This article from Grub Street last week:
Interesting but I think unrealistic. One thing to note is that it’s NEW YORK CITY she’s talking about.
Yah, NYC has already been at a higher tipping percentage than the rest of the country, AFAIK.
20% is generally my minimum, 25% or 30% for outstanding service.
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The comments are better than the article
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Agreed!
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From the perspective of this European, that makes a disheartening read. I’d have hoped tipping was on the decline not increasing in its spread as well as amount expected.
Yes, I understand tipping in a restaurant. It’s something I do here, if there’s not a service charge added to the bill (although I think that the low/no tip European countries have the right attitude, and follow local custom when I visit). But for most of the other listings I don’t even consider tipping - coffee shops, food delivery, picking up takeout, food counters, taxi/Uber, hair.
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As a former delivery / current Uber driver I can assure you that these tips are very much appreciated, as the base pay is complete and utter shite.
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Tips are never unappreciated, surely (except in the small number of countries, like Japan, where it’s considered to be demeaning).
By the by, my BiL drove a taxi here for many years, till Covid put paid to it (he now drives a home delivery van for one of the supermarkets). He told me that, when he started many, but by no means all, passengers would tip (at around 10%). It declined over the years so that, when he stopped, it was rare to get any tip at all during a shift - not even of the “keep the change” variety. Societies change.
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Given the crazy restaurant price increases these days, servers are making way more in tips for no additional effort. One of my fav orders at the local taqueria has increased 75% over the last several years.
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The tipping society in the US will never change, at least not in our lifetime. No way, no how. Neverever.
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Yep. As is many times the case.
This one was a bit rough. Funny, but still a bit rough.
And I’d wondered at the lack of a byline but didn’t consider this -
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NO one earns below minimum wage.
the lie needs to stop.
the “tip credit” situation came about because businesses said “Why do we have to pay full minimum wage when they get tips putting them far above minimum wage?”
if waitstaff do not make minimum wage dollars for their hours, the employer is required by Federal law to pay more than the “tip credit” wage - the $2.13/hour click-bait horror number so frequently screamed across the headlines…
the “pay a living wage” movement resulted in any number of restos eliminating tips, increasing prices to cover a “living wage” + increased employer payroll taxes + increased employer workman’s comp costs + etc + etc.
most have rolled back those ‘no tip’ policies because their best people left for greener tipped pastures.
True - huge majority of those were in super-high-expensive cities, where their (ex)waitstaff had established a lifestyle based on multi-six figure incomes from tips. but, facts are facts and those are the facts.
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Care to cite a source for this? 'Cause it does not sound remotely true.
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use a search engine to discover which restos abandoned ‘no tip’ and why.
it’s well “documented” by the interviews.
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Oh, I know that some restaurants walked back their no-tipping policies because the waitstaff preferred the tipping model. I am questioning your “multi-six figures” claim. Which I think is BS.
It is not incumbent upon me to prove you’re right. It is incumbent upon YOU to prove you’re right. I can drop a piece of nonsense into this chat and then dare everybody to back it up, too. But I won’t.
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One place they can go pound sand is the tipping at the payment portal (before you get your actual food/service).
Why would I tip you for something that hasn’t been made or served yet?! This “trend” is disturbing, and I wonder how long it will be before this practice extends itself to grocery store clerks (c;
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I think what is confusing is that some restaurants have already included the tips in there. They told me, but sometime I forget… then I end up double tipping.
No kidding, I’ve had a couple experiences where I’m there quietly fuming about a long delayed order after I have already tipped on it - usually take out where I’ve paid the 20% prompt.
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Wage theft is a huge issue. Many large operators have been successfully sued. This issue is not simple as you seem to think. Most cities have a wage enforcement department that enforces the minimum since it is so common for businesses to not comply, either at all or partially.
My restaurant had an audit on compliance {triggered by a former employee complaint} and we were found to have a total of $10.65 in non-compliance for 3 years. And we were commended as being a rare example of compliance.
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Establishments that automatically add in a tip can go F themselves. I give cash to servers who treat me well. How else can I know they will actually receive it?
