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I live in Europe, so I know. But the respect for such differences should go both ways. A system based on tips makes it easier to start a new place, and then fin

I live in Europe, so I know. But the respect for such differences should go both ways. A system based on tips makes it easier to start a new place, and then find a few young people to help staff it. Like many places in the US, or in popular vacation resorts even in Europe. On the other hand, systems based on fixed salaries favors more established businesses (like McDonalds) or, at the opposite end of the spectrum, family run businesses where family member salaries are set more to minimize overall tax burden more than to compensate performance. Just like French small/-ish restaurants may be an excellent solution in the French countryside, the US model can work well in Miami or some steakhouse on Route 66.

arghwhat 2y ago
> A system based on tips makes it easier to start a new place, and then find a few young people to help staff it. So this is to allow new businesses to start easy by not having to pay their employees if there isn't business? Imagine if other industries picked up on that, stopped paying living wages and instead made it every employees job to attract business and satisfy customers themselves in order to be able to pay rent. Starting any business implies up front investments and a gamble on its future profitability. In any other industry, if you lacked the cash to pay salary you'd have to offer things like equity to share both risk and gain with the first few employees. Using tips mean you only share a high risk of them not being able to make a living off this new unproven business, without any benefit other than "if everything goes well and we're lucky, you'll be able to pay rent!". If we wanted performance-driven salary, then a living base wage and a pre-agreed performance bonus with no concept of tip would be more appropriate. Recently, there was a lot of focus on tips due to how Square/Cube/whatever has affected tipping, and it appears that the consensus in the US is not in favor of tipping.
- trashtester 2y ago
  > if you lacked the cash to pay salary you'd have to offer things like equity Do you think the 18-year-old getting a job serving burgers and beers at the recently started sports bar cares about the equity? Most of them would much rather receive $200 in tips on a good night over POSSIBLY having some stake in that bar 10 years down the road. (The one exception I can see, is if the business is owned by her parents.) An equity as a model is suited to another type of demographic working in a different kind of business.

arghwhat 2y ago

> A system based on tips makes it easier to start a new place, and then find a few young people to help staff it. So this is to allow new businesses to start easy by not having to pay their employees if there isn't business? Imagine if other industries picked up on that, stopped paying living wages and instead made it every employees job to attract business and satisfy customers themselves in order to be able to pay rent. Starting any business implies up front investments and a gamble on its future profitability. In any other industry, if you lacked the cash to pay salary you'd have to offer things like equity to share both risk and gain with the first few employees. Using tips mean you only share a high risk of them not being able to make a living off this new unproven business, without any benefit other than "if everything goes well and we're lucky, you'll be able to pay rent!". If we wanted performance-driven salary, then a living base wage and a pre-agreed performance bonus with no concept of tip would be more appropriate. Recently, there was a lot of focus on tips due to how Square/Cube/whatever has affected tipping, and it appears that the consensus in the US is not in favor of tipping.

trashtester 2y ago
> if you lacked the cash to pay salary you'd have to offer things like equity Do you think the 18-year-old getting a job serving burgers and beers at the recently started sports bar cares about the equity? Most of them would much rather receive $200 in tips on a good night over POSSIBLY having some stake in that bar 10 years down the road. (The one exception I can see, is if the business is owned by her parents.) An equity as a model is suited to another type of demographic working in a different kind of business.