Tipping is a holdover from slavery. It’s a way to control service workers.
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t tip people who rely on tips, it means the system is fucking broken by design.
Tips are a big reason I stopped going out. Everybody wants one.
Every single time I see a fucking Square cash register… One of these motherfuckers:
Every single time I see that piece of shit, I know I’m about to hear the “it’s just going to ask you a few questions” line. And those “few questions” will be asking me to tip 25 goddamned percent on something that I’ve never tipped for before.
This may be anecdotal, but I ran into this exact same issue a few weeks ago. The suggested 20% was significantly higher than the 20% on the bill. It took me a little bit to figure out, but we were at the restaurant for a steak special and happy hour. The 20% tip was for the non-special price. For example, the steak and two sides special was $18, but the normal price was $28. The drinks were $5 but the normal price was $8. So the suggested tip was 20% of $36, not 20% of $23. These aren’t the exact numbers, and there were two of us, but you get the idea. The POS/Tip suggestion is setup so the servers don’t get the shit end of the stick when the restaurant is doing a deal/special. I’m not sure I fully agree with it, and I have my own beef with tipping culture in general, but I’m just looking to explain what might be seen in OP’s photo.
It’s not hard to include a disclaimer tip prices based on full price if that’s the case to avoid looking bad.
That’s should be common sense. Tip on the FULL amount not on a discount you received, you didn’t get discounted food or service so tip accordingly. It’s not hard.
I don’t know if Groupon is still a thing, but at its peak there were posts online on a regular basis from wait staff who got stiffed, because customers would tip based on the balance they owed after the 90%+ discount Groupon voucher.
If your employees rely on tips to meet months end, your business model is shit.
I feel like there may be some missing information. For example, if the customer had a coupon or other discount. The tip should be a percentage of the total before the discount. If they’re “adjusting” to tip less- based on the post-coupon price, fuck them.
whenever I see a “suggested tip for your inconvenience” I feel the urge to research (aka google) their reported earnings for the last economical year, calculate their profit margin and write that in the tip line and to pay their employees better instead of trying to shift the costs onto the customers with scammy guilty conscience. Fuck establishments like that, especially those who are then trying to conceive you ONTOP of the already bs tips
The whole tip thing is a scam to begin with.
Tipping, specifically in the original context of restaurants, I will still do, simply because the government needs to change the minimum wage so that servers are included. They’re currently a protected group that is allowed to be paid far less than minimum wage, and they are supposed to make up the difference in tips.
In every other context, wow me and I’ll tip you, otherwise, don’t expect shit.
If you did your job as you are expected to do, then I don’t see why I need to tip.
It was always a dumb idea to pay servers LESS because they got tips. There was a time when tips were mostly cash and you didn’t have to claim them as income. But now that advantage is almost completely gone. And we should just end tipping. If you go out and don’t like the service then don’t go back. Just like it works with any other business.
Thank you! After all the comments and being a server I was starting to feel like I was going crazy!
Like you said, tip your servers accordingly and if not then don’t go the f out! Go through a drive thru instead!
And if you hate the tipping culture then try to change it! Don’t punish the servers for your selfish actions and beliefs for a service rendered! You don’t HAVE to be waited on… you chose that! So don’t choose to not tip that’s an asshole move and if you’re a regular even worse!
This is exactly me. I still tip you all. Even if the food sucked, I’m doing what I can to leave a tip.
I’d add a caveat for bad service, but honestly, I don’t think I’ve met a server yet that deserved to not be tipped (aka, paid fairly for their service).
If you suck at your job, you won’t have it very long. Server or not. Let’s let the system work the way it does for everyone else. Ban below minimum wage wages for servers.
Once that happens, I can happily never tip again.
You could easily get away with not claiming cash tips as income, that is.
Are you encouraging people to do a crime?
Tax evasion is serious you know!
… Nevermind that the IRS lacks resources to actually audit even the top 0.1% of earners to make sure they aren’t doing anything funky… Nevermind having the resources to audit any of the rest of us… It’s illegal!
No you cannot, you need to claim all, if not… that’s stealing!
For the longest time, I’d find a tip between 15% and 20% which would result in a final total that was a palindrome. That was about 20 years ago and that’s the first thing I noticed in this picture.
It was probably the percentage BEFORE a discount was given… just because a discount happens doesn’t mean you should skip out on the tip of a server… example, you have a $100 bill with a $50 discount, you DO NOT TIP ON THE DISCOUNT, you tip on THE TOTAL bill of service. You still all got the same amount of food and service, so stop with this short tipping staff!
Can’t afford a tip then don’t fucking go to a damn restaurant! I make more as a server with half the hours than when I was a full time teacher! America is fucked but don’t fuck fellow people over because you can’t comprehend the tipping culture and are a cheap POS!
This may be a “hot take” but the service staff is employed by the restaurant, not me. It’s not my job to pay the employees of the restaurant. It’s the owners and employers job to pay the staff. I want to know the price of the thing I’m buying when I order it, not after taxes are added and in some places a “cost of living” fee on top of that. Then to expect the customer to pay even more on top of all the extra bs fees the house charges instead of just increasing the price of the food. No thanks
Don’t know where you live but taxes are always a thing, welcome to America. All bills show EXACTLY what you are paying for, if you don’t want to tip or change the tipping culture than do it, otherwise TIP your servers or fuck off and get take out, it’s not that fucking hard!
In your experience what percentage of people tipped $0 or far less than 20%?
Honestly, people in my community are amazing! I get well over 20% most of the time, very rarely will I get $0 tips and honestly it’s from teenagers or young adults who shouldn’t be “dining in” if they don’t have a tip after food costs! (Go fast food or take out, don’t punish me because you don’t have money for a tip!)
Other than this one mid age douche that comes in every other week and orders like $40-50 worth of food and NEVER tips! I ignore his table if I am busy. People pay me for food and SERVICE and if I know you aren’t going to tip me, I ain’t going to provide the best service!
The problem is that because of the way it’s written, it ends up being misleading.
If there was a simple disclaimer like “tip based on non-discounted prices”, it would’ve been fine.
I agree but also, that’s common sense… just because your bill was discounted doesn’t mean you discount my tip, you still got all the food and great service, so wtf! I don’t get how people are still confused, tipping in America has been a thing for decades!
Still potentially misleading. If the receipt doesn’t say anything about the discount (which is not clear because we can’t see what’s above the total), then you can’t tell. Again, a simple disclaimer should be enough. If there are things like “please open box before eating pizza”, then this shouldn’t be a problem.
If you’re a regular at the place, you might know about the specials. If you just walk in one time and you don’t see a label, a receipt like this will be misleading if it doesn’t state the discounts and tip bases.
It common sense, tip off TOTAL bill NOT discounted prices, you got the same service and food so… tip accordingly of TRUE amount. It’s not “misleading” it’s a true fact, tip based of total.
Like I said before, you get $100 worth of drinks with a discount of half off so $50, you do NOT tip off $50. You got $100 worth of drinks and services so tip off that! Don’t like it, don’t go out. Don’t agree, then create a bill and call your govt reps, do not punish fellow humans because you “don’t agree”. We are all just trying to live. If anything, make your own food at home and there you go, NO TIP NEEDED… but no, you came out to get waited on therefore, provide tips accordingly, we are not just at the restaurant for pleasure…
As I said, it’s not evident at all if those are full or discounted prices, so in the latter case it’s a misleading number.
Anyway, I don’t live in a place with broken wages and tipping system, so I don’t have to deal with problems like this. Where I am wait staff gets adequate wages and tips are only a bonus on top of that.
You’re right. Not sure why you’d be down voted, other than if people found your conclusion a bit heavy.
Thank you!! They didn’t like my responses as a fellow server former teacher! I make more with half the hours as a server than a full time teacher, that’s savage and what’s truly wrong with America! Don’t like the tipping culture than don’t go out, it’s not that fucking hard. Don’t punish servers for your beliefs! I just don’t get people. Why downvote me when I am providing my first hand experiences?
Restaurant tries to scam customers, yet they still give a 20% tip?
Pretty sure the waitress wasn’t the one who fucked with the register. Probably the restaurant trying to ensure they don’t have to pay the difference if the tips come up short and leave the staff below minimum wage.
I feels like reasoning like this is why it would never end.
Shafting the waitress is not going to end it either. Most people wouldn’t notice this, so they’d still keep doing it if you didn’t tip.
The play here is to tip the waitress in cash if possible and slam the establishment on every review site.
stop tipping so waitstaff finds another job and restaurants that don’t pay enough go out of business
ezpz
If the worker or anyone else not gonna unionise or protest the government for a better minimum wages, then the culture gonna continue. Slammin and jammin the establishment will do absolutely nothing, as with all non-disruptive protest.
I swear tipping is fetishized by american.
It’s logical, it’s not the wait staff’s fault. You’re correct though that it’s an endless circle, with the only solution being that everyone stops supporting places that don’t pay employees well. Which means don’t go to any US restaurants, or any retail. There is the bigger endless circle, trying to get the masses to all participate in such a boycott.
Right?
Most people just pay it out of obligation, and the occasional nerd calls us out politely.
Gee, whatever shall we do?
You think place like that distributes tips honestly?
The “I’m just doing my job” defence. Nice.
Are you comparing the waitress not proofreading the math on a preprinted receipt (arguably not their job) to soldiers actively committing war crimes?
No. Soldiers are very much protected from such orders in most countries. They can’t be held responsible for refusing to follow an illegal order.
I mostly hear the argument from civilians helping their employer commit crime.
Have you ever heard of ICE?? They are committing out right kidnappings of citizens “under the orders” of a helmet haired toddler who shits his own pants… really? They clearly are upholding these illegal acts and do not care! They don’t even show their faces! SHAME!
Plus also, Nazis in WWII went along with Hitler when they shouldn’t have for an example. Or putting Asian Americans into camps after the bombings due to fear they were ALL somehow involved!?
“Fuck you restaurant for trying to scam me, now I’ll only pay the correct 20% extra on top of my bill”
They also paid it on the tax. Supposed to figure off the subtotal
The solution is to never step foot in the restaurant again not punish the server.
Thank you! I am just one server do not punish me because you hate the tipping culture of America! Don’t like it, like you said, don’t go to a damn restaurant then! Easy peasy!
Don’t punish another person for your thoughts, feelings, etc about the situation of tipping, it’s not their fault, it’s yours for not tipping them because “you don’t agree” then go to damn McDonald’s!
I’ve never worked as a server but I did date one long ago who said something to the effect, “that $5 means more to her than you” and while I was not nearly as financially stable back then, that idea has stuck with me.
An extra isn’t going to make or break my day but it could make someone else’s day.
Another way I’ve been thinking about this is how for a brief moment you someone’s “boss.” If you’ve ever complained about unfair compensation what does it say about you that you’re using than brief moment of power to be what you hate.
I agree! $5 to you might not mean much but to a server it would mean everything. It makes up for bad tippers or worse the no tippers at all. The little things makes servers day honestly!
And yeah, but I am not truly “their boss” it’s more that I have to deal with unsatisfying customers, intake orders of food and beverage vendors, and ensuring all customers are satisfied plus doing my server role… so honestly, it’s me dealing with all the issues but still having tables. I love my place of work and will never leave since I make like $3-4k a month as a server and that’s like 1/2 of what I was making as a teacher full time but some customers are the worst and would rather get paid less than dealing with them honestly…
Yep, that’s a solid 0% for me
Yeah that restaurant owner will certainly learn from the fact that they don’t legally have to pay their servers minimum wage and you still paid the owner what they would have gotten whether or not the server got a tip
As another commenter said, in this situation pay the server in cash, and then review the restaurant badly everywhere you can
I went to a restaurant recently with my wife for our anniversary. Had great reviews on Google Maps above 4.5 stars. Yes I know this should not be the only indicator of a good experience, but the food sounded good and it was in a neighborhood we don’t often go to. Something new.
When we got the bill, the server came to us and skipped past the food prices to the tip screen immediately. That should have been my red flag to stop and ask why she did that, but I didn’t. I tipped 20%, then later found out that they already included that in the bill. So I tipped 20% on top of the total that already included 20%. Needless to say I won’t be going back.
Smart businesses know that the key is “customer retention” and they don’t screw you. Dumb businesses operate on “one and done”. “We’ll screw them and they probably will never come back”
It wasn’t the business that did this. It was the server looking for a one time bonus.
Do a review on Google maps, and TripAdvisor, if you are in a touristy city. Warn the world, and put the ownership on notice.
Oh we did
Also consider complaining to the secretary of state perhaps? Idk, it’s not city tax revenue so not likely, but it’s still fraud. But I would definitely consider a chargeback. This is just like in the old days when managers or severs would scribble in a different tip and total on the merchant copy.
This seems like it is probably more of a server issue, and not a restaurant issue. The server has learned how to increase their tips, I doubt that’s company policy. This is Management’s problem to solve, not the government’s.
This is bad logic. Every industry has a thousand things they solve by regulation to establish a sane baseline that you experience every day mistaking this hard won normalcy for a self occurring default.
The behavior that is described is actually fraud and if you consider across just this one employees year it probably is thousands of dollars in fraud. It would be normal to report such to the city government which reports such to the business which in turn fires the server and trains the rest not to defraud customers.
This is one server, in one restaurant, not an industry-wide issue. Expecting some kind of regulatory remedy over an anecdotal issue is not the answer. I’m not a right-winger by any means, but even I know that the government isn’t the solution to anything. There already is a law against this, so the local gendarmes are as far as this needs to go.
Remember when your mom told you “Don’t make a Federal case out of it?” This is the kind of thing she was talking about, literally.
It actually already does cover it. He’s tricking folks into tipping twice by failing to disclose that they have already tipped. It’s simple fraud.
Right but the fraud is with the server, or possibly the restaurant, not the industry as a whole. I just think getting the government involved to deal with a dishonest server is going a bit far. Just make the manager and corporate aware. They’ll deal with it.
Bullshit. Hopefully it’s one server and management should take care of it. But it’s appropriate to complain to the right authority so they can see if it’s a pattern in need of enforcement.
This is how things get done. A single instance of food poisoning can be a mistake, but a pattern of food poisoning is potentially in need of enforcement and remediation. But they can’t see a pattern if no one complains
I call and complain for crap like this all the time now. I make sure to let them know I bitch to all my friends and coworkers about it too.
My latest crusade is restaurants that put 4% service fees to help pay for people’s health insurance. Just raise the price on the individual items on the menu. Making me math out what you are actually charging like that is bullshit.
I would have gone back and not left until I had both 20%s in my hand. Call the police? Please do!
Tips in the US must be entirely out of control. In my experience, 10% is for good service, above for rare exceptional and less if you weren’t entirely satisfied. Not even printing anything below 16 is insane.
Tipped minimum wage in the US is $2.13/hour, hence the reason for the high percentages.
Idk where you are living but in MN it’s $11.10/hr plus tips. I get paid more because I am an assistant manager as well so $15/hr plus my tips as a server. I make almost 3X more than when I was a teacher working full time and I have half as many hours…
Oh right i forgot about that. That’s insane as well; minimum wage should be… well, minimum, obviously; for everyone.
Sad thing is regular minimum is only $7.25 at the federal level. This country absolutely despises it’s workers.
That’s the true problem, federal minimum wage hasn’t changed in decades despite the inflation and costs over the years! That’s the true problem!
But nobody wants to work anymore!!!
/s
Cant wait for this meme to be 20k pixels tall with new screenshots when I die
Should be changed to, “Nobody wants to work anymore because the wage isn’t livable anymore”.
I was hired on my first job at $14/hr as a retail associate back in like 2005! Same job today has the same wage… well $15/hr but still 20 years later… savage! Hmmmm, wondering why no one wants to work, that job can’t even pay the rent of most places in America with all the other costs of living. (Car, insurance, phone, utilities, etc.).
Okay, this image would be better if it actually showed whatever article it came from, so we could verify the print and date. These could all be books printed in 2016 for all we know. But like I totally believe it.
Edit: I have the grammar of a 3rd grader
I’m not sure it would be better without minimum wage for tipped employees rule. For example the minimum wage in Ontario is $17 and it’s the same for servers, but all the restaurants have tip suggestions like: 18%, 20% and 25%
20% has actually been the norm for a while. Maybe it was a bit on the upper end a couple decades ago while now it’s more default, but I remember my parents tipping 20% for normal service back in the 90’s. Of course, with prices soaring tipping is still getting pricier and pricier, but the expected percentage here has been relatively stable.
The thing that’s out of control is where you’re expected to tip now. I often see a tip prompt come up at retail stores where the only service the employee provided was ringing up the items I brought. I never tip in those kinds of situations, and I doubt the employee would see any of it even if I did.
the idea of percentage based tipping is so wild to me, in my mind a tip is only based on the reason i want to tip them.
If they did an impressive job but just did their job then i’ll give them a euro or something, if they had to endure something miserable like cleaning up baby vomit then they get like 10 euro because god knows that’s what i’d need to stay on that job.Also, importantly, the tip is in cash and goes directly to the person i think deserves it, and i’m going to tell the worker that wink wink nudge nudge if the employer asks then i didn’t give them a tip.
Stop tipping!!! no more
I like tipping. The service is better, and servers are paid more than they would be without it.
Laughing in European
Stop tipping culture. If you just stop tipping people who rely on tips, you just make their lives much harder
Ok genius, tell us how to stop tipping culture without stopping tipping?
Pass a law that removes the minimum wage exemption for “tipped” professions.
What a coincidence I just put on my lawmaking socks!
Quite obviously through regulation.
That’s socialism!!1!
Try to avoid services that rely on tipping? Don’t go to restaurants or order food delivery where you’re expected to tip.
I understand it’s not an easy thing to fix, and I sure as hell dont have the solution, but not tipping someone who is relying on tips is just a dick move
Part of the problem is that it’s considered the customer’s responsibility. The real dick move is on the employer not paying a decent wage.
Complain loudly while you tip?
give the tip directly to the worker, and also hand them a pamphlet about organizing a union at the workplace
Don’t use tipped services if you’re not going to tip. There are alternatives. You’re offloading your “political action” at the expense of the worker, while the owners won’t care. Support legislative change, don’t use your politics as an excuse to harm the workers of a service you chose to use.
It probably won’t stop until everybody starts asking for tips, so that those that traditionally receive tips are losing it on tipping everybody else.
I think the only chance this will work is moving somewhere it’s not a thing.
No because I live in Australia where the govt forces restaurants to Pay their staff in full rather than outsource their wages to the customers directly.
Edit: Pay, not Pauly.
Pauly must be busy.
Wow must be cool living somewhere completely irrelevant to this post!
If only, the tipping crap is trying to leak in here.
we’re in a section called “shitpost” and you’re complaining about quality? also - its related by “tips”, but maybe you just wanted to practise your sarcasm.