Current Events > Is tipping (in its current state) just a load of bullshit?

(+) Yeah! (+)

A tip is supposed to be a reward for going above and beyond with one's service.

Today, a tip is now a requirement as part of your meal. Restaurants are legally allowed to pay servers below minimum wage because tips will make up for it (though if one's tips aren't enough to make up minimum wage then they do have to pay up to make sure they do get minimum wage)

Basically, tipping is now a societal obligation in a ridiculous number of places and it only serves to line the pockets of corporate overlords by scamming the customers into paying their employees. I mean think about it - If I own a restaurant, I have to pay my waiter $10/hr (just making up minimum wage, obviously it varies). For one hour, that is $10 out of my pocket.

However, all I have to do right now is pay $2/hr. For one hour, that is $2 out of my pocket. Let's say that server made $8 in that hour of tips.

As a restaurant owner, I win, because my employee got minimum wage and I only had to pay $2 instead of $10.

The whole thing is a sham, but we as the consumers can't do anything about it because if we don't tip, the server is the only one who suffers, whereas the owner just has to cough up a few more dollars (because the only way "not tipping" will work is if every single person does it, and that's not going to happen). And even so, all that does is guarantee minimum wage for the server, whereas they can actually do better than minimum wage with a certain amount of tips.
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ok
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Muffinz0rz posted...

ok

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That's one thing I like about Thailand, little to no tipping. The servers aren't on the ball nearly as much as they are in the west (no tips so less incentive) but I'd rather have to ask for a refill for my drink than give them a 20% tip so they'll keep it full without asking.

Usually a tip in Thailand is the coins you get back after you pay your bill. Thais consider you to be cheap if you take the coins (at most you'd leave is 19 baht which is like 80 cents).
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no
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chill02 posted...

no

wrong
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Owners should pay their employees the proper wages, like every other country in the world.
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remove tipping and your food will just cost more but then servers have no incentive to provide good service. when i was in europe the service was generally not of the quality im used to from American restaurants.
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Giant_Aspirin posted...

remove tipping and your food will just cost more but then servers have no incentive to provide good service. when i was in europe the service was generally not of the quality im used to from American restaurants.

In Japan (yes, Ive lived there), they dont get tipped and the service is always great.

And im not tlaking about creepy niche places like anime bars.
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It's why I like how Japan does it. It's not necessarily rude to give a tip, but it makes an awkward situation because customer service is believed to be exceptional and leaving a tip is seen as assessing your server's performance.
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Automatic gratuity at restaurants is bullshit.

But I always tip my barber or the asian women giving me a pedicure
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MuayThai85 posted...

The servers aren't on the ball nearly as much as they are in the west (no tips so less incentive) but I'd rather have to ask for a refill for my drink than give them a 20% tip so they'll keep it full without asking

Even with tips, it's rare to have a waitress that will actually do that.
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Their motivation for keeping the job is being able to get paid $15 an hour.

America's way of doing it?

100% unrefined bullshit

Nothing wrong with tipping itself. But it should just be a reward for good service that is earned when you go beyond the normal service and also not a way to make up for employer paying you below the legal minimum requirement.
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I love the "Hurr durrr every OTHER country does it this way, we should too!" Go to Europe and see how great things are with no tipping. The service sucks. Getting a waitress to come back to the table is a chore and a half.

Getting rid of tipping means the food costs the same, the service is just worse.
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yes its a scam on both the employers part and the employees part. the victims are thr consumers.
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r4X0r posted...

I love the "Hurr durrr every OTHER country does it this way, we should too!" Go to Europe and see how great things are with no tipping. The service sucks. Getting a waitress to come back to the table is a chore and a half.

Getting rid of tipping means the food costs the same, the service is just worse.

Having worked in the industry here in the UK, many places will give you bonuses if you meet targets of going back to tables and the like. Plus, you can still get tips, so is plenty of incentive to do it here. You'll always get bad service though at times, no matter where you are. But I would rather not deal with the forced pressure you get often get in service industry when both sides know it is fake and forced.
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Time for this week's tipping topic
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The thing I dislike about tipping is how the servers feel entitled to it, and it goes double for bartenders. They really think they deserve a buck tip every single time they pull a beer out of the fridge. I've had a bartender yell "Thanks for nothin!" at me when I ordered a fuckin can of PBR and didn't tip, after I had already tipped him twice for previous drinks. That mentality really pisses me off.
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KazumaKiryu posted...

The thing I dislike about tipping is how the servers feel entitled to it, and it goes double for bartenders. They really think they deserve a buck tip every single time they pull a beer out of the fridge. I've had a bartender yell "Thanks for nothin!" at me when I ordered a fuckin can of PBR and didn't tip, after I had already tipped him twice for previous drinks. That mentality really pisses me off.

They have to serve dozens of people at once within a timely matter while also keeping their stations cleaned and stocked. They're not just pouring a bottle of beer for you. They are also doing it with grace and doing it for dozens of other customers within a short time frame.

KazumaKiryu posted...

The thing I dislike about tipping is how the servers feel entitled to it, and it goes double for bartenders. They really think they deserve a buck tip every single time they pull a beer out of the fridge. I've had a bartender yell "Thanks for nothin!" at me when I ordered a fuckin can of PBR and didn't tip, after I had already tipped him twice for previous drinks. That mentality really pisses me off.

Even as someone who did bartending work, I'd be highly tempted to complain to the manager if anyone did that >.>
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Tipping is definitely a con game. But nobody is fixing the system by not tipping.

Waiters do the job because they know tips could give them a lot of money at the end of every shift. People tip because that's the way it is.

If anyone actually felt strongly about it, they should probably take political action to reform the way companies treat tipping. Stiffing your waitress isn't an act of enlightened rebellion. Youre just being a dick lol
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AlisLandale posted...

Tipping is definitely a con game. But nobody is fixing the system by not tipping.

Waiters do the job because they know tips could give them a lot of money at the end of every shift. People tip because that's the way it is.

If anyone actually felt strongly about it, they should probably take political action to reform the way companies treat tipping. Stiffing your waitress isn't an act of enlightened rebellion. Youre just being a dick lol

the only dick is the person who signed up for the job expecting everyone to play along with the scam
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MuayThai85 posted...

That's one thing I like about Thailand, little to no tipping. The servers aren't on the ball nearly as much as they are in the west (no tips so less incentive) but I'd rather have to ask for a refill for my drink than give them a 20% tip so they'll keep it full without asking.

Usually a tip in Thailand is the coins you get back after you pay your bill. Thais consider you to be cheap if you take the coins (at most you'd leave is 19 baht which is like 80 cents).

That's if you're a cheap bastard. Minimum wage in Thailand is absurdly low, you're a dick if you can afford to tip and choose not to.

Epic-Vegan_420 posted...

MuayThai85 posted...

That's one thing I like about Thailand, little to no tipping. The servers aren't on the ball nearly as much as they are in the west (no tips so less incentive) but I'd rather have to ask for a refill for my drink than give them a 20% tip so they'll keep it full without asking.

Usually a tip in Thailand is the coins you get back after you pay your bill. Thais consider you to be cheap if you take the coins (at most you'd leave is 19 baht which is like 80 cents).

That's if you're a cheap bastard. Minimum wage in Thailand is absurdly low, you're a dick if you can afford to tip and choose not to.

this type of ignorance can only come from the side that wants the scam to stay
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ModLogic posted...

Epic-Vegan_420 posted...

MuayThai85 posted...

That's one thing I like about Thailand, little to no tipping. The servers aren't on the ball nearly as much as they are in the west (no tips so less incentive) but I'd rather have to ask for a refill for my drink than give them a 20% tip so they'll keep it full without asking.

Usually a tip in Thailand is the coins you get back after you pay your bill. Thais consider you to be cheap if you take the coins (at most you'd leave is 19 baht which is like 80 cents).

That's if you're a cheap bastard. Minimum wage in Thailand is absurdly low, you're a dick if you can afford to tip and choose not to.

this type of ignorance can only come from the side that wants the scam to stay

No, it's coming from someone that also lives in Thailand and has empathy towards those living in poverty that I interact with on a daily basis.

@MuayThai85 gives no fucks about locals

most servers wouldn't do that job if they got paid min wage and didn't get tips
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Wait, this topic isn't even from this week. It was made on Friday

@chill02
Why have you done this
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UnholyMudcrab posted...

Wait, this topic isn't even from this week. It was made on Friday

@chill02
Why have you done this

dance, puppets, dance!
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UnholyMudcrab posted...

Wait, this topic isn't even from this week. It was made on Friday

chill02
Why have you done this

Because it merits talking about
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waiters don't deserve tips. I might tip a chef. but mostly I think tipping should be illegal

MedeaLysistrata posted...

most servers wouldn't do that job if they got paid min wage and didn't get tips

what else can they do? they are min wage workers. just happens they can exploit it due to a stupid custom.
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ModLogic posted...

MedeaLysistrata posted...

most servers wouldn't do that job if they got paid min wage and didn't get tips

what else can they do? they are min wage workers. just happens they can exploit it due to a stupid custom.

do u really think being a server is exploitation of people who tip lmao

sadly the victims are often too ignorant to realize it
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fenderbender321 posted...

Imagine being mad about a custom where people are happy to voluntarily hand over extra money to people who do a good job.

not everyone is happy to hand over extra money. some of us only do it cause it is practically illegal to not tip.

Giant_Aspirin posted...

remove tipping and your food will just cost more but then servers have no incentive to provide good service. when i was in europe the service was generally not of the quality im used to from American restaurants.

Easily fixed by avoiding shithole tourist traps.
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fenderbender321 posted...

Zikten posted...

fenderbender321 posted...

Imagine being mad about a custom where people are happy to voluntarily hand over extra money to people who do a good job.

not everyone is happy to hand over extra money. some of us only do it cause it is practically illegal to not tip.

You're afraid to not tip?

It's not voluntary anymore. You're being dense if you say it is. While, legally, it is voluntary, you will be absolutely ostracized by everyone if you don't tip in a situation where it's universally agreed upon to do so (i.e. servers). It's so "involuntary" that restaurants are legally allowed to pay below minimum wage and let the tips make up for it.

I would be afraid not to tip if I was with friends/family, and it's not a preposterous feeling to have.
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i wish i got tipped to do my job
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