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"Tipping looks like an anachronistic hangover from a time when restaurant staff were the lowest of the low" This is unfortunately still the case in America. I
by joesmo 12y ago
"Tipping looks like an anachronistic hangover from a time when restaurant staff were the lowest of the low"
This is unfortunately still the case in America. I can't believe the author writes a long, elaborate article mentioning tipping in America without mentioning the minimum wage for food service in the US. Federally, it's currently $2.13/hr though employers are required to compensate employees so they make at least minimum wage ($7.25/hr currently). Waiting jobs are not minimum wage jobs, however. They require a ton of difficult work and I would venture to guess that if waiters/waitresses were only paid the typical minimum federal wage, we'd quickly see a shortage followed by a rise in wages (the current average wage in the US is $11.82) (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipped_wage_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipped_wage_in_the_United_Stat...).
At least in the US, this is not up for debate until we change the law. Until the 'to tip' is the only answer anyone who wants otherwise, no matter how good their intentions, is just greedy. The discussion, at least in the US, should be framed in terms of legal issues, not customary or other issues.
I think we would do best to change our stupid laws, pay waiters and waitresses a lot more, and be done with tipping. It really is un-American. But then again, sadly, so is paying someone a decent wage.
- pzxc 12y agoThe author of the article certainly left that out. However, you yourself left out the fact that in a few states, including California, this is not true: employers are required to pay at least minimum wage, upfront, to all employees, including waiters/waitresses -- they cannot pay the lower rate and then only bump it up to minimum wage if tips don't get you there (which is what happens in most states). Just thought I'd point that out for the sake of completeness.
- Kalium 12y agoOne of the hidden complexities of food service is that tipping often serves as a tax dodge. Servers often wind up taking home a fair amount of cash but reporting poverty-grade incomes. I knew one lady who got a Section 8 voucher this way. She definitely did not qualify on what she regularly took home.
- waterlesscloud 12y agoI've known bartenders who had issues related to this. Not from the IRS. They rarely seem to bother with service employees who report a "reasonable" percentage of their sales as tips. The issues were with lenders, when the bartenders wanted to buy houses. They had enough income to easily afford the mortgage, but no records that indicated that. In the end, they dealt with a local lender that understood the situation, but it was definitely a hassle.
- scotty79 12y ago> "Tipping looks like an anachronistic hangover from a time when restaurant staff were the lowest of the low" > This is unfortunately still the case in America. Which is enabled by tipping.
- acjohnson55 12y agoI argued on another HN article about tipping that it's better to change the law to protect lower-income employees first, and then change the custom, as opposed to trying to fight the custom by screwing over your server and hoping the law will eventually change. Fairly sure diners and businesses would change their tipping behavior pretty quickly to accommodate any change in the law.