American 'tipping etiquette' article



There are layers of min wage in the UK too, based on age

Wouldn't suprised me if there's was to do with non-citizens.
 
sedling said:
I never knew there was a minimum wage and a subminimum wage in each state...

e.g. ' Meanwhile in Tennessee, the subminimum wage is $2.13 ' (that's about £1.83) :eek:

From the article:

'Often, a subminimum wage will get paid to bartenders, servers and people who work at car washes..'

https://www.npr.org/2024/03/26/1196978930/new-rules-tipping-etiquette
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Crackers isn't it! there is no way they are passing on the savings to customers either... they always try and say it would need to cost more for food if we pay more... no chance, just eats into already inflated profits no doubt!
 
The problem arises when some Brits (and other nationalities) go over there without realising it is customary to tip serving staff.
"Not our job to pay them" etc -which may be true when in this country, but is evidently not true in other places.
 
I can’t stand the American tipping culture, for me a tip should be a nice little bonus for exceptional service to be able to treat the worker and not a top up on a poultry wage that is expected to be the given

I get that people doing the tipping is well intentioned and the servers certainly deserve to earn something they can live off but the whole culture of it just takes the heat off the fat cat owners who are the real villains not the consumer who has turned up and paid the correct price for the products provided
 
Kent_Mackem said:
The problem arises when some Brits (and other nationalities) go over there without realising it is customary to tip serving staff.
"Not our job to pay them" etc -which may be true when in this country, but is evidently not true in other places.
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Why leave something like a person's ability to pay rent and feed their children open to the misinterpretation or tightness of others? Surely the answer is to have a minimum living wage that they can rely on to survive , and any tips on top of that are a small bonus ?
 
tunstallhill said:
Why leave something like a person's ability to pay rent and feed their children open to the misinterpretation or tightness of others? Surely the answer is to have a minimum living wage that they can rely on to survive , and any tips on top of that are a small bonus ?
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Well yes I agree, but that is a longer-term problem for USA the country to solve, rather than an immediate-term education issue for its visitors and tourists.
 
I'm a great believer of "When in Rome..." when travelling and observing local customs. We wouldn't like it if people came to the UK and didn't respect our "queuing culture"

Many workers in bars and restaurants are only paid a couple of dollars and hour so it is expected that tips may up the majority of their pay. The upside of this is that it is very cheap for owners to hire new staff and standards of service are (usually) better than in Europe.

However, things have started to get ridiculous in recent years where the tipping culture is being extended to cases where there is no personal interaction such as self service tills

 
A lot of bartenders in Vegas (presume other areas as well) are Unionised so get a canny decent wage - but still expect a canny big tip
 
Harry Angstrom said:
It’s their culture and you know what is expected.
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Some people might not.

I imagine anyone going to America for the first time in thier lives may not really know how to go on. I know a lot of places now have the 10% ,15%, 20% automatic buttons and all that. But in small places if the barman says your bill is $10 for two drinks and you leave $10 then I can easily see how people may not think they've done anything wrong
 

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