this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2024
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I saw one of these where the restaurant taped over the "no tip" button so you couldn't push it. If you ever encounter that, add a custom tip and punch 0.00
Fuck them for that nonsense.
I've tipped zero at a sit down place because the waiter was an ass. (And I'm a generous tipper, because I've done the job and I can now afford to).
Tipping isn't required.
My grandmother taught me to never tip $0 if the service is terrible, because the server will just assume you're a cheap bastard who doesn't tip. Instead, she would tip 2¢, because it sends a message.
My dad did that once, and the waitress followed him out to the parking lot and threw it at him. Which I always thought kind of showed she got the message, but didn't learn the lesson.
So, literally "giving your two cents" about the service?
If the service is terrible, then I write that on the tip line instead of tipping.
I think there's a lot of establishments that forget that tipping is not a mandate. It's a courtesy and it should be based on your level of courtesy to the person that you are hoping to receive courtesy from. For me, no courtesy given, then you're not getting that courtesy. Beyond that, the wait staff needs to be pissed off at the restaurant owner for not paying enough.
Only exception to that rule would be Dick's Last Resort, but their schtick is being rude
As a non-American, sometimes there threads are hilarious.
I mean I get it it's not as simple as we sometimes mockingly make it out to be, but it is a gratuity, meaning something extra on top of a legally required amount.
So yeah, you're very correct it isn't required.
I mean is tipping truly legally mandatory anywhere in the US? I'm sure they could decide to not serve you again, but by law, is tipping truly required anywhere?
No, but not tipping is a great way to ensure you'll get crap service (and potentially tampered with food) if you ever go back.
Also, traditionally tipping was only for waitstaff, "fast" delivery drivers (think pizza delivery and same day couriers maybe), and certain specific one on one service scenarios (hair stylist, barber).
This expansion into other things is mostly because everyone is starting to use the same payment processing pads that have the tipping menu turned on by default and hard to disable, because the company making the processing pads takes a small percentage of every transaction. Combine that with opportunistic business owners figuring out they can pressure anxious people into tipping by just implying they should, and here we are.
Just as I thought. I do understand the culture, I've just never been personally subjected to it. I would ofc tip in the US, but that's one reason it's not high up on my list of places I want to go to.
Well, traditionally it started out as a way to keep your slaves doing slave work without compensation while saying they're not slaves anymore and definitely are getting paid through tips.
https://civilrightsdocs.info/pdf/minimumwage/History-Tipped-Minimum-Wage.pdf
Tipping is never required. Even if some on menu try to make the claim “you have to tip”
No I don’t have to tip
No, never.
Most restaurants have a policy of requiring a tip for parties larger than a certain size. In that case, where the policy is known in advance, then it's part of the bill, and I'd think you have to pay. Otherwise I think it would be treated like theft.
A gratuity fee must be removed if requested in the US even if it is called "mandatory". They cant legally force a tip even with it stated before hand in the menu and signage (there is probably some state where this is somehow ambiguous). Oddly that isn't true about service fees that go to the owner.
However service fees were getting popular in certain parts of California where they had to raise wages and provide medical insurance but they didn't want to advertise higher prices so they just added fees, undisclosed until the bill most of the time. Now California has passed a law to stop the service fees in the "Junk Fees" law. It also banned the automatic tipping practice, which surprised me, as well.
Service charge on the bill is imo a bit different from a tip, a gratuity.
But again, wouldn't know, haven't been.
Definitely not my expertise this subject.
Here’s the response I remember from reddit (probably from servers themselves…):
Quite the system, USA!
Give them a horrible review and never go back. They deserve bankruptcy
Give them 0.01, just as a statement
Nothing is more of a statement than something
Nothing is just "I don't want to give". Nearly nothing is "I'm mocking you with a cent. This is how much I appreciated your service."
Uh... That's a surefire way to make sure I don't even pay my bill.
Custom tip: -30%