We dug into how American tipping culture got so broken, and the fight to fix it.

It turns out that your tips are subsidizing the payrolls of multi-billion dollar chains, while they pay their workers under minimum wage.

It’s a system rooted in slavery, and pushed by a wealthy restaurant owners onto the rest of us.

But there’s a growing movement to change it.

    • Bonskreeskreeskree@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Customers unable to give their money to a business due to understaffing as a result of shit wages and people refusing to tip sends a much stronger message

      • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        No it doesn’t. It just hurts the workers.

        Customers refusing to do business sends a message. If you still give the business your money they don’t give a fuck if their workers get tips.

        • hdnsmbt@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          And subsidising shit wages just helps employers keep up a shitty system that only they benefit from. Sorry if this sucks but maybe some workers should get behind this idea as well instead of always playing victim.

          • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            So stop going to places that expect tips! You don’t have to use these services. Just stop.

            You just want to have your treats and give up nothing and pretend like you’re helping.

            • hdnsmbt@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Okay, thanks for the advice but I already don’t frequent businesses that exploit their employees and you have no reason to assume I do.

              You made the assumption I do just so you could get a snarky remark in, not to make a meaningful counterpoint.

              • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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                1 year ago

                I’m sure you don’t 🤫

                But what I said applies to everyone - just refuse to do business with these places. Don’t give them your money and then refuse to tip. That’s psychotic lol

                • hdnsmbt@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  Yes, your incredulity certainly makes your argument much stronger. But postulating obvious platitudes is what really drives your point home.

      • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        Stop going to places that tip

        You’re just helping their boss steal income from the mouths of people forced to serve you for poverty wages. If you actually gave a shit you’d stop giving their oppressors money in the first place. But you don’t. You want your treats.

        • Draedron@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          1 year ago

          The workers need to stand up to their employers. As long as you have waiters defending tipping culture with “But I make more money like this” it will not change

          • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            The workers don’t need you to bully them into standing up to their employers. That’s basically accelerationism - the idea that if the workers suffer enough they will be forced to fight back.

    • anothermember@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      How about not tipping? I’m not American so maybe I misunderstand something, but it seems to me the obvious way to get rid of tipping culture is for lots of people agree to not tip - then employers would be forced to increase wages. It’s voluntary isn’t it?

      • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        By not tipping you’re just punishing the workers. The employer still gets your money.

        And in my state when restaurants started to struggle to find workers they just legalized child labor. Now kids as young as 14 can work for tips.

        Just stop going to these businesses.

        • anothermember@beehaw.org
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          1 year ago

          In the short term it might, but ultimately the moral burden is on the employers, it shouldn’t be pushed on to the customers. Stop going to those businesses is fine as well but I think it would have the same effect.

          • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            If you stop going to those businesses you aren’t partaking in the exploitation of workers, and furthermore, you aren’t literally giving money to the exploiters.

            From the worker’s perspective there’s quite a difference between “I didn’t make tips today because no one came to our business” and “I didn’t make tips today and still had to work my ass off to serve no-tip customers”.

            From the employer’s perspective, too, there’s a difference between “I can’t find anyone to work for poverty wages without tips” and “I can’t find anyone to buy my shit” even if both result in their business collapsing.

            You aren’t going to change Applebee’s from the inside.

            • anothermember@beehaw.org
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              1 year ago

              Well like I said, I’m not American so it’s not really my battle anyway. I’ve only heared about the broken tipping culture in the US, and it always surprises me that threads complaining about it are often still filled up with comments like “but make sure you still tip generously” when that sounds like the most counter-productive thing you can do to deal with the problem. That’s the extent of my observation.

              • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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                1 year ago

                That’s why I said we have to stop visiting these businesses in the first place - that’s what’s really counter productive, because it literally gives money to the businesses that exploit their workers.

                But if you still do business there and then just refuse to tip, you are not hurting the business. You are only hurting the worker. Sure, maybe if the worker is hurt badly enough they’ll stop working there, but maybe they’re so fucking desperate that they’d rather work for $2.50/hr without tips than stay home.

                It’s like, you could technically hurt these businesses if you slashed all the workers’s tires. Maybe don’t do that tho

                • anothermember@beehaw.org
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                  1 year ago

                  Well there’s not much danger of me walking in to an Applebee’s, that would involve long and expensive flight.

                  • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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                    1 year ago

                    Ugh. I’m using the generic “you”, not like, literally you.

                    But if people still do business there and then just refuse to tip, those people are not hurting the business. They are only hurting the worker.

                    Get it?

        • callouscomic@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          Haha, you’re punishing the workers by not tipping, so therefore don’t go at all … which, is also not tipping.

          Genius!

          I’m not defending tipping, just laughing at ridiculous statements.