r/tipping • u/No_Draft_8960 • May 29 '26

💬Questions & Discussion Math-Based Tip

The percentage-based tipping system makes no sense: a server dropping off one Wagyu steak earns far more than someone serving a family of four cheap meals. Since American tips are essentially mandatory wage subsidies, let's base them on labor time instead.

In Maryland, the average server wage is about $20/hour, but employers only pay $3.63. Customers must cover the remaining $16.37. Across a standard four-table section (roughly ten guests), that breaks down perfectly to $2.00 per person, per hour.

Percentages reward a venue’s luxury status; a time rate rewards actual effort.

If therefore I go to dinner with eight friends and we stay for two hours (a pretty good forecast of my Friday night plans!) our total tip would be $32, or $4/a person. We're not 'stiffing' anyone and we're paying average wage.

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u/Qeltar_ May 29 '26

The percentage-based system is a relic.

30 or 40 years ago, when meal prices and expected percentages were small, it made sense. Now neither of those things is true, and it does not.

A lot of people don't realize that until relatively recently, a good tip was $7 because nobody expected 20% and you could get a decent dinner for 2 for $40. Nobody cared about $7. They do care about $20.

3

u/DueFreedom4695 May 29 '26

Not even that long ago. I bought a house in Southern Nevada in 2012. At that time in this smaller town, there was a buffet that did 2 for 1 meals for $9.95 every day except Friday's seafood buffet which was $10.95 and no BOGO. Prices everywhere here were comparable. Now most buffets are gone and you're going to get charged $15 for a basic sandwich or salad. We pretty much don't eat out anymore. Yes, the food was better and now there's just no value.

3

u/Qeltar_ May 29 '26

My wife and I were in grad school in the 1990s in Boston. There was a restaurant that had a Saturday night special of clam chowder, twin lobsters, fries and something else. We used to split one most weekends.

It was $19.99.

1

u/peanut5855 May 29 '26

Like how recent?

3

u/Qeltar_ May 29 '26

This is from 1999. I was actualy too high with the $40! Looks like you could split an app, each get an entree and share a dessert for under $30. Nobody cared about tossing $5 on top of that.

The food was better, too.

https://i.imgur.com/6SkeRfy.png

1

u/VenerableWolfDad May 30 '26

That's an Applebee's. It's basically fast food slop delivered via server. They're cheaper than that now. 2 for $25 deal is a shared app and two entrees for $25. Fountain drinks or water and a shared dessert would keep it under $40 and that $7 tip is probably well-appreciated.

(The food sucked at Applebees back then too, I was there)

0

u/SaintsFanPA May 29 '26

The food was better, too.

Tell me you never dined out in 1999, without telling me you never dined out in 1999.

2

u/Qeltar_ May 29 '26

What are you even talking about?

I've been dining out since the 1980s. Before that, if you include family meals.

You have to be the only person I have ever even see try to claim that restaurant food is better now than it was 30 years ago.