• Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Would fucking love it if we just got rid of tipping all together. Employers -not customers- should be responsible for providing employees good pay.

    Factor the difference into up front price of the food/service and be done with it.

    • pyrflie@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      Tipping was never the problem, subsidizing owner profits out of worker pay was.

      Tipping is freedom of expression for the customer. Wage is the obligation of the employer.

      If it isn’t a living wage the company shouldn’t exist. Full stop.

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          10 months ago

          If Businesses don’t get a share of tips Square’s model dies and SE with it.

          That said their model dies if you grow a pair to hit zero tip and backcharge on poisoned delivery.

          Social engineering only works in this situation if you are a bitch.

          • AtariDump@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            If Businesses don’t get a share of tips Square’s model dies and SE with it.

            Not my problem to figure out their business model.

          • Misconduct@startrek.website
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            10 months ago

            Ordering from a place that you know pays workers in tips and not tipping makes someone more of a bitch. You’re not changing anything because without legislation there will never be enough people to make it happen. The system is too established. At this point claiming to be working towards change by not tipping is just making an excuse because you weren’t ever going to tip and it’s not fooling anyone.

      • Annoyed_🦀 @monyet.cc
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        10 months ago

        Definitely. In my country, tipping aren’t expected but it’s a pleasant thing to receive in service industry, in US of A, tipping is expected and people will vehemently defend the status quo.

        • TheSanSabaSongbird@lemdro.id
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          10 months ago

          Not only that, but there’s a very strong case to be made that from a purely economic perspective, a tipless system is better for everyone.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          It’s expected because waiters can’t make minimum wage without it. It’s not defended because people like that waiters are paid so little, it’s defended because they’re paid so little and politicians, until now, have seemed to have no interest in changing that. Like so many things in this country, the people have to come up with a patchwork solution just to keep others alive because the politicians don’t care.

          So yes, I will defend tipping until this is fixed everywhere in the U.S. And I doubt it will be fixed any time soon. I’ll be surprised if it’s even fixed in these five states.

          • SeaJ@lemm.ee
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            10 months ago

            Tipping is still expected here in Washington where the minimum wage for tipped employees is the same.

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              Sure, because it’s easier to have the same policy everywhere than to not know whether or not you should be tipping depending on the state you’re in. I think that makes sense. Do you really want people from Washington going to Oregon and not tipping because they think they don’t have to?

          • Annoyed_🦀 @monyet.cc
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            10 months ago

            It has already become your culture, like it or not. Whether you tip or not, employer has to make up the different if the tip doesn’t add up to the minimum wage, so you’re essentially subsidising the employer as of now. Fixing the minimum wage will not get rid of tipping culture either, and exploitative employer knows that, so they will continue to pay the bare minimum and expect the customer to foot the bill.

            I wonder if everyone reaction will change if we change “Tipping” to “Subsidising”, because that’s what the current status quo are.

            • Dojan@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              This hits the nail on the head. Exploitative employers will always only pay the absolute minimum they can get away with. If you’re going to have a federally mandated minimum wage, then that wage will need to be adjusted frequently.

              Has it been adjusted frequently?

              In my country we don’t have a minimum wage. Wage ranges are determined by the market and negotiations with unions. It gets really easy to figure out which employers do the bare minimum and which don’t.

          • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            So yes, I will defend tipping until this is fixed

            Can’t defend the status quo and expect things to be fixed, they’re mutually exclusive of each other. Human nature demands that.

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              You absolutely can defend the status quo until things are fixed and work for things to be fixed. Maybe you think a change should come at the expense of waiters feeding themselves or their families. I do not.

              • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                You absolutely can defend the status quo until things are fixed and work for things to be fixed.

                It hasn’t so far, and human nature being what it is, makes it a safe bet that it won’t. Having said that, I hope I’m wrong.

                Also, its ethically wrong to put the onus on the customer to support the status quo, that’s the employer responsibility to take care of their employees in all ways, and an employees responsibility to not work for any boss that won’t do that.

                Maybe you think a change should come at the expense of waiters feeding themselves or their families. I do not.

                YES! Tortuuure them, make them SUUUFFEERRRRR!!1!!11!!! /s

                If the guy in the next stall asks me for a roll of toilet paper (because he’s out), I’m going to give him a roll, as a civic duty to take care of each other.

                If the guy in the next stall asks me to come over and wipe his ass for him, he’s on his own.

                • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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                  10 months ago

                  That’s a lot of words to say you don’t give a shit if a waiter can’t afford to feed their kids as long as you don’t have to give them any of your money. I hope you don’t go to restaurants if you feel that way.

          • VikingHippie@lemmy.wtf
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            10 months ago

            Yeah, I’ve always thought of it that way too: abhor the underpaying bosses and the politicians who allow it and advocate for change, but until then keep tipping generously no matter the level of service.

            If you get bad service, your server might be having a rough day and/or the place might be busy or otherwise make their job of serving you more difficult. That doesn’t mean that you have a right to deny them rent and food money.

            • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              Pretty much where I’m at. Not going to protest a shitty system by taking it out on a waiter, but will vote to abolish the whole thing and put the burden on the employer where it should be.

              That doesn’t mean that you have a right to deny them rent and food money.

              That’s the insane part - you do have the right to deny them rent or for food money. You shouldn’t, but under the tipping model you absolutely do.

              • VikingHippie@lemmy.wtf
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                10 months ago

                I mean yeah, you LEGALLY have the right, I meant that you morally and ethically absolutely don’t.

                • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world
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                  10 months ago

                  Which is why I’m opposed to tipping as a system. It’s predatory. It transfers a moral responsibility to customers that should be on the employer, which provides the foundation for guilt-based social engineering targeting the customer, and a reliance of the employee on the success of that social engineering - the alternative being not getting paid because some asshole didn’t think you refilled his drink fast enough.

                  Imagine if a hospital or something was run like that. Your insurance covered the doctors’ and admins’ pay, but the nurses, techs, and support staff all just rely on tips! *shoves an iPad with a credit card reader onto your lap*

                  It’s insane that that model is legal for any business.

                • JCreazy@midwest.social
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                  10 months ago

                  I beg to differ. I think morally an ethically not letting society dictate. What you do with your own money is the correct stance. If you go to your job and you get paid that is your money and you should absolutely under no circumstances be obligated to tip because society has made you think that they need it to live. That’s your money that you need to live it’s absolutely ridiculous that people make statements trying to guilt trip you into thinking that you owe it to someone else to give your hard-earned money to them because their employer decides not to do it. Screw that. And no I’m not saying don’t tip, what I’m saying is don’t support businesses that expect you to pay their employees wages. I significantly cut down eating at restaurants because I don’t think that I should be obligated to pay employees wages, especially with the ridiculous prices. The restaurants charge for food nowadays. I absolutely hate the narrative of people guilt tripping other people because they choose not to tip. That is their obligation in right and they should absolutely not feel bad about it whatsoever.

              • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                Not going to protest a shitty system by taking it out on a waiter, but will vote to abolish the whole thing and put the burden on the employer where it should be.

                That vote / change will never happen if you don’t push back on tipping, that’s just the human nature of the situation.

            • AA5B@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              You’re assuming you owe the server rent and food money. Where are you the employer? How does that server deserve special benefits over the person at the drive through, the busser, the stocker at the grocery, etc? You’re an enabler, keeping an abusive system alive to benefit one small category at the expense of everyone else

              Granted, I tip generously as well, but that’s because I’m a pussy who doesn’t stand behind my beliefs

              • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                but that’s because I’m a pussy who doesn’t stand behind my beliefs

                Hey, at least you’re honest about it. :)

              • VikingHippie@lemmy.wtf
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                10 months ago

                The cost of paying those people at the very least minimum wage is factored into the price of your purchase, except for the busser, who shares tips with the servers.

                Because that’s not the case with servers, you tip in order for the server to get paid for performing a service for you.

                You’re an enabler, keeping an abusive system alive to benefit one small category at the expense of everyone else

                No. I’ve been clear from the start that tipping is a thing we have to do temporarily so that servers don’t starve or become homeless before we finally fix the system.

                • AA5B@lemmy.world
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                  10 months ago

                  Maybe the only way to finally fix the system is to stop tipping, so servers will go elsewhere until pay comes up. Normally I disagree with this line of thinking because it’s not easy to change careers, but serving is usually a “job” not a career. If we’re worried about minimum wage, I claim that many minimum wage jobs are easier to switch among. If a job requires special skills and knowledge, it deserves pay as such.

            • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              That doesn’t mean that you have a right to deny them rent and food money.

              Their bosses and/or their lack of wherewithal in obtaining a job that pays enough to meet their standard of living is responsible, not the customer of the company.

        • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          and people will vehemently defend the status quo.

          Well, server employees will, because they don’t want to deal with the loss of pay and/or the upheaval in their salary intake. No one likes a negative change to how they make a living and pay the bills.

          Having said that, generally speaking, is it people, or ““people”” (aka corpo shills/bots) that are defending the status quo? Certain corporations have a big interest in maintaining the status quo and shaping the narrative towards that end.

        • Misconduct@startrek.website
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          10 months ago

          We’re not defending the status quo we’re stuck with it. But yes, going to another country and ignoring their customs would make people look at you like an asshole because you’re being an asshole unless you genuinely didn’t know. We’re not dancing around delighting in tipping people. We just know that not tipping hurts absolutely nobody except the server. Maybe you’re comfy with making someone else suffer to prove a point but I’m not.

          • Annoyed_🦀 @monyet.cc
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            10 months ago

            You put too much emotional charged word into my mouth, thing i did not said, and that’s really tells a lot how you feels about tipping culture in US and will never spare a thought on why it’s as it is. I in no way should be responsible for the wellbeing of another’s employees, that is the responsibility of their employer. Not tipping isn’t making someone else suffer to prove a point, that’s like saying me not being a doctor is making someone else suffer. That’s some ridiculous kind of mental gymnastic.

            What tipping does is continuing the justification of paying them subminimal wage and demand the customer to foot the bill and hope it will make more than the minimum wage as employer might have to pay their worker more if the wage + tip didn’t add up to minimum wage. That’s some late stage capitalism stuff right here you’re supporting, or rather, “stuck” with.

            • Misconduct@startrek.website
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              10 months ago

              I told you in plain words how I feel about tipping culture. How you choose to interpret that is your business.

              I don’t need you to lecture me about what goes on in my own country or about how we feel because you’re not even talking from experience. Go ahead and “fight capitalism” by stiffing people on tips if it makes you feel better. You’re not helping anyone though so stop fooling yourself. You’re just being cheap.

              • Annoyed_🦀 @monyet.cc
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                10 months ago

                Well if you say so, i don’t need you to lecture me about being “generous” either. Take your opinion elsewhere if you don’t want it to be challenged in a conversation.

                What a toxic country. 🙄

    • agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works
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      10 months ago

      Unless “we” change it via legislation, that’s never going to happen. Let’s explore how it would play out as an individual restaurant initiative:

      Restaurant raises staff wages, raises prices to cover the increase. Even if you disclose it on the menu, customers don’t care: they see prices 20% higher, they choose to eat somewhere with cheaper menu prices. This is frequently what happens when restaurants try to do that.

      If the restaurant increases server wages less than what they would make in tips, the servers will leave for another restaurant. The benefit of tips is that the harder you work, and more tables you take, the more money you make. Good servers can make $50+ an hour if they hustle.

      Source: 8 years experience in the industry.

      • AtariDump@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        The benefit of tips is that the harder you work, and more tables you take, the more money you make. Good servers can make $50+ an hour if they hustle.

        I shouldn’t be paying my server’s wage; the restaurant should.

        Name one other job (that isn’t in the food service industry) where the buyers subsidize the worker’s salary voluntarily.

        • agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works
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          10 months ago

          Literally every other contractor. But that’s irrelevant to the point.

          This is the way it is. Whether or not it’s a good system, it’s the system which exists. Changing the system will require a transition. If that transition comes from individual restaurants changing their policy, they will have 1) staffing issues as no server will stay when they could make more elsewhere, 2) customer issues as customers will prefer restaurants with lower menu prices, even if the total is the same.

          This isn’t a value judgement, or a defense, this is a statement of fact. The only change that will stock would have to come from legislation. Societal systems have considerable inertia.

            • Misconduct@startrek.website
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              10 months ago

              Why are you so stuck on that? Other industries not doing it doesn’t matter. It’s the system in place now and would take a big effort from everyone (aka legislation) to change. That’s the point. They’re not even defending the tipping system.

                • fkn@lemmy.world
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                  10 months ago

                  Many services… Maid service in hotels and hotel services in the industry as well. Taxi/goods delivery(not just food, but things like target 2hr delivery)…

                  I’m not saying it’s good… And I think the fundamental problem exists in these jobs as well… Typing should just not exist. Japan, for example has no tipping… It’s ducking fantastic.

            • agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works
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              10 months ago

              It’s entirely irrelevant.

              Name one industry with security theater like air travel. Name one industry with lobbying like politics. Name one industry with subsidization like agriculture.

              The tipping situation is a product of a problematic history, but it is what it is. The entire system is based on it. Saying something is unique has nothing to do with the process to change it.

              • Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca
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                10 months ago

                Security Theatre is an overreaction to a single event. Most of it can also be trashed. Also, the air travel industry didn’t have security theatre for nearly a century.

                Lobbying? Very similar to shareholders and boards of directors. Other governments also have varying amounts of lobbying, so it’s definitely not intrisic to the system.

                Lots of industries get massive subsidies: Oil & Gas, Aerospace, Healthcare, Nuclear, Research, Energy, Automotive, Semiconductors, Real Estate, IT, many big corporation have squeezed a subsidy out just by threatening to leave a state! To some extent, every public service is a subsidy, just where the government owns the ‘company’. Some governments (probably) don’t do subsidies, but lots do, and one could argue that some system like subsidies is necessary for a well functioning government & country.

                However, I agree that the uniqueness of a practice says very little about how good it ultimately is for anything.

                • agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works
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                  10 months ago

                  My point has nothing to do with whether a practice is good or not. It’s about how deeply entrenched the practice is, and the practical complexities of uprooting the practice. Bad practices still require significant consideration in undoing.

                  My point is that “we should do away with ___” is an impotent sentiment by itself. Who is we? How are “we” going to actually do it? What does the transition period look like? What are the consequences? These are questions that, pragmatically, must be taken into consideration when implementing any large change, totally independent of any value judgement of that change.

              • AtariDump@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                Name one industry with security theater like air travel.

                The events industry. Do you really think those bag checks do anything with how quickly they “look” in your bag before going into a venue?

                I did one; now you do yours.

                • agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works
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                  10 months ago

                  Again, this “argument” is totally irrelevant, but:

                  If that counts the same as TSA, then hair/nail stylists, massage therapists, valets, Uber (and taxi and limo) drivers, hotel housekeepers and concierges are all traditionally tipped.

                  But again, that doesn’t matter. The system is what it is. Changing it is an option, but that does have practical considerations associated with it.

    • Rediphile@lemmy.ca
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      10 months ago

      The only people who have the power to eliminate tipping are the customers. Even if employers randomly started paying servers $50 an hour, people could still tip…and many probably would to get that feeling of moral superiority. And that is sort of irrelevant anyway because how the fuck are the customers supposed to know the servers wage anyway? I literally have no idea what my server (or hostess or line cook or after hours cleaning crew staff) makes at the last place I ate at. Do you?

      It’s really not complicated. If customers stopped tipping, and servers can’t support themselves and therefore they are forced to quit and move towards literally any other industry with a higher/stable wage. Then employers either go out of business altogether or, more realistically, raise wages to replace those workers who quit since the employer would like to keep making money instead of not making money. And thus, menu prices go up to account for the lack of tipping.

      No one has ever been able to provide me a scenario where tipping ends without servers quitting due to inadequate/unstable income. But I’m certainly open to suggestions!

    • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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      10 months ago

      Couriers (DoorDash, GrubHub, UberEats, etc.) are not employees. They are contractors.

      There is no minimum wage for contractors. The base pay for these services don’t quite cover the $0.655 per mile that the IRS allows drivers to claim in travel expenses. The only money these drivers actually take home is customer tips.

      If you, as a customer, do not believe in tipping couriers directly, that’s perfectly fine, so long as you DO NOT use these services. As these drivers operate almost exclusively on tips, using these services without tipping is socially equivalent to begging in the streets.

      • Nudding@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        As these drivers operate almost exclusively on tips, using these services without tipping is socially equivalent to begging in the streets.

        Imagine a system so broken you say shit like this lol.

          • AA5B@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            I think the loopholes include:

            • assuming a “take it or leave it” from a huge company to an individual, can ever be a valid contract
            • paying “sufficiently “ for an employee while also delegating business expenses
            • bending the regulations around what is allowable for contracting vs effectively employee
            • skirting regulations on similar legacy business models
            • fraudulent menus and pricing
            • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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              10 months ago

              assuming a “take it or leave it” from a huge company to an individual, can ever be a valid contract

              Employees don’t get “offers”. Employees get “assignments”. An offer can be refused. Refusing an assignment has negative consequences. Employment worsens the disparity between huge company and individual, by reducing the individual’s ability to decline work.

              As a contractor, I can work for DoorDash and UberEats simultaneously. As an employee, both of them would demand exclusivity and I would have to choose one or the other.

              paying “sufficiently “ for an employee while also delegating business expenses

              I think the service should collect a mandatory delivery fee from the customer equal to the IRS mileage rate, about $0.655 per mile, and reimburse the driver for it. That’s the base pay. A suggested “bid” (what they currently call a “tip”) should be provided, based on the going rate of labor in the area. The customer should be able to adjust that rate, and be warned if their adjustment goes below minimum wage. A below minimum wage offer does not imply the driver will be earning below minimum wage: orders are often stacked. Two minimum wage orders performed simultaneously earn nearly twice minimum wage.

      • Bonskreeskreeskree@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        False. If drivers don’t make enough, they stop driving. Enough stop driving the business has to change their model to entice new drivers. That’s how you bring about change. Not sitting online complaining, hoping that the government will get off their asses and fix it

      • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        They’re employees being exploited by a loophole. DoorDash n’ friends are predatory businesses, and are a great example of why we need better regulations on this kind of shit.

        • Rediphile@lemmy.ca
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          10 months ago

          It’s not a loophole or predatory, it’s just something the people doing these one-off job knowingly agreed to. I myself certainly agreed to it years back each and every time I accepted another order. The key was to not agree to orders that don’t make any fucking sense. It was all optional.

          I don’t know how we could ever regulate away the issue of people who decide not to act in their own best interest. Probably best to focus on education or something?

      • magnetosphere@kbin.social
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        10 months ago

        I refuse to use these services for three reasons. One, I think they’re unnecessary. Two, I think they’re unreliable. Three, I think they’re exploitative.

      • AA5B@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        This is why I don’t use those services. They are both predatory, and taking advantage of regulatory loopholes

        They do need to be fixed somehow though. I have elderly relatives with mobility issues who can really benefit from these services. Beyond more transparency and fixing the regulatory gaps, I don’t k ow how to make it both more fair to the gig worker and more affordable to those who need it though.

        Maybe a subscription model? I’d pay Uber Eats a fixed price for my Mom to get as much delivery as she needs, assuming an even playing field we’re established

        • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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          10 months ago

          The “contractor” model is valid. When you hire a kid to shovel your driveway, for example, you are not “employing” that kid; you are contracting him to perform a specific task. Landscapers, builders, roofers, plumbers, lawyers, accountants, DJs, wedding planners… Most small businesses operate on a contractor basis.

          The real issue with these services is one of semantics. DoorDash gives drivers a few pieces of information. They are told where the pickup location will be, where the dropoff location will be, the total distance they will have to drive, and, critically, the total amount of money they can expect to receive for performing that task. The driver is (ostensibly) free to accept or reject that offer. DoorDash may bundle (“stack”) your delivery task with other delivery tasks and offer the entire bundle as a single task.

          In a contractual arrangement, the money offered in compensation for performance of a task is the “consideration”. The offering of money in exchange for a service is a “bid”. That’s the semantic issue: most of the money being offered to the driver is being called a “tip”. It does meet the IRS definition of a “tip”, but it does not meet the colloquial use of that term.

          DoorDash is not actually a courier service. DoorDash does not operate a single vehicle used for package delivery to customers. DoorDash is a broker of courier services. DoorDash connect customers to vendors and drivers. DoorDash takes the customer’s task and offer of compensation and offers it to contract drivers. If they find a match, the customer gets their food. If they can’t find a match, it sits on the vendor’s shelf until closing, then gets thrown away.

          You and your elderly relatives are free to use the service. You can use it ethically, simply by understanding that what they are calling a “tip” is actually a “bid” to the driver. So long as you are placing a reasonable “bid”, your use of the service is fair and ethical.

      • JCreazy@midwest.social
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        10 months ago

        I don’t see how it’s my responsibility to give my money that I earned doing my job to someone else for doing their job and I shouldn’t have to avoid the service because of that. If I want to use the service I should be able to because, why not, I want to. I shouldn’t give that up just because someone wants me to pay their wages.

        • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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          10 months ago

          A kid comes to your door, asks you what you would be willing to pay for his older brother to shovel your driveway. The older brother is going to be doing the job; the kid is asking you what you are willing to pay. Is it your “responsibility” to “give your money that you earned doing your job” to the older brother for shoveling your drive?

          DoorDash is not a courier service. DoorDash is not shoveling your driveway. DoorDash owns and operates neither a shovel nor a delivery vehicle. DoorDash is a broker of courier services. DoorDash is the little kid, asking you what you’re willing to pay. The drivers are the older brother actually doing the work.

          Paying DoorDash’s delivery fees and not offering a tip is the equivalent of paying that little kid $3, offering nothing to the older brother who will actually be doing the work. and still expecting your driveway to be shoveled.

          The older brother is forced to honor the agreement the kid made with you. If he doesn’t, the kid will have to give back the $3 he got from you. The kid will then pout and refuse to line up any additional work for the older brother. The brother “tolerates” this, because most customers are reasonable people and either offer a reasonable amount for the older brother, or decline the service entirely. The older brother makes all kinds of money from reasonable people.

          If the “reasonable people will pay the older brother” argument isn’t enough, continue the analogy: the kid got money from you. The kid is going to keep trying to get your business so he keeps getting money from you. But the older brother isn’t getting paid for his work.

          You’ve found a loophole where you can get your driveway shoveled without paying the guy doing the shoveling. The kid wants to keep doing business with you, but it would be far better for the older brother if you never talked to the kid again. So, you’re going to get your driveway shoveled for a pittance, but all that snow is going to end up in front of your door, or burying your car.

          • Rediphile@lemmy.ca
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            10 months ago

            Lol the older brother is just an idiot. He isn’t ‘forced’ to do anything at all. The business arrangement makes no sense unless the little brother being the salesman adds value somehow.

            I am an older brother and I assure you if long ago my younger brother was like "hey you need to shovel the neighbors driveway for $3’’ I’d be like “lol, no, go give that nice man back his money. If you want to be my salesman, I need the guarantee of $10 in my pocket minimum. If you can find a guy who pays $11, by all means keep the dollar. Oh, also I get any tips provided after the job.”

            Do you actually think any older brother is going to just keep shoveling driveways for $3 when he thinks he deserves $10?

      • Rediphile@lemmy.ca
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        10 months ago

        What do you suppose would happen if everyone all at once just stopped tipping and kept using the service? Like I’m serious, what do you actually think would happen?

        • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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          10 months ago

          I think DoorDash would convert it’s drivers to employees. I think those employees would earn less than they did as contractors. I think DD would be forced to offer healthcare and similar benefits, which would be contingent on continued employment, making them extortion rather than benefits. I think they would use those benefits as a bargaining chip to secure non-compete clauses. I think employed workers would be strictly limited to 40-hour weeks at lower pay, with rigid schedules. I think they would enact quotas, and strict deadlines.

          I think employee drivers will be pissing in bottles to meet quotas and deadlines. I think instead of stacks of 2-3 orders, they will be stacking 5-8 orders, and delivery times will be longer and longer. I think employee DoorDash drivers will be treated as employee Amazon drivers.

          I think that switching to an employment model would hurt drivers and customers, and benefit DoorDash and vendors.

          • Rediphile@lemmy.ca
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            10 months ago

            That all seems a bit much compared to doordash just raising their service fee in order to pay their contractors enough to be willing to deliver orders in this new tipless world, but ok. I appreciate your attempt at answering the question nonetheless. Although it is pretty odd you consider a stable wage, hours and healthcare benefits to be a bad thing. And I still don’t understand why employees are willing to piss in bottles to meet quotas and stuff. I wouldn’t agree to a job like that. You probably wouldn’t either. Especially for the lower pay you described. Unless of course the stability and healthcare benefits made up for it all…in which case it would be a better deal than before.

            • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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              10 months ago

              That all seems a bit much compared to doordash just raising their service fee in order to pay their contractors enough to be willing to deliver orders in this new tipless world,

              DoorDash already has a “earn by time” option, where drivers earn an hourly wage, but only while they are engaged. DoorDash sets an hourly rate of $12 in my area. They still pass through tips, but they also (effectively) require drivers to take every order assigned, no matter where it is from or where it is going. 8-floor walkup in a sketchy neighborhood, giving the local meth heads 12 minutes to steal your catalytic converter? Yeah, you don’t get to skip that order, sorry.

              We already know what DoorDash will do if they get to set the rates, because they are already doing it. I would much rather the negotiation happen between me and the customer rather than me and DoorDash.

              Healthcare should be a government function, not an employment function. The idea that I should only have coverage while I am well enough to work is truly barbaric. Employer-sponsored healthcare is extortion. It is a tool to make it harder for you to detangle yourself from the company when they do something shitty. I know healthcare was the primary reason why I stayed at a job that forced me to work 60-hour weeks for 13 months straight.

              Healthcare should be a birthright, not a benefit.

              Which is the more stable job:

              A: you have to wake up at the same time every day, clock in at the same time, clock out for lunch, clock back in exactly 30 minutes later, clock out again after exactly 8 hours of work.

              B: you show up whenever you want. 8am. 11pm. Noon. Three days a week, seven days a week. Skip town for two weeks straight, clock back in and nobody says a word.

              The first is not “stable”. The first has an attendance policy that punishes you for any instability you might experience in your life. Kid gets sick? Attendance point. 6 points, and you’re written up. 9 points in 12 months, and you’re fired.

              The second job is completely tolerant of any instability in your life. You can show up whenever you like, leave whenever you like, and the job just adapts around you.

              And I still don’t understand why employees are willing to piss in bottles to meet quotas and stuff.

              I don’t understand either, but I don’t need to understand. Quotas are a function of hourly (employee) labor. Piecework laborers (contractors) don’t face quotas. Drop the hourly labor, offer a piecework rate that will earn an entry level worker minimum wage, and your most proficient workers will be earning what they are actually worth.

    • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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      10 months ago

      Thing is, no one would accept to pay what’s written on the menu if they charged enough to cover what people pay in tip, it’s all psychological manipulation.

      Prices would need to increase by about 20% and you wouldn’t have a choice to pay it anymore, contrary to tips. Or you accept that servers now only make minimum wage.

      • theherk@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        That’s interesting. In It works all across the world exactly how you say it wouldn’t work.

        • bjorney@lemmy.ca
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          10 months ago

          To be fair, in the rest of the world there aren’t tipped establishments competing with next door no-tipping establishments. People are bad at math, a menu of $13 + tip options seems cheaper at a glance than a menu of $15 no tip options. We are talking about the country where the 1/3rd pounder burger failed after all

          • theherk@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            This is actually true and raises the most important practical point about it, in my view. Convincing people to give up tipping isn’t too difficult; I think we’re getting there. But transitioning to a tip-free culture is very difficult.

        • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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          10 months ago

          Do servers make over 70k/year everywhere in the world?

          That’s something people don’t realize in North America, restaurant servers make fucking bank! If they complain about not having money it’s because of the restaurant culture of going out after every shift.

          • vithigar@lemmy.ca
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            10 months ago

            Some restaurant servers make bank. Some don’t even make enough with tips to bring them up to minimum wage. Yes, the employer is supposed to top them up to minimum wage when that happens, but if I had a nickel for every labor violation in the US, well I’d be making a lot more than minimum wage.

            • AA5B@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              This lack of fairness even within the industry, is yet another reason to end tipping culture. Some servers make excellent money but all too many make little. This is yet another institution benefitting a few well off at the expense of everyone else

          • nomous@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            What’s your experience in the restaurant industry?

            Good servers make about half of what you think they make. Your number is reserved for senior sommeliers and chefs; the only way FOH hits that is by selling drugs to BOH or working 80hr weeks.

            If it paid that well there’d be no staffing issues at all, think about it.

            • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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              10 months ago

              At my last job servers are making 300+ in tip every 8h shift and get their salary that’s way above minimum plus they have full benefits including a pension fund and the business still has a hard time finding staff because the restaurant industry in general is a mess including the people working in it that think grass is always greener elsewhere.

              Edit: Forgot, they’re unionized too

                • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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                  10 months ago

                  I’m just pointing out that saying “If they were paid that much we wouldn’t have trouble finding staff!” is bullshit. With even better conditions my previous employer has trouble finding staff.

          • theherk@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            There is a lot more to economy than some number in some currency. There are servers in many first world countries making wages where they are able to pay for their homes and have social services like healthcare, all while customers at their places of employment pay the listed price.

            70k USD means nothing in isolation, without respect for local economy and cost of living.

      • JCreazy@midwest.social
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        10 months ago

        That’s the thing though, they already charge enough to cover what people pay in tip but guess what? That doesn’t make them enough money. Next time they raise prices. They won’t take responsibility for it, they’ll blame it on the economy, but never the owners and shareholders that are making more profit than ever.

        • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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          10 months ago

          As a person who’s been in the restaurant business, no, the vast majority of restaurants in North America don’t make a large enough cut to pay their servers 35$/h. Most are always a couple of bad months away from closing. There’s a reason why it’s the type of business with the highest “turnover” rate for the business itself.

          Now if you want restaurants to give servers the same wage they’re making now it means all prices need to be marked up about 20% (since people tip based on price after taxes) and in the end the customers pay the same thing, they just don’t have a choice about it.

          • AA5B@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Yes, just like everywhere else I have to spend money, why can’t I know how much I pay by looking at the prices? Why can’t we all be honest here?

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    10 months ago

    Please! For the love of God! Get rid of tipping!

    I hate tipping! As the consumer I should not be responsible for proving a living wage for someone else’s employees!

    • kameecoding@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      as a European I have to say both the Tipping culture and the not showing the full price in stores with VAT included is just mindblowing.

      It’s literally a culture of hiding true costs, weird af.

      • Raiderkev@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Hotels too. The advertised price is never accurate because their stupid resort fees.

          • Raiderkev@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Again, it’s prevalent in the US market, not sure about others. They advertise say $199 / night, but when you go to check out, there’s something like a ~$35- $50 /night resort fee to “pay for amenities like WiFi/ gym /pool”. You can’t reject paying the fee, so your hotel room is actually like 25% higher than advertised.

            • Paddzr@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              Yeah, that’d be quite illegal down here. I spent basically half a year living in hotels straight due to work all across the UK and primarily London then continued for a few years after. So we’re likely talking +300 nights. I have never seen an additional charge.

      • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        It’s literally a culture of hiding true costs, weird af.

        Makes me happy though in this day and age that people are waking up to this fact, and are starting to push back on it.

        In the past corporations/governments thought people were a lot more unaware, than they are today.

      • wieson@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        It’s a culture of trying to get away with whatever makes the most profits. We also have that, but there are some reasonable laws working against that. One of my favourites is the duty to display per kg or per litre price. Before that, shops made the package sizes deliberately confusing.

        • TheSanSabaSongbird@lemdro.id
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          10 months ago

          We actually do have that in the US as well, but it’s typically in very fine print and a lot of people don’t even know about it.

          • marx2k@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            I don’t think there’s any law like that in the US. If there were, 2 out of 4 national supermarket chains local to me are breaking the law and have been for years

      • TheSanSabaSongbird@lemdro.id
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        10 months ago

        It’s really not that weird at all. It’s a simple consequence of the EU having better consumer protection laws. Unfortunately the far right in the US is a lot stronger than in most of Europe and has been since the post-war era.

        We also, in the US, have an old and antiquated system that was deliberately designed to be difficult to change because the founders had to convince the slave-owning class that abolition couldn’t be forced on them if they agreed to join the newly-formed union. How did they do that? You guessed it! By making the Constitution almost impossible to change, which is one reason why it required the bloodiest war in our history to end slavery.

        Again, there’s nothing especially “weird” about it. As is true of a lot of contemporary reality, it’s largely a consequence of history.

        Interestingly, tipping culture is also at least tangentially a product of slavery as well, but that’s a bit more complicated so I’ll save it for another comment.

        And if you’re starting to suspect that a ton of what ails the US can be traced directly back to slavery, here’s a hint; you may be on to something!

        That said, it was the European colonial powers who brought slavery to North America in the first place, which kind of brings us full circle.

      • wolfpack86@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Have lived in both eu and us.

        Agree, but the challenge on tax is that it’s not harmonized across municipalities. This means that stores that are across the street from each other may have identical prices/profit margin and a different net price to the consumer. This would lead to consumer preferences biased by physical location and have lots of other weird side effects. You can see this in areas that border state lines when the tax is appreciably different.

        Step one is a harmonized tax rate, but that’s easier said than done.

        • Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca
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          10 months ago

          The true cost is different no matter how it’s advertised, no? Harmonized tax is great and all, but lying about price is still bad, irrelevant of the actual price.

    • TangledHyphae@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I was going to say this but fear of mass downvotes kept me quiet. Glad I’m not the only one. I’ve worked for tips but I’d rather just work for a reasonable wage instead, remove the guesswork and chances for abuse.

    • Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca
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      10 months ago

      One way or another, you’re paying those employees wage. One of them doesn’t get taxed or advertised is all.

      • ME5SENGER_24@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Yes and no. All tips are supposed to be reported to the IRS. Whether they are or not is not really relevant. What really matters is that the customers aren’t forced to do an owners job. If an owner needs their customers to prop up their employees then the owners shouldn’t be in business.

        I used to make $2.35/h when I was in the service industry. Without my customers I would’ve been fucked. What’s worse is on a slow night, I really did get fucked.

        • spader312@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          I used to make $2.35/h when I was in the service industry. Without my customers I would’ve been fucked. What’s worse is on a slow night, I really did get fucked.

          I think that should be the point, employees should not be taking on the risk of a business doing poorly. That’s the business owner’s responsibility and risk, to be mitigated by them. Not screwing over a waiter because it was a slow night. Or because they were unlucky to work a tuesday night over a busy Saturday night.

      • ☆Luma☆@lemmy.ca
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        10 months ago

        It’s not okay. I can hear some of my customers’ anxiety when they struggle to tip me. Some people lord it over me like I should revere them for their blessing. There is an unnecessary layer of stress to the customer service routine for everyone involved except the owner who benefits from this system. Not to mention some businesses pool their tips and share it with everyone, sometimes redirecting these funds into unscrupulous items like snacks without consent. >:(

        Tips don’t motivate me to provide great customer service to my customers. Tips serve to maintain cheap labor, but more important to me is how they erect social barriers. I can’t blame someone for wanting or being motivated by tips when they’re stuck near the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. I’m there too so I understand, but there’s just no reason for tips when we can get/provide great service without adding layers of paranoia; When we can provide a satisfying quality of life for everyone in the process with a not-so-simple wage increase (and God forbid, better budgeting and management from business owners).

        They also in general make my job harder, especially when an old person who’s basically blind can’t find any of the buttons or follow simple directions (PRESS 3 FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MARIANNE)

        • ☆Luma☆@lemmy.ca
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          10 months ago

          I’d like to supplement that I’ve had access to my various employer’s records multiple times… because why lock the admin computer.

          With my current employer, my entire wages for the month are paid for with net profits in a single day thanks to the skeleton crew we operate. I get to work knowing every other day is going straight to my boss’s luxurious life-style because it’s certainly not coming back here.

          Don’t be surprised when you hear of another staff walk-out~

          Fuck tips, support good living standards for everyone!

      • mechoman444@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        No. I actually kinda do. Like if I’m out with friends I literally get judged if I tip poorly let alone if I don’t tip at all which is social suicide.

        And if I have a coupon for a meal, say 50% or something like that I still have to tip on the original amount before the discount was applied.

        Moreover, and most importantly in some restaurants tipping is the only source of income the server gets. Regardless of how I feel about it I am still responsible for this person’s wage.

        I hate tipping culture.

      • Mamertine@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        It’s not socially acceptable to not tip servers in a full service restaurant in the USA. It’s becoming a required social norm to tip fast casual.

        The pandemic really changed the tipping norms in the USA.

  • DeGandalf@kbin.social
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    10 months ago

    As a german the whole tip system in the US is both redicilous and hilarious to me.
    We have tipping here, too (we literally call it “drinking money”). With the difference, that it’s pretty much voluntary and if you don’t have much money (e.g. as a student) noone will expect you to tip.
    Having tips be part of the actual wage totally defeats the point of them…

      • AA5B@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        This is actually a great reason for ending tipping. I used to feel like I was on the server’s side, slipping them cash the business couldn’t steal, but I never use cash anymore so have no idea who it’s going to. Also, businesses are getting more sleazy with required “tips” and fees, and it’s all one giant tax fraud no matter which way you put it.

        Actual prices on the menu are better for the customer, actual pay is better for the server, accounting for everything is better for the business and accurate reporting is better for all of us who depend on services paid for by taxes

      • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Are you a true American if you don’t shaft your employees for every penny that you can though?

        No, but a true Capitalist, yes.

        (Sad of me to write that, as there used to be a time where companies made good products and accepted reasonable profit margins, going for the win-win scenarios. Today’s Capitalism seems all about the win-lose scenarios.)

      • brandocorp@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        10 months ago

        https://time.com/5404475/history-tipping-american-restaurants-civil-war/

        After the Constitution was amended in the wake of the Civil War, slavery was ended as an institution but those who were freed from bondage were still limited in their choices. Many who did not end up sharecropping worked in menial positions, such as servants, waiters, barbers and railroad porters. These were pretty much the only occupations available to them. For restaurant workers and railroad porters, there was a catch: many employers would not actually pay these workers, under the condition that guests would offer a small tip instead.

        “These industries demanded the right to basically continue slavery with a $0 wage and tip,” Jayaraman says.

    • DBT@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I was so confused the first time I went to Germany. I asked someone there about tipping and they said, “you can, but you don’t have to.”

      That didn’t really clarify it enough for me so I just tipped like I do in the US. Didn’t want anyone thinking I was a jerk.

    • tiredofsametab@kbin.social
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      10 months ago

      As an American and former tipped employee, living in a country without tips is so much better. However, there are some groups trying to make tips happen here in Japan. If you get good service, tell the manager or corporate. If you’re a regular, give them an actual small gift (this happens anyway because people exchange gifts when they go on vacation and such). If it’s a bar employee, buy them a drink. I like this much better.

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    10 months ago

    “Ballot measures pending in Michigan, Arizona, Ohio and Massachusetts, and a bill being reintroduced in Connecticut”. There.

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      10 months ago

      I live in a state that pays minimum wage to tipped workers. The annoying thing is they still expect you to tip. They’ll even add 5% for worker healthcare and an 18% gratuity then give you a receipt with a tip line.

      We need to do away with the whole concept of tipping. The employer should pay their workers end of story. The problem with tipping is it is never enough. If employees complain about low wages, the employer will just go to the customer for more. It used to be that a 10% tip was enough, then 15, then 18, then 20, now I see 25 and 30.

      • nomous@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        100% agree, pay your employees a decent wage, if you need to raise prices to do that then do that. If I can’t afford it then I’ll make different plans. Don’t charge me menu price and then expect me to subsidize your payroll off-the-books. If you can’t pay employees maybe your business plan is shit and shouldn’t exist.

      • trackcharlie@lemmynsfw.com
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        10 months ago

        If they’re taking extra are you workers actually getting the health insurance and coverage you deserve or are they straight up lying? I’d believe you, the worker, before I believe anything a corporate entity has to say.

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      10 months ago

      Since you used the possessive, I think you forgot a word.

      Employee’s salary?

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        I don’t know about you, but I pay employees in company scrip…

        (/s… scrip is illegal. Also evil, but details.)

        • theangryseal@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Growing up in WV someone gave me a bag of scrip they had collected and when I lost my house I lost that bag.

          One of the many things that broke my heart losing that place.

          So fucked up the way I lost it too.

          My siblings, mother, and I all lived with my aunt when my mom got the place. Since we were there often she never bothered to have the mail sent to her. I took over payments, lived there for about 5 years, paid the bill every month. Apparently it was an adjustable rate and the payment had gone up. They never bothered to tell me the few times I made the payment in person, probably because it wasn’t in my name (usually dropped it in the overnight box after work). One night I came home from work to a note on the door telling me I had 2 weeks to vacate. My aunt never opened the mail, she’d just toss it when we didn’t get it. I don’t blame her. No one asked for it for years. When my mom called, I was behind over 2k on the payment. We didn’t have it, couldn’t come up with it (minimum wage was 5.15 at the time) and they wouldn’t budge. They thought “well they owe 40k, we can sell it for whatever” and wouldn’t budge. I’ve had people tell me I could have hired a lawyer, but I was homeless, ignorant, and selling everything I could to come up with a security deposit to rent a place. I lost many family heirlooms and prized possessions. It was a huge house, 5 bedrooms. I had three of the unused bedrooms full of stuff I and my family had collected over the years. I had the one of the very first home video tape recorders ever sold (Ampex). Tons of neat stuff like that just tossed in the landfill.

          The house was in bad shape and this is the only thing about it that puts a smile on my face. It sits empty today, windows boarded up, ceilings caving in. They got nothing for it. Hoorah!

          Sorry for the story. It just crossed my mind because you brought up scrip and I just typed away with my ADHD ass. Take care.

    • negativeyoda@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      That’s… not how it works. The key word here is “minimum” wage which we all know is woefully inadequate. Going from making $2.13 to $7.25 isn’t going to pay anyone’s rent without help

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          10 months ago

          This is why I’ve been saying we should be focusing on raising minimum wage before worrying about tipping. I’m telling you right now almost nobody is going to put up with the ass tier job of being a server for minimum wage. It’s short sighted to be worrying about tips just because they annoy you now when that’s nothing compared to just letting everyone make a living wage.

        • negativeyoda@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Everyone? No. Most places can’t hire if they’re paying minimum, so not a lot of people working non tipped positions are paid the absolute minimum.

          Food workers, yes.

          Regardless, this is a bad faith strawman argument

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            10 months ago

            There is nothing bad faith or strawmanning about my question. I’m just going to take that accusation as a sign that you know you don’t actually have a valid argument and don’t want to continue.

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        10 months ago

        Not to mention, by using the service which “forces you to tip to compensate the worker” at all, if you don’t participate in the tipping, you’re simply exploiting the worker with the business owner who got his money and doesn’t give a fuck about the worker thus the $2.13/hr. The only ethical option to “not tip” is “not order,” opting instead to heat up your own nuggies, or pop in a Freschetta, or find a business that does pay fairly and support them, or start one. By ordering, paying in full, and not tipping the delivery or wait staff, you’ve affected no change beyond exploiting that worker and making it harder to afford rent, even if they quit they will be just replaced and the cycle of exploitation begins anew.

      • Rediphile@lemmy.ca
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        10 months ago

        Minimum wage is sad, yes. I wish it were higher. But fast food workers and many others make it work without the tips. There is no logical basis for tipping servers if they are being paid the same minimum wage as many other people doing equal (or sometimes harder) work in other contexts.

        • negativeyoda@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Fast food workers A) make more than minimum and B) so accept tips depending which establishment it is

          Also, they don’t “make it work” because you can’t live on that without assistance. If your sole job is McDonald’s or Walmart, most of those people are also on food stamps

      • trackcharlie@lemmynsfw.com
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        10 months ago

        I understand where you are coming from but the purpose of the free market doctrine is to allow both consumers and workers to choose where they buy from and where they work at.

        No one is forced, gun to head, to work at (X) location or buy at (X) location. If you believe you are worth more, you need to work somewhere that is willing to pay you what you’re worth.

        I used to work the service industry and ended up getting my red seal as a chef and around the same time I got my red seal I abandoned the industry. I saw where it was going, I trained to make 5 star meals and then once working at a five star restaurant got paid minimum wage and treated like shit by both employer and customers alike.

        I took out loans and went to university and because I did this I will die in debt, but I will at least die having access to somewhat reasonable accommodations and food.

        My advice to anyone stuck in a similar situation as I was is to avoid college/university and get online accreditation and certification for network security or similar. You can practice the materials for free and when ready pay for the certification tests then leap from whatever unfavourable job to one that pays, in some cases, obscenely more than necessary.

  • alienanimals@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Greedy employers leverage tipping to pay their employees the least amount possible. It’s fucking disgusting.

    And too many people who receive tips don’t realize that it’s their employer fucking them over rather.

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      10 months ago

      It’s worse than that, most of the time, employers are skimming from the tips. Don’t tip for things that were previously non-tipped and give the person cash if you can.

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        10 months ago

        The scummiest thing I’ve seen is restaurants adding a percent service fee before asking for an extra tip on top. Not a delivery service or 3rd party, the restaurant itself. Basically it makes customers tip less because they see the service fee so it’s just flat out stealing the tip from workers.

        • TheIllustrativeMan@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Not them, but every tipped job I’ve had has been skimmed.

          Whether to pay the cooks, dishwasher, or just straight pocketed by the owner, I only ever got 50-75% of the tip.

        • ☆Luma☆@lemmy.ca
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          10 months ago

          I’ve had my manager take our tip pool for snacks. The justification being that the snacks are for everyone even though half of us didn’t eat the snacks. >:( I don’t want chips, especially when it’s my customer’s good will directed towards me.

    • CosmicTurtle@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      There’s a loop hole where companies don’t have to pay minimum wage if tips amount to the minimum wage that would have been earned by the employee.

      It’s a shitty way for companies to not pay their employees and expect customers to pay them.

  • fat_stig@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    While I abhor the whole concept of tipping, the thing that really grinds my gears is that we are expected to pay a percentage of the bill for service. If I order a basic cheese pizza or a 16 ounce tomahawk steak with a big chunk of foie gras and all the trimmings the server does not have to do much extra work for the latter. But if I have to tip $5 on a $20 pizza, why the fuck do I have to tip $100 for almost the same amount of service for the steak? Sure it weighs more and you might need to make an extra trip to serve the trimmings, but WTF, the server is not providing any more value by serving an expensive dish.

    If I order an expensive bottle of wine it takes no extra effort to serve, why should I pay a shit ton more service charge?

    USA, get your shit together, this is so not right. Land of the free? My arse.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Because restaurants decided to enforce tipping by percentage after world war 2 in order to keep payroll down. They lobbied for laws around it and ran advertisements to the public. Corporate governance is a huge problem in the US and tipping is just one facet.

  • BigTrout75@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    While I do tip. It does suck that eating out pretty much requires a donation because we all agree that food workers don’t make enough to live on. And I live in a State where they get full minimum. Just give the workers food and boarding and we can call it a deal, oh wait… Let’s not.

    • BaardFigur@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Non-american here. While I tipped last time I visited, I don’t think I will do it next time I visit. It will just legitimize a system, that has to go away. Due to the way tipping and minimum wage work together, I essentially just tip the owner of the restaurant (at least to a large degree). As a customer, I have no reason to pay more than the price that is asked for

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        You’re going to get banned from a bunch of restaurants then. Anywhere worth eating enforces tipping. Some of them have it already included in the bill.

        I understand your frustration but that’s going to add far more stress to your trip, will result in servers being underpaid, and could result in the police being called if you refuse to pay a tip that’s already included on the bill.

          • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Sure thing buddy. Here you go. As for the charges sticking? Who cares? You just got arrested on holiday.

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              10 months ago

              If it’s non-optional, and they make it clear that it’s non-optional, and the amount is stated. Sure, fine. I’m just annoyed why they hide the true price from the menu. Why would they hide VAT and non-optional gratuity from it, leaving me to calculate it for myself? I’ve been to countries like France, where they actually have a flat 15% gratuity everywhere. The difference is that it is included in the menu price, so I get no surprises afterwards.

            • wanderingmagus@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              Then I’ll turn around and counter-sue the restaurant, and make the restaurant owner’s life a living hell for the rest of their life. Maybe they’ll even end up on the street after their house gets taken from them.

              • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                Counter sue what? They aren’t sueing you and they didn’t arrest you. The legal advice to restaurants is to have the police come even for removing people because that shifts the legal liability.

                You can’t just make it up. The courts will dismiss your car and charge you money for the pleasure.

        • marx2k@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Absolutely no establishments are going to ban a customer for not tipping.

  • eclectic_electron@sh.itjust.works
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    10 months ago

    Reminder that a “living wage”, and what most servers make, is at least 3x minimum wage, so tipping is still going to be required.

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      10 months ago

      Why? I hope this is just the first step toward the end of tipping culture. Why should servers be held out as a special category deserving higher pay? They deserve a decent wage at least minimum, just like everyone else. If businesses need to pay them more to attract employees, then that’s the free market at work. That’s more predictable, transparent, honest toward all of the business, the employee, and the customer

      • eclectic_electron@sh.itjust.works
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        10 months ago

        Servers shouldn’t be special, obviously. The obligatory tipping system we have is an complete dumpster fire. But this is taking employees who currently make $30/hr in tips and changing their minimum wage from $2/hr to $7/hr. It’s not going to change anything. How could it? Would you give up a $30/hr job to take a $7/hr job on principle? Unless you’re independently wealthy, you couldn’t even if you wanted to.

        • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          But this is taking employees who currently make $30/hr in tips and changing their minimum wage from $2/hr to $7/hr. It’s not going to change anything.

          Well at that point then the employers will need to raise how much they’re offering the employees, or the employees will look for other work. Normal capitalistic market scenario.

          Bottom line is for the employees to keep making the same kind of money, but having that be done out of the employer’s pocket, and not the customer’s pocket.

          And if the employer refuses to give up some of their profits to the employee to do that, and instead just tries to raise the prices of their products to offset, then they’ll find themselves going out of business right quick like, again, normal capitalistic market scenario.

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          10 months ago

          Would you actually just put your head down and keep working there if that happened to you? Like…why?

          Especially when Joe’s Tavern down the road is starting people off at $40/hour! It’s like the only place left in town after everyone quit and all the restaurants went under, so they got away with charging $18 a beer and $29 a burger! The owner must be making a killing…

      • eclectic_electron@sh.itjust.works
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        10 months ago

        Tipping is “not required” the way that not cheating on an SO is “not required”. No, you’re not going to get arrested for it, but that doesn’t make it okay.

        • Rediphile@lemmy.ca
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          10 months ago

          This is more like someone I barely know and never agreed to be in a relationship with getting upset about me seeing other people.

          If you agree to monogamy, it’s cheating and unethical for sure. If you don’t agree to monogamy, cheating isn’t even possible lol.

          So if I agree to pay the listed price of an item and then I pay for it in full…

          • Urist@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            10 months ago

            This is more like someone I barely know and never agreed to be in a relationship with getting upset about me seeing other people.

            But you did decide to walk into a restaurant and order, knowing full well that the employees there currently require tips to survive, yes? And you also understand that your single act of not tipping one person doesn’t change societal convention, it only hurts that individual worker?

            Your analogy is fraught. Let me revise it for you:

            This is more like someone I barely know and never agreed to be in a relationship with getting upset that I shit in their toilet without flushing.

            • Rediphile@lemmy.ca
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              10 months ago

              I never consented to any of it. And no, I don’t know what the servers make. I only know what I made as one at a specific restaurant like 15 years ago. My uncertainty is even more pronounced when I’m on vacation in an area I’ve never worked as a server.

              Can you please just let me know the actual price so I can agree to pay it or not. I just want all the information so I can make a decision. How much is the cheeseburger that says $10 on the menu? Ffs I’m hungry.

              But no, it’s like you’re afraid to give an actual price because you don’t want to risk limiting the hypothetical maximum you can scam out of some sucker.

              • Urist@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                10 months ago

                I have also worked as a server, briefly, at a corporate establishment. For each well paid server there is certainly one not making enough money.

                You’re still not getting the point: you choose to eat at a restaurant. If you’re just hungry and out of time and don’t feel like tipping, you’re able to patronize somewhere where the majority of the employees wage does not come from tips. Yes, every fast food place has those rip screens now and most people are ignoring them. I’m not talking about fast food employees, I’m talking about Jan at Bob’s greasy spoon diner or Tim at Chili’s.

                So, are you really arguing for using a server’s labor without compensating them for it?

                • Rediphile@lemmy.ca
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                  10 months ago

                  I’d just like to know the price of a ‘$10’ cheeseburger so I can make an informed decision. You’re refusal to state the actual price tells me everything I need to know.

                  And I’m not buying any of the servers labor, I’m buying a cheeseburger. The only business relationship I have here is between me and the business owner selling cheeseburgers. The only reason I came here is that I’m hungry for a delicious cheeseburger.

                  Are you really arguing about this from a device produced within a system where people in sweatshops get paid far less than servers and without even any possibility of tips? You must see the irony a bit…or did you somehow tip the sweatshop kids when you bought your phone/laptop? Or did you assume the entire chain of people who produced the device are paid fairly? I mean, sure, maybe they are (as unlikely as that is). But it’s going to take a whole lot of research to determine that or even come close to determining.

                  More than anything, I’d really just like to know how much currency I need to exchange for one cheeseburger listed on the menu for $10… but since the menu can’t be trusted. I’m asking, please, how much is that cheeseburger?

        • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          but that doesn’t make it okay.

          It’s okay to not to tip for normal service.

          Tipping is supposed to be done for extraordinary service, above the call of what the employee is normally required to do for the customer.

          If the employee is not earning enough then that’s a matter for between the employer and the employee to resolve, not the customer.

          • eclectic_electron@sh.itjust.works
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            10 months ago

            Unfortunately that’s not the reality in full service restaurants in the US, where I live. Servers are reliant on tips to live. The practice is pervasive. I don’t know of a single non-tipped full service restaurant in my city.

            • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              Unfortunately that’s not the reality in full service restaurants in the US

              As someone who lives in the US and was actually at a full service restaurant just last night, I can’t agree, just depends on the place/region.

              Also, if you are basing your existence on just the goodwill of others, that’s not a smart or healthy way to live.

              Really get tired of repeating the same points over and over again, so I’ll just leave it as “everyone is the captain of their own ship”, metaphorically speaking.

              It’s okay to not to tip for normal service.

              Tipping is supposed to be done for extraordinary service, above the call of what the employee is normally required to do for the customer.

              If the employee is not earning enough then that’s a matter for between the employer and the employee to resolve, not the customer.

              • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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                10 months ago

                From all I’ve heard, wait staff actually like tipping because, if you’re good, you can make a decent amount of money that way.

                I personally would love to get rid of the tipping culture in the US, as I think we’ve passed a point where tips are just being asked for in far too many places, but the idea that tipping is bad for waitstaff is something I think they might, on a whole, disagree with.

                And where are you in the US where tipping at a full service restaurant is not customary?

    • DoomBot5@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Yup, servers often times make much more than other “minimum wage” jobs.

  • Roccobot@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Since Lemmy is trying to be better than Reddit, can we agree that titles should be like ‘5 US states…’? Not every person that reads news here lives in the United States 🕊️

  • werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    The state of Texas is committed to ending slavery in the coming decade. As a first step they are proposing that minimum wage should cover an entire cardboard box living quarters. And we’re not talking shoebox size Amazon hand me downs that still have the return address tag! They will remove the tag and provide enough duct tape to seal that portion of the box. Under article 17 of the 2024 end of slavery pact, they propose that men and women under the age of 27 shall not be responsible for sealing and or weather proofing their cardboard boxes. Older people are not covered yet, but may be covered as soon as two or three more migrant babies are sold back to their respective Mexican families. Indeed, Texas is making strides to accommodate the world’s demands for fair treatment of human rights and the people who should have them.