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Mel Nichols, a 37-year-old bartender in Phoenix, Arizona, takes home anywhere from $30 to $50 an hour with tips included. But the uncertainty of how much she’s going to make on a daily basis is a constant source of stress.

“For every good day, there’s three bad days,” said Nichols, who has been in the service industry since she was a teenager. “You have no security when it comes to knowing how much you’re going to make.”

The amount tipped workers make varies by state. Fourteen states pay the federal minimum, or just above $2 an hour for tipped workers and $7 an hour for non-tipped workers.

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[-] BradleyUffner@lemmy.world 13 points 12 hours ago

No. An employee's value to the business isn't reduced by them receiving tips. The business shouldn't be able to pay them less because they are a better employee.

[-] jaggedrobotpubes@lemmy.world 3 points 8 hours ago

Downvoted for even asking such a cunty question with only one answer.

[-] HawlSera@lemm.ee 36 points 19 hours ago

A tip should be a reward for higher quality work, not asking your customers to subsidize your workers because you're too cheap.

[-] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone -2 points 10 hours ago

I think the ship has sailed on that one...

[-] skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 9 hours ago

Not so sure, more and more people fed up with greedy price gouging seem to be cutting back on tipping. You see it in business rags trying to sell it as "are consumers getting more stingy?"

Tips go away, tipped workers go away, tip-model businesses then have to adapt or die. (While whining that nobody wants to work, I'm sure.)

[-] chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 2 points 18 hours ago

A higher minimum wage for restaurant staff is going straight onto the menu prices anyway. But then customers weary of expensive restaurant food stop showing up.

Restaurants are pretty much the toughest industry to be in. The vast majority of them fail. And the ones that really succeed (fast food) don’t have tipping anyway.

The ones who are making all the money are the landlords who own the land the restaurants lease from. They don’t care if 7 tenants restaurants go out of business in 5 years. They can always find more.

[-] HawlSera@lemm.ee 2 points 1 hour ago

Thing is, the price is clearly going up whether or not the wages do... so... Moot point

[-] chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

The prices are going up now because all of the following are getting more expensive:

  • ingredients
  • energy
  • rent
  • delivery fees (for delivery of ingredients to the restaurant)
  • laundry
  • maintenance

Raising the wages of staff is another expense to add on. To the list.

Restaurants are not a lucrative business. Most barely break even or lose money. They can’t afford to pay staff more without raising prices.

[-] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 minute ago

If you can't figure out how to run your business without abusively underpaying your staff, maybe you shouldn't be in that business.

[-] desktop_user@lemmy.blahaj.zone 0 points 59 minutes ago

sounds like restaurants need to own their own land

[-] dotslashme@infosec.pub 26 points 1 day ago

This is not even the right question to ask. Fucking pay your staff! No one should have to depend on tips to survive.

[-] john89@lemmy.ca 0 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

You got a lot of people from the 'pro-tip' crowd glad to say "I make more with tips!" whenever someone suggest replacing tips with fair wages.

If they make more with tips, then they also have to deal with not getting tipped from people like me.

[-] skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 9 hours ago

The same group that will vote for pro-rich-person legislations because they think that some day they'll be rich too.

I make more with tips

This is so naive.

If tipping just wasn't a thing at all ever, they would make the same amount. If they're really that amazing at their jobs someone will pay them well enough to do it.

[-] ctkatz@lemmy.ml 42 points 1 day ago

the correct answer is there should be no tips and those workers should be paid the same amount as every other worker.

[-] r0ertel@lemmy.world 4 points 22 hours ago

I've read on other social platforms from wait staff that they would prefer tips to a living wage because they can make so much more with tips than without.

I've cut my dining out significantly recently because with the recent hike in restaurant prices, plus the minimum 20% ~~tax~~ tip, dining out is unaffordable.

Also, during covid I became an incredible cook.

The tipping system really just obfuscates the exploitation.

Employees have rights. Foregoing your right to be paid a fair wage in exchange for the chance to make a little more than a fair wage some times just seems bat shit crazy.

[-] john89@lemmy.ca 2 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

If they make more with tips, then they don't get to complain when somebody doesn't tip them.

plus the minimum 20% tax tip

Where are you eating that has a 20% minimum tip? I've only seen stuff like that for big groups.

[-] r0ertel@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

I should have specified ... minimum "suggested" tip. Like when they specify that 20% is added foe groups or if they calculate it for you on the receipt and it shows 20, 22 and 25% or at the terminals at the table the 3 options start at 20. I feel guilty for doing custom and selecting less.

[-] anakin78z@lemmy.world 1 points 44 minutes ago

I always have to do custom. It's shitty, but I'm not going to lunch to subsidize someone's pay, I just want a sandwich.

[-] john89@lemmy.ca 2 points 19 hours ago

I never tip. Tipping culture should die.

[-] FilthyHookerSpit@lemmy.world 4 points 16 hours ago

That's wrong. What you should do is never go to restaurants where workers rely on tips. They have to tip out the bartender/busboy/runner at the end of the night and you not tipping means they're losing money when that happens.

So maybe don't be an asshole and abuse an already terrible system.

[-] Rolive@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 14 hours ago

Tipping means facilitating this system.

When oh don’t tip you give the restaurant their money, but the waiter doesn’t get their money. Think about who this is hurting.

By not tipping in a place where it's expected, you're facilitating the system and ensuring the employee is exploited.

If you don't patronise places where tipping is expected, then you're not facilitating the system.

[-] Zier@fedia.io 72 points 1 day ago

No one should ever have to work for tips. A living wage should be minimum for all workers, no exceptions. If you get tipped beyond that, great, otherwise, fuck off employers exploiting people.

[-] Zier@fedia.io 4 points 1 day ago

Just to clarify, since people are confused. No one should ever have to live off sub standard wages and hope to hell they make enough tips to survive. This is an exhausting daily hustle that detracts from your quality of life. A livable minimum wage, enforced in all states and industries for every employee, regardless of age, should exist, no exceptions. $20/hr would be a good start. And if people also earned tip money, that went directly to that employee, no sharing with the employer or other employees, that would be fine. Employers need to pay employees proper wages, not your customers.

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[-] Foni@lemm.ee 43 points 1 day ago

It's funny how they don't consider raising the minimum wage for those who don't receive tips, but rather lowering it for those who do. Make clear the type of people who propose this

[-] Dainterhawk999@lemmy.world 3 points 10 hours ago

Minimum wage is the basic necessity... Why the question arises to lower that too remains mystery in this 2020's where inflation, rich poor division, daily lifestyle are all in a chaotic state?

[-] apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world 54 points 1 day ago

Tipped hourly work wages are just another way that corporations fuck over workers.

[-] RamblingPanda@lemmynsfw.com 33 points 1 day ago

I don't even understand the issue. What's keeping them from tipping someone who earns a livable wage? Your service was exceptionally good? Here's my green bill of appreciation. On top of the fair wage you earned by showing up at your place of employment.

[-] JackbyDev@programming.dev 11 points 1 day ago

Because of the culture of tipping and pay structure in the US, tipping is generally not seen as something extra for good service but just part of the price of stuff at restaurants/bars/etc. So in this sense, tipping wouldn't be required for people earning a living wage. But you're describing what tipping "should" be, and yes, with that definition there's no reason to not tip for the occasional above and beyond work.

[-] RamblingPanda@lemmynsfw.com 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

But it's even brought up as a reason why paying livable wages would be a disadvantage for good servers. Those two things just don't add up.

Besides that, I want to be able to feed myself and my family even when I have a bad day. If all my days are bad then maybe I shouldn't be in this job in the first place, but that's another story.

Edit: even here there's one of those "but tipping good" people. https://lemmy.world/comment/13002675

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[-] DmMacniel@feddit.org 14 points 1 day ago

Lol but they already paid so little because of tips. And now they want to go even lower?!

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this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2024
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