What you are describing is a major contributor to tip fatigue. Everything is asking for a tip, meanwhile actual tipped employees are still making $2 an hour. It’s out of control.
Hold up, you’re missing some nuance and it’s gonna make Europeans in here believe it’s true. In the US, any job can collect tips, it’s literally free extra money for no extra work so that’s why you see the tip option everywhere. That said, not all positions which collect tips get the service industry $2 minimum wage.
Most positions such as barista, hair stylist, etc get paid minimum wage plus they get whatever tips you give pay them. These positions typically get minimum wage because, despite there being a tip option, most people don’t tip significantly (hair stylist might depending on the type, but their base fees are already very high). Think of these as your $1 tip category, it’s people who you aren’t socially obligated to tip, don’t expect a tip, get paid at least minimum wage regardless of your tip, and contribute to tip fatigue.
The other tip group are full tip positions, such as waiter or bartender. These positions get $2 an hour unless they fail to get enough tips on average to meet the $7 minimum wage. Realistically, if they aren’t getting at least $7 minimum in tips then they are going to leave or get fired long term. These positions you are socially obligated to tip and they expect a tip. Strangely enough, some of the biggest proponents for this tipping position are the people that work in this field, career waiters and bartenders, because despite the very low potential income it also has a fairly high potential income for a low skill job depending on a lot of different factors. This is your percentage tip category.
The $1 tip category won’t go away, no matter how annoying it is, because it’s literally free money and no one expects you to do it (and if they do feel free to laugh in their face and never give them business again). The % tip category also probably won’t go away because it allows the business to shift costs to the customer and the people in the career support it.
You might wonder why people in the % tip category would support it, it’s because it’s a low technical skill job (hard work only), a lot of the tips are tax free, people who don’t like it leave the career, and it often attracts certain types of people (perhaps neurodivergent is the right word, but I really mean the type of people who don’t want a 9-5 Mon-Fri job).
Yes, but you can’t just ask someone “Do you make minimum wage? I need to know so I can decide how much to tip.”
I don’t know how much is normal to tip at some places. At restaurants, 20% is standard, ±5% depending on quality of service.
But at a coffee shop or a hairdresser or anywhere else like that, when the prompt for a tip comes up, I’d feel guilty to put anything lower than 20% because that’s how I’m programmed to feel about tipping. It would feel rude to press “no tip” or just $1 or just 5%. But also, cognitively I know 20% is too much for those roles because they already make at least minimum wage. But asking “what’s the normal amount to tip” seems rude too.
So I usually end up overtipping, even when it puts a strain on my finances. And that moves the overton window and begins to ingrain the obligation into cultural expectations. And that’s precisely what the vendors want to happen. They want you to feel guilty so you tip too much, so that it becomes normal to tip too much and people have the option of “no tip” gradually taken away from them.
That’s why in Europe when you use those american POS machines, the staff will click “no tip” for you before even handing you the machine. One, because they don’t want to guilt you into tipping, and two because they don’t want tipping culture to sneak into their societies. Because if it does, not only will it become a social obligation that no one wants, but it could also potentially give employers permission down the line to start paying less, the way they do in the US.
European wait staff like being payed a living wage without relying on tips. And you can feel the difference. They’re not nearly as stressed out as servers in the US, and the interactions feel more genuine because they don’t need to kowtow or be obsequious.
When it comes to % tips, back in the day the base number was 15%, I personally feel like that isn’t enough today. I start with 20% and then deduct for poor service (EDIT: it takes some pretty poor service for me to deduct at all, I would say 95% of the time I leave a 20% tip), I never leave zero tip, but I will leave a bad tip, and if I keep having bad service I just won’t come back. I would say my floor for a % tip is 10%. If service is so bad that I wouldn’t leave even that, then I have and will stand up and leave early. This is the kind of situation where I ordered a soda, 30 minutes passed, and the waiter never came back. Hey, I’m out, here is $5 for the soda and I’m probably never coming back here.
As to when I % tip, my personal rule is that it’s only for seated service which I qualify as the following: Someone seats me, someone comes to the table and takes my order, someone comes to the table to refill drinks and bring my food, and someone comes to clean the table when I leave. If any of these is not happening then I probably am not going to % tip. Did I have to order from a counter, did I have to go get my food, did I have to fill my own drink, did I have to dispose of the waste myself? There are certainly exceptions to this rationale, but I would say 90% of the time it works.
Some area for nuance is fair. If I sat myself, ordered from a counter but a lady brought it out to me, and she filled up my drink, but I threw the tray contents away I might leave her a few bucks if I have cash, but won’t feel like I have to. Another good rule is that if you have to pay before the service is completed then I’m not tipping 99% of the time.
hairdresser or anywhere else like that, when the prompt for a tip comes up,
Hairdressers are a bit special and depend on the type. If you’re a white man going for a 15 min buzz cut and paid $20, no tip. If you are a black woman with 2 feet of hand braided hair and you are getting your hair done every 3 weeks (unbraid, cut, wash, dry, maybe color?, condition, rebraid), that hair styling is like 4+ hours of work, their fee is probably $300+ and you will probably tip them $50+ easily.
the staff will click “no tip” for you before even handing you the machine.
Hehehehe, in the US sometimes those fuckers will push the 25% before handing it to you. I get feeling bad, but it’s important to set rules for what you think is fair and then follow them, even if that means telling them to take the check back and put in a different %. I’ll go one better, back in college a group of friends went out and due to our party size the establishment automatically added a 15% tip. One of my friends laughed and told the waiter to take his check back and to redo the tip, the waiter was at first like, “Sorry sir, but our policy is to add 15% to all groups of 8 or more” but my friend said, “No, you were a great waiter and I want to tip you 20%, but you didn’t give me any place to do that on this bill.”
European wait staff like being payed a living wage without relying on tips. And you can feel the difference. They’re not nearly as stressed out as servers in the US, and the interactions feel more genuine because they don’t need to kowtow or be obsequious.
I think this is a great point and hits on part of the problem. American service staff is a career of delusion, similar to construction. On paper they see they can make X amount of money, but they never do, they don’t think they need benefits because they’re young and healthy, and they think they will be as fit as they are in their 20’s forever but they won’t. Construction and service alike are exploitative and they aren’t in a healthy place, but withholding tips from the worker doesn’t fix that situation and just hurts the employee.
100% agree and that’s why people do give the barista a dollar or two. If your drink was $5 then 20% works out to be about a dollar, but it’s different from servers who get 20% on $40. At least in the US, if you frequent somewhere, especially if you are a recognized regular, then you should tip because people will remember it.
If I was in the US, and I bought a coffee equivalent to what my local gives me, I’d happily tip regardless of culture or wage. The cafe down the road is insanely good, but there’s not a lot of bad coffee around here.
I would say that experiences vary greatly and there are plenty of discerning people who appreciate great coffee. Local coffee shops in the US are plentiful, but we perhaps get a bad reputation because of McDonalds and Starbucks. There is something to be said for just wanting a coffee or espresso right now quickly without too much regard for quality or price, that’s where McDonalds and Starbucks reign. Personally, I never order from either because their coffee and espresso is bad IMO. Now, my local coffee joint (which is a local place that operates out of a shack with a drive through) makes great coffee and I always give them a dollar or two.
In the USA, it is illegal for anyone to make less than federal minimum wage. If a tipped employee does not earn tips, the employer must make up the difference. To not do so is wage theft and illegal.
It doesn’t work on a per-shift basis. If they work a slow, below-minimun weekday and a busy, above-minimum weekend, they aren’t bumped up on the weekday. What actually happens is their weekend is counted against their weekday. Many shifts they do in fact walk out with sub-minimum wages that do not get corrected.
It’s a system that’s great for the rockstars is busy urban areas pulling in hundreds of dollars a shift. For everyone else in the industry, not so much.
“But overall they’re making above minimum.”
While true, it’s similar to a laborer working a 12 hour shift and not getting any OT because they’re under 40 for the week and OT doesn’t kick in until hour 41. They still worked a 12 hour shift and 4 of those hours should have been OT, but due to how the hours are counted their employer is able to avoid the payout.
What you are describing is a major contributor to tip fatigue. Everything is asking for a tip, meanwhile actual tipped employees are still making $2 an hour. It’s out of control.
Hold up, you’re missing some nuance and it’s gonna make Europeans in here believe it’s true. In the US, any job can collect tips, it’s literally free extra money for no extra work so that’s why you see the tip option everywhere. That said, not all positions which collect tips get the service industry $2 minimum wage.
Most positions such as barista, hair stylist, etc get paid minimum wage plus they get whatever tips you give pay them. These positions typically get minimum wage because, despite there being a tip option, most people don’t tip significantly (hair stylist might depending on the type, but their base fees are already very high). Think of these as your $1 tip category, it’s people who you aren’t socially obligated to tip, don’t expect a tip, get paid at least minimum wage regardless of your tip, and contribute to tip fatigue.
The other tip group are full tip positions, such as waiter or bartender. These positions get $2 an hour unless they fail to get enough tips on average to meet the $7 minimum wage. Realistically, if they aren’t getting at least $7 minimum in tips then they are going to leave or get fired long term. These positions you are socially obligated to tip and they expect a tip. Strangely enough, some of the biggest proponents for this tipping position are the people that work in this field, career waiters and bartenders, because despite the very low potential income it also has a fairly high potential income for a low skill job depending on a lot of different factors. This is your percentage tip category.
The $1 tip category won’t go away, no matter how annoying it is, because it’s literally free money and no one expects you to do it (and if they do feel free to laugh in their face and never give them business again). The % tip category also probably won’t go away because it allows the business to shift costs to the customer and the people in the career support it.
You might wonder why people in the % tip category would support it, it’s because it’s a low technical skill job (hard work only), a lot of the tips are tax free, people who don’t like it leave the career, and it often attracts certain types of people (perhaps neurodivergent is the right word, but I really mean the type of people who don’t want a 9-5 Mon-Fri job).
Yes, but you can’t just ask someone “Do you make minimum wage? I need to know so I can decide how much to tip.”
I don’t know how much is normal to tip at some places. At restaurants, 20% is standard, ±5% depending on quality of service.
But at a coffee shop or a hairdresser or anywhere else like that, when the prompt for a tip comes up, I’d feel guilty to put anything lower than 20% because that’s how I’m programmed to feel about tipping. It would feel rude to press “no tip” or just $1 or just 5%. But also, cognitively I know 20% is too much for those roles because they already make at least minimum wage. But asking “what’s the normal amount to tip” seems rude too.
So I usually end up overtipping, even when it puts a strain on my finances. And that moves the overton window and begins to ingrain the obligation into cultural expectations. And that’s precisely what the vendors want to happen. They want you to feel guilty so you tip too much, so that it becomes normal to tip too much and people have the option of “no tip” gradually taken away from them.
That’s why in Europe when you use those american POS machines, the staff will click “no tip” for you before even handing you the machine. One, because they don’t want to guilt you into tipping, and two because they don’t want tipping culture to sneak into their societies. Because if it does, not only will it become a social obligation that no one wants, but it could also potentially give employers permission down the line to start paying less, the way they do in the US.
European wait staff like being payed a living wage without relying on tips. And you can feel the difference. They’re not nearly as stressed out as servers in the US, and the interactions feel more genuine because they don’t need to kowtow or be obsequious.
When it comes to % tips, back in the day the base number was 15%, I personally feel like that isn’t enough today. I start with 20% and then deduct for poor service (EDIT: it takes some pretty poor service for me to deduct at all, I would say 95% of the time I leave a 20% tip), I never leave zero tip, but I will leave a bad tip, and if I keep having bad service I just won’t come back. I would say my floor for a % tip is 10%. If service is so bad that I wouldn’t leave even that, then I have and will stand up and leave early. This is the kind of situation where I ordered a soda, 30 minutes passed, and the waiter never came back. Hey, I’m out, here is $5 for the soda and I’m probably never coming back here.
As to when I % tip, my personal rule is that it’s only for seated service which I qualify as the following: Someone seats me, someone comes to the table and takes my order, someone comes to the table to refill drinks and bring my food, and someone comes to clean the table when I leave. If any of these is not happening then I probably am not going to % tip. Did I have to order from a counter, did I have to go get my food, did I have to fill my own drink, did I have to dispose of the waste myself? There are certainly exceptions to this rationale, but I would say 90% of the time it works.
Some area for nuance is fair. If I sat myself, ordered from a counter but a lady brought it out to me, and she filled up my drink, but I threw the tray contents away I might leave her a few bucks if I have cash, but won’t feel like I have to. Another good rule is that if you have to pay before the service is completed then I’m not tipping 99% of the time.
Hairdressers are a bit special and depend on the type. If you’re a white man going for a 15 min buzz cut and paid $20, no tip. If you are a black woman with 2 feet of hand braided hair and you are getting your hair done every 3 weeks (unbraid, cut, wash, dry, maybe color?, condition, rebraid), that hair styling is like 4+ hours of work, their fee is probably $300+ and you will probably tip them $50+ easily.
Hehehehe, in the US sometimes those fuckers will push the 25% before handing it to you. I get feeling bad, but it’s important to set rules for what you think is fair and then follow them, even if that means telling them to take the check back and put in a different %. I’ll go one better, back in college a group of friends went out and due to our party size the establishment automatically added a 15% tip. One of my friends laughed and told the waiter to take his check back and to redo the tip, the waiter was at first like, “Sorry sir, but our policy is to add 15% to all groups of 8 or more” but my friend said, “No, you were a great waiter and I want to tip you 20%, but you didn’t give me any place to do that on this bill.”
I think this is a great point and hits on part of the problem. American service staff is a career of delusion, similar to construction. On paper they see they can make X amount of money, but they never do, they don’t think they need benefits because they’re young and healthy, and they think they will be as fit as they are in their 20’s forever but they won’t. Construction and service alike are exploitative and they aren’t in a healthy place, but withholding tips from the worker doesn’t fix that situation and just hurts the employee.
Wow. I’m in Australia and the person who gets most of my tips is a barista, anywhere
I generally empty my change in the tip jar if they have one and the service is good. I believe in tipping good service
100% agree and that’s why people do give the barista a dollar or two. If your drink was $5 then 20% works out to be about a dollar, but it’s different from servers who get 20% on $40. At least in the US, if you frequent somewhere, especially if you are a recognized regular, then you should tip because people will remember it.
If I was in the US, and I bought a coffee equivalent to what my local gives me, I’d happily tip regardless of culture or wage. The cafe down the road is insanely good, but there’s not a lot of bad coffee around here.
I would say that experiences vary greatly and there are plenty of discerning people who appreciate great coffee. Local coffee shops in the US are plentiful, but we perhaps get a bad reputation because of McDonalds and Starbucks. There is something to be said for just wanting a coffee or espresso right now quickly without too much regard for quality or price, that’s where McDonalds and Starbucks reign. Personally, I never order from either because their coffee and espresso is bad IMO. Now, my local coffee joint (which is a local place that operates out of a shack with a drive through) makes great coffee and I always give them a dollar or two.
In the USA, it is illegal for anyone to make less than federal minimum wage. If a tipped employee does not earn tips, the employer must make up the difference. To not do so is wage theft and illegal.
It doesn’t work on a per-shift basis. If they work a slow, below-minimun weekday and a busy, above-minimum weekend, they aren’t bumped up on the weekday. What actually happens is their weekend is counted against their weekday. Many shifts they do in fact walk out with sub-minimum wages that do not get corrected.
It’s a system that’s great for the rockstars is busy urban areas pulling in hundreds of dollars a shift. For everyone else in the industry, not so much.
“But overall they’re making above minimum.”
While true, it’s similar to a laborer working a 12 hour shift and not getting any OT because they’re under 40 for the week and OT doesn’t kick in until hour 41. They still worked a 12 hour shift and 4 of those hours should have been OT, but due to how the hours are counted their employer is able to avoid the payout.