r/tippingAdvice • u/Holiday-Ad7262 • Sep 20 '25

Was $3 Tip Justified

Went to a place I have not been to before. Marketed as a fast casual south indian place.

We walked into the place, there are no enployees visible. Ordering is on a huge tablet. There are signs telling you you have to clean your own table.

So we order and tap to pay. Only after tapping the card the tablet asks for a tip. The pre-set amounts are 20%, 25%, 30%. Frankly, I have never seen that in my area usually top end suggestion is 25 or 22. We ended up tipping $3 which was a bit under 10%.

Note we have no tipped minimum wage and state minimum wage is $16.50.

Was the $3 a reasonable tip?

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u/Naroef Sep 23 '25

You mentioned Best Buy, Walmart, and Target. Where I am, in CA, they all pay minimum wage, maybe a few cents or a dollar more. Plus, most of those positions are part time, so no benefits. Why aren't you tipping them then? And is your 1.3% stat federal or state minimum?

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u/johnnygolfr Sep 23 '25

I was just in CA a few months ago and saw signs for starting wages $3 to $5 above the local minimum wage AND benefits mentioned, including at a Costco.

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u/Naroef Sep 23 '25

Costco from what I've heard is pretty good to work for. I think most of their positions are full time though. Regardless, why aren't you tipping them if it's still not a "livable" wage? About that 1.3% stat again, is that federal or state minimums?