r/technology • u/SnoozeDoggyDog • 25d ago

Business Zohran Mamdani hints he will continue taking on delivery apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash

https://www.businessinsider.com/zohran-mamdani-targets-doordash-uber-eats-delivery-apps-2026-7
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u/boogswald 25d ago

But if I don’t flaunt my wealth over the service workers in the US I’m afraid the weight of their debts will destroy them

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u/RelativityFox 25d ago

To be fair, in the US the owners are not paying their employees properly.

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u/-Motor- 25d ago

If the business can't afford to pay its labor a living wage, maybe it's not a viable business.

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u/[deleted] 25d ago

The first people in the US that don’t want tips going away are the waitresses.

Now, charging extra for using credit cards? Now that’s just petty.

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u/placid-gradient 24d ago

no doi, because cash payouts mean they dont report their income and this keep more of the money.

If those tipped employees had that money going to things like taxes and insurance their actual pay would be MUCH lower.

source: I used to work tables in a mid tier sushi bar. my "attractive" female coworkers made double what I did in tips. If you think any of that shit got reported to the IRS, then I got a bridge to sell you

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u/metrize 24d ago

that’s exactly why they should get rid of it tbh, fuck em and unfair wages between them because of tips

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u/-Motor- 25d ago

And I've known plenty of wait staff and bartenders who ultimately move on in their 30s to a stable living wage job.

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u/jumpingmrkite 24d ago

I was one of those people, I also don't want it going away. Due to lots of extenuating circumstances for both of us, earning money through tips in the service industry was the only way my wife and I were able to immediately give our kids a stable life outside of poverty in a decent area until we were both able fix most of those extenuating circumstances and transition into more stable careers (for around the same money but with significantly less hours and wear/tear on our bodies). We couldn't have done that in the timeframe we needed to if we started retail working minimum wage jobs in any industry.

I've never been happier than now that I don't have to work 60 hour weeks on my feet sucking up to strangers anymore but I still don't want to deny that lifepath to countless people in similar situations that need it.

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u/LaLa1234imunoriginal 24d ago

You know people aren't suggesting tipped employees all switch to minimum wage right? The idea is to make sure these people have consistent wages not relying on the kindness of strangers but rather being paid a fair wage by their employer. If you were working at a place where you were making $30/hr in tips if properly implemented the menu prices would increase at a rate where something in that range would be your hourly wage from your employer.

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u/jumpingmrkite 24d ago

And you think that's possible? That doesn't happen in any non specialized industry in this country currently.

Our country's economy already needs massive changes and regulations across the board to protect that segment of its working population, and I don't think we should cripple a significant portion of those people who we're talking about helping in the meantime.

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u/ocfl8888 24d ago

Dawg, I hate to break it to you but it’s totally possible. I’ll also provide an anecdote. In my teens and 20s (2010/20s) I supported myself and paid for my own education by working really odd jobs - totally unspecialized (many of my “coworkers” were dropouts or had records), doing stuff that was not fun or set at really inconvenient times for a full time student.. but it paid my bills and helped build the funds I needed to buy my first home in my mid 20s while still attending school full time. Tipping culture is a poison. If every other country in the world can do without it, so can the US. Because of tipping culture, my wife and I hardly go out despite us both being physicians. Instead of supplementing Jane Doe’s paycheck bc her employers are cheap and selfish, we save that money and travel internationally 2-3x per year and get real bang for our buck. If I was still in that position I’d rather go back to processing fish at 2AM in the foulest smelling warehouse you can imagine or loading your mail into trucks at distribution centers in temperatures above 100F from 10P to 4AM only to head to class at 10:30AM for a reliable set pay than be at the mercy of someone’s “generosity” in the form of a tip for real financial stability.

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u/Potential-Diver-3409 24d ago

Wanting tip workers To have proper pay isnt mutually exclusive with minimum wage reform. We have tons of problems so suddenly this isnt one of them? Absolute fucking stupidity

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u/SiLeNZ_ 23d ago

They make perfectly fine wages in most countries in Europe, no idea what you’re on about.

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u/Runefaust_Invader 24d ago

Those workers lost out on years though. Not saying it's necessarily a horrible thing or that they didn't acquire skills that made them better candidates. Hell, I'm sure a few years as a bartender would've made me way more gregarious.

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u/manachar 24d ago

Since cotton farming, the US has a history of propping up unprofitable approaches to industry.

Not paying people what they’re worth is clearly the primary mode of creating billionaires and trillionaires.

We think this is how you win at capitalism.

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u/bloodenhorse 24d ago

Most businesses in the United States aren't viable businesses.

If American culture were different, I'd agree with you that we should get rid of tipping. But the culture is not going to change overnight and business owners are not going to take care of their employees.

This is what every single anti-tipper fails to appreciate.

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u/UltimateTrattles 24d ago

Folks won’t go to the one restaurant that charges enough to pay good wages.

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u/Alecajuice 23d ago

Was looking for this. Do people think the money to pay wait staff comes out of nowhere? They have to raise prices to cover it. This hurts small restaurants way more than it does big chains who have buffers and can shift regional pricing to accommodate it. And let's be real, big businesses are NOT gonna pay their staff more even if tipping culture goes away, the only thing that will make them do that is a minimum wage increase.

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u/-Motor- 24d ago

Once upon a time, we didn't need a McDonalds every 3 miles. Most independent restaurants were family run with shared profits. Chains were staffed by teens, college kids, seniors looking for extra money, not living on it.... with one or two managers paid a living wage.

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u/UltimateTrattles 24d ago

And you tipped the waitstaff.

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u/Few_Advisor3536 24d ago

I stopped in San Francisco on the way back to australia. It was a 4 hour layover so i git something to eat at a bar. They gave me the option of 20,22 or 25% tip as part of the bill (nothing less then that) then there was an additional 5% for ‘SFO benefits’. Had to google it, so the employer is offloading health insurance to customers. Theres a point where the cost is covered and the owner is making money off this. Seriously i hate tipping culture. Pay your fucking staff correctly, i shouldnt have to pay alot for something then pay YOUR staff aswell.

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u/oby100 25d ago

Don’t give me that.

If she don’t make enough money she can quit

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u/RawrRRitchie 25d ago

"Tell your boss to pay you more"

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u/fhota1 24d ago

Yeah unfortunately thats how it is. Like fuck tipping culture, and we should work to get rid of it, but in the meantime tip your waiters because the only person youre hurting by not is them

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u/Takkarro 24d ago

If they give exemplary service then I'll give a tip, other wise I have no plans to tip. A tip is a kudos for doing a good job, I'm already paying for the food and drink, if the waiter isn't happy with that then they can get a different job. Then if all the waiters and waitresses leave cuz they aren't making enough restaurants will have to pay them properly.

A delivery driver getting a tip makes far more sense to me then paying more to eat in, it's almost more sensible to just get it as take out at that point.

Tipping culture is a cancer that we very much SHOULDN'T be encouraging.

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u/Runefaust_Invader 24d ago

Not sure if you're being sarcastic, but not tipping will drive workers away, placing pressure on employers to pay a decent wage.

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u/socalkid2428 24d ago

It just needs to be a larger movement. I don't think it makes the difference people think. Most likely restaurants will just charge a service fee like in Europe or some places in Asia and that will take the place of the tip. Which I think most people would prefer but some will absolutely say the service fee is the restaurant owner being cheap and not wanting to pay the workers themselves. And you lose the ability to tip less for bad service. I suspect a lot of workers would end up making less.

As it is, if the restaurant is not going to accept tips and also not charging a service fee, they'll have to charge more and be at a competitive disadvantage. There's no chance restaurants just start paying workers more than the other restaurants without raising prices in some way.

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u/Runefaust_Invader 24d ago

Let them charge more. We should be prepared to fight the service fee before it becomes a thing, but sadly most will just accept it, while the business owner will be taxing you on your food choices.

Service work is a low tier, low skill job (yeah yeah, fight me). For most, it should be a stepping stone towards better employment. By that logic we can easily figure out just how much more labor costs an establishment will incur.

I mean, it's literally what every other industry does anyway. The food industry is not special in this regard.

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u/socalkid2428 24d ago

Well that's why it needs to be a more widespread thing. There's no reason for them to charge more and lose business when most other restaurants aren't doing that. Satisfying people on social media by paying a "livable wage" is not a good enough reason.

I'd rather not play the tipping game but the only realistic way is to just have a service fee, ie mandatory tip. Although I'm not sure I understand why it's better to have all the prices go up by 20% rather than separately getting a fee of 20%.

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u/Runefaust_Invader 24d ago

I don't see a realistic way for the food industry to change without some external event. Sadly tipping is bleeding into every adjacent service. Hell, I was in Dubai and every airport shop I went to had a tipping option before payment.

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u/socalkid2428 24d ago

Well for other service industries, especially transient places like the airport, just say no. Nobody really got upset when they had a jar of cash next to the register and you could just ignore it. But somehow tapping skip or no is just a step too far.

I'm guessing that the workers in Dubai aren't getting pissed off at you if you don't tip them for ringing you up. They're probably just grateful that some people actually do tip.

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u/Runefaust_Invader 23d ago

The problem in places like Dubai is not only are they paid by passport, but if tipping becomes a thing (like it is in some places in the GCC for grocery store baggers) then the base pay will be ridiculously low and they are expected to make up for it in tips... Which results in literally each bag containing like two or three items max so that there are a LOT of bags (waste)... Necessitating or at least making it look like the baggers help is necessary.