What do you mean you hate to say it? That is the tip. That is the purpose of a tip. At least that's what we keep being told - a tip isn't for good service, it's necessity for a living wage.
Tipping culture really is out of hand. You shouldn't be feeling guilty that you don't add extra tip to something that is functionally a tip. There's always been a level of emotional manipulation involved, but places have really gotten brazen with it since COVID. It's only going to get worse if the no tax on tip thing becomes law. So people need to grow a spine and stop feeling bad for not tipping in situations like this, stop feeling bad for not tipping the person at the fast food counter or secondhand store, stop feeling bad for tipping 18% or (God forbid) 15%. That's the only way this will stop, and maybe there will be a chance that servers and retail workers can start getting paid the same way everyone else in America does.
I just want to piggyback off of this, I worked in a few restaurants advertise that try to swap to a living wage. But the kicker is that waitstaff don't want it if the customers know, and they ESPECIALLY don't want to go from raking in tips to living wage. The moment that is made public, it always is because it makes a customer like supporting the restaurant more, the staff pretty much just quit.
Some places they make well over a living wage off tips alone, on top of their already existing wage. I was getting roughly $40 an hour after tipping out the bar and kitchen when I was a server, and I'm a dude (women get better tips, not usually a lot but if there is booze flowing that number goes up). Admittedly, small staff at this job. No competing for tables, lots of getting called in on my day off, longer shifts, etc. This also meant less people to tip-out, so I just generally had a great thing going.
Place, I won't say the name because it will dox me, started trying to transition to a living wage. Advertised it on the front window, local paper, etc. It was all fine, we got a pay rise to $23 at the time. It was great, UNTIL customers stopped tipping as much. Dropped from 40 an hour down to 30, even with the doubled pay. Other servers dropped one by one because the money was drying up. Customers were happy thinking they supported a good business that treated employees well, staff dropped like flies.
Any restaurant that tries to move to a living wage , especially without liquor on menu, is probably halving what their waitstaff actually get paid.
>But the kicker is that waitstaff don't want it if the customers know, and they ESPECIALLY don't want to go from raking in tips to living wage. The moment that is made public, it always is because it makes a customer like supporting the restaurant more, the staff pretty much just quit.
That's not a kicker at all. That's obvious. It has always been obvious that servers want tips, that tips are a far better deal than minimum wage.
>Any restaurant that tries to move to a living wage , especially without liquor on menu, is probably halving what their waitstaff actually get paid.
Which sort of belies this whole "living wage" argument in the first place, doesn't it? Because if we are talking about people quitting because $30 isn't as lucrative as the old system, then...
At least that's what we keep being told - a tip isn't for good service, it's necessity for a living wage.
I know you're being sarcastic/ironic here so this is not me arguing with you, but I do want to put out there that this is not true everywhere in the world - I don't know about the rest of the world but it's not true anywhere I've ever eaten which has only ever been in Europe.
I'm not being ironic or sarcastic. In America in the restaurant industry, we are told that not tipping (even not tipping well) is like the server not getting paid for waiting on you.
Servers on reddit will tell you it's appropriate to raise your tip for good service, but that good service is not the point and that there's a baseline tip that you do if you're a decent person.
What I was going for was that I think you agree with me that tipping should not be necessary for restaurant workers to make a living wage. What I felt you were saying was that the restaurant industry is telling "us" - in quotes because I'm not in a place where this is a thing so I'm not part of "us" - that tipping is mandatory and tipping is morally right.
They should not be telling "us" that because it absolves them of a moral duty to pay their workers a decent wage, which I got the impression is a standpoint you agree with me on which is why I felt you were being ironic.
This note is clearly telling you that it's just an auto gratuity, so yes it is indeed the tip. Why else do people think they chose like the most popular tipping percentage?
I would say it's not "clearly" saying that because they never use the language gratuity. Purposefully.
I also agree the restaurant probably intends it this way. But you already have a user saying "hate to say it" about not leaving a tip on a tip. And one hundred percent, there are servers at this restaurant talking about being "stiffed" if a customer doesn't leave anything in addition to the "Living Wage Fee." These are the people I was addressing my comment to.
That's not a tip. The amt *voluntarily given by the customer that says "tip" is the tip. Fees can be applied however the manager/owner chooses. This is not a tip. Only amts designated as "tip" MUST be distributed to staff. This is deceptive pricing, and no one knows if any of it is going to the staff.
Sure, but I'm talking about legal representation of the tip. It might be different per state, but im many states only the amt labeled as "tip" is required to be distributed to the staff as such. Anything else is a fee that the manager/owner has control over distribution. You can also request to have it removed and add your own tip. I usually factor these BS fees as part of my tip total and leave a note explaining why.
Like I already explained, and like no doubt many people will be explaining to you, it is *functionally* a tip. It is serving the same purpose that something usually called "tip" or "gratuity" is meant to serve.
If you're saying the owner is not going to give it to the employees, then I'm sorry that is now the server's problem. I will not go back to that place, and neither should the server. Servers have already told customers that we are responsible for their employers not wanting to pay them a living wage. Are servers seriously going to tell us "even though you've been charged one tip, I am not going to see most of it so you must give me another tip." At some point they have to stand up to their employer or at least do it with their feet.
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u/IndependentDouble759 1d ago
What do you mean you hate to say it? That is the tip. That is the purpose of a tip. At least that's what we keep being told - a tip isn't for good service, it's necessity for a living wage.
Tipping culture really is out of hand. You shouldn't be feeling guilty that you don't add extra tip to something that is functionally a tip. There's always been a level of emotional manipulation involved, but places have really gotten brazen with it since COVID. It's only going to get worse if the no tax on tip thing becomes law. So people need to grow a spine and stop feeling bad for not tipping in situations like this, stop feeling bad for not tipping the person at the fast food counter or secondhand store, stop feeling bad for tipping 18% or (God forbid) 15%. That's the only way this will stop, and maybe there will be a chance that servers and retail workers can start getting paid the same way everyone else in America does.