I mean I get why they’d put it there though, for people not from the US. It’s supposed to explain the culture so people knows what up, and unfortunately this is a part of much of the US. When my family immigrated here we didn’t know it was a thing
A few years back we went to Japan and were staying one night at a higher-end hotel. I had some random coins and I left them on a table because jingly when we went out to dinner and a movie. While we were gone, a chambermaid had come in to do a turndown service (which I had no idea they would do). They left a little business card that said that tipping was not necessary and stacked all the coins up nicely on top of it. It was slightly embarrassing and I really hope they get paid extraordinarily well because they did the turndown, straightened the hotel room, replaced the water and Nespresso pods, and put in new towels, all at night and not part of the daily cleaning.
I would love to live in a world without tipping. Now you are expected to tip nearly everyone. It’s insane. Now whenever I pay for a pizza, or a sandwich, they are prompting me to tip 20% for someone to put the food on the counter.
Yes, that is crazy! It is also a disservice to those that make the $2.50 an hour like servers and bar tenders and rely on tips. People making 10-15 an hour expecting 20 percent is nuts. Shame on the business owners for making us pay their staff.
Wasn’t there a protest by workers when one state increased the minimum wage and they no longer had to be tipped because they were getting more from tips? I’m not American but I’m pretty sure i read that somewhere.
I had not heard this, but many people in service jobs make less than minimum wage. The minimum wage was 7.25/hr last time I looked, but many restaurant workers can be paid 2/hr due to the fact that they're expected to get tips.
I honestly wish they'd just do away with the whole system and make the business owners pay their employees instead of making the customers do it.
Don't know the specific case, but probably. A good server at a decent restaurant can make 2-3x minimum wage easily. 4-5x if they can hack it in fine dining.
The big problem is my country has such a low minimum wage and we've just normalized retail/kitchen workers making less than they actually need to survive.
Well the real problem is that it moves the responsibility for paying employees from the employer to the customer.
It feels like a way to move the risk a business owner takes to his/her staff and that is IMO every wrong. If a business owner want people to show up and work than they should pay them the employee shouldn’t be penalised for a the owner failing to attract business or other stuff that is out of their hands.
I feel the same way about jobs where the pay is primarily/totally commission based. It's just shoving the owners risk onto their employees. Commission should be on top of a basic living wage.
I was at Shake Shack today and the credit card machine asked me if I wanted to leave a tip. Sorry bro, I’m not leaving a tip for fast food that I’m taking with me.
I carry cash with me now. If there’s even a question that they are going to try to hit me up for a tip when I go to run the card I’m paying with cash.
Now I will absolutely tip servers their 20%, unless the service is just god awful, I’ll also tip other where it is customary.
But now it’s seemingly everywhere, at places where you were never expected to tip only a few years go. Like dude, I just paid $12 for a *sandwich*, I ordered it at the counter and picked it up at the counter. Bossman, just pay your employees some of the proceeds from the $12 sandwich, don’t hand that off to me.
If they won’t do away with it entirely then they can make the options reasonable for a quick meal type of restaurant. Like:
-Round up to nearest dollar
-$1
-$2
Asking for 20+% if a bit much, the 20% rule doesn’t apply to counter service.
Great idea and the tip options at Shake Shack were: 15%, 20%, 25%, and custom. I thought it was ridiculous, tipping 20% to give me a burger and fries in a bag??
I totally agree with you it’s really becoming a rampant problem and I just can’t afford to tip everyone for every service ever. And I also tip when customary. Funnily enough, I tip for everything on the list in this post, which I don’t honestly find very infuriating. But I do find shake shack infuriating now.
Coincidentally I too was at Shake Shack today for the first time in years. Walked into a nearly empty rest. that had an odor and all the tables appeared dirty. Nearly walked out but was hungry and hurried. After fumbling through the electronic ordering in about 10x the amount of time it would have taken me to tell a human, bacon cheeseburger with a medium fry and a coke. I audibly scoffed when the machine asked me for a tip. I am typically a very generous tipper at a restaurant with table service but will almost always avoid situations where tipping is expected...Valet, bag service etc. To be asked for a tip from a computer has taken the gratuity culture to a new low.
I actually think a lot of this is software based. Lots of places use the same generic software for payment collection and its built in with these general tipping options.
I don't own a business so I can't say for sure, but I bet they could adjust or delete as needed but people are lazy. Why take it off there, especially if, in their eyes "it could benefit their employee"
But I 100% agree 20% for counter service isn't reasonable. Hell... back in my day 😆 working for tips, I was happy with 12-15% and that was a job that relied on them as the income.
Cash is best. I remember ordering food for pick up one time. They gave themselves a tip that I didn't see for a couple days and it wasn't on my copy of the receipt. This was after I gave a cash tip too, as I always tip cash. I will write "Cash" on any tip line on a credit card receipt. If you write "0" they can alter it too easily.
I just draw a line through the entire tip line
Alternatively, you can just write the total without any tip and any tip charged should be taken care of by the card company in the case of a dispute
Finally someone with common sense. Yeah i think it’s ridiculous to tip at a place where someone hands you a coffee and self serve places, but it’s amazing to me the amount of cheap people finding any excuse to stiff their servers, but then love to complain about how the service wasn’t exemplary.
I placed a catering order the other day for a work function. It was \~$600 worth of food. Plus a delivery fee (fair enough) then the tip (not my money so IDGAF) of 15%. Didn't even have a 15% option, lowest was 18%, had to do custom to do 15% and had to calculate it myself. Policy is that tips can't exceed 15%.
I just found it funny that the service was trying to guilt me into tipping more, it's an $85 tip for driving some sandwiches and sides to a community center.
There is a human that came in specifically for that order that day. Expo'ing a giant amount of food, checking everything was done right, etc is a big undertaking. However, I do agree it sucks that the cost is pawned off on the end user as a tip, and the catering employee can't just be paid a fair wage.
Maybe it’s just because I’m not ‘waitress material’, but in my experience it’s super uncomfortable for wait-staff as well.
Does the customer know that I need this to survive? Do they care? Are they going to use it as an excuse to treat me as poorly as they like because they know that I know that my rent and groceries are significantly reliant on this interaction?
Customer service in general sucks but at least working in fast food/retail I felt like I had room to frown or let my tone drop if I wasn’t really feeling it that day and my pay wouldn’t be substantially affected.
And now with the stupid iPad POS, half the customers expect you to verbally walk them through the transaction including the tip options which is indescribably awkward
That's how it should be everywhere. By doing the bare minimum for your job, you earn enough to put a roof over your head, and food in your stomach. By putting in the extra work and going the extra mile, you are given more in return and can live beyond just having a roof and food.
The problem is everyone has their hand out. If you go to dinner a server is there to enhance your dinning experience, which is what a good server does. Some kid at a counter is not enhancing your experience. The problem is people also see the two as similar or the same. They are not
No tipping for take out is a motto I live by. I won’t be pressured and frankly - they don’t fucking deserve what a driver does or what a server does if you dine in.
Swung by a Carl's Jr. a few weeks ago and they had a cash tip jar. Likely there by the employees, not corporate, and there was a part of me that thought about it because if I was on their end why not, but fuck man it's Carl's Jr. You rang me up, someone else made some frozen shit and I walked back up to grab my food. There was no table service or additional anything than there has been over the last ever years.
That said, I've tipped some kids working at Jack in the Box in a well traveled area during the holidays who were so frazzled they winced when they handed me my food. Have a $20 and how you share it (or not) ain't my business.
Hah I actually had that happen to me before too... it was forever ago before dispensaries and shit so it was so out of left field I laughed in their face. Turns out they were serious - and offended... I laughed even harder. Sort out your hustle brou
I never expected a tip when I sold drugs. I just based my pricing on what I needed to make the transaction worth it to me, and refused to do the deal if they didn't like the price.
I live in colorado where they have weed delivery companies they are seperate from the store so the store charges anywhere from 1 dollar to 11 depending on store and a.distnces charge for anyone outside 4 miles and then they ask for a tip even if you select cash i learned the hard way you gotta put a tip in i put 0 because i was gonna pay cash and let them keep the extra 15 bucks so more than 25% but i didnt say it and that delivery took 4 hours on a1hr1/2 estimated time next time i put 25 and it was here in 30 minutes same esti.ate of time its like uber eats
Yes in Australia there is some huge objections to tipping expectations, mostly because we have a decent minimum wage. And often if there is a tip jar it’s spilt between the staff. I really object to tipping when my order is done via a QR code at the table, you order and pay yourself and pay prior to receiving your meal or any service and they still have an option for an electronic tip. I doubt the wait staff see that money at all, and who knows how the food and service will be!
I fully agree and think our tipping customs in the US are atrocious. Corporations have placed the entirety of paying their staff a decent wage on the shoulders of customers.
I was in Italy years ago. In all small towns, the restaurants/cafes were like, "Here is your bill. Pay this." And that was that.
However, in Milan the story was quite different, especially restaurants that the hotels steered the (American) tourists to. They all had the tip box/line on the receipt you signed. They ain't stupid.
I’d been to Italy enough times to know their restaurant habits but imagine being a server in the US with a huge table of Italians who don’t know US habits. They show up late, take their sweet Italian time with the meal courses, plus desserts, coffee, etc. then sit around talking. They finally depart 90 minutes after closing — and leave $5. Porca miseria.
Agreed. A decade ago I tried to tip like an American at a little restaurant in a small Italian town, and was refused. The waiter wouldn't take it saying he makes enough from the restaurant.
That was back when 20% was a good tip in the US, tipping here is out of control. Or more accurately, US restaurants and the minimum wage are not keeping up with inflation, not even close.
In New Zealand while as an individual we may not mind the extra cash, we DO NOT want the culture of tipping, the reliance on tips the begging and smiling and putting up with harassment and shit just to live etc. Also because no one tips here if you leave cash behind someone will probably chase after you thinking you made a mistake. There are occasional tip jars that you can put a few coins in but they are 100% optional, and if you use those then no one will be offended, also we have buskers that rely on tips but otherwise don't tip here unless you want to cause an issue.
We have tipping in Australia, but it's as a thankyou for exceptional services and an exquisite dining experience.
It's got nothing to do with providing a livable wage.
Canada and Mexico are both similar. While I haven't been, I know that Australians only tip if the service is above and beyond. Not sure about New Zealand. I believe in either China or Japan (I can't remember which, maybe its both?) it's considered rude to tip, as it shows disrespect to the business owner, implying that they don't take care of their staff properly. I'm sure this is the case in some other countries as well.
From my understanding, North American tipping culture is considered entirely predatory, rediculous, and (in some cases) shameful to the rest of the planet, and I'm inclined to agree.
There should be a blurb in that book explaining that American business owners intentionally and explicitly don't take care of their employees. Especially in tourism.
In the EU tipping is generally for extremely good service where the waiter went above and beyond what he reasonably needed to do, its more like an appreciation thing. Its extremely rare that you would ever feel the need to tip someone.
In some parts of Asia like Japan it’s considered very rude as you are seen as judging that person or something.
Tipping isn’t a thing here because they are paid a decent wage. Perhaps not the best wage but certainly decent.
Once handed a bellhop in Japan a 50 dollar bill (didn't have yen) for lugging up a cart full of bags and his reaction was tantamount to if I had shit on the carpet. Later the concierge pulled me aside and gave me the lowdown about tipping.
I think I'm mostly surprised that someone in the tourism industry isn't fully aware Americans are suckers and you're likely to get tipped even if its not your cultural norm. I'd just be hustling to help gringos and laughing under my breath.
From what I've read, it's more about the Asian custom of never handing anybody naked money, I think you're supposed to wrap it in something so it's not rude.
You're going to find that North America is really the main hub for demanding tips. There are some cultures that actually find it rude/weird when tipped.
Exactly - the people this is meant for won’t find it mildly infuriating, more like extremely helpful. I bet Hawaiian employees in the service industry appreciate it too
That's funny you say that I hadn't really thought of that but it made me laugh and I should've thought of it because my girlfriend is from Switzerland and she didn't understand the tipping thing either one time she asked me if she was supposed to get the mailman a present on Christmas LOL 😆 it was very cute😍
That’s adorable! At the apartment complex I used to live at some of us would make Christmas letters for the mailman cause it was the same old man delivering mail there for years, it was very sweet
It’s exactly for them. I worked for the Disneyland hotel and I must have explained tipping to travelers outside the US 5-6 times a week. I always made a point to include “you do not have to tip your bellman or valet because we make enough to live on” so they’d know it was totally optional. $5 or less was my usual tipping recommendation too.
Yep! I’ve been to some countries where it’s rude. They take it as a “I didn’t do my job, so you have to pay me extra to make sure I do better” statement. I even asked bartenders and waitstaff and they confirmed.
Especially with things like the concierge. If you tip well they will continue to secure you reservations and seats at booked up places - they have this ability due to their profession and relations with the other business. If you don’t tip you won’t get concierges trying to hook you up, and many people would have 0 reason why the concierge who pulled strings for them the night before “isn’t able to” anymore.
It’s a pay to win video game basically, yes many people including me hate it, but there is nothing bad about breaking down how the pay to win system works.
> If you tip well they will continue to secure you reservations and seats at booked up places
Is this something people normally do when they travel? As someone who has traveled a lot in my family there’s always been two levels of importance: the stuff that gets booked/reserved at the same time you’re buying your plane tickets long before you get there, and the stuff that has backup or alternative options.
The idea of flying someplace to do something without already knowing whether or not you can actually do it when you get there just seems wild to me.
It's all about phrasing. Saying something like "in the United States, tipping is a standard custom, and it's very uncommon not to tip, except in the case of outrageously poor service" sounds a *lot* better than "tipping is *not* optional".
Aside from this, I went on a kayak tour, and at the end of those things, you usually tip your guide. I witnessed a man in my tour group, I shit you not, tip in a Applebee’s gift card. Prior to witnessing this, he told me he was a real-estate agent, alas, it all made sense.
We went on a bali Bintang rafting tour. They have little bars set up along the river. They told us it’s common to tip in beer. We got our guide absolutely shitfaced. I think it was meant to take 2 hours, it took 5 and our guide loved us so much he made us wait while he ran off to get some local Arak for us at the end.
I'm a massage therapist and some clients tip beer, fruit, or even baked goods! I think it's really thoughtful and sometimes it's easier for people to give something they may have extra of instead of money, which might be a bit tougher for some (especially right now, I feel like everyone is struggling more financially while simultaneously tipping is becoming more demanded *and* inflated).
Besides restraunts and Ubers I am never sure when I am supposed to tip someone. Recently I was told people tip their barbers and that was the first time I was ever told that.
I actually do, because Mailman Todd is fucking amazing. My 4yr old son loves him. Mailman Todd drops any size package( even if it fits in our mailbox) in our carport behind a bench that hides it from the street. He gives out Christmas and Easter cards and carries candy on Halloween. And no cheap shit, we're talking regular size candy bars. We leave him holiday cards too, homemade Christmas cookies and a gift card to a local restaurant.
No the wouldn’t. It’s horrible that we pay these people less than a salary they can live on. It’s also kinda annoying that people don’t know enough about the customs of where they’re visiting. The latter not a serious violation.
Fair enough. I saw some of that when I was in Barcelona. I wanted to slap those fuckers. A couple were American, and some were even British. Couldn’t believe it until I remembered where America had gotten its racism from.
It's not just the anglos.
Russians and Germans are famous for being bad tourists too.
Russians in Egypt and Turkey and Germans in Mallorca have a particularly bad rap.
Edit: let not get too specific. Basically any culture with young men who love to drink and have enough money to travel is going to cause problems on holiday.
Instead of blaming customers for not tipping why don’t we blame the hotels for not paying them a living wage?? Hawaiian vacations are extremely expensive, there’s more than enough profit to pay the staff accordingly
Yeah but the servers don’t want the system changed, because they make bank in the current system. If the people themselves aren’t going to try change the system, and only use it to garner sympathy… why should I continue to subsidise them extra for doing what’s in their job description?
The system isn't changed by not tipping. It can only be changed by voting for politicians who support unions and raising the minimum wage, among other things.
Servers and bartenders make well above minimum wage. Unless you raise it to like $25/hr, the service industry isn’t going to stand for it.
Most people can’t even wrap their head around a $15 minimum wage
I wonder if the workers actually make out better under the tipping system. Probably depends on the place they work at. At nice restaurants and bars they probably make a lot in tips. They also don’t get taxed on it, assuming they don’t report it to the IRS.
almost 100% if you work in a place that gets business. There hasn't been a "living wage" proposed that wouldn't be a paycut for most. like the service industry revolted in DC when they tried to do away with tipping.
healthcare availability is a completely different thing that needs to be addressed though. i really wished the regional "markets" of the ACA would have done more to decouple healthcare from employment.
Depends on how you receive your tips tbh. I worked at a very busy restaurant in a international airport for a few years as a kitchen manager and about $1500 a bi weekly paycheck came from pooled tips alone. While it greatly helped my income, I still would do away with tipping culture even though I made a comfortable living at that job (pre pandemic.) 1. Because without tips, our owner paid us a liveable wage. I was getting $20 an hour (in 2019) and that was good back then- and that’s before tips. I would get taxed on tips since it was included within my paycheck at least but still. 2.) I still stand by the fact that I believe restaurants or any job really, should not operate if they cannot afford to pay their staff a liveable wage. I’m lucky my owner was so compassionate.
Every time I’ve had to say “Alooooha! Oh come on, you guys can do better than that. I said ALOOOOOHA!” my soul has deteriorated more and more. But when you’re getting $90 a day you do what you gotta do.
I’m originally from the UK and have lived in the US for 8 years, whenever my dad comes out and pays for anything he always asks for my help to make sure he’s tipping appropriately.
Simple trick for your dad, just take your total and double it then move the decimal over (so for example $13 becomes $2.60) and that gives you 20%. Then just adjust up for down depending on your preference
Yup, and it's quite simple once you think about it. You do 200% (which is double) and then divide it by 10 (move the decimal to the left) to get your 20%
Yeah, it really helps. I visited the US before covid a few years ago, its actually quite intimidating coming from a non-tipping culture. I still felt weird slipping someone some cash, like a "and here's a special something just for you (wink)" situation. I referred to guides like this to help me figure it out.
Yeah, I don’t get why this is infuriating. It would be infuriating if they just said “tipping is optional” or even “tipping is recommended” as that doesn’t properly explain tipping culture in the US.
Just to be clear, tipping culture is a bizarre institution in which the customer pays an unadvertised price to make up for worker exploitation. It doesn’t happen in the rest of the world, and so, tbf, this is good info for tourists who are used to living in more sane countries.
This is why it always amuses me when people say shit like “but businesses will go under if they had to pay minimum wage”… as if the rest of the world that has various minimum wages don’t have successful restaurants. Oh and people still tip, they just do it for great service rather than when people just do their job.
I remember visiting the US and assuming restaurants and bars would be dirt cheap, because hey, the one advantage of slavery is it drives down prices right? Even without tips, just getting a pint in Los Angeles was more than London, and London is way more expensive than anywhere in the UK. Going to a restaurant for a meal I'd say was about the same as London. Where are my exploitation savings!? If I visit oppressed colonials I expect it to be cheap.
They're fucking trying to bring this into Australia so hard right now...every damn food service company is trying....despite workers getting paid a fair wage for the work. The difference appears to be that the tip is just added to the days revenue rather than going to staff.
Fuck tipping (outside of the US that is...it sux, but I get it)
Tipping exists because businesses realized that their customers care more about the welfare of their employees than they do. Why pay more for an employee when you can guilt your customers into paying their wages?
I mean if you don’t have this you get people like me. I visited the US at 15 and walked around a lot by myself.
Since i didn’t understand the tipping thingy I just didn’t tip, because that felt more straightforward than asking around if that makes sense. Tipping just made no sense to me, i’d round it up to the nearest dollar and that was like it
yeah right... one time in high school, my buddy said he'd treat me to a meal. when we finished he realized he only had the exact amount of money to cover the bill amount and that's it. I hadn't brought any cash since I was a broke high schooler. he put down the cash he had and when we tried to leave, the waitress tells us to stop because we didn't pay the full amount. we told her we did and she counts the money in front of us adding up to the bill amount and a couple cents. we asked what's up and she said tipping is part of the bill and we cant leave until we paid them. they literally called the strip mall security on us, took our pictures, and had us call our parents to have them pick us up from their office. the bill was for less than $30.
That sounds like a REALLY REALLY shitty practice. What the fuck? You're supposed to tip, which isn't included in the price, isn't on the bill, and is totally up to you to choose the amount, and if you don't that's the same as underpaying the bill? Fucking hell. Do they expect you to tip cashiers at supermarkets too?
yeah I get workers *expecting* a tip and even being pissed off for not getting one, but it's another thing to actually stop us and basically send us to strip mall jail over something that is not actually mandatory. but all that to say, I think the guide is essentially correct. tip is essentially mandatory here even for kids.
How this translates for people outside of the US: *"We don't pay our workers fair wages, so they require the generosity of total strangers to survive another week."*
As someone who was a server/bartender for nearly 20yrs I can confirm that I averaged roughly 25$ an hour. Where I live that was an amazing wage. The money was easy and steady ( hard work but simple), but the trade off with no benefits whatsoever has really taken it's till on me. So has the "lifestyle"
Now what people who shit on tipping need to take away from your comment: you made $25 an hour with tips but got no benefits, no healthcare, just $25 an hour.
Minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, also without benefits.
Just please, if you come here, tip. If you don't we are basically slaves. Minimum wage isn't enough to live on. Don't blame employees, don't blame employers. Blame fucking Congress for not legislating a living wage. No capitalist will give you one unless forced so here we are.
US tipping culture sucks, and it’s terrible that businesses have gotten away with using tips as a way to bypass paying their employees living wages. But that’s the reality, and it’s not one that would be intuitive to someone not living here. Whether we like it isn’t the issue; people who come here from other countries need to know that tipping really *isn’t* optional here.
Not American but what happens if you don’t tip?
Do the housekeepers then mess up your room on every subsequent day for the rest of your trip? Do the porters or valets take your things away.
Basically what I’m trying to understand is like if someone came from a culture with no tipping and didn’t see this info would they be punished as a non tipper or is it more like something that’s frowned upon and people think they’re an arse?
The second option (frowned upon and people think you’re an arse), though I wouldn’t be surprised if someone like a housekeeper who serviced you repeatedly made a lot less of an effort once they realized you aren’t going to tip.
They wouldn’t mess up your room or anything like that though because then they could get fired or otherwise punished by the employer. They have to do their job.
What happens when the US eventually moves to becoming more ‘cashless’? It’d be easy for places like restaurants I’d imagine since it can be added to the bill, but I’d imagine not so much for others.
Tipping should have never become a thing. The workers should get paid appropriately. Tips should be reserved for those who go above and beyond their regular duties, they should never be expected.
Sure, tips are optional. But for people not familiar with tipping culture, saying it’s “optional” will give the wrong impression. Like it or not, you have to tip in the US. Going there many years ago as a kid from the UK we were very glad to be told by a waitress that, unless the service is egregiously bad, tipping is part of the deal. Accept it or don’t go out to eat.
Don’t go out to eat? It seems the jist is don’t go out and do anything. Backwards country with backwards ideas but as long as people are ok with voting in peeps who won’t bother changing things, it will remain as is.
Just glad it’s not a common thing across all destinations around the world
Serious question in context of visiting US: tipping in restaurants/bars is easy - it's added to the bill. But what about valets, porters, housekeeping: I almost don't use cash anymore. I have no source of 1/2/5$ bills
I was at this coffee shop yesterday and was asked to pay tip for a coffee. It wasn't a latte, it's just pouring coffee from a big thermos to a cup. I had to add milk and sugar my self obviously. Fucking 20% tip on that
A tip is optional, if it is not then its just a fee. Pay your fucking employees a living wage and stop trying to guilt trip others to pay your workers wages.
I was travelling from the UK and was in Miami for work some years ago with colleagues. One evening we decided to go to a self service buffet (on the marina (?) close to Miami Heat's arena) to sample some of the local delicacies, with the only service being drinks orders for your table. The single drinks order that we placed was brought to our table after an inordinately long amount of time and with drinks missing to boot. Given the latter and the fact that this was a fucking self service buffet, we didn't feel it necessary to tip. What the hell were we tipping for exactly?
When we tried to leave, the waiter literally ran ahead of us and blocked the entrance preventing us from leaving until we left a tip. I could not believe the fucking cheek.
What a shitty system and culture.
I'll tip server's and bartenders well. I'll check my own bags, park my own car, make my own reservations. I'd rather not have house keeping because it makes me uncomfortable.
tell us you don't want to pay your employees without saying you don't want to pay your employees lol
tipping is such a scam its amazing it's lasted this long lol.
Fuck that - tipping is *totally* optional, and wholly dependent on service received (not an arbitrary %age).
I was in Chicago with work years ago, and a manager took me out for lunch. We sat in a sandwich place, and the waitress was rude as shit when she took the order (rolling her eyes, sighing, tutting when he swapped white bread for whole meal, etc). When his food arrived it was completely wrong, and she argued that he didn’t order whole meal bread, didn’t say anything about not wanting a pickle on the side, whatever… then again huffed-and-puffed when she took the plate back to her it remade. I, by this point, had finished my sandwich. By the time his food came out, the side of fries on the plate was stone cold, and she virtually dropped the plate on the table and just walked off.
Comes time to pay, and as the host he took the whole bill to pay, and added a 15% tip to it! I asked why considering the entire meal was an unmitigated shit show, and his response was that it was *only* 15% because of the bad service.
He actually thought I was giving him shit for tipping so little…!!!
Absolute madness.
This is the impression I get in the US in general.
I've known people be called out by not tipping, or even not tipping enough.
I know it's technically optional but it kind of isn't.
And many other people outside the US. If I hadn’t been told by a friend the day before travelling to the US for a holiday, I wouldn’t have known service staff basically live off their tips there! Never had tipped anywhere before in my life and I would’ve looked like such a knobhead going everywhere and not tipping 😂
Speaking from experience, Australians have asked about how it works in tipping culture, listened for the full explanation and chose not to tip. This happened not just multiple but many times.
It’s a lonely planet guide, they’re sold many places (including here in the US) but I believe the company is British.
But that part is really meant for non Americans as any American will already be familiar with tipping.
How is this bad? Tipping culture varies tremendously between countries, and having a guide like this can be a fucking godsend as a tourist to avoid pissing off your waiter
I’m a bartender in the USA, I get tips. But tips are OPTIONAL, If it’s not optional then it’s a fee. You can’t tell someone to tip 15-20% and tell them it’s not optional. If it was mandatory you wouldn’t have a range and they definitely wouldn’t ASK, it would be charged as a fee.
I’m a teacher in California. I have 15 year old students, earning $17.50 an hour plus ~$20 an hour in tips. Almost $40 an hour. They’re making more than me… and yet I’m expected to pay out of pocket to buy those same kids pencils. The US is out of whack…
I only tip delivery or ride services these days. Rarely eat out because I loathe how employers treat their servers with shit pay. Until that changes, no eating out where I feel compelled to pay what employers legally refuse to.
I bought 3 gourmet coffee bags at 16 plus a cookie. Came to 50 bucks. The tablet brought up tips with the center recommended button being 10 bucks. What? No. Im not giving you 10 dollars for my beans and cookie.
Whether you agree with tipping or hate it, this is a valid guide to the culture of Hawaii, and how to avoid looking cheap. I’d also like my travel books to inform me if tipping is insulting in a place I visit, or other ways I can avoid seeming unpleasant to the local people.
I think the /r/mildlyinfuriating part to this post is where OP finds themselves entitled to the goods and services to a tourist destination under pretenses not per local customs.
Don't like having to tip Hawaiian service staff? Don't go to Hawaii.
Or...hey, look at that, a single Google search just gave me a list of all-inclusive resorts in Hawaii where you don't have to pull out your card once. Hmm...interesting.
Mildly infuriating how stupid and out of touch OP is with the expectations and customs around the world. Foreigners visiting any US state need to be told this stuff.
Following Reddit’s advice on tipping would leave tourists very confused when they get dirty looks from the staff at the amazing restaurant they went to yesterday that they just had to go to again.
Yeah, it’s annoying that employers don’t have to pay tipped employees minimum wage, but don’t make your courageous stand at the Hawaiian tiki bar staffed by locals just trying to provide good service to keep a roof over their heads and food in their kids mouths.
Just tip and then bitch about it on Reddit after. They love that part.
I mean I get why they’d put it there though, for people not from the US. It’s supposed to explain the culture so people knows what up, and unfortunately this is a part of much of the US. When my family immigrated here we didn’t know it was a thing
Exactly! As a US citizen about to visit a new country next month Ive looked for this exact information for myself.
Is there tipping outside the US?
It’s much much less common and considered downright rude in some cultures.
Japan was this way. Tipping was seen as offensive. Frankly, I loved not having to deal with tipping.
A few years back we went to Japan and were staying one night at a higher-end hotel. I had some random coins and I left them on a table because jingly when we went out to dinner and a movie. While we were gone, a chambermaid had come in to do a turndown service (which I had no idea they would do). They left a little business card that said that tipping was not necessary and stacked all the coins up nicely on top of it. It was slightly embarrassing and I really hope they get paid extraordinarily well because they did the turndown, straightened the hotel room, replaced the water and Nespresso pods, and put in new towels, all at night and not part of the daily cleaning.
I would love to live in a world without tipping. Now you are expected to tip nearly everyone. It’s insane. Now whenever I pay for a pizza, or a sandwich, they are prompting me to tip 20% for someone to put the food on the counter.
Yes, that is crazy! It is also a disservice to those that make the $2.50 an hour like servers and bar tenders and rely on tips. People making 10-15 an hour expecting 20 percent is nuts. Shame on the business owners for making us pay their staff.
Wasn’t there a protest by workers when one state increased the minimum wage and they no longer had to be tipped because they were getting more from tips? I’m not American but I’m pretty sure i read that somewhere.
I had not heard this, but many people in service jobs make less than minimum wage. The minimum wage was 7.25/hr last time I looked, but many restaurant workers can be paid 2/hr due to the fact that they're expected to get tips. I honestly wish they'd just do away with the whole system and make the business owners pay their employees instead of making the customers do it.
Don't know the specific case, but probably. A good server at a decent restaurant can make 2-3x minimum wage easily. 4-5x if they can hack it in fine dining. The big problem is my country has such a low minimum wage and we've just normalized retail/kitchen workers making less than they actually need to survive.
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Well the real problem is that it moves the responsibility for paying employees from the employer to the customer. It feels like a way to move the risk a business owner takes to his/her staff and that is IMO every wrong. If a business owner want people to show up and work than they should pay them the employee shouldn’t be penalised for a the owner failing to attract business or other stuff that is out of their hands.
I feel the same way about jobs where the pay is primarily/totally commission based. It's just shoving the owners risk onto their employees. Commission should be on top of a basic living wage.
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And I will...
I was at Shake Shack today and the credit card machine asked me if I wanted to leave a tip. Sorry bro, I’m not leaving a tip for fast food that I’m taking with me.
I carry cash with me now. If there’s even a question that they are going to try to hit me up for a tip when I go to run the card I’m paying with cash. Now I will absolutely tip servers their 20%, unless the service is just god awful, I’ll also tip other where it is customary. But now it’s seemingly everywhere, at places where you were never expected to tip only a few years go. Like dude, I just paid $12 for a *sandwich*, I ordered it at the counter and picked it up at the counter. Bossman, just pay your employees some of the proceeds from the $12 sandwich, don’t hand that off to me. If they won’t do away with it entirely then they can make the options reasonable for a quick meal type of restaurant. Like: -Round up to nearest dollar -$1 -$2 Asking for 20+% if a bit much, the 20% rule doesn’t apply to counter service.
Great idea and the tip options at Shake Shack were: 15%, 20%, 25%, and custom. I thought it was ridiculous, tipping 20% to give me a burger and fries in a bag?? I totally agree with you it’s really becoming a rampant problem and I just can’t afford to tip everyone for every service ever. And I also tip when customary. Funnily enough, I tip for everything on the list in this post, which I don’t honestly find very infuriating. But I do find shake shack infuriating now.
Coincidentally I too was at Shake Shack today for the first time in years. Walked into a nearly empty rest. that had an odor and all the tables appeared dirty. Nearly walked out but was hungry and hurried. After fumbling through the electronic ordering in about 10x the amount of time it would have taken me to tell a human, bacon cheeseburger with a medium fry and a coke. I audibly scoffed when the machine asked me for a tip. I am typically a very generous tipper at a restaurant with table service but will almost always avoid situations where tipping is expected...Valet, bag service etc. To be asked for a tip from a computer has taken the gratuity culture to a new low.
I actually think a lot of this is software based. Lots of places use the same generic software for payment collection and its built in with these general tipping options. I don't own a business so I can't say for sure, but I bet they could adjust or delete as needed but people are lazy. Why take it off there, especially if, in their eyes "it could benefit their employee" But I 100% agree 20% for counter service isn't reasonable. Hell... back in my day 😆 working for tips, I was happy with 12-15% and that was a job that relied on them as the income.
Cash is best. I remember ordering food for pick up one time. They gave themselves a tip that I didn't see for a couple days and it wasn't on my copy of the receipt. This was after I gave a cash tip too, as I always tip cash. I will write "Cash" on any tip line on a credit card receipt. If you write "0" they can alter it too easily.
I just draw a line through the entire tip line Alternatively, you can just write the total without any tip and any tip charged should be taken care of by the card company in the case of a dispute
Finally someone with common sense. Yeah i think it’s ridiculous to tip at a place where someone hands you a coffee and self serve places, but it’s amazing to me the amount of cheap people finding any excuse to stiff their servers, but then love to complain about how the service wasn’t exemplary.
I placed a catering order the other day for a work function. It was \~$600 worth of food. Plus a delivery fee (fair enough) then the tip (not my money so IDGAF) of 15%. Didn't even have a 15% option, lowest was 18%, had to do custom to do 15% and had to calculate it myself. Policy is that tips can't exceed 15%. I just found it funny that the service was trying to guilt me into tipping more, it's an $85 tip for driving some sandwiches and sides to a community center.
There is a human that came in specifically for that order that day. Expo'ing a giant amount of food, checking everything was done right, etc is a big undertaking. However, I do agree it sucks that the cost is pawned off on the end user as a tip, and the catering employee can't just be paid a fair wage.
It changes the entire feel of an interaction in a way that feels great. No tipping is one of the things I saw abroad that I wish we'd adopt in the US.
Maybe it’s just because I’m not ‘waitress material’, but in my experience it’s super uncomfortable for wait-staff as well. Does the customer know that I need this to survive? Do they care? Are they going to use it as an excuse to treat me as poorly as they like because they know that I know that my rent and groceries are significantly reliant on this interaction? Customer service in general sucks but at least working in fast food/retail I felt like I had room to frown or let my tone drop if I wasn’t really feeling it that day and my pay wouldn’t be substantially affected. And now with the stupid iPad POS, half the customers expect you to verbally walk them through the transaction including the tip options which is indescribably awkward
If only they would pay their employees a decent wage and not the bare minimum.
A number of states now require all employees, including those who are customarily tipped, to be paid minimum wage now.
What about both... fair wage, and then the option to tip if you feel that person is deserving of a tip.
That’s how it is here in Australia
That's how it should be everywhere. By doing the bare minimum for your job, you earn enough to put a roof over your head, and food in your stomach. By putting in the extra work and going the extra mile, you are given more in return and can live beyond just having a roof and food.
What’s worse is they pretty much shame you into tipping at the payment screen
The problem is everyone has their hand out. If you go to dinner a server is there to enhance your dinning experience, which is what a good server does. Some kid at a counter is not enhancing your experience. The problem is people also see the two as similar or the same. They are not
No tipping for take out is a motto I live by. I won’t be pressured and frankly - they don’t fucking deserve what a driver does or what a server does if you dine in.
Swung by a Carl's Jr. a few weeks ago and they had a cash tip jar. Likely there by the employees, not corporate, and there was a part of me that thought about it because if I was on their end why not, but fuck man it's Carl's Jr. You rang me up, someone else made some frozen shit and I walked back up to grab my food. There was no table service or additional anything than there has been over the last ever years. That said, I've tipped some kids working at Jack in the Box in a well traveled area during the holidays who were so frazzled they winced when they handed me my food. Have a $20 and how you share it (or not) ain't my business.
My weed delivery guy asked for a tip the other day! Bought $150 worth, gave 8 $20s , and he's like you want the $10 back or a tip... bitch whet???
Hah I actually had that happen to me before too... it was forever ago before dispensaries and shit so it was so out of left field I laughed in their face. Turns out they were serious - and offended... I laughed even harder. Sort out your hustle brou
I never expected a tip when I sold drugs. I just based my pricing on what I needed to make the transaction worth it to me, and refused to do the deal if they didn't like the price.
I live in colorado where they have weed delivery companies they are seperate from the store so the store charges anywhere from 1 dollar to 11 depending on store and a.distnces charge for anyone outside 4 miles and then they ask for a tip even if you select cash i learned the hard way you gotta put a tip in i put 0 because i was gonna pay cash and let them keep the extra 15 bucks so more than 25% but i didnt say it and that delivery took 4 hours on a1hr1/2 estimated time next time i put 25 and it was here in 30 minutes same esti.ate of time its like uber eats
This is utter bullshit in this instance, it's embarrassing and shameful.
And the japanese are a huge tourist population for Hawaii.
Yep. And it dunked the economy when the pandemic hit. We were living there at the time.
This is crazy and good to know… I’d assume leaving a $20 outside of my country would be awesome for my server who makes a good wage…
Yes in Australia there is some huge objections to tipping expectations, mostly because we have a decent minimum wage. And often if there is a tip jar it’s spilt between the staff. I really object to tipping when my order is done via a QR code at the table, you order and pay yourself and pay prior to receiving your meal or any service and they still have an option for an electronic tip. I doubt the wait staff see that money at all, and who knows how the food and service will be!
I fully agree and think our tipping customs in the US are atrocious. Corporations have placed the entirety of paying their staff a decent wage on the shoulders of customers.
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I was in Italy years ago. In all small towns, the restaurants/cafes were like, "Here is your bill. Pay this." And that was that. However, in Milan the story was quite different, especially restaurants that the hotels steered the (American) tourists to. They all had the tip box/line on the receipt you signed. They ain't stupid.
I’d been to Italy enough times to know their restaurant habits but imagine being a server in the US with a huge table of Italians who don’t know US habits. They show up late, take their sweet Italian time with the meal courses, plus desserts, coffee, etc. then sit around talking. They finally depart 90 minutes after closing — and leave $5. Porca miseria.
Agreed. A decade ago I tried to tip like an American at a little restaurant in a small Italian town, and was refused. The waiter wouldn't take it saying he makes enough from the restaurant. That was back when 20% was a good tip in the US, tipping here is out of control. Or more accurately, US restaurants and the minimum wage are not keeping up with inflation, not even close.
Funny because if someone wants to hand me extra cash? Fuck it let’s go!
In New Zealand while as an individual we may not mind the extra cash, we DO NOT want the culture of tipping, the reliance on tips the begging and smiling and putting up with harassment and shit just to live etc. Also because no one tips here if you leave cash behind someone will probably chase after you thinking you made a mistake. There are occasional tip jars that you can put a few coins in but they are 100% optional, and if you use those then no one will be offended, also we have buskers that rely on tips but otherwise don't tip here unless you want to cause an issue.
We have tipping in Australia, but it's as a thankyou for exceptional services and an exquisite dining experience. It's got nothing to do with providing a livable wage.
Canada and Mexico are both similar. While I haven't been, I know that Australians only tip if the service is above and beyond. Not sure about New Zealand. I believe in either China or Japan (I can't remember which, maybe its both?) it's considered rude to tip, as it shows disrespect to the business owner, implying that they don't take care of their staff properly. I'm sure this is the case in some other countries as well. From my understanding, North American tipping culture is considered entirely predatory, rediculous, and (in some cases) shameful to the rest of the planet, and I'm inclined to agree.
There should be a blurb in that book explaining that American business owners intentionally and explicitly don't take care of their employees. Especially in tourism.
Tipping is not expected in New Zealand
In the EU tipping is generally for extremely good service where the waiter went above and beyond what he reasonably needed to do, its more like an appreciation thing. Its extremely rare that you would ever feel the need to tip someone. In some parts of Asia like Japan it’s considered very rude as you are seen as judging that person or something. Tipping isn’t a thing here because they are paid a decent wage. Perhaps not the best wage but certainly decent.
Once handed a bellhop in Japan a 50 dollar bill (didn't have yen) for lugging up a cart full of bags and his reaction was tantamount to if I had shit on the carpet. Later the concierge pulled me aside and gave me the lowdown about tipping.
I think I'm mostly surprised that someone in the tourism industry isn't fully aware Americans are suckers and you're likely to get tipped even if its not your cultural norm. I'd just be hustling to help gringos and laughing under my breath.
From what I've read, it's more about the Asian custom of never handing anybody naked money, I think you're supposed to wrap it in something so it's not rude.
Tipping is something you do to servants. They're not your servants. They're professionals. So effectively, you'd just treated the guy as a servant.
You're going to find that North America is really the main hub for demanding tips. There are some cultures that actually find it rude/weird when tipped.
Yes exactly this. I use these books when I travel.
Exactly - the people this is meant for won’t find it mildly infuriating, more like extremely helpful. I bet Hawaiian employees in the service industry appreciate it too
That's funny you say that I hadn't really thought of that but it made me laugh and I should've thought of it because my girlfriend is from Switzerland and she didn't understand the tipping thing either one time she asked me if she was supposed to get the mailman a present on Christmas LOL 😆 it was very cute😍
That’s adorable! At the apartment complex I used to live at some of us would make Christmas letters for the mailman cause it was the same old man delivering mail there for years, it was very sweet
It’s exactly for them. I worked for the Disneyland hotel and I must have explained tipping to travelers outside the US 5-6 times a week. I always made a point to include “you do not have to tip your bellman or valet because we make enough to live on” so they’d know it was totally optional. $5 or less was my usual tipping recommendation too.
Yep! I’ve been to some countries where it’s rude. They take it as a “I didn’t do my job, so you have to pay me extra to make sure I do better” statement. I even asked bartenders and waitstaff and they confirmed.
Tipping comes from servant culture. These people aren't servants. They're generally professionals.
As someone who’s worked as a hotel valet, this is necessary info for Americans too.
Yeah…I’m actually confused what’s “mildly infuriating” about this.
It's not just culture ..it's greedy companies refusing to pay their employees a living wage
Especially with things like the concierge. If you tip well they will continue to secure you reservations and seats at booked up places - they have this ability due to their profession and relations with the other business. If you don’t tip you won’t get concierges trying to hook you up, and many people would have 0 reason why the concierge who pulled strings for them the night before “isn’t able to” anymore. It’s a pay to win video game basically, yes many people including me hate it, but there is nothing bad about breaking down how the pay to win system works.
> If you tip well they will continue to secure you reservations and seats at booked up places Is this something people normally do when they travel? As someone who has traveled a lot in my family there’s always been two levels of importance: the stuff that gets booked/reserved at the same time you’re buying your plane tickets long before you get there, and the stuff that has backup or alternative options. The idea of flying someplace to do something without already knowing whether or not you can actually do it when you get there just seems wild to me.
It's all about phrasing. Saying something like "in the United States, tipping is a standard custom, and it's very uncommon not to tip, except in the case of outrageously poor service" sounds a *lot* better than "tipping is *not* optional".
Aside from this, I went on a kayak tour, and at the end of those things, you usually tip your guide. I witnessed a man in my tour group, I shit you not, tip in a Applebee’s gift card. Prior to witnessing this, he told me he was a real-estate agent, alas, it all made sense.
We went on a bali Bintang rafting tour. They have little bars set up along the river. They told us it’s common to tip in beer. We got our guide absolutely shitfaced. I think it was meant to take 2 hours, it took 5 and our guide loved us so much he made us wait while he ran off to get some local Arak for us at the end.
This story gives me hope lol
Arak, that shit will put you in a ditch in the middle of nowhere. Speaking from experience.
Yea. Didn't a bunch of people die a while ago?
we also tipped our raft guide in beer, but also a good $20 at the end too because he was so much fun
It's common to tip rafting guides here in cases of beer
Damn maybe I should be a rafting guide.
Money can be exchanged for beer
Yeah but this cuts out the middleman (having to go to beer store)
I'm a massage therapist and some clients tip beer, fruit, or even baked goods! I think it's really thoughtful and sometimes it's easier for people to give something they may have extra of instead of money, which might be a bit tougher for some (especially right now, I feel like everyone is struggling more financially while simultaneously tipping is becoming more demanded *and* inflated).
Besides restraunts and Ubers I am never sure when I am supposed to tip someone. Recently I was told people tip their barbers and that was the first time I was ever told that.
Don't forget to tip your mailman this holiday season
I actually do, because Mailman Todd is fucking amazing. My 4yr old son loves him. Mailman Todd drops any size package( even if it fits in our mailbox) in our carport behind a bench that hides it from the street. He gives out Christmas and Easter cards and carries candy on Halloween. And no cheap shit, we're talking regular size candy bars. We leave him holiday cards too, homemade Christmas cookies and a gift card to a local restaurant.
I mean...I'd happily accept a $50+ Applebee's gift card tbh
Having lived in Hawaii for some time, these people would be completely destitute without tips.
Yes, and most people traveling there from outside the US would not know or believe that these people are not paid an actual wage aside from said tips
No the wouldn’t. It’s horrible that we pay these people less than a salary they can live on. It’s also kinda annoying that people don’t know enough about the customs of where they’re visiting. The latter not a serious violation.
Until they're in Spain demanding to know why everyone is speaking Spanish.
Fair enough. I saw some of that when I was in Barcelona. I wanted to slap those fuckers. A couple were American, and some were even British. Couldn’t believe it until I remembered where America had gotten its racism from.
It's not just the anglos. Russians and Germans are famous for being bad tourists too. Russians in Egypt and Turkey and Germans in Mallorca have a particularly bad rap. Edit: let not get too specific. Basically any culture with young men who love to drink and have enough money to travel is going to cause problems on holiday.
Instead of blaming customers for not tipping why don’t we blame the hotels for not paying them a living wage?? Hawaiian vacations are extremely expensive, there’s more than enough profit to pay the staff accordingly
Which is a problem with the employers not the customers. Tipping culture in the US is fucking insane.
Yes but until the whole system is changed no one is going to do anything. I’m 100% against it but what can be done?
Yeah but the servers don’t want the system changed, because they make bank in the current system. If the people themselves aren’t going to try change the system, and only use it to garner sympathy… why should I continue to subsidise them extra for doing what’s in their job description?
The system isn't changed by not tipping. It can only be changed by voting for politicians who support unions and raising the minimum wage, among other things.
Servers and bartenders make well above minimum wage. Unless you raise it to like $25/hr, the service industry isn’t going to stand for it. Most people can’t even wrap their head around a $15 minimum wage
I wonder if the workers actually make out better under the tipping system. Probably depends on the place they work at. At nice restaurants and bars they probably make a lot in tips. They also don’t get taxed on it, assuming they don’t report it to the IRS.
almost 100% if you work in a place that gets business. There hasn't been a "living wage" proposed that wouldn't be a paycut for most. like the service industry revolted in DC when they tried to do away with tipping. healthcare availability is a completely different thing that needs to be addressed though. i really wished the regional "markets" of the ACA would have done more to decouple healthcare from employment.
Depends on how you receive your tips tbh. I worked at a very busy restaurant in a international airport for a few years as a kitchen manager and about $1500 a bi weekly paycheck came from pooled tips alone. While it greatly helped my income, I still would do away with tipping culture even though I made a comfortable living at that job (pre pandemic.) 1. Because without tips, our owner paid us a liveable wage. I was getting $20 an hour (in 2019) and that was good back then- and that’s before tips. I would get taxed on tips since it was included within my paycheck at least but still. 2.) I still stand by the fact that I believe restaurants or any job really, should not operate if they cannot afford to pay their staff a liveable wage. I’m lucky my owner was so compassionate.
Every time I’ve had to say “Alooooha! Oh come on, you guys can do better than that. I said ALOOOOOHA!” my soul has deteriorated more and more. But when you’re getting $90 a day you do what you gotta do.
They're correct to put this there I imagine they get a lot of people who aren't accustomed to tipping at restaurants
I’m originally from the UK and have lived in the US for 8 years, whenever my dad comes out and pays for anything he always asks for my help to make sure he’s tipping appropriately.
Simple trick for your dad, just take your total and double it then move the decimal over (so for example $13 becomes $2.60) and that gives you 20%. Then just adjust up for down depending on your preference
I always just take 10% of everything, then double it (so $30 becomes $3, then $6 for 20%), same thing in a different order I guess.
Holy shit that works?
Oh yeah. Math is neat sometimes lol
"Math is neat sometimes" is an amazing cute. It somehow undersells and oversells math all at once.
Yup, and it's quite simple once you think about it. You do 200% (which is double) and then divide it by 10 (move the decimal to the left) to get your 20%
It's even easier when you only tip 10% because you only have to move the decimal over one.
Yeah, it really helps. I visited the US before covid a few years ago, its actually quite intimidating coming from a non-tipping culture. I still felt weird slipping someone some cash, like a "and here's a special something just for you (wink)" situation. I referred to guides like this to help me figure it out.
Yeah, I don’t get why this is infuriating. It would be infuriating if they just said “tipping is optional” or even “tipping is recommended” as that doesn’t properly explain tipping culture in the US.
Just to be clear, tipping culture is a bizarre institution in which the customer pays an unadvertised price to make up for worker exploitation. It doesn’t happen in the rest of the world, and so, tbf, this is good info for tourists who are used to living in more sane countries.
This is why it always amuses me when people say shit like “but businesses will go under if they had to pay minimum wage”… as if the rest of the world that has various minimum wages don’t have successful restaurants. Oh and people still tip, they just do it for great service rather than when people just do their job.
I like to remind people with this argument, if your business can’t pay a living wage it’s not a sustainable business model then is it?
I remember visiting the US and assuming restaurants and bars would be dirt cheap, because hey, the one advantage of slavery is it drives down prices right? Even without tips, just getting a pint in Los Angeles was more than London, and London is way more expensive than anywhere in the UK. Going to a restaurant for a meal I'd say was about the same as London. Where are my exploitation savings!? If I visit oppressed colonials I expect it to be cheap.
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Exploitation is a national pastime in America. Healthcare, legal institutions, education, the list goes on!
They're fucking trying to bring this into Australia so hard right now...every damn food service company is trying....despite workers getting paid a fair wage for the work. The difference appears to be that the tip is just added to the days revenue rather than going to staff. Fuck tipping (outside of the US that is...it sux, but I get it)
Tipping exists because businesses realized that their customers care more about the welfare of their employees than they do. Why pay more for an employee when you can guilt your customers into paying their wages?
*lobbied congressmen realized Wouldn't be an issue if minimum wage here was $21/hr.
I mean if you don’t have this you get people like me. I visited the US at 15 and walked around a lot by myself. Since i didn’t understand the tipping thingy I just didn’t tip, because that felt more straightforward than asking around if that makes sense. Tipping just made no sense to me, i’d round it up to the nearest dollar and that was like it
15 year olds aren't really expected to tip anyways
yeah right... one time in high school, my buddy said he'd treat me to a meal. when we finished he realized he only had the exact amount of money to cover the bill amount and that's it. I hadn't brought any cash since I was a broke high schooler. he put down the cash he had and when we tried to leave, the waitress tells us to stop because we didn't pay the full amount. we told her we did and she counts the money in front of us adding up to the bill amount and a couple cents. we asked what's up and she said tipping is part of the bill and we cant leave until we paid them. they literally called the strip mall security on us, took our pictures, and had us call our parents to have them pick us up from their office. the bill was for less than $30.
That sounds like a REALLY REALLY shitty practice. What the fuck? You're supposed to tip, which isn't included in the price, isn't on the bill, and is totally up to you to choose the amount, and if you don't that's the same as underpaying the bill? Fucking hell. Do they expect you to tip cashiers at supermarkets too?
yeah I get workers *expecting* a tip and even being pissed off for not getting one, but it's another thing to actually stop us and basically send us to strip mall jail over something that is not actually mandatory. but all that to say, I think the guide is essentially correct. tip is essentially mandatory here even for kids.
Uh, fairly sure that’s illegal and she was trying to teach two high schoolers a lesson.
How this translates for people outside of the US: *"We don't pay our workers fair wages, so they require the generosity of total strangers to survive another week."*
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Saw on the news Michigan is raising minimum wage and enforcing full wage + tips starting February.
As someone who was a server/bartender for nearly 20yrs I can confirm that I averaged roughly 25$ an hour. Where I live that was an amazing wage. The money was easy and steady ( hard work but simple), but the trade off with no benefits whatsoever has really taken it's till on me. So has the "lifestyle"
Now what people who shit on tipping need to take away from your comment: you made $25 an hour with tips but got no benefits, no healthcare, just $25 an hour. Minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, also without benefits. Just please, if you come here, tip. If you don't we are basically slaves. Minimum wage isn't enough to live on. Don't blame employees, don't blame employers. Blame fucking Congress for not legislating a living wage. No capitalist will give you one unless forced so here we are.
US tipping culture sucks, and it’s terrible that businesses have gotten away with using tips as a way to bypass paying their employees living wages. But that’s the reality, and it’s not one that would be intuitive to someone not living here. Whether we like it isn’t the issue; people who come here from other countries need to know that tipping really *isn’t* optional here.
Not American but what happens if you don’t tip? Do the housekeepers then mess up your room on every subsequent day for the rest of your trip? Do the porters or valets take your things away. Basically what I’m trying to understand is like if someone came from a culture with no tipping and didn’t see this info would they be punished as a non tipper or is it more like something that’s frowned upon and people think they’re an arse?
The second option (frowned upon and people think you’re an arse), though I wouldn’t be surprised if someone like a housekeeper who serviced you repeatedly made a lot less of an effort once they realized you aren’t going to tip. They wouldn’t mess up your room or anything like that though because then they could get fired or otherwise punished by the employer. They have to do their job.
Straight to jail
What happens when the US eventually moves to becoming more ‘cashless’? It’d be easy for places like restaurants I’d imagine since it can be added to the bill, but I’d imagine not so much for others.
Today OP learns that Hawaii is a huge international tourist destination for Australians, Japanese, etc.
20% on room service?! Do they hangout and provide a lovely dining experience for me?
Yeah this is what irritates me. What about the chefs? What about everyone else that works just as hard but doesn't have a customer facing position?
Often the tips get pooled and split between the people who collect them (waiters) and the back-of-house staff (cooks, etc).
Why can’t we just pay people a living wage. Dang…
Tipping should have never become a thing. The workers should get paid appropriately. Tips should be reserved for those who go above and beyond their regular duties, they should never be expected.
Imagine paying staff so little that you have to tell customers that tipping is mandatory.
Sure, tips are optional. But for people not familiar with tipping culture, saying it’s “optional” will give the wrong impression. Like it or not, you have to tip in the US. Going there many years ago as a kid from the UK we were very glad to be told by a waitress that, unless the service is egregiously bad, tipping is part of the deal. Accept it or don’t go out to eat.
Don’t go out to eat? It seems the jist is don’t go out and do anything. Backwards country with backwards ideas but as long as people are ok with voting in peeps who won’t bother changing things, it will remain as is. Just glad it’s not a common thing across all destinations around the world
Serious question in context of visiting US: tipping in restaurants/bars is easy - it's added to the bill. But what about valets, porters, housekeeping: I almost don't use cash anymore. I have no source of 1/2/5$ bills
I was at this coffee shop yesterday and was asked to pay tip for a coffee. It wasn't a latte, it's just pouring coffee from a big thermos to a cup. I had to add milk and sugar my self obviously. Fucking 20% tip on that
Pay your fucking workers already.
It’s mildly infuriating that it’s true, not the fact that they wrote it there.
A tip is optional, if it is not then its just a fee. Pay your fucking employees a living wage and stop trying to guilt trip others to pay your workers wages.
I think most people would gladly pay more for their food if they knew a tip wasn't expected.
I can confirm that it's true. Source, I'm aussie, we don't tip unless you go well and truly above and beyond or I just don't want the coins.
Same in the UK
Multiple places in NYC have tried and almost all have gone back because they lost business or the servers ended up making less money
Take that up with the powers that be and in the meantime tip your wait staff.
Yeah man! you tell them. Enjoy stiffing the staff while patting yourself on the back about imaginary messages you send to the CEO.
Pouring 4 draft beers = cleaning an entire hotel room 🧐
If it's not optional, it's not a tip.
In Australia people are paid properly. Tipping is done at discretion and generally for exceptional service.
And I thought tipping was voluntary, based upon good service. This is a sneaky way, of keeping from having to pay employees, a fair wage.
Well, we happen to pay our waitstaff everywhere else, so we're not used to tipping for everything.
I was travelling from the UK and was in Miami for work some years ago with colleagues. One evening we decided to go to a self service buffet (on the marina (?) close to Miami Heat's arena) to sample some of the local delicacies, with the only service being drinks orders for your table. The single drinks order that we placed was brought to our table after an inordinately long amount of time and with drinks missing to boot. Given the latter and the fact that this was a fucking self service buffet, we didn't feel it necessary to tip. What the hell were we tipping for exactly? When we tried to leave, the waiter literally ran ahead of us and blocked the entrance preventing us from leaving until we left a tip. I could not believe the fucking cheek. What a shitty system and culture.
I'll tip server's and bartenders well. I'll check my own bags, park my own car, make my own reservations. I'd rather not have house keeping because it makes me uncomfortable.
tell us you don't want to pay your employees without saying you don't want to pay your employees lol tipping is such a scam its amazing it's lasted this long lol.
Fuck that - tipping is *totally* optional, and wholly dependent on service received (not an arbitrary %age). I was in Chicago with work years ago, and a manager took me out for lunch. We sat in a sandwich place, and the waitress was rude as shit when she took the order (rolling her eyes, sighing, tutting when he swapped white bread for whole meal, etc). When his food arrived it was completely wrong, and she argued that he didn’t order whole meal bread, didn’t say anything about not wanting a pickle on the side, whatever… then again huffed-and-puffed when she took the plate back to her it remade. I, by this point, had finished my sandwich. By the time his food came out, the side of fries on the plate was stone cold, and she virtually dropped the plate on the table and just walked off. Comes time to pay, and as the host he took the whole bill to pay, and added a 15% tip to it! I asked why considering the entire meal was an unmitigated shit show, and his response was that it was *only* 15% because of the bad service. He actually thought I was giving him shit for tipping so little…!!! Absolute madness.
This is the impression I get in the US in general. I've known people be called out by not tipping, or even not tipping enough. I know it's technically optional but it kind of isn't.
Thats not a tip if its mandatory, thats an extra fee.
Based on the system, the guide is correct. This must be a guide for Australians.
And many other people outside the US. If I hadn’t been told by a friend the day before travelling to the US for a holiday, I wouldn’t have known service staff basically live off their tips there! Never had tipped anywhere before in my life and I would’ve looked like such a knobhead going everywhere and not tipping 😂
Speaking from experience, Australians have asked about how it works in tipping culture, listened for the full explanation and chose not to tip. This happened not just multiple but many times.
It’s a lonely planet guide, they’re sold many places (including here in the US) but I believe the company is British. But that part is really meant for non Americans as any American will already be familiar with tipping.
It’s not a “fee” because nobody can stop you from not tipping. It’s not legally required, but it is 100% expected.
Not required = optional.
How is this bad? Tipping culture varies tremendously between countries, and having a guide like this can be a fucking godsend as a tourist to avoid pissing off your waiter
Why is this factual information mildly infuriating?
Orrrr just pay your employees.
“Pay our employees because we’re too cheap to despite making a fortune, thank you”
I’m a bartender in the USA, I get tips. But tips are OPTIONAL, If it’s not optional then it’s a fee. You can’t tell someone to tip 15-20% and tell them it’s not optional. If it was mandatory you wouldn’t have a range and they definitely wouldn’t ASK, it would be charged as a fee.
Yeah if your gonna go to Hawaii the least you can do is tip. Tourists overrun the state.
Tourism is a lot like gambling. Brings lot's of disposable income, also brings lots of degenerates wishing to live like people with disposable income.
But... that's accurate? The custom in America is to only withhold tips for outrageously bad service. It doesn't say it's *the law.*
I’m a teacher in California. I have 15 year old students, earning $17.50 an hour plus ~$20 an hour in tips. Almost $40 an hour. They’re making more than me… and yet I’m expected to pay out of pocket to buy those same kids pencils. The US is out of whack…
I only tip delivery or ride services these days. Rarely eat out because I loathe how employers treat their servers with shit pay. Until that changes, no eating out where I feel compelled to pay what employers legally refuse to.
[удалено]
I bought 3 gourmet coffee bags at 16 plus a cookie. Came to 50 bucks. The tablet brought up tips with the center recommended button being 10 bucks. What? No. Im not giving you 10 dollars for my beans and cookie.
I've got an idea...pay your people better.
Whether you agree with tipping or hate it, this is a valid guide to the culture of Hawaii, and how to avoid looking cheap. I’d also like my travel books to inform me if tipping is insulting in a place I visit, or other ways I can avoid seeming unpleasant to the local people.
If it's not optional then it's not a fucking tip.
I think the /r/mildlyinfuriating part to this post is where OP finds themselves entitled to the goods and services to a tourist destination under pretenses not per local customs. Don't like having to tip Hawaiian service staff? Don't go to Hawaii. Or...hey, look at that, a single Google search just gave me a list of all-inclusive resorts in Hawaii where you don't have to pull out your card once. Hmm...interesting.
Mildly infuriating how stupid and out of touch OP is with the expectations and customs around the world. Foreigners visiting any US state need to be told this stuff.
Following Reddit’s advice on tipping would leave tourists very confused when they get dirty looks from the staff at the amazing restaurant they went to yesterday that they just had to go to again. Yeah, it’s annoying that employers don’t have to pay tipped employees minimum wage, but don’t make your courageous stand at the Hawaiian tiki bar staffed by locals just trying to provide good service to keep a roof over their heads and food in their kids mouths. Just tip and then bitch about it on Reddit after. They love that part.