Tipping

[Oryx]

Tipping varies throughout the world, often dependent on minimum wage in that area - in the United States, minimum wage for tipped employees can be as low as $2.13 an hour, while in the United Kingdom the minimum wage is the same for all employees. On the plus side, tipping could create a culture of working for the best you can be - if you're not the best, your tip is lower. This would imply that we should extend tipping to all service jobs, not just the ones already tipped.

On the other hand, many people argue that this just allows jerk customers to decide whether the employee has enough money to get by that month and that this culture doesn't encourage harder work at all; in addition, because other jobs that are in the same kind of service vein aren't tipped jobs, it would stand to reason that we should match tipped jobs to those jobs.

There are a few ways to tackle this issue, feel free to answer as many or as few questions as you'd like:

-Which jobs should be tip-driven, if any at all? Waiters, taxi drivers, baristas, hairdressers, flight attendants? Or none at all?
-Does it make sense to have some tipped service jobs and some non-tipped? Why?
-Is it ethical to lower the minimum wage to take tips into account, putting the livelihood of tipped jobs into the hands of the customers instead of guaranteed by showing up and working like other jobs?
-Are tips an extra on top of salary, or a part of salary?

 

[Konishi]

Here is a better idea: make employers pay their workers properly.

On the plus side, tipping could create a culture of working for the best you can be - if you're not the best, your tip is lower.

The good workers would still most likely receive less than if they were paid full wages. Plus, working for tips is a morale drainer. With tips, the pay is both crap and volatile (as opposed to low wages which are just crap).

This would imply that we should extend tipping to all service jobs, not just the ones already tipped.

Even if tipping did improve service (which it doesn't), it wouldn't imply that. There is too much variation between service jobs, in the level of variation in service quality that could be given. Some service jobs would have such a low amount of variation in quality, the level of service would be binary i.e. service or no service.

 

[pokemontutorialTV]

Here in Germany it is often so, if you have to pay 13.60€, most of the Germans are just giving 0.40€ tip and this is - in my opinon - much too low for every worker who needs those tips. Well the discussion which jobs should be tipped and which not is endless - but irrlevant to culture I think taxi driver is the only job, which you got tips at every place in world.

 

[Eevee3]

Here is a better idea: make employers pay their workers properly.

This is how I see it.

Why is it our responsibility to make sure these workers get paid properly? That's the employer's job as far as I'm concerned.

In fact, how I view tips in general is different.

For most, tipping is expected in a restaurant. For me, it's only done if the waitress/waiter does a good job and if they do a great job, they get even more than what I'd normally tip.

Seriously, I don't think that a crappy waitress/waiter should get tips if they didn't do a good job. That's like paying someone when they lay around all day doing nothing. You have to work hard for your money. That's how society runs.

 

[Esper]

Basically I feel like if you get paid a decent wage and providing good service is an explicit part of your job then tips should be an extra if you really like the service you got, but otherwise people should be paid a decent wage. That way if you're terrible and only do the mechanical job of bringing food (if waiting tables is your job) and are really rude or unresponsive to customers then you'll get talked to by your boss and let go if you don't improve.

I know some people say tipping gives you improved service and it's why you get (supposedly) bad service in places like Spain or Italy, but I don't know if I agree. I've been in restaurants and seen the quality of service in America (usually good), Japan (very good), and England (sometimes good). Tipping isn't something you do in Japan and yet I got the best service there. I chalk that up to good service being something that's part of the job, not just the task of taking orders and delivering food.

 

[twocows]

I don't really know enough about the topic to contribute anything meaningful, but it seems to work for the most part from what I can tell. For people who fall through the cracks, the government provides assistance. It's not like these people are starving to death or anything because some jerk decided not to tip a few times. I don't mind minimum wage being a bit lower for tipped workers, but up until a few weeks ago in Michigan it was like $3.something an hour as opposed to $7.something an hour. I think that's a bit too much lower.

Tips are supposed to be earned, anyway. I usually tip 20% (because it's easier to calculate than 15%) and I've very rarely gone below 10%, but it's not like service workers are entitled to tips. They're supposed to earn them by providing good service. If I get at least decent service, I usually tip pretty well. I don't have high standards, but I do have standards and if I get really crummy service, I don't have to tip at all.

 

[Blu·Ray]

I think that tipping is very much a culturally dependent thing. Here in Denmark, I have never tipped more than simply rounding up to a nice digit. I do see the incentive of good service that tipping brings, but if you get to the American level where you are expected to tip a substantial percentage of your bill, I think that the whole idea of tipping has gone a bit overboard. I have even been in a restaurant where a tip of 10% was already added to the bill prior to receiving it! In the tipping culture that I grew up with, that is insane.

This just proves how tipping culture is so different from area to area that it becomes tough to compare. We can't just simply import the British system into the US and expect it to work, because it is all about the tipping culture! We can't just change culture as we wish. It takes time and effort, and a tidbit of luck. If you believe that culture should be changed to something better, go ahead and try! Culture is constantly evolving, and that is perhaps what makes culture so beautiful.

 

[Universe]

As a former waiter I feel like I should respond with my thoughts on tipping. Because I cannot even fathom how people refuse to tip their servers or refuse to tip them well for their services. It's literally painful when you go check for a tip and there isn't one, or it's very low considering all the work you did for them. I was lucky, and most of the time I was tipped above 20%. But there were those moments where I'd make a mistake (everyone does eventually, come on) and then my tip would be in jeopardy.

I was extremely stressed working this kind of job, having to depend on other people for my varied income. I had so many panic attacks working as a waiter because it was literally that awful. Some people cannot be pleased no matter what, and these are the kinds of people that really put your wage on hold. Many people that come into restraunts, drive-throughs, etc, are very self-important and couldn't give a damn about you. So what if the tip is the only way your server can get by in this crappy economy?

The fact that some people in jobs have to rely on the wages of the people they serve is absolutely ridiculous. I suppose I can sort of understand that they want their servers to be over-the-top, knowing that their income is built by the people they serve and how well they do. But this kind of environment only proves to be incredibly stressful and not at all worth the damn money. It might as well be a modern day torture procedure, cause that's exactly what it feels like.

Employers in this field really need to get their ♥♥♥♥ together. :I

 

[antemortem]

I was tipped above 20%. But there were those moments where I'd make a mistake (everyone does eventually, come on) and then my tip would be in jeopardy.

I was skimming and caught onto this and I just have to say that's a really high tip percentage. In most states that I've been to and eaten at a sit-down restaurant where I was left with the opportunity to tip my waiter, the tip was, at most, 12 - 15%, and that's how I was taught by my parents and most surrounding society that I've seen tip people. I know tipping varies from person to person, but 20% still seems rather high.

As a personal rule of thumb I don't think it should be up to the people being served to pay their waiter/waitress any more than what's on the bill. They serve us but when it comes down to it they're not the ones that prepared the food or anything and while they do make the dining experience better, that's all the more reason their salary should be higher in general. I can't fairly say that a waiter/waitress does more work than the actual chefs behind the food, but they are the most exposed to the customers and the face that's seen most often so you'd think for all their service they'd get more than, what, $2.75 an hour? Whatever typical wage is for someone in that area of customer service.

 

[Netto Azure]

To me the idea of tipping is something that while originally was a way to show support or confidence to the employee has became a way for employers to engaging in outright legalized wage theft.

Minimum wage for tipped workers in the US is stuck at that egregious 1990's level of $2.13 an hour with the $5 of federal minimum wage made up by a mix of tips and employer support but not a lot of employers even bother to enforce that. That to me is not only unfair but pretty much a statement at how America treats its service workers.

I personally do not even like to tip. I'd rather have the workers wages put into the full cost of my paid for service and not a hidden cost to the detriment of the employee.

 

[Weeaboo Name]

Tipping is something that should be done if you receive and excellent service, although if I lived in a third world country like America I suppose I might think differently.

If a pizza delivery guy says ''£x plus tip'' then that fellow is not getting anything.

 

[chilton]

speaking from someone who worked for a living on minimum wage of a donut shop of $8/hour, i think tipping is extremely important.
even if your server might not be the best, tipping can honestly change a person's life depending on the situation.
and honestly, it's just proper etiquette in the states, especially in restaurants.
i live in san jose, the 5th worst city of tipping in the u.s. and it's awful to come home after eight hours of work and receive only about $3 in tips.
i could barely make a living and i was on the verge of applying for food stamps until i found a new job.
if every person who came in tipped just $1, i would have been living an average american life, without any stress of not being able to pay rent, bills, or even have enough for meals.
even if someone tips small, it makes a big difference and is often deeply appreciated by the person serving.

 

[Corvus of the Black Night]

Honestly, tipping is a dated process that should really be replaced by reliable pay. Customers should not be held accountable for the employees and their ability to survive, that is the responsibility of the business through paying them. Sometimes customers may not be aware of how much they are able or unable to tip, which could put a waiter/waitress's income in jeopardy, for something that the customer shouldn't really be held responsible for in the first place. I mean, sure, it's alright to tip, but tipped positions should be paid at least minimum wage.