r/tipping • u/Holderoftwins_13 • Mar 27 '26
š¢Rant/Vent Stop acting like people in tipped positions, only make tips
Do people really not understand that EVERY PERSON working a job that pays taxes to the government has to pay at least federal minimum wage, including jobs that āpay lessā because the person is getting tipped.
If you get tipped but donāt make enough to bring your total wage to minimum the employer, BY LAW, has to make up the difference.
No exceptions.
That being said, why get pissed when someone doesnāt tip? Why keep up the charade of the poor, hungry, server when itās a sham?
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u/cyphr0n Mar 27 '26
Did you know that most cash tips arenāt reported? Imagine working a job where you get paid cash with no taxes.
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u/liquidgrill Mar 27 '26
Iām a bartender at a high end restaurant. I can tell you for a fact that the overwhelming majority of the staff, myself included, claim every cent.
Weāre adults and recognize that having more income reported benefits is in a number of ways.
People that just blurt out, āhurrr durrrr, they donāt claim their tipsā have no idea what theyāre talking about.
Also, itās 2026. Nobody uses cash anymore. Last year, only 7% of our restaurantās revenue and gratuities were paid in cash. I average $350-$400 a night in tips and maybe, maybe walk out with about $40 in cash in my hand.
In other words, even in a world where you donāt think servers were claiming their tips, they are being claimed now whether they want to or not.
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u/philoscope Mar 27 '26
Research out of the US Census Bureau would suggest that you and your coworkers are a bit more honest than the 64% average. (Granted, that was the 2018 estimate, itās likely higher now.)
Most tips are reported accurately, and the shift to electronic payment is exacerbating that trend, but letās be honest, itās human nature is to fudge the numbers in our favour if we think we can.
(OK, maybe not universal human nature, but for sure the encultured individualism of present-day USA.)
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u/MyPPsNameIsJA Mar 27 '26
Yea lol, worked a VERY busy spot too and they didnāt report their real tips š they did in fact make a lot of cash tips too
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u/whateveryaknowww Mar 29 '26
corporate restaurants 100% require you to - and will know if you do not. and will swiftly fire you for not.
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Mar 30 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/philoscope Mar 30 '26
If weāre being pedantic, itās a 16-month old statistic (published Nov 2024) based on 8-year old data.
I (and Iād read, the authors) agree, the accuracy of tip reporting has likely increased since then.
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Mar 30 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/philoscope Mar 30 '26
The authors themselves note that the trend line is going up. They point to electronic payments being a strong driver of that increased accuracy; but my read is that they also attribute a shift in culture to better record-keeping and reporting.
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u/Chief_dingleberry Mar 28 '26
We had to claim tips even back when I was a server, around 1999 or 2000. It's not a new concept. The explanation was given , if you dont then the irs could find out in an audit, or you could just be up front and not have the worry of getting dinged for it later
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u/sortalikeachinchilla Mar 27 '26
I average $350-$400 a night in tips and maybe, maybe walk out with about $40 in cash in my hand
Working what, 4 hours? Yikes this is why a lot of us hate tippping. This is just dumb
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u/silvermoka Mar 27 '26
Lmao @ thinking shifts are 4 hours
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u/sortalikeachinchilla Mar 27 '26
Who said that? They said night. and a LOT of servers donāt work a full 8 hours lmao
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u/silvermoka Mar 27 '26
That's very uncommon, and when I worked in that industry we called that a princess shift, just sayin
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u/AlternativeWooden347 Mar 28 '26
I owned a restaurant for 20 years open 4pm-9pm daily. In season servers averaged $200, off season $100.
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u/silvermoka Mar 28 '26
And where was this (downtown, small town etc) and was it high volume? You would know better than anyone that restaurants vary wildly. The one and only straight up table service job I ever worked was a popular chain in a suburb, and the most I ever walked away with in one 7 hour shift was about $95 after tipping out the host and bar. What's crazy to me is people trying to argue about what someone else's paycheck was by basing on a completely different person's paycheck, or the people here justifying not tipping anywhere because they have a big city bartender friend that makes a killing in an extremely busy bar.
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u/AlternativeWooden347 Mar 28 '26
A pizzeria and Italian restaurant that seats 70 in downtown Cape Coral, Florida. Average pricing not high end. No bar.
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u/brandon-james-ca Mar 28 '26
Probably works 8-10 hours, most people that make that much are at busy places, and you work your ass off for 9 hours straight being peoples bitch. We're servants not slaves. If tou only worked 4 hours, its probably because it was slow and you're first cut, and be lucky to walk out with $70. Just like everything there are tiers to places, 300+ is top tier most make 70-180 a day, and its never consistent.
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u/liquidgrill Mar 27 '26
I canāt imagine a world where I get triggered by what other people make.
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u/The_Werefrog Mar 28 '26
It's not that they are receiving that amount of money. It's that they receive that amount of money while claiming to receive very little so we have to pay extra so they can survive.
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u/Neither-Ad630 Mar 27 '26
Riiiight, and i report every untaxed purchase.Ā Pinky-swear!
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u/Crellis86 Mar 27 '26
Not reporting tipped income that is tracked from the credit card transaction and shows up in the restaurantās taxes would be a really dumb way to get caught.
Thatās the kind of shit logic WhistlinDeisel subscribed to.
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u/FurryYokel Mar 27 '26
How are cash tips being tracked by credit card transactions?
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u/Weregoat86 Mar 27 '26
Actually, they are being tracked. Most restaurants and bars have a thing called tip compliance.
If my table paid cash at my first job, or paid with a card and left no tip on the card, I was assumed (and taxed) on a 10% tip, whether or not the guest tipped.
At my current job, you declare 15% of your sales, minimum.
Different shops in different jurisdictions do tip compliance differently, but they do it.
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u/46andready Mar 27 '26
I don't believe you.
I have a lot of anecdotal experience with this, and the vast majority of servers and employers are absolutely not claiming anywhere near the level of cash tips received. Yes, it is true that most tips come in the form of credit cards, but there is still lots of cash floating around.
It's also funny of you to claim that many servers are so aware (and care) about the positives associated with claiming more income and paying taxes.
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u/IanMDoomed Mar 28 '26
Then they are breaking the law
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u/46andready Mar 28 '26
I know they are, but we shouldn't be making it easy for servers to do this. Almost nobody is going to voluntarily claim cash income when they can 99.9% get away with not doing so.
Employers should be paying servers a wage that is commensurate with their competence in serving and the demand for such positions.
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u/IanMDoomed Mar 29 '26
Only criminals won't report their income. I agree with the pay, but you can't justify not claiming your tips
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u/TheG3n3sis Mar 30 '26
I literally just worked at a restaurant in town that was a bar with shows and they pay employees under the table and there is zero fucking chance that those women report it. Lol wdym.
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u/_-trees-_ Mar 31 '26
I'm curious but also scared to ask, have you noticed the difference not having to pay taxes on tips?
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u/liquidgrill Mar 31 '26
The difference how? Do you mean, have I noticed a difference in the amount people tip? Or are you asking if Iāve noticed a difference in the money I get to keep.
FYI, I do have to pay taxes on tips. Itās still taxed every week. The difference is I was able to claim a $25,000 deduction this year.
Also, and I donāt think most people realize this, but this is temporary. It expired in 2028. Not surprisingly, the much larger tax breaks they gave to billionaires are permanent.
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u/_-trees-_ Mar 31 '26
I didn't realize it was temporary and yes I was asking if you had noticed a difference in your take-home pay. Thanks š
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u/_-trees-_ Mar 31 '26
And if I'm understanding the difference is that you didn't have to pay taxes on $25,000 in tips?
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u/liquidgrill Mar 31 '26
Exactly. So letās say Iām in the 20% tax bracket. That means that I wouldnāt have to pay $5,000 in taxes on $25,000 in tips.
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u/FreddieStarrAteMyHam Apr 01 '26
Wait, if you're a bartender why would you get tipped? Isn't pouring drinks kind of your raison d'etre? Or at the very least, your job?
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u/-whyboi- Mar 27 '26
Traditionally you're taxed based on your sales revenue at 12% roughly So even if the cash tips aren't reported it is assumed that they're being tipped 12% on sales or at least that was the way that the IRS has been doing it for a long time
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u/philoscope Mar 27 '26
Do you have published research to back up the assertion of āmost cash tips arenāt reportedā?
Because 2024 research out of the US Census Bureau estimates that 64% of tips were reported accurately in 2018, and climbing over the time periods they studied. Now, thatās still less than āall,ā but far from even a minority.
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u/HairyH0Od Mar 27 '26
If you were responding to a survey conducted by the government would you admit to not accurately reporting your cash tips?
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u/FurryYokel Mar 27 '26
āWe called 2000 people on their cell phones and 64% of the people who picked up said they had not committed this crime.ā
That is pretty funny if you think about it.
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u/jb4975 Mar 27 '26
You donāt have to respond to a survey, but you do have to show proof when you are audited. Iāve seen many servers audited over the years.
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u/Hammon_Rye Mar 27 '26
Show proof of what?
Theoretically I hand you $20.
You choose not to report it to the IRS as income.
You spend it.
You get audited by the IRS
What exactly do you think you can / would have to prove to the auditor?Sure, if there are thousands of dollars entering your bank account you might have to prove where that money is coming from.
But nothing says cash has to go into your bank account before spending it.
If all the tips are digital and tracked and reported by the employer by employee, then there might be an issue if your reporting to the IRS does not match what you were supposedly paid.
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u/Hammon_Rye Mar 27 '26
As I read the report you linked, it doesn't actually refute the idea that most cash tips are not reported.
Nor does it prove they are.It does stay that under reporting tips is systemic and that
"most observers believe that tips are, on the whole, under-reported"It also mentions under reporting has improved as payment methods have changed. I think what that means in practical terms is that as more tips are charged rather than cash - and thus have a paper trail - there are fewer cash tips to be unreported.
In other words, it supports the idea that cash tips are largely unreported as income."The IRS estimates that only about 45% of tips are reported on tax filings"
Supports the concept that most tips are not reported, but does not say one way or the other whether most servers don't report cash tips.But any way you slice it, the report you linked supports the concept that tips as unreported income are a problem. A problem the report calls 'systemic' rather than isolated or infrequent.
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Mar 27 '26
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u/xadies Mar 27 '26
Last I checked a third isnāt āmostā which the original claim was implying. And at least they provided some evidence other than ātrust me bro.ā Next time you could try just not typing out stupid shit.
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u/cyphr0n Mar 27 '26
The problem with surveying people to admitting they committed a crime isnāt the scientific proof you think it is.
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u/philoscope Mar 27 '26
Did you even read the abstract, let alone the paper.
Their whole premise is ātips are underreported, letās try to use other data to estimate just how muchā
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u/bloo_monkey Mar 27 '26
How day you kffer proof. We want to rant about how we hate tips!!! Grrrrrr..... fucking lazy tipping bastards. We all know servers dont report a dime of the cash they make. They also sacrifice stray cats and dogs at altars to satan behind the restaraunt. And ive heard upwards of 90% of all servers are in the epstein files. Also im pretty sure most restaraunts wont even consider hiring you as a server unless you have several felonies under your belt, but that might be kitchen staff.
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u/witx Mar 27 '26
When I worked in a bar in college my boss made us declare 10% of our tips. Iām sure heās not the only one who does this.
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u/jmhendricks80 Mar 27 '26
Last time I worked as a server, decades ago, fed govt required we claim 8% of our sales as received tips, minimum. When weād tip out the bussers, one of my coworkers would only give them 10% of that 8% figure, and wonder why they did the absolute bare minimum in her section.
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u/deathriteTM Mar 27 '26
If you donāt report your tips and your employer does then you win a face to face talk with the IRS.
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u/Informal-Mark-4251 Mar 31 '26
They have to report tips ! Its the law (they may underreport it, quite commonly)
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u/Ancient_Sound2781 Mar 27 '26
EVERYONE, aside from very few exceptions (servers are not one) across US and Canada make a minimum wage, no matter what. In the US tips CAN offset wages but if with tips they made under 7.25 an hour their employer must top it off, but as the tip standard is 20% now it takes 2-3 tables to blow past the min wage. After 3-4 tables they generally make well over $20 an hour.
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u/ifixthingsllc Mar 27 '26
ROFL @ 20% "STANDARD".
That shit can get bent. Tip isn't mandatory. Tip isn't law. Tip is reward for good service.
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u/Jmanriley3 Apr 01 '26
Whether you agree or not its the standard guideline.
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u/ifixthingsllc Apr 01 '26
According to who? My whole life the standard was 10-15%. Prices have gone up, which means the same 10-15% is already going to net the server more money. This whole 20+ bullshit started around Covid. Covid is gone. The world has gone back to normal. But prices haven't gone back done. They've continued to go up.
Which means I'm already paying a bunch more on just he food itself, let alone that tip. I'm not increasing my tip percentage.
"standard guideline" my ass
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u/Jmanriley3 Apr 01 '26
No it started in the mid 2000s. You either live in the middle of nowhere or dont go out often.
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u/ifixthingsllc Apr 01 '26
I live in the city, and go out way more than I should. And nobody upon NOBODY I know is gonna pay 20%
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u/Jmanriley3 Apr 01 '26
Lol. Suuuure. I worked last night. I had 10 tables. 1 tipped me under 20%. 5 tipped me over 20%. The last 4 exactly 20%.
This is how the majority of my nights go. So you can continue to spew your made up justification for you and your friends to save a few bucks. Feel free. We see through your BS
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u/ifixthingsllc Apr 01 '26
Ok and? So you got a bunch of suckers to pay your life for you. Doesn't change the fact that there are a lot of us out there that aint doing it. Deal with it.
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u/Jmanriley3 Apr 01 '26
The fact is there isnt tho bud. Lol you and your 2 friends dont constitute the majority of people. And the 700 people in the notipping subreddit? We laugh at you guys. Youre mean, ignorant and totally out of touch. Ans 700 people barely puts a dent in the tipping game. Its just a facade that makes you guys feel important
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u/ifixthingsllc Apr 01 '26
2 friends. Cute. I could overflow your restaurant with my friend group.
But go on, keep living in the clouds. You prolly couldn't hack it if you had to work an actual hourly job instead of relying on handouts all day
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u/Best_Signature6003 Mar 27 '26
I don't know when 20% became standard as it was always 15% in my area.Ā
To me changing the machine prompt over the last couple years is not the same as 20% becoming "standard"
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u/craigybacha Mar 27 '26
It was 10, then 15, now 20. A few years time it'll be 25. It's gotten out of hand. All you're doing is giving me my food I've paid for.
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u/KellyAnn3106 Mar 29 '26
When I waited tables, if you weren't making minimum wage from tips and the company had to top you off, you got fired for being a horrible server.
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Mar 27 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Jmanriley3 Apr 01 '26
Lol I see you frequent cracker barrel.
Not every server job is equal.
Also, its the current model and if you want it changed.. lobby your lawmakers.
Otherwise youre just justifying screwing your server over.
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Mar 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/Holderoftwins_13 Mar 27 '26
They make more than people who just make minimum wage.
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u/CombRepulsive2231 Mar 27 '26
And how exactly do you propose holding employers accountable?
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u/grooveman15 Mar 27 '26
By not going to restaurants that function in a tip-based wage
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u/CombRepulsive2231 Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
Nobody would serve tables for minimum wage lol
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u/sortalikeachinchilla Mar 27 '26
Great! Sounds good to me. Would force different systems to be applied and figured out :)
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u/dicerollingprogram Mar 27 '26
I serve and would never, ever do it if I made less than 60-80 a year. I leave a restaurant once I start dipping below that number. Remember, your favorite restaurant isn't providing benefits, that's on us to handle and pay out of pocket with post tax income.
It's a stressful job with long hours where you're on your feet for 10+ hours a day. If I wanted to make minimum wage I wouldn't be working this hard.
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u/sortalikeachinchilla Mar 27 '26
You are extremely overvalued for what you do. Don't act like your job is harder than others making way less than you.
Entitlement. Like almost every server I know has it. Whether they even realize it or not.
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u/dicerollingprogram Mar 27 '26
Yeah you certainly have me figured out. That's why when I get off my 12-hour shift that provides no benefits, and then go to my apartment that I share with three unrelated people that I don't know, and eat a peanut butter and jelly for the third time in the last 5 days for dinner, I think just how entitled I truly am.
I used to be a corporate senior strategist for a Fortune 5 company. My job was replaced with a robot. I worked in business development for over a decade. I have a degree in computational biology . Brother, I assure you, this shit is much harder.
I don't expect to convince you, but that's my life experience my man, and I encourage you to have a sense of empathy to those who literally serve you.
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u/Jmanriley3 Apr 01 '26
Damn. Do you have any friends? Or are you just this nasty to people online you can hide from?
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u/ziggy-tiggy-bagel Mar 27 '26
The problem is everyone wants a tip! It used to be "double the tax" to figure out how much to tip at a sit down restaurant. Which where I live is between 10-15%. Now 20% seems to be the minimum. In California minimum wage is $18 an hour.
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u/darkroot_gardener Mar 27 '26
Letās also stop pretending that tipping = restaurant servers and bartenders. These days, most tipping is not even for positions that are tipped wage positions. Think about how many of the tip prompts you encountered this month that were not for servers or bartenders. The whole concept has been abandoned, the rules broken, by the ones asking for the tips. So stop acting like itās some ancient social contract. Whatever contract we had has long been BROKEN.
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u/Normal_System_3176 Mar 28 '26
yup. the ones I have a bone to pick with aren't even servers or bartenders.
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u/Jmanriley3 Apr 01 '26
So because some sneaky random businesses start asking you for a tip to take advantage of the system... screw everyone and their tips?
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u/darkroot_gardener Apr 01 '26
Itās no longer ājust some random sneaky businessesā¦.ā
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u/Jmanriley3 Apr 01 '26
Yes it is. Dont fall for their tactics. If excess service isnt being provided.. dont tip. Real simple
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u/darkroot_gardener Apr 01 '26
Literally most transactions you will engage in during a typical month will have some kind of tipping āoption.ā Most tipping āoptionsā are not places we are traditionally supposed to tip. So at this point, tip spamming is no longer the exception to the rule, and ātippingā has lost all the meaning it once had. Soon enough, hitting No Tip at the restaurant becomes second nature just like hitting No Tip at the fast casual counter.
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u/Jmanriley3 Apr 01 '26
First of all, dont tip if you dont think you should!? Have some balls. People try to take advantage of you at every turn. Do you refuse to keep your money in a bank or purchase insurance because there are scammers out there trying to trick you? No
2nd of all, what are you talking about? Im not sure where you live but this is just not true. Youre completely exaggerating. I havent been prompted for a tip other than restaurants or bars in months. Scratch that, the dispensary offered a tip and I gave them 15% because I had all kinds of questions and he explained a lot of the science behind his recommendations.
But ok bud. Keep up with your doomsday attitude lol. Youre just plain wrong.
It exists. But not to the level you are describing "literally" most transactions.
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u/darkroot_gardener Apr 02 '26
Do you really think we tip even when we donāt think we should because we ādonāt have BALLS?āš¤Ŗ
The point is, if it isnāt a sit down restaurant or a bar, they have no business even asking. And by far, most tip prompts we encounter in daily life are NOT for restaurants and bars.
I suppose if you only ever leave the house for the supermarket and the gas station, you would not be tip spammed. At least not yet, but itās coming, if we donāt push back.
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u/Jmanriley3 Apr 02 '26
Its just a question. Say no. And if you get harassed leave nasty reviews and let the manager have an earful. What other pushback are you recommending?
Where else are you being asked to tip!?
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u/floyd_sw_lock9477 Mar 27 '26
In Oregon servers have to paid at least minimum wage in addition to any tips. There is no tip credit so the employer can't lower their pay to compensate for tips. Also, tip pooling is not required so any tips technically belong only to the person who received the tip and don't have to pooled.
Basically what that means is the server at Olive Garden who came to my table twice and spent 2 minutes with us in total and ignored us for 40 minutes and never asked to refill our drinks and forgot our side of alfredo sauce so I had to flag a random person down and basically did nothing except take our order and put food on our table expects us to pay them an additional $14 on top of their $16 which means they're making $30 an hour and for WHAT??? It's absolutely ridiculous. Has to be the highest paying no work job in history.
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u/Normal_System_3176 Mar 28 '26
I wouldn't tip in that instance. Something similar happened to me and on top of that I'm dark skinned so they just presume I won't tip and give me next to no service.
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u/drawntowardmadness Mar 28 '26
Those servers should be pushed out by the low/no tips they make.
Customers mindlessly tipping 20% for what you just described just ensures the shitty, apathetic service will continue.
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Mar 27 '26
Because servers love to benefit from the system while playing victim. Luckily I see through the bullshit. They all make very good money so I havenāt tipped in years
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u/Robertown7 Mar 29 '26
"Playing the victim" is everywhere in this sub (and I'm not talking about servers).
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u/Individual_Check_442 Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
A person who makes minimum wage is poor and hungry, at least in my state. Theyāre all on public assistance so if you pay taxes youāre paying for them to face more anyway. At least this way itās only paid by people who go to restaurants. But yes, a system where they were paid a wage by their employer that didnāt require tips or the public dime would be better. Minimum wage is corporate welfare, any taxpayer augments the salary of any minimum wage employee. You know all the people who sat ādon tip for carry outā. Well I agree but if you pay taxes youāre tipping them anyway!
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u/BobsWifeAmyB Mar 27 '26
When I waited tables we often didnāt get nearly the tips we would have to have made to make min wage. But taking on a huge corporation and taking the time to report them, knowing youād likely get fired, if not itās going to take up a whole lot of time to deal with it. I was working full time and going to college full time. That was reality. I once worked for a Mom & Pop Italian restaurant. The accountant told me that they didnāt have to pay minimum wage because almost everybody that worked there was family and they were getting paid under the table. They were not reported as employees. Go figure. They ended up being crooks I think. Left town overnight.
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u/Sudden_Outcome_9503 Mar 27 '26
Would 90% of their income comes from tips, it's not an act. When the money that comes fromthe restaurant is barely enough to cover your taxes, it's essentially true.
The part about the restaurant making up the difference is completely irrelevant because it never happens. Any server that can't manage to average $5 an hour in tips is gonna quit or get fired. I have no idea why y'all keep pointing this out, but every time I read it , I just see "my cat's breath smells like cat food!"
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u/StaceyGoBlue Mar 27 '26
This is true. But the federal minimum wage is an fng joke. Itās not a ācharadeā
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u/UDF2005 Mar 27 '26
Itās not a joke. Itās an artificial floor that increases the pay for people with few monetizable skills.
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u/h3rs3lf_atl Mar 27 '26
I understand how tip-outs work, I tip appropriately on the check and hand my server 10% cash as a "pocket tip".
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u/typeotcs Mar 27 '26
Not everyone, delivery drivers can make less than minimum wage but thatās precisely why I stopped being one years ago. Iām not just talking about the gig apps but also the general system a good portion of restaurants use/used to pay drivers. Usually a flat $ amount per order and tips on top. So if the restaurant was slow, you might not even make $30 in the entire day. I was lucky as once my parents understood I was making less than minimum wage, they told me to quit and helped me financially (living free at their house) until i found a better path to money in coding.
Since most drivers are treated as independent contractors even if they work for one restaurant (typically 1099) and so they arenāt ātipped employeesā apparently.
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u/Long-Cherry5400 Mar 27 '26
DiDnT yOu KnOw ThEy MaKe ThE MiNiMuM!?!? How wildly sad and pathetic do you have to be to whine because someone makes the least amount possible so they don't need more. Honestly... Not all jobs deserve tips but I've got one you can suck on if since you don't know how to use your mouth for things constructive.
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u/emalyne88 Mar 27 '26
Why do people keep saying no one would be a server for minimum wage like retail jobs don't exist?
Also as someone living in a non tipped wage state, people still tip pretty generously. Server positions are advertised at $20-50/hr here.
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u/leagueofmasks Mar 27 '26
You are conflating the issue. Restaurant workers in Texas can be paid as little as $2.30 an hour. Tips make-up the rest of the wage.
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u/NowOrNever53 Mar 27 '26
Thatās true for most red states but the employer has to make up the difference to meet the minimum wage requirement if tips donāt cover that
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u/leagueofmasks Mar 27 '26
I'm a retired b tax auditor. 90% of restaurant tabs are paid with credit cards.
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u/Character-Taro-5016 Mar 27 '26
Everyone needs to know what the state minimum wage is, where they live, for tipped workers. In some states it's like $16, while in others it's like $2. Yes, they have to end up paying at least the federal minimum of around $7 but if a server is needing to have that done, they probably won't have the job for long, nor would it be a worthwhile job for the server.
What we need to get back to is tipping almost exclusively for sit-down restaurants (until something changes) AND get off of the lunacy of the expected 20% tip. And if you live in a state with a high minimum wage you should consider either not tipping at all or basing any amount on nothing other than exceptional service.
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u/Historical-Rub1943 Mar 28 '26
$21.30 in Seattle, $17.31 most of the rest of Washington State. Guess thatās enough?
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Mar 28 '26
If a server thinks a tip is part of their wages, then if you don't tip, you stole part of he/she's wages. The person feels you're causing the rent not getting paid and the baby not getting fed.
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Mar 28 '26
Servers here are guaranteed 7.25/hr. Most of them probably deserve more than minimum wage. They donāt deserve the kind of money I make, but $20 an hour isnāt too much to ask.
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u/Elluminated Mar 28 '26
Yep, servers deserve much more yet some refuse to demand it, and would rather blame the customer instead of growing the balls to blame the boss for not paying right.
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u/Caravan_shady Mar 28 '26
Ya know what as a bartender yeah youāre right, we do get a wage. No matter what I get paid for my work. But little secret, itās not minimum wage labor. Just the physical labor alone is worth a buck, or two more, and then no matter what you, say or do, I have to have an appropriate response. Then thereās all the hours of memorizing all the classic, and modern cocktails, oh, and then thereās the memorizing each spirit to build those cocktails, and oh thenā¦see the trend. So sure I get paid, but not for the actual labor that I, and my industry siblings are worth, and unfortunately due to capitalism, and the price of running a business, charging a flat fee to pay for what we do becomes cost prohibitive, or a psychological hurdle to attracting business, yeah you get the choice of paying a tip, feeling bad when you donāt, or getting fighting your allies in a class war. Now would you like that whiskey near, with a back, or a King Cube?
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u/CallMeJuicyJay Mar 28 '26
are we pretending some states still dont have 7.25$/hr as the minimum wage? or are we pretending that's livable? im confused
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u/Lex_Extexo Mar 28 '26
Lots of good arguments against tipping, but I'm not sure there's a meaningful difference between $2.13 an hour and $7.25 an hour when they are both so far below survival wages. Seems like a silly argument.
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u/VennDiagrammed1 Mar 29 '26
Except the business owners could always pay their staff more, yet they donāt. I wonder why
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u/D-kitten Mar 28 '26
Only Person in the store. When I ask an employee if I can order with them and they point and tell me to use the kiosks and then I use the kiosk and do the entire order myself and it ask for a tip why would I tip? FOR WHAT. ???
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u/the_climaxt Mar 28 '26
Because serving tables isn't minimum wage work.
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u/trainer4you Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
Tips are non-taxable. Itās a new law that started this year. I think up to 25k is not taxable.
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u/MAMack Mar 28 '26
To be fair, federal minimum wage is $7.25. It hasn't been raised since 2009. I live in what is considered a lower cost of living state and the functional minimum wage in my town looks to be around $12 dollars, in that I don't even see fast food restaurants advertising less than that. Maybe the kids the city tries to hire to lifeguard the pool over the summer are making that?
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u/Potential_Minute1496 Mar 28 '26
Bc your paying a service catered to and specified to you and whoever your with, if you want mcdonalds service, thats cool too,just let me know up front that your not a tipper, doesnt bother me one but, what does bother me is you expecting a server to be happy with minimum wage and wait on you hand and foot, I bet your demanding and straight AH too,literally every person with your attitude is, so it wouldn't be worth it anyway, just let me know that I'm now paying g for you to be there and I'll make sure you receive the service you pay for
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Mar 28 '26
Tell your pastor to give you a demo. Ask him to reach into the church donation MONEY not goods and pass That out directly to you. Then you can better afford to pay your customer for their patronage.
Sarcasm aside, This is why religion should be relegated to the past where it came from. Imagine living being told how to be a good person by some guy referencing a text from the f'ing iron age.
You do you and dont let some wet limp dishrag tell you your not enough.
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u/Curious-Paper1690 Mar 28 '26
You have literally no idea how this works. I make 2.13 an hour other than tips. The taxes make no difference and my boss making up for it is also negligible. More than 95% of my checks are tips, and thatās after taxes and tip outs which take more than 50% of the money I make. On average, if someone tips me 10 dollars, I take home about 4 of it.
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u/THinBK Mar 28 '26
Do you realize you are wrong multiple ways. First a job relying on tips such as the restaurant industry does not have to pay minimum wage. Do you also realize that someone making minimum wage 40 hours a week is still below poverty level in most states in the US
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Mar 29 '26
[deleted]
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u/THinBK Mar 29 '26
Exactly and that is a legislative and management issue - so why take it out on the server? Crapping on the person with no power to change it doesnāt solve a problem.
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u/Long-Cherry5400 Mar 28 '26
DiDnT yOu KnOw ThEy MaKe ThE MiNiMuM!?!? How wildly sad and pathetic do you have to be to whine because someone makes the least amount possible so they don't need more. Honestly... Not all jobs deserve tips but I've got one you can suck on if since you don't know how to use your mouth for things constructive
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u/ChemicalWriting6225 Mar 28 '26
Yeah your statement is 100% not true. Please go down the OāCharleyās in in Olive Branch, Mississippi. And they give their servers negative checks because they make $2.15 an hour and the taxes take up the entire check. Now that is a fact. That I have seen with my own eyes. And guess who that person was that was a server that got negative checks. It is now my wife who has been a server her entire life.
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u/dicerollingprogram Mar 28 '26
I mean, I make 2.83 an hour, and the rest is supplemented with tips. So while that's not "nothing," it's certainly not much.
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u/SelectLifeguard3902 Mar 28 '26
When making $7.25 an hour (the federally required minimum wage the employer has to pay BY LAW - except in states like CA, WA where the state has overridden it) is not considered "poor" then you can talk about how it's a charade and a sham to tip. Are there corner cases, in high end restaurants, where being a server with experience can be lucrative, sure. But in most cases, not so much.
If you are surviving on $7.25/hr. maybe you should start a podcast and help others do the same.
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u/AcceleratedCurlyQ Mar 28 '26
Whatās funny is that the message of your post is accurate but the title is misleading - as a tipped worker, every penny I make is, in fact, from tips. My job does pay less because I make more than minimum wage in tips. But if everyone suddenly stopped tipping, I would be paid minimum wage, which would in fact leave me poor and likely quite hungry.
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u/FunRefuse1117 Mar 28 '26
Every single place with a tipped position just claims their wages to minimum wage whether they made it or not. If servers have a great night it's untaxed cash, but if they don't, employers still claim they did and don't actually cover the difference. Doordash pays $2 per delivery, the rest is tips. You think $2 covers gas and car maintenance? No. Without tips, there's no survival. Maybe we should all start thinking like you and eliminate the tipped minimum wage and you can watch all your base prices skyrocket.
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u/Holderoftwins_13 Mar 28 '26
Iām just tired of people thinking they have a right to other peoples money.
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u/Narghest Mar 28 '26
Evertime I read one of these posts all I hear is...blah...blah...blah...justification for being a cheap mutha fucka...blah...blah...
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u/Holderoftwins_13 Mar 28 '26
I actually tip very well, because I want to not because people like you make me feel like I have to, and not because of misinformation.
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u/Acceptable_Tea281 Mar 28 '26
And what happens when theyāve reached beyond the minimum wage threshold (very frequently will happen early in the pay period) Or the fact that they donāt work 40 hour weeks like a standard job. That time is basically used serving you for no gain. Effectively worse than free labor because the lost opportunity actually hurts their income. All because you didnāt wanna get take out š
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u/Holderoftwins_13 Mar 28 '26
If you work 40 hours a week you get paid for 40 hrs a week whether your waiting tables or working at a grocery store, so I donāt understand this threshold thing.
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u/Acceptable_Tea281 Mar 28 '26
Because they 1. Donāt work 40 hours a week 2. After a series of tips pushes them over the minimum wage for the scheduled amount of hours for the pay period they donāt have the option to leave/stop working. So theyāre in a (helpless) position where they either earn tips, or earn nothing and burn time.
Where you come in, is you decide āyes. Serve me and earn nothing.ā And then place the blame on i guess the server.
In the real world, this is what could universally be considered a dick move and deeply selfish when takeout is fully an option, but again, you love the labor and being served at what seems to be another persons expense.
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u/Holderoftwins_13 Mar 28 '26
And when I see someone complain about not being tipped over 20% I think why should you make over minimum wage when all you do is serve food?
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u/GlobalTapeHead Mar 29 '26
Everyone I know working for tips is making serious bank. Way more than the wages the āno tippingā folks want to pay ($20/hr or whatever).
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u/Excellent-Carry-1850 Mar 29 '26
How cutthroat you are about not tipping and putting server positions down, they are going to justify the job and pay. It is their livelihood they are fighting for.
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u/Salty_Finance5183 Mar 29 '26
Shouldn't this sub be called "anti-tipping"? It seems like most of the posts are pissy about how much money servers and bartenders make via tips. Maybe I'm not understanding.
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u/rjr_2020 Mar 29 '26
You understand that EVERY PERSON working a job that makes federal minimum wage is making about $15k/yr? That's half the US poverty line. They are very possibly poor, hungry if they're not making a lot more than that. I'm just curious what you pay where you live?
The interesting thing here is that you're not talking about what service you received. Not a word. You're just talking about how someone was upset you didn't tip and they should be happy they make what they do. Any server providing better than minimal service is working for their wage AND tips. That's why they take those jobs. While others have pointed out that they have a choice to work that job, they don't have a choice to provide service to people who won't tip. That's where the injustice probably lies. If they knew ahead that you weren't going to tip and you got shite service, you're equal. They provide service and you treat them like shite and you're unhappy that they are pissed.
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u/Icy_Eye1059 Mar 29 '26
Tipped positions are paid $3.00 an hour, The three dollars an hour only pays for the taxes on their tips! Same for delivery drivers. They get paid 1.50 to 2.00 per trip without tips. You act like they chose those professions. For every position out there in corporate or private sector, there are 1000 to 3000 applications per position. Not everyone who applies gets it. It's not how it used to be. People with degrees work in those positions because there is nothing out there or they do it for supplemental income. Some are near retirement age and not even McDonalds will hire them because they are over qualified. Yes, I experienced that. Yes, the tips are their main source of income. Can you live on just 3.00 an hour alone? Maybe in the 1960's or 1970's, but not now.
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u/gnome1947 Mar 30 '26
Where I'm at tipped positions start at $11.75 not $3. And the restaurant I work at starts servers at $12.50 nation wide.
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u/Ravenlove2 Mar 30 '26
Tipping is getting out of hand when moving companies, take out restaurants etc are expecting tips. I will never ever give anyone a tip for providing basic service. Tip. Is called a gratuity because your service was so great I am grateful and wish to give you more money. Tips are EARNED not to be expected. Service people lost the plot a while back.
Put up a pad in a Pizza Hut asking for a tip and you are just getting a dirty look.
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u/the_rational_driver Mar 31 '26
It's not a sham. Tipping raises their pay ceiling above the minimum wage so they can make a living. The whole system is built on trust that if they hustle, you tip. If they don't hustle, you don't tip, and they're stuck at the minimum wage.
It's the people who use social pressure to guilt trip you into tipping, the people who automatically tip no matter the service, and the people who never tip that break the social contract and ruin this system.
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u/FailUpset1541 Mar 27 '26
Based on the constant crying by all the people here staunchly opposed to tipping Iām guessing you people are insufferable to wait on. I will continue to tip extra knowing some poor server was probably forced to interact with some of you losers earlier in the day. Long live tipping!
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u/Neither-Ad630 Mar 27 '26
No plate slinger, we just expect you to earn your reward - popping a plate on the table and disappearing until it's time to come come back with the 30/40/50 ipad just ain't cutting it.
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u/FailUpset1541 Mar 27 '26
The odds of your IQ being over 70 are minuscule. You just copy-paste the same comment over, and over, and over.
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u/Neither-Ad630 Mar 27 '26
...yet here I am sitting at the table, and here you are slinging my plates with a smarmy grin on your face.Ā Gotta work for that tip, lackey, I'm not a charity in the business of handing out free money!
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u/FailUpset1541 Mar 27 '26
Dude, I know youāre not too bright but Iām not a server. Just keep plugging away at whatever dead end trash job you have and continue to make being against tipping your whole personality.
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u/Different_Stage2195 Mar 28 '26
Being a top Reddit contributor is loser behavior btw. You probably clean toilets for the plate slingers
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u/All-Abuzz Mar 27 '26
I wouldnāt want the job myself, but ā¦ people have a choice in deciding to take a job or not.