It does annoy me slightly when POS systems have placeholder tip amounts but they're like 18%, 20%, and 25%. Sorry, but I just do the standard 15% in most cases so now I gotta calculate it out in my head.
Normally, you're paying a tip on service. So, the waiter hovering over your table and collecting your order / refilling your drink / dusting off the table between courses is part of the dining experience. Its fee for service.
But yeah, now the credit card reader asks if you want to pay a tip to the fucking vending machine. Its asinine.
There's a self service store in the Newark airport that sells overpriced snacks for travelers stuck without any other options. It asks you for a tip while you check yourself out. As if paying $6 for a cup of juice wasn't bad enough already.
I've been eating in restaurants from street food to nice ones on multiple countries, and continents. Service fee (and taxes too BTW) are always included in the list price. That's the default
What kind of shithole country you're living in?
Edit: since servers in USA are paid hourly (even if shitty), the service fee must be in the list price. it's just the fact that the servers are not paid enough, and the customers are being blackmailed to pay extra off the books
Tipping isn't mandatory. But the issue is if a lot of people stop tipping all at once, servers will quit those locations. Then those locations will almost certainly go out of business because they can't afford to pay a living wage because the US's commercial real estate is insanely expensive. Current restaurant models essentially are built on this dynamic and to change it would require a lot of moving pieces to change. But for those pieces to change, a LOT of businesses will need to go out of business all at once to tank the real estate market.
And you may think: if they can't afford to pay a living wage, they should go out of business. That's a reasonable stance but it ignores the result: megacorps will buy up real estate and only huge chain restaurants will likely survive these kinds of busts. All your local favorite places will go under and be replaced by Fridays or Applebees because their thousands of locations can close 25% to focus on profitability.
I’ve been asked for tips when having carryout. And also getting a scoop of ice cream. Tipping is a relic of racist practices when southern people didn’t want to pay emancipated black workers a wage. It only still exists because restaurant owners lobby congress to keep it a thing. Stop bribing congress and pay your employees you fucks.
You're just complaining now. That has not been customary and it annoys me too. Don't tip if service wasn't rendered.
Tipping is a relic of racist practices when southern people didn’t want to pay emancipated black workers a wage.
Sad fact but entirely irrelevant to the issue today.
It only still exists because restaurant owners lobby congress to keep it a thing. Stop bribing congress and pay your employees you fucks.
In two sentences you have identified why you can't just stop tipping AND how to fix it: legislation.
If you stop tipping but still go out, you are essentially doing what racists in the past did by not paying people you would appear to not like. You not tipping is classist bigotry.
Fight for server's rights in a way that actually makes a difference: contact your congress people and elect people who care about this issue. Not tipping is just hurting people at the lowest rungs of society while still taking their labor. Gross.
I had one do that (well, even higher, 25, 30, 35, Other) for a retailer recently. Like, it took them under 10 seconds to ring me up and they should automatically get 25%? I chose zero.
Fun fact. When I was a kid, the "standard" was 10%. So food prices have shot up faster than inflation, but you're still tipping 50% more than what the norm was when tipping was already well established.m, even if you ignore the expensive food you're tipping for.