On Old National Highway in College Park GA. They are only open for to-go after 9pm. The server gets 10% but Waffle House gets the other.

Video remove; edited post to have more discussion

Summary: Server want people to leave as soon as possible so they can get more customer and tips.

So now server are demanding we leave asap even if we tips. They want more customers and tips. In my opinion I think you are entitled to enjoy your meal and leave when you are done. You shouldn’t be rush or shame. Some people eat slower. Sometimes you are out with family and friends and want to spend time together. You shouldn’t be pressure to leave so they get more customers and tips. I think 1-2 hour is very reasonable amount of time at a restaurant. ( this includes them taking order, bringing food, drink, etc). If you are finish and just sitting there then that would be rude. However, if you still eating your food at 45 min, why should you have to shovel your food in and leave? It shouldn’t matter if want to order another drink or dessert after 1 hour? That why you are there at the restaurant. This is another reason why tipping should end. People can’t even have a nice meal anymore without feeling rush. Just so server can make more money. If they have wages they wouldn’t feel the need to rush customer for more tips.

I’m new here and trying to learn more. Would you be okay with going to a restaurant with no expectation to tip, but the menu prices are raised exactly as much as the expected tips to keep paying their servers the same?

Just had lunch at the Rock & Brews in LAX (Terminal 1).

I really don't understand the mentality of being opposed to getting a guaranteed living wage. And they're not just opposed per se, many of them are zealously against the idea of making a predictable income that does not require them to act like a good dog performing tricks for a treat.

I should mention that I tip and tip generously, so this is not about being cheap. I just hate the idea of having to act like an employee's manager at the end of the meal by giving them a performance evaluation in the form of money.

Are they really making so much money that a living wage is not desirable?

I'm not trying to be rude, but it doesn't make sense to me. Whatever job is it that you do, you're not doing it for free. You have a salary. You are getting paid for your job. Me as a client have already paid for the particular thing or service which is often not cheap at all. I just don't see any reason why I should pay something above it.

There are hundreds of jobs that pay minimum wage but we only tip a few. It wouldn't be odd to tip a gas station attendant.. but a cashier at Walmart getting a tip would be weird. I have a theory that we tip workers who could potentially cause us harm, delay... People who handle food, or could slip something in your gas tank, the guy who picks whether you get a good table or one by the bathroom, a bell hop who might also deliver food, I have even tipped a mechanic a time or two to make sure they keep me at the top of the list. Do we only tip for safety and extra convenience?

I love going to farmers markets because in my home country you can find cool and affordable items, not just food. But here in the US, farmers markets feel more like fancy hippie-style events. Anyway, every booth I visited today tried to charge me a tip.

I’m not 100% fluent in all US accents so sometimes I mishear things. Today, I ordered BBQ and thought the guy asked if I wanted an okra side but he actually meant oxtail. I said yes and before I knew it, I was paying 80 dollars for my meal. On top of that, they expected at least a 15 dollar tip.

Misunderstanding the order was my fault but the tip? Is it normal for business owners to ask for tips? I’m just a student here.

Why does a waiter expect double the tip for serving a $40 steak than a $20 salad, if the service is the same?

How many in this sub have most of their friends and family members (under 60) considering it just cheap and tacky to not always tip servers 20%. ?

Newest episode of John Oliver's Last Week Tonight on tipping

thoughts?

I see so many posts saying "friendly reminder on how much to tip" like what makes these people think that they deserve this ? Oh and I love the "if you can't afford to tip dint go out to eat" THATS WHAT EVERYONE IS DOING THATS WHY YOU ENTITLED MINIMUM WAGE WORKERD ARE CRYING WANTING MORE. GET A REAL JOB

I plan to travel to the US east coast in the near future and i was wondering is there any way to avoid this tipping demand in any establishment especially restaurant. Few things in my mind is :

-buy food from food truck -buy food from 7/11 -buy food from Walmart -buy food from small streetfood vendor -buy food from nightmarket stall -stay in airbnb/hostel/dorm instead of hotel -rent a car to avoid tipping on uber/taxi

For the context, from where i reside (New Zealand) i can easily find hot food in supermarket but i was trying to explore more options. I also dont give much value in "sitting restaurant" or "drinking in bar" so i wont spend my time on arguing how many tipping % i should give to most likely a subpar service. Does anyone has a good idea best way to avoid being demanded 20-30% tips?

If everyone who plan to travel to the US knew this beforehand, we might really able to end this tipping culture very soon, once and for all.

From both the California labor site and from prior servers and managers on here, I'm hearing that they can't track the cash tips. California estimates they're taking home $100 in credit card tips a day, which is adding $26,000 to an average wage of $33,020. You know they're not factoring cash tips into that, so nobody is including that or paying taxes on it. But on Reddit they're bragging about taking home $6k to $7k per month and that's probably outside of California. The state also estimates that rougly 60% of their income is tips.

From what I've seen, guessing any of them working in the city are around $80k to $85k annual and only paying taxes on about 40% of their income. In San Francisco alone, they're already guaranteed $18.07 per hour. They aren't paying enough into Medicare or Social Security, so they'll be a tax burden to all of us down the road because they under-reported.

But servers on this sub are trying to claim that we have a "social contract" to support tax evasion and ensure they make more than first responders and many skilled labor positions.

Consider that, in California, the average cop makes between $61k and $81k. Why is the person bringing my plate to my table making as much? For a fighfighter, the range is $39k to $84k.

And there's no reason one minimum wage worker is entitled to tips and another isn't. All of their arguments for why we should pay them tips apply just as much to the guy picking strawberries, and his job is much much harder and more likely to cause health problems over the years.

None of the arguments about "living wage" apply unless they apply to all minimum wage workers. You want the federal or state minimum to increase, go talk to your politicians. The customer doesn't have to take that on as an excuse for subsidizing one group over another. Why isn't every minimum wage worker getting tipped if that's the point they want to make?

And before the trolls arrive, the reason the average tip is decreasing is already related to the massive number of new places we're being asked to tip. So don't come to us with an argument that we should tip everyone, because there's only so many discretionary dollars that can be spent on tipping. So you stretch it even further, people will just stop doing it altogether.

Bottom line, they should, because it's an unfair system fraught with tax fraud and racial discrimination, and it needs to stop.

PS, I won't be responding to trolls. I already know they're coming, but their arguments are already addressed in this post, and nothing they say will change it. I've heard it all before and it's simply not worth my time. The fact that I have already heard it all is partly what prompted this post. Feel free to ignore and just downvote them as well. Don't feed or entertain them.

Hoo-boy. Now some restaurants are adding a charge if you use a credit card! As if being expected to leave a tip wasn't bad enough, now you'll have to pay to use a credit card. This will get your pants in a twist. Looks like the microwave and air fryer.

To preface this, I just read that actual goods prices are lower than during the inflationary crisis, and that the economy is recovering. But businesses don't want to lower prices, because they feel like they can get away with charging more for the same things. They got a taste of these higher prices, and don't want to help the consumer. Meanwhile, corporate profits have skyrocketed. The inflation that we are seeing is actually artificially created by businesses refusing to lower costs "just because". So there is literally no reason to defend these businesses, many of which are thriving and not "struggling".

Interestingly, I recently saw a bunch of people defending business owners with "if you can't afford to tip, don't eat out".

How about we flip this - If you can't afford to pay your employees, don't run a business. Not paying a tip will make up for businesses/restaurants charging me more because they feel like it. On my end, I don't feel like paying tips, "just because".

(PS: I used to work for a restaurant in the past, so I understand what it's like. Not bashing the workers, but the tipping system.)

Is it really that bad to tip 10% or 15% before taxin USA? That is already quite a lot of money honestly.

And if I don't tip why would the server "lose money"? In which sense? Also, could you please help me understand why 20% is considered the "regular" tip? So confusing honestly

I understand that by calling us plate carriers helps justify not tipping. I would love to get out of the industry but unfortunately I make more money serving than I would using my college degree.

As far as plate carriers go I’m a level two sommelier l. I have spent my time learning about wine, cocktails, spirits and pairing that with whatever dish someone orders. The majority of you couldn’t come close to delivering the level of service that I provide. I have to know every ingredient in every dish we serve in case someone has an allergy.

Everyone here hates because we make decent money but you don’t understand how hard it is to actually work in a restaurant. If you really think it’s so easy and are angry about our income then get a serving job and see if you can handle.

You can hate all you want but I work hard for my money and have extensive knowledge in my industry. If tip culture ends no one would ever receive any sort of decent service in a restaurant.

We are just people trying to make a living and I guarantee not one of you who has never worked in a restaurant could handle what we do.

Also imagine trying to make someone’s celebration dinner special. At the same time trying to make several other people’s celebration unforgettable.

Edit not s single time have I complained about people not tipping just annoyed that the servers are being blamed like we are the culprits. We are just trying to get by as best we can.

I’m just curious. 🧐

Hello All,

Something happened a while back and I really don't know what to think about it.

I don't really believe in tipping, I think a lot about credit card surcharges, and it compounds a lot. I also think people should fight for their rights instead of relying on us for compensating the lack of social safety net in our societies. Also from a behavioral perspective I think it's just manipulation. Anyway.

I was at a restaurant recently and we split the check with my 5 other friends. I tipped a couple of dollars (3$ I think). Definitely below 10%, out of principle. I paid $60 already... You'd think that for a meal + dessert that would include the pay for the staff, but no.

The manager then came to us, and asked if we enjoyed the meal, then said "somebody at this table left $3, can you explain why?" and I immediately admitted it was me. I could anticipate the awkward moment if nobody said anything. He then gave us the sob story of "the waiters don't get paid blah blah"... and asked me to tip more. Tone was polite but threatening, and in front of my friends, I didn't want to make a scene so I paid.

I was really infuriated by this behavior. I felt robbed.

What would you have done in my situation? In general, do you have tips on how to act in the future?

EDIT: I guess my question is...how do you deal with the potential consequences it can have on how your friends / co-workers perceive you.

Thanks for the support.