Hey Folks!

I’ve been living abroad for over half my life in a country where tipping is not the norm. At most you would round up. 19€ bill? Here’s a 20, keep this change.

Going to the US soon to visit family and the whole idea of tipping makes me nervous. It seems there’s a lot of discussion about getting rid of tipping, but I don’t know how much has changed in this regard.

The system seems ridiculously unfair, and that extra expense in a country where everything is already so expensive really makes a difference.

So will AITA if I don’t tip? Is it really my personal responsibility to make sure my server is paid enough?

  • masto@vlemmy.net
    21·
    1 year ago

    Yes. You really have to tip. 20%. Sorry. And tax isn’t included in the prices of things. That’s the way things work here and you can choose to spend the whole time being annoyed by it or not. But please don’t make a personal protest that only hurts some of the lowest paid and hardest working people.

    • Nyefan@lemmy.ml
      1·
      1 year ago

      To be as clear as possible - the minimum wage for tipped staff is $2.13/hr. That’s why you have to tip.

      • MDKAOD@lemmy.ml
        2·
        1 year ago

        This is deceiving though. In The US tipping is literally everywhere now.

        If you are waited on, I. E. Sat at a table or served at a bar, tipping is expected. If you go to a counter and place an order and someone hands you something while you’re standing there, those workers aren’t making 2.13/hr.

        • fadedmaster@sh.itjust.works
          1·
          1 year ago

          And this isn’t universal either. For example, Culver’s will bring your food out to you but you don’t tip. So I would add that if you’re waited on and pay for the meal AFTER eating and being waited on, then you tip.

      • goGetF1@startrek.websiteEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        This does depend on which state you’re in (some states don’t have a “tipped wage”), but the vast majority of service workers are not raking in the big bucks, so be generous if you can!

      • Jake Farm@sopuli.xyz
        11·
        1 year ago

        Not true, restuarants have to make up the difference in their wage if they dont make enough in tips.

          • joe@lemmy.world
            2·
            1 year ago

            It’s definitely not enough to live on, but that’s beside the point, isn’t it? I don’t tip any other people because they earn minimum wage-- do you? The point is that the person isn’t actually making only $2/hr-- they’re making at least minimum wage, with the opportunity to make more via tips.

            Tipping needs to end, and the laws changed to reflect it.