5 ms·

I don't want to think about tipping, period, I want to pay a fair price and if I can't afford it, rice and beans it is tonight. Make that burger $15, not $10 +

I don't want to think about tipping, period, I want to pay a fair price and if I can't afford it, rice and beans it is tonight. Make that burger $15, not $10 + tax + arbitrary tip, plus a $1 x number of smiles. It's disgusting to me how tipping casts the tip receiver into a servant. It is services, but service workers are not servants. Another pet peeve - Barber shops near me started adding "How did I do? Good - 25%, Great - 30%, Excellent - 40%." GTFO. These guys are independent operators, they rent the chair from the shop. The haircut was already $40, just make it $50 so I don't need to worry getting lawn mowed next month. I've started cooking more and am comtemplating learning to cut my own hair, this is getting out of control.

roryirvine 2mo ago
There seems to be a huge amount of cognitive overhead on everyday life in America - tipping, sticker prices that don't include taxes, three (or four?) completely separate systems for saving for retirement, and the way that even the lowliest worker has to fill out a tax return (and having to pay for special software to do it). Not to mention the situation with healthcare, etc... It must make it so much harder to budget and to confidently plan for the future. Is it worth it? Do people feel they're getting something in return for all that additional stress, or is it just that fixing it seems like too big a task to realistically be able to carry out?
- Freedom2 2mo ago
  If you read through the comments in this very thread, there's an underlying sense that many who enjoy tipping like having a feeling of "rewarding" workers, which is absurd and astounding to see justified in real time in 2026. Somehow other countries have figured out how to give great service (read: not the weird hovering that American waitstaff do) without tips, but it's impossible to figure out how sadly.
- stasomatic 2mo ago
  Tipping culture is the least of our problems, lol, it's only an annoying mosquito bite we can bitch about collectively. I haven't bothered to look into how it started and why it's different from the rest of the world. Some do make a killing on tips, think high-end restaurant servers, bartenders, doorman in Manhattan, but even then it's a "long rise to the top", you've got to pay your dues for years. But it's nothing compared to child rearing costs, healthcare, social safety nets. A kid is at least a grand a month, you are lucky if you can get them into a nice public school, it's impossible to book doctor appointments, and when you do, expect at least an hour wait before your BP is taken and then another 30 mins for the doc to come in for 5 and dismiss you. Dentists? Oh, "no sir, we don't take Aetna, nor United Healthcare. You can pay out of network and submit the invoice to your insurance provider". Crazy shit like that just builds up. You want progressive glasses at LensCrafters? It'll be $800. This isn't going to change in my lifetime. I'm always perplexed when folks from developed countries want to move here and suffer through TSA level humiliation rigamarole at every level. Varies state by state though, some are nicer, and that's another PITA. I've moved three states over the last 5 years, each time new license plates, new registration fees, new inspections, FFS.

roryirvine 2mo ago

There seems to be a huge amount of cognitive overhead on everyday life in America - tipping, sticker prices that don't include taxes, three (or four?) completely separate systems for saving for retirement, and the way that even the lowliest worker has to fill out a tax return (and having to pay for special software to do it). Not to mention the situation with healthcare, etc... It must make it so much harder to budget and to confidently plan for the future. Is it worth it? Do people feel they're getting something in return for all that additional stress, or is it just that fixing it seems like too big a task to realistically be able to carry out?

Freedom2 2mo ago
If you read through the comments in this very thread, there's an underlying sense that many who enjoy tipping like having a feeling of "rewarding" workers, which is absurd and astounding to see justified in real time in 2026. Somehow other countries have figured out how to give great service (read: not the weird hovering that American waitstaff do) without tips, but it's impossible to figure out how sadly.
stasomatic 2mo ago
Tipping culture is the least of our problems, lol, it's only an annoying mosquito bite we can bitch about collectively. I haven't bothered to look into how it started and why it's different from the rest of the world. Some do make a killing on tips, think high-end restaurant servers, bartenders, doorman in Manhattan, but even then it's a "long rise to the top", you've got to pay your dues for years. But it's nothing compared to child rearing costs, healthcare, social safety nets. A kid is at least a grand a month, you are lucky if you can get them into a nice public school, it's impossible to book doctor appointments, and when you do, expect at least an hour wait before your BP is taken and then another 30 mins for the doc to come in for 5 and dismiss you. Dentists? Oh, "no sir, we don't take Aetna, nor United Healthcare. You can pay out of network and submit the invoice to your insurance provider". Crazy shit like that just builds up. You want progressive glasses at LensCrafters? It'll be $800. This isn't going to change in my lifetime. I'm always perplexed when folks from developed countries want to move here and suffer through TSA level humiliation rigamarole at every level. Varies state by state though, some are nicer, and that's another PITA. I've moved three states over the last 5 years, each time new license plates, new registration fees, new inspections, FFS.