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Nearly half of Americans say tipping has ‘gotten out of control’ (www.independent.co.uk)

submitted 10 months ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to c/world@quokk.au

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With those tipping screens now seemingly everywhere, Americans think that the practice has “gotten out of control,” according to a new survey.

At least 63 percent of US residents now having a negative view of tipping, up from 59 percent last year, according to Bankrate, a financial publisher and comparison service.

Yet, the number of Americans who have gotten used to tipping has gone up since the COVID-19 pandemic, when it slipped. There have not been significant declines in tips for service providers, the survey noted, particularly for hairdressers and restaurant servers.

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[–] the16bitgamer@programming.dev 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

At this point I’ve stopped tipping. However I don’t like random numbers so when I checkout at restaurants I round to the nearest $5. So if my meal was $32.45 I’ll tip $2.55.

For me it’s a fun math game and the percentage for the tip is low.

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[–] ABetterTomorrow@lemm.ee 1 points 10 months ago

the millions who visit.

[–] viking -2 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Who's forcing them to?

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[+] hzl@lemmy.blahaj.zone -6 points 10 months ago (5 children)

There's a massive difference between people saying they wouldn't mind paying more if it meant not tipping and people actually being willing to pay more. The difference between a 20% markup on prices and being asked to voluntarily tip an amount that isn't specified is pretty minimal. Having worked in a job that relied on tips for over a decade, I can't tell you how many times someone who didn't tip complained about the price without a tip. Would they pay it anyway? Maybe. Is it probably a good idea? Maybe. But I don't know many situations in which a 20% hike on prices translates into a 20% increase in wages.

There are definitely a lot of people who would benefit from just making a living wage rather than being paid below minimum and having to supplement that with tips. Often that person just ends up not making minimum wage at the end of the day, and there are definitely companies that exploit that pay arrangement to get people to do work that shouldn't have to rely on tips regardless. There's a small burger place around here that literally hires counter help for tipped wages, but then also makes them do dishes, clean bathrooms, and even help make some of the food. They're basically being paid less than minimum to do two to three jobs, only one of which even legally qualifies for the reduced pay rate.

But would the patrons of that restaurant really not complain if they had to pay an extra $3-4 for a burger? I'm not so sure.

One thing I've learned about people is that many of us find complaining to be cathartic. If it wasn't tipping, it'd be the prices or the service or something else. A lot of the time it's already all of those things.

In the mean time, though, it's probably better to push back against unfair labor practices by trying to pass local laws rather than by just stiffing your server.

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