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.

Post image
30.2k Upvotes

7.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

234

u/Anxious-Sir-1361 Jan 15 '22

I'm Canadian; the tipping culture is similar. What bothers me is what I call the “good-looking girl” subsidy. These are waiting jobs at chic spots where the waitresses bring in 6 figure tips per year (before they become real estate agents), more or less for being hot. I'd rather the tips are for those that need them.

61

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

Friend of mine worked a bar in Montreal, compared her job to stripping with just some more clothes on.

The obvious downside I'll leave to your imagination.

80

u/Anxious-Sir-1361 Jan 15 '22

I had an Australian GF years back, and she came and visited me in Edmonton. In Australia, they pay servers a solid wage, and there is no tipping. She was appalled by the tipping culture. She brought up the whole prostituting themselves argument. Part of that was her seeing some of my guy friends doing the honoured douchy married guy tradition of flirting with the waitress and her flirty right back (for tips.) Sometimes it takes the eyes of a foreigner to really see how weird and appalling a custom is.

51

u/JradM01 Jan 15 '22

As an Australian who has visited both America and Canada twice, your tipping culture is utter bullshit. People removing your luggage from the back of a taxi and expect a tip, waitresses literally taking the food from the kitchen and putting on your table expecting a tip. It's crazy. In Australia we would tip if the staff went OVER and ABOVE their normal duties, but even then I can't remember the last time I've tipped anyone. It's just implied that your job is to wait tables, drive taxis, clean and anything thing you do in that job is covered by your wage, not paid for by the customer who's already paid for services rendered.

6

u/cookiemonstah87 Jan 15 '22

That's how it SHOULD be here... I hate that businesses have been able to offload paying their staff onto customers for so long. Then they'll try to say raising minimum wage would mean they have to increase prices. How so? We already pay your staff more than you do!

2

u/JradM01 Jan 15 '22

Exactly. And you would find the increased price for the service probably wouldn't come close to the amount each customer is forced to tip. I remember being FORCED to pay 20% tip of the bill because it was standard and if I enjoyed the service I could tip more. I asked if the chef's got a % of the tips and was told no. To me, the food is what I came to the restaurant for, not the service so that's what I'd be tipping for.

1

u/Anxious-Sir-1361 Jan 15 '22

It is insane. We’ve both done the exchange. I lived in Australia too when I was 25 for a year and some.

Yes, North America's tipping culture is total BS. Primary services, an electrician/plumber, etc., you would not tip, but many lower-paid service providers try to create the custom of tipping. What is most problematic is how these tips are supposed to even the playing field for low-paid workers, but it's been co-opted in disturbing ways where money flows to those that don't need it - attractive people. Beyond bringing the food to the table, where the “service” exchange is, is when a super attractive Waitress comes out and flirts with average guys (often in relationships) that wouldn't usually be able to talk to her.

I should point out when we were younger; this wasn't quite as insidious. It would be like a bunch of 21-year-old guys (we were reasonably handsome) chatting with a 20-year-old girl and having laughs, often legitimate. She wouldn't care if we tipped her huge. Where it would be more “gross” is seeing the married men, or men in relationships, flirting hard with her and her reciprocating (within reason) to get extra tips. There are nuances to it all; it wasn’t black or white. I never blamed the girl for taking advantage of a situation her looks/ personality provided her… it’s the system that is f**ked. Another Australian friend worked as a waitress in a chic downtown Toronto bar. Her view on it all changed when she got to enjoy the benefits.