this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2025
332 points (98.0% liked)
World News
1290 readers
857 users here now
Rules:
- Be a decent person
- No spam
- Add the byline, or write a line or two in the body about the article.
Other communities of interest:
founded 8 months ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
There's a massive difference between people saying they wouldn't mind paying more if it meant not tipping and people actually being willing to pay more. The difference between a 20% markup on prices and being asked to voluntarily tip an amount that isn't specified is pretty minimal. Having worked in a job that relied on tips for over a decade, I can't tell you how many times someone who didn't tip complained about the price without a tip. Would they pay it anyway? Maybe. Is it probably a good idea? Maybe. But I don't know many situations in which a 20% hike on prices translates into a 20% increase in wages.
There are definitely a lot of people who would benefit from just making a living wage rather than being paid below minimum and having to supplement that with tips. Often that person just ends up not making minimum wage at the end of the day, and there are definitely companies that exploit that pay arrangement to get people to do work that shouldn't have to rely on tips regardless. There's a small burger place around here that literally hires counter help for tipped wages, but then also makes them do dishes, clean bathrooms, and even help make some of the food. They're basically being paid less than minimum to do two to three jobs, only one of which even legally qualifies for the reduced pay rate.
But would the patrons of that restaurant really not complain if they had to pay an extra $3-4 for a burger? I'm not so sure.
One thing I've learned about people is that many of us find complaining to be cathartic. If it wasn't tipping, it'd be the prices or the service or something else. A lot of the time it's already all of those things.
In the mean time, though, it's probably better to push back against unfair labor practices by trying to pass local laws rather than by just stiffing your server.
Prices of goods do not correlate 1-1 with increase in wages. Getting rid of tips would only result in prices of goods increasing (from what I remember when researching this years ago) like .5-1%. Most people would not notice this cost increase at all.
I don't get this logic. Me and everyone close to me already tips at least 20% on food. Why would we suddenly have a problem with paying 20% more and not tipping? It's the same amount of money?
There is a psychological term for it but essentially we as humans are fucking dumb when it comes to money and even though we tip, a higher price on the menu hits us differently than a lower price with a 20% tip later.
Iirc the experiment was done under different types of service as well and consistently across the board people preferred to see a lower price even though the overall cost was the same.
If you already tip 20% and don't complain about it you're probably not one of the same people who don't tip or tip minimally and complain about the price. I've gotten 50 cent tips on 30 minute cab rides while being paid half of minimum wage by people who complain about prices constantly. There's a pretty wide range of attitudes and behaviors around tipping and treatment workers.
I shouldn't have to pay more; the business owners should.
Worked great with tariffs