Tipping in North America

[chopc]

I don't understand tipping in North America- apparently it's the biggest source of income for waiters/ tour guides etc. However all these people are employed. Isn't it up to the employer to pay them an adequate wage then the tip would be just that - an additional amount given if the customer thinks they received exceptional service. If it's a compulsory payment it's not a tip 🤔. Does anyone know the logic behind the N American way of thinking?

Also, i don't want to be forced to pay twice, with the implication that there is a choice. Why not just up the price at the beginning.
And why this industry, and this country, please won't someone question why this is a given and is perfectly acceptable practice .

I do tip BTW and I would say to anyone who is going to the States or on a cruise to factor this as a separate tax, rather than spends.

i don't want to be forced to pay twice

You aren’t being forced to pay twice. The menu showed the cost of the food. The service is extra. If the service was good and the server polite and helpful you tip them between 15% and 20%. That is the custom in the US. If you don’t like the concept of paying for table service, there are fast food or self serve places where no tipping is required.

For all the people reading this who live in the States, please understand that a lot of people like myself, do tip and love doing it especially when the staff are not expecting it. I love being generous and I like to make people feel valued, but not like this when it's just expected of me regardless. Feels meaningless is all I'm saying.

I saw a tv programme once where a couple left a restaurant in America without leaving a tip and the waitress ran screaming and shouting down the road after them, demanding her tip. That's obviously a bit OTT but I do not understand people who don't tip when they go to America, knowing it's the norm. I can only assume they are mean and stingy or why else would you not do it?

I don't know why some services are tipped. like waiting staff, taxis and hairdressers are tipped while others are not here in the UK.

I hear the tipping on cruises costs a lot. Someone I know went with DH and 2 DC 4 and 8 on a cruise by Carnival Cruises and discovered that not only were the adults expected to pay $12 a day each, but also both of their children as only under 2s were exempt. So adds approx a wopping $350 a week!

Tipping isn’t compulsory. Typically people leave a very small tip for bad service, as a message on the service.

Out of interest, I do wonder if a brave person could start a small chain of 'Fair-Wage' restaurants in the US and make it abundantly clear that their workers all receive a decent wage, so the price you are charged is all you are expected/required to pay (apart from any government or state taxes, of course) - could that eventually spread and lead to a culture where people ARE paid a proper wage instead of having to rely on handouts.

Yes it's been tried in my nearest city. Didn't work - they lost business. Eventually they just went back to allowing tipping. Everyone was happier.

The industry and the government have both repeatedly experimented with removing tipping and replacing it with a guaranteed wage. It's never been successful.

Bear in mind that if you don't get enough tips to make your pay up to minimum wage then the restaurant has to make it up themselves, whereas any tips you get above minimum wage are yours to keep. So most days wait staff earn well above minimum wage.

DD1's boyfriend works in a restaurant in the kitchen ATM and gets $14 an hour with no tips for washing dishes. He'd like to make it to a front of house job where he'll earn much more than $14 an hour with tips.

I don’t tip in the UK because it’s not the done thing
Of course it is, very rude not to tip approx 10% taxi, hairdresser or restaurant.

@mydcaremarvel - I've never tipped a taxi driver or hairdresser in my life. I wouldn't dream of it.

Bravelurker, I understand your feeling, and your frustration. One thing you should be aware of is that many restaurants, especially the ones that are NOT chains, operate on very thin profit margins. (And no, you do not have to tip at fast-food chains like McDonalds, although you should tip at a fast-food chain that has waitress service, such as a Friendly's or a Denny's). They would have a hard time being open at all if they did not operate the way they did. I am not a big fan of the system. For one thing, it's completely unfair to the cooks, who don't get tips (though they do get at least minimum wage, which servers do not get).
At some point, when one is traveling, there are things people do in other countries that people just do that get a certain thing done in a manner that is different than the way it is done at home. You can be angry about it. You can be curious about it. You can be curious about yourself and your reaction to it. You can wonder what your culture does that other countries might find strange. All of these things are part of what one can learn about when one travels.
What is not fair, however, is making workers in that country suffer because you don't agree with those customs, as some disagreeable posters have suggested. That is ugly, and the effect would be to give British people a reputation as cheaters and takers. Don't do that!

@SilverySurfer, my exDH was chased for not leaving a tip years ago when he was in NYC , it's hilarious because he was so easily embarrassed.

I have a big group of friends going to a destination wedding in Vegas next month and most of them won't have a clue about this and won't give a fiddlers feck anyway . Can't wait to hear the stories .

US: Has no nationwide minimum wage.

Bollocks. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage_in_the_United_States

Some restaurants here are adding a service charge and eliminating tipping.

www.ushgnyc.com/category/blog/no-tipping/

Something else to point out - I do think eating out in the US has become much more expensive recently especially for tourists from the UK who are visiting big US cities.

Part of this is because minimum wages at a state and city level have gone up quite significantly, so you are now paying your kitchen staff and wait staff a reasonable wage.

In NYC the minimum wage is now $15 an hour. In Chicago it's $13 an hour but a lot of places pay $15+ just to be able to get staff. LA is $14.25 an hour but I'd imagine they're paying much more too.

Combined with the weak pound, that is hitting tourists from the UK who thought they would be able to enjoy cheap restaurant meals. In the US it's £11-12 minimum wage now in a lot of big touristy cities.

I only tip if I have good service. If it's accepted as sort of compulsory why is it not called a service charge? That way everyone would know it has nothing to do with the level of service, but an additional cost. Then if the service is very good a tip would then be given.

I don’t tip in the UK because it’s not the done thing

Isn't it?? I tip everyone one don't hate.

@thisnamechanger do you tip the person who serves you in Mcds?, Tesco? Etc

@itsyersel if @thisnamechanger tips everyone they don't hate surely that includes random people in the street. Sounds expensive !!

Hi @Durgasarrow, I do tip though, even in this country (UK) to taxi drivers that don't even help me with my bags, because I am not a dick.
I just think that it's wrong to be made to feel bad if staff work for nothing because of this particular industry's practice.

It's exactly the same as employers paying shit minimum wages in the UK and then tax payers having to top it up with tax credits to enable people to live.

It's Capitalism and it stinks.

We watch you with beady eyes when you pay your bills to see if you're going to stiff the waiters "on principle." Hurting working people on vacation is one of the nastiest things travelers can do. Don't do it.

Could the Americans return the favour then and stop tipping in countries that don't have the culture of it? It ruins things for everyone else that travels. And imposes this shitty practice on everyone, worldwide.

I tip well in North America because I'm not a dick. And moderately in the UK for the same reason.

I travel to the US fairly often, and I would like to make clear do always tip at the going rate.

However, it is a bit of a pain, due to having to have a constant supply of notes.

Also the thought that you could get screwed if the server doesn't like your tip, or if you don't tip for something you didn't realise was tippable, or you can never return to s restaurant if you leave a bad tip.

I would also like to point out that I think tipping is actually becoming less popular in the US in recent years. Could be something to do with the economy, I have heard a few America's complain about tipping recently, compared to absolutely zero in the late 90s / early 2000s. (As a Brit I don't dare for comment either way for fear of being assumed to be cheap, whatever I say)

Another anecdotal, I tipped $2 for a drink costing about $8 dollars a few years ago (my logic being it was like tipping $1 for a $3.50 beer in the late 90s), the bar tender was happy, and made a point of thanking me, we started chatting, as we had a few things in common, he said tips were way down and most people tip $1 per drink, whatever the drink.

RE: US server salaries, as a bar tender with tips in the late 90s in a major city, you could probably make 3 or 4 times the UK equivalent. I think it has probably gone down quite a lot since then, but I am sure most servers find the tipping system a lot more financially beneficial than the "civilised" uk system if they are working in a busy bar/ restaurant.

Mrs. Terry Pratchett--Of course! I think it's a very good idea to try to adapt to the local customs when I travel, because unlike some people on this thread, I'm a fucking grown-up.

I don't understand why people think they are entitled to get "good value" from American restaurants. The exchange rate is terrible for you right now. Of course you aren't going to get good value. The idiots in your country who voted for Brexit have screwed you over, a feeling we know all too well. This has nothing to do with whether or not you should pay the tip. No one says you have to come to this Trump-ridden hellhole, though it still has its charms.Just, if you do come--ffs, tip waiters at restaurants if you are a decent human being.

You tip, the waiter is earning maybe $5-8 an hour in a country where wages are typically nearly double the equivalent job in the U.K. the cost of living is far higher. Restaurants are not cheap, the exchange rate is rubbish but coupons are common so you can be savvy and save that way

Ps you can add your tip to your bill if paying by credit card, I never bother getting currency these days