Let's keep the discussion away from what your state or country's actual laws are and more talk about what policy you'd want to live by and whether or not it'd be feasible where you live.

So news broke out today, or at least the news article that's trending right now is a famous NFL football player tipped only $0.20 on ~$60 burger joint bill. This particular player probably makes around $9.7 million a year, which apparently is incredibly relevant because the media is having a field day with all of this.

Basically this sparks the discussion - should tipping be mandatory despite any quality of service? For instance- if you had incredibly bad service, do you feel you NEED to tip if you were the one making the policy on how waiters/waitresses/bartenders/busses, etc make their pay. Additionally- should the fact the player who tipped this burger place have a larger impedance to tip the restaurant simply because his income is in the top .001% of the world?


Personally- I think it sucks that someone's income is coming into play with tipping. I don't think millionaires need to just "donate" money arbritrarily with gigantic tips when they're only being provided basic service. We don't need to report our salaries when we come into an Outback Steakhouse and base our tips off that. Additionally- when someone tips only 20 cents, it's not an accident. It's not like he had a "brain fart" and he forgot to tip, but he very clearly wanted to send a message by only leaving that tip. I assume that message was "My service was abyssmal."

I'm well aware that minimum wage with waiters is only 2-3 dollars because there's a tip factor and if they don't hit minimum wage STANDARD management steps in and pays the difference. In an ideal world for me, we could make dining out very similar to car salesmen where it's okay that waitresses need to go above and beyond otherwise they may not receive a tip or at least no guarantee of 15 or 20%. I think that'd work out better for everyone but lazy waiters and waitresses because it makes amazing waitors and waitresses get compensated, the men and women dining out are also more assured to have great service, and those who aren't ready to bust their ass can choose a different field to work. I understand though that the downside to that is it happens all the time where waitors and waitresses work their ass and then don't get tipped due to just a stingy customer. But still - if we make an evident change in policy, I think the "standard" social norm would shift towards people living bigger tips for the right situations.

What say y'all?

Yes I'm implying that good waiters currently make more than bad ones "in theory". In that good servers will provide good service, and thus sway the people to tip higher, and then said tip will go specifically to that good server.

I'm unaware of any laws enforcing a tax on anyone, unless the restaurant (or menu) specifies something along the lines of (15% tip mandatory) or perhaps at say a Japanese Steakhouse it's common to see (25% gratuity mandatory for parties of 8 or greater). My understanding however is culturally, in the states, it's considered appropriate to tip 20% to your servers.

But yeah when stating an opinion it's important to say what your culture and country is like. Where I'm from (South East United States), is what I'm referring to. The incident occurred I assume in East US.





On a side note: I find it incredibly inappropriate that a server actually took a picture and turned in to the press simply to paint a bad image of this athlete.

Tipping is an interesting thing. I usually tip waiters/waitresses and food delivery people, I don't know if they expect it though.
Doctors, on the other hand, ask for money where I'm from, even though they are state employees. It's all illegal, but it's customary, and I wouldn't do it if I was ever put in that situation. It's a quite hefty sum, too.

By giving people who do not earn enough in your eyes tips you support the fact that they don't earn enough because it gets abused as an excuse not to pay them fairly.
Who does and does not get tips is also very arbitrary. Many low paying services you profit directly from go without tips just because the person doing them does not ask you to pay for the service. A cleaner or a dishwasher, for instance, will not walk up to you in a restaurant, so they don't get any tips while they receive about as much payment as a waiter.

The only time I tip is when I know that all workers will receive equal shares from all tips and I feel particularly sorry for the hard work they do with little payment. The last time I did it was in Egypt where there is no such thing as fair work conditions.

I live in Vancouver on minimum wage and I DO not make enough money to keep a roof over my head and to eat Tips help me do this. I'm now a full time dishwasher with tips. You get ripped off if you dont get tips because it's the most laborous job in the kitchen.

Vancouver is one of the most expensive places to live, many people I know have their pay go right to rent while they spend tips on food.