the South at the end of the Civil War there was a lot of former slaves without employment or were poor tenant farmers with no money - so the rich hotel and restaurant owners allowed them to "work" at their establishments doing certain ancillary service jobs, like bellhops, etc. but refused to pay them a wage (they used to get their labor for free when they were slaves, I guess they couldn't bring themselves to pay them) - so no wages meant that instead they had to beg and hope to get tips from customers. And that's how it really caught on in the US... in the Northern states tipping was not typical until much later.

7

u/iwifia Jan 15 '22

If you deal with another person then customer service is part of your job. From an American.

7

u/yes_thats_right Jan 15 '22

Ive lived in the US for 12 years and I wish more people felt the same.

Also, they should be paid a living wage!

6

u/iwifia Jan 15 '22

Totally agree. I actually used to frequent (pre covid and baby) a bar that paid there staff a salary plus tip. Single bar, one location, great place and always booming, but everyone got a livable paycheck and everyone shared tips. I think at the time it was $10 an hour for servers and cooks, servers with a bartending license got $15 since they could do 2 different jobs, kitchen and floor supervisor (floor super was the highest rank person scheduled) got $20 an hour. Everyone got tipped out the next day they worked for the last shift so they could get the full days tip and not just the "good hours".

I only knew two people who left there in 7 years. One got fired and one moved across the country.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22 edited Jan 15 '22

That's actually on the opposite end of the fucking issue. If they are getting paid a full salary, why the fuck am I tipping?? Include a gratuity in the purchase price of each drink do it however you want but for fucks sake I'm so tired of having to do napkin math based on my experience while also contemplating every conceivable life scenario of the staff that just helped me while drunk.

Bars are fucking overrated in general anyways these days.

3

u/nudiecale Jan 15 '22

You’ve completely missed the point. If they are making a full living wage, you never have to tip. Nobody will expect you to. However, if you want to reward someone for outstanding service, there is nothing explicitly forbidding you from doing so.

1

u/flyingsquirrel6789 Jan 15 '22

What he actually means is that the one guy isn't personally offended, but as a culture they believe that everyone should have the same high level of service and ethics so typing isn't required because they are already paid for their high level of service.

3

u/whatawitch5 Jan 15 '22

Maybe because in Japan they are earning a living wage plus healthcare, free education, and a comfortable pension at their job, rather than scrounging in constant poverty like comparable workers in the US. When you’re hungry or can’t afford your meds, no tip is ever returned over the lofty idea that “customer service is part of the job”. Not when that tip means literally putting some meat on the table this week or buying your kid’s cold medicine.

Maybe if US workers weren’t living in a “Hunger Games” reality we could afford to be more generous about turning down tip money for doing a good job. But until we do something to end our current post-capitalist nightmare and stop letting US employers siphon money away from their workers, US employees are going to gratefully keep whatever tips they are lucky enough to receive.

If US employers think it is important for “customer service to be part of the job”, then the compensation their employees receive should reflect that. If they pay shit wages with no benefits, then they clearly do not value their customers or their employees, only their profit margins.

2

u/new2bay Jan 15 '22

In Japan? Yeah, I’ve heard of people literally chasing down foreigners who don’t understand you’re not supposed to tip in Japan.

1

u/lamplighters_union Jan 15 '22

I was a cab driver in America for six years. I had countless nights where I worked 12 hour shifts and went home with 15-20 dollars. I averaged less than minimum wage per hour, with tips, and I still took the absplute best care of every passenger in my cab. Comparing Japanese cab driver's service with American cab driver's service isn't really fair, as American cab drivers are some of the shittiest, hardest, lowest paying jobs in existance.

1

u/yes_thats_right Jan 15 '22

No doubt work was hard and not as rewarding as it should be, but that's not the point I am making above.

I am saying that customer service is part of the job and should be paid for through salary, it is not a nice bonus for the customer to pay extra for.

2

u/profanedic Jan 15 '22

They also might try to keep you for paying for a taxi fair that you should pay.

Had a driver try to take us to a place we found online that was 20 minutes away in the country. He spent a good 15-20 minutes trying to find the location amd couldn't (looks like the place shut down) with the meter off. Then drove us all the way back, another 20 minutes. So about an hour with us and he didn't wamt to take our money. We kind of forced it on him, it wasm't his fault the place wasn't there and he did drive us all the way amd back.

Hope he wasn't too offended, but he did provide his service.

2

u/Butt_Sex_And_Tacos Jan 15 '22

They are offended if you tip money, but not by gifts. Gifting is the best way to show appreciation for services in Japan. Small things, like I would always bring some custom made jerky from a meat store and wrap it neatly in butcher’s paper and tie with twine. Talking small enough to fit in your hand. Never had anyone get offended by that, and had several people compliment it the next time I saw them if I happened to go to the same place again.

2

u/tazbaron1981 Jan 15 '22

Same in Switzerland and France

2

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22 edited Jan 15 '22

The average waitress in Japan is 1000 yen or 8 usd an hour while rent is 50000 to 70000 yen per year.

Justifying Japan compared to here is not what this sub is trying to do as Japan does not have a great work life balance.

"The working environment in Japan was characterized by lack of work-life balance such as long hours of work, large incidents of overtime work, limited availability of childcare facilities in workplaces"

Just because its not accepted means it's like people that brag about how much they work. It seems a culture thing to get offended by tips and it's has its flaws as they don't get paid a generous wage either for their living conditions.

1

u/Norzeforce Jan 15 '22

Did you just say the average rent for an apartment is 50000 yen a year?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

50k yen per month.

-1

u/Hydroxychoroqiine Jan 15 '22

Japan is stupid. I was smoking on the street and was told that was illegal in Tokyo. Was told to go smoke inside a building. I said f that and kept smoking. But but my friend said that was against the rules. F the rules I said. The Japanese could not even comprehend the situation. Totally perplexed. Could not fathom the situation. Programmed people.

1

u/assasin42069 Jan 15 '22

They get offended because it's rude to give straight cash to someone of it's not in an envelope

1

u/Mattprather2112 Jan 15 '22

How is saying their food isn't priced correctly insulting? That just like... guidance right?

1

u/i_aint_joe Jan 15 '22

Mainly because Japan's social system just works.

The wage gap between the working class and middle class isn't huge, even if you're an unskilled worker your job is protected and you will get promoted if you're not a lazy asshole.

Low income families can get government housing, your employer pays towards your government health insurance.

Basically, no matter what happens you're not about to have your life destroyed due to your income.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/i_aint_joe Jan 15 '22

What type of company did you work for in Japan?

I worked for three companies there - two were great, sure they expected me to work hard, but they paid me well and respected my work hours, one was a little shitty - they were always asking me for something extra, but all I had to say was "sorry, I'm going home now, I'll look at that tomorrow" and eventually they stopped asking me and all was good.

That's the key to Japanese companies, just learn to say NO and they don't fuck with you.

1

u/notorious98 Jan 15 '22

My wife and I went to a nice steakhouse in Ireland and weren't sure if we were supposed to tip or not. So we asked and the dude was like, "We don't do that here".

1

u/networkeng1 Jan 15 '22

I tipped in Japan to a girl who helped me pick out cosmetic stuff my sister asked for (I had no idea what I was doing). She and her boss thanked me profusely and bowed. I knew it wasn’t customary to tip but they went so out their way.

1

u/Classic_Beautiful973 Jan 15 '22

Yeah well the US isn't Japan, is it. It's fine that the culture exists, it just shouldn't be necessary for workers' survival. I tip all kinds of infrequent services if the service was great. It's insulting to me if someone won't take generous tips because they busted their ass to dote on me

1

u/elcamp3 Jan 15 '22

That's not really the reason. They get offended because they see giving a tip as a judgement of service. Seeing how everyone is taught to give 100%, judging someone better or worse in the same establishment would be awkward to say the least.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

In China it wasn't expected but i offered and most would still take it for bringing your stuff to a room, two refused.