I’m American and have worked in the service industry in the US and Germany. I fully support tipping in the US, because waiting tables is one of the few jobs in the US where you can actually earn a good living without breaking your body (as much as construction, as a comparison) and without a training program. In a place where unions actually make a difference, it’s just a nice thing to do, and that’s obviously a better solution generally, but that’s not currently the case in the US.
Or…maybe if the restaurants paid a good living wage to servers then tipping wouldn’t be necessary. In my experience, my opinion here goes against the grain in the US :)
The problem is that they aren’t legally required to do that. They should be. And thus tipping would not be as necessary. Of course some servers like tipping, and I get that, but if they were paid effectively the same as a proper salary then they wouldn’t have to hope for a busy night or hope people are generous on any given night. Whether any given server likes the notion of tipping, it is a stress they have to endure — and in my opinion, an unnecessary stress.
I have never talked to someone outside of the service industry who liked tips. I’ve talked to a few people who made their livings off of tips and don’t support them, but it’s rare ime.
Yes, restaurants paying their employees a living wage is ideal. However, we don’t have that and I honestly don’t believe we’ll get it for a long time. Right now, there’s basically one job where an untrained, not especially strong person can make pretty good money (I made ~$20/hour for being not especially friendly, but most of my coworkers made $30/hour). Getting rid of tipping gets rid of that job, which feels like a worse thing than tipping.
Tipping is good.
I’m American and have worked in the service industry in the US and Germany. I fully support tipping in the US, because waiting tables is one of the few jobs in the US where you can actually earn a good living without breaking your body (as much as construction, as a comparison) and without a training program. In a place where unions actually make a difference, it’s just a nice thing to do, and that’s obviously a better solution generally, but that’s not currently the case in the US.
Or…maybe if the restaurants paid a good living wage to servers then tipping wouldn’t be necessary. In my experience, my opinion here goes against the grain in the US :)
but if the employer is not willing to do that, are the costumers morally obliged?
The problem is that they aren’t legally required to do that. They should be. And thus tipping would not be as necessary. Of course some servers like tipping, and I get that, but if they were paid effectively the same as a proper salary then they wouldn’t have to hope for a busy night or hope people are generous on any given night. Whether any given server likes the notion of tipping, it is a stress they have to endure — and in my opinion, an unnecessary stress.
I have never talked to someone outside of the service industry who liked tips. I’ve talked to a few people who made their livings off of tips and don’t support them, but it’s rare ime.
Yes, restaurants paying their employees a living wage is ideal. However, we don’t have that and I honestly don’t believe we’ll get it for a long time. Right now, there’s basically one job where an untrained, not especially strong person can make pretty good money (I made ~$20/hour for being not especially friendly, but most of my coworkers made $30/hour). Getting rid of tipping gets rid of that job, which feels like a worse thing than tipping.