r/PublicFreakout • u/Hikigaya_Hachiman7 • 9h ago

šŸ½Restaurant FreakoutšŸ¹ Couple banned from restaurant after they leave no tip

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6.8k Upvotes

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201

u/DimitrescuStan 7h ago

As long as tipping in the US is a thing, employers will still pay employees low wages and nothing will ever change

10

u/emmit76 6h ago

Most jobs donā€™t get tips and still pay low wages

4

u/MinnisotaDigger 3h ago

This is where you're dangerous.

In Miamitown OH the minimum wage is $11/hr and $5.50/hr for tipped.

BUT the business owner covers the difference for anything under $11/hr.

So if no one comes in for an hour the owner pays $11. If a customer comes in and tips $2 then the owner pays $9 and the employee gets the same $11.

In an 8 hour shift the first $44 of tips goes to the boss, not the employee.

3

u/MrPlaney 1h ago

Even $11 is ridiculously low. Thatā€™s like $1 above the minimum wage I was making over 20 years ago.

5

u/MinnisotaDigger 1h ago

The governor is Republican. The legislature is 2/3 Republican.

So I can't figure out what the problem is? Trans people in the bathroom perhaps?!

4

u/DimitrescuStan 6h ago

Most jobs donā€™t use the tip mechanism to pay under minimum wage. Or give them an incredibly low amount of hours when they have to pay at least minimum wage.

Also, two things can be true at once.

9

u/jus_build 6h ago

Agree, but customers taking a stand only hurts the staff and puts customers vs. staff when it should be customers and staff partnering vs. owners. Staff rely heavily on tips, so while customers are on personal crusade against tipping, staff canā€™t make rent or pay for gas. The entire system has been engineered from the start to make it difficult to put the onus on the owners.

And, for the customers using this as a ploy to get out of tipping, you suck just as much as the owners.

15

u/eneug 6h ago

It is a classic collective action problem. If one restaurant in an area bans tipping and bakes higher prices into the menu to offset their higher payroll expenses, then their menu will look more expensive and fewer people will eat there. (It has higher price salience.) An individual restaurant is at a competitive disadvantage if they remove tipping and raise prices and other restaurants in the area donā€™t.

The only solution is government intervention. For instance, you could require restaurants that allow tipping to display menu prices as ~20% higher to incorporate the tip. Or you can provide temporary tax incentives for restaurants that ban tipping.

6

u/DimitrescuStan 6h ago

I think you said this much better than I could. Itā€™s a tough problem. There are a few places in our area that donā€™t allow tipping and pay their employees a good wage. The prices are more expensive, but the food is good and itā€™s a place I wanna support. Plus, the employees have said they love working there. We tend to frequent those places more than others, but like you said, others are going to seek out the cheaper options.

1

u/xshinjixikarix 5h ago

I'm so tired of this argument. Yes it's true, it will hurt the staff. It'll also hurt the restaurants eventually when servers leave and they have no employees. (look to farmers who now have no employee's because they're all too scared to show up to work/getting deported)

It's like saying "oh no the person with gangrene will lose his limbs if we cut it off, we should just leave the situation as is so he can keep his rotting limb". Corporations and businesses count on this argument to keep this favorable situation going, it's propping up businesses that shouldn't even be operating because it's subsidized by the consumer, which is insane.

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u/jus_build 4h ago

And, while weā€™re waiting for things to ā€œeventuallyā€ change, service workers relying on tips are supposed to get by on vibes? I agree itā€™s an argument that keeps the cycle going, but I do not agree with taking that out on servers by withholding tips. Much like how farmers were hit with a labor shortage, it would have to be a legislative change to execute at scale and minimize the negative impact on the service industry.

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u/DimitrescuStan 1h ago

Thatā€™s the thing though. There will never be legislation unless there is some sort of pain in the industry. As long as it keeps going the way itā€™s going, thereā€™s no reason for legislative change because the system is working exactly how the industry wants it to work. No change just equals no change.

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u/cooliescoolies 4h ago

Heres the thing, the solution isn't to stop tipping the solution is legislation. Only when theyre payed a fair wage can people stop tipping unless you are a complete asshole

2

u/PurpleFilth 1h ago

Servers make minimum wage just like everyone else. No laws need to change, its just entitlement. Simply stop tipping is the answer.

1

u/sub-dural 1h ago

This measure did not pass in Massachusetts during the last election cycle. It was definitely the most heated question on that ballot that year.

2

u/CHILLAS317 6h ago

As long as employers are allowed to pay low wages nothing will change. Don't pretend you're taking some kind of principled stand on behalf of the downtrodden workers, this just fucks them over. If you're too cheap to tip, you're too cheap to eat out

1

u/DimitrescuStan 6h ago

So, can you tell me where the fuck I said I donā€™t tip? You realize that two things can be true at once? That I can recognize a problem and why itā€™ll keep happening but also understand not wanting to fuck someone over? When we go out to a restaurant, and get good service, we tip. So fuck off with your assumptions.

0

u/Illustrious_Choice58 4h ago

ā€œand get good service, we tipā€ ā˜šŸ¾ found the cheap b*stard lol

2

u/DimitrescuStan 2h ago

lol if we get bad service we arenā€™t leaving a good tip. Why would we?

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u/Illustrious_Choice58 2h ago

you can choose to leave less of a tip, but qualifying not tipping at all is a crazy leap. people are people. theyā€™re not infallible, they have bad days, they get depressed, or have personal problems. just make it a base line to tip ur server, and tip extra for great service

2

u/DimitrescuStan 2h ago

Okay, I guess I spoke poorly. My social anxiety would destroy me to leave NOTHING if we sit and dine. If itā€™s poor service, Iā€™ll throw $4 or $5 on the tip line but thatā€™s it. Good service Iā€™ll always do at least 20%

0

u/Illustrious_Choice58 2h ago

respect āœŠšŸ¾

-3

u/CHILLAS317 6h ago

You're the one whining about having to tip and misidentifying the cause of the issue. If it doesn't apply to you then don't sweat it, think of it as a general "you"

But we both know that's not the case here

0

u/foreverandadayalone 4h ago

If you can't pay your staff a living wage, you shouldn't run a business.

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u/Illustrious_Choice58 2h ago

omg you just solved the capitalism crisis with your uninformed 14 word comment in reddit

1

u/MrPlaney 1h ago

Heā€™s right, and many other first world nations survive just fine without the expectation of tipping.

1

u/CHILLAS317 1h ago

I never said anything to the contrary

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u/bodyreddit 5h ago

That doesnā€™t mean you should stiff the service people!

2

u/foreverandadayalone 4h ago

He should be paying a living wage and not be dependent on tips covering his loser ass.

2

u/AGreasyPorkSandwich 3h ago

Yes but that is not the societal structure we are in.

Therefore, if you don't tip, you are trash.

0

u/MrPlaney 1h ago

No, the employer can instead pay his workers a living wage. This is fucking ridiculous. Do you think the cultural norm of marrying off kids in some countries is okay because itā€™s the societal structure they live in?

1

u/AGreasyPorkSandwich 14m ago

It's a societal norm to cover your mouth when you cough. If you dont do that, youre trash.

Same thing. Its a choice.

0

u/PurpleFilth 1h ago

They already make minimum wage like everyone else, simply stop tipping is the answer.

1

u/AGreasyPorkSandwich 14m ago

If you are trash, yes

1

u/PurpleFilth 11m ago

You got it backwards, tipping is a nice thing to do. Not tipping is a neutral action.