I’ve tapped out of tipping culture for multiple reasons.

1. I don’t tip at fast food joints because all you did was the bare minimum. Tipping is supposed to be rewarding for extra service. All you did was take my order and ask if I wanted fries with that.
2. Prices are going up, so more of the amount I would have expected to pay is going to the base meal. For regular food, I try to tip so the final price is around $15 or $20. I don’t want to pay $30 for a burger and fries
3. I’ve seen what tipping culture looks like when it gets out of hand. Go to the Hotel Zone in Mexico, and you’ll see what I mean. Nothing is genuine, everything is about milking the tourists. I was pretty disappointed by the end of the trip. Would not recommend.
4. The base % is going up to try and milk customers, so I’m putting in the effort to counter that bullshit by picking no tip.
5. Sometimes the tip doesn’t even go to the workers; Sometimes it goes to the owner. How can I tell?

Edit: I should add that there are times when I do tip, and it’s when good service beyond base expectations was provided. Like if I asked for recommendations and it wasn’t just the most expensive item on the menu, they were pretty prompt about taking my order, and/or it’s busy / during holiday season

Not doing something optional isn’t punishing someone

Good. The only way this is going to change is if customers stop coming to places that demand a tip when an employee looks up from their phone.

Leaving a tip for decent table service is a given, but the absurdity of being asked to tip if someone literally does nothing more than presses a button on a register is a great way to lose customers permanently. We used to be regulars of a couple of small fast food places that started with this bullshit. Haven’t been back since.

It is when you know they’re being paid less than minimum wage because they’re a server. Want to actually make a difference? Lobby for better labor laws. Otherwise, you’re just punching someone who’s already down and blaming them for it.

Fuck service fees, fuck tips, fuck all that shit. Pay people what their worth.

Only time I’ll tip for no reason is my local pho place, they remember me and know my order so I just throw an extra $2 at em every time. But I shouldn’t be obligated to do so as a service fee like that one buddy said.

Well it will definitely make the employee think maybe we should find another job.

Less than minimum wage? That’s not a thing in Canada is it?

In most of the world, you pay what you see on the shelf.

Yeah, the older Canadians too. It’s ridiculous that the owners make their workers depend on how much business they can bring in for their wages. Do it like the rest of the world and pay them a decent wage. The only way to change this is for everyone to stop tipping.

Fortunately not. But even in Canada, minimum wage is abysmal.

It’s an American thing, I was horrified when a newcomer said they thought it was expected here.

There is a “server wage” that is less than the minimum wage if you are not a server. Similar to the “youth wage” that is less than the minimum wage for an adult doing the same job.

Leaving a tip for decent table service outside of North America isn’t a given though. On a global scale this is a regional cultural peculiarity.

I can’t make sense out of this at all. How can you be paid a server wage when you’re not a server? How is the minimum wage a minimum if it can get lower? Am I just being pedantic?

In Japan, we don’t have tip, but we do have “table charge” which is kind of bullshit. At least the service is generally 100x better than in Canada.

It’s not if you aren’t a server, I was making a direct comparison between the minimum wage for servers and the minimum wage for non-servers.

There are many exemptions from the federal minimum wage in Canada, the ones I raised are just 2 of them. Temporary foreign workers and agricultural workers are also exempt, for example.

You could always look it up if you want to know more, it’s public information.

Oooh I was totally misreading it. Sorry. I get it now!

But it seems like server wages were abolished.

That previous standard practice was abolished in 2022, Canada-wide. Now, all servers make at least the provincial minimum wage.

I have never had a restaurant ask for a table charge in Japan. I’ve stayed in Tokyo and Osaka a fair bit (months) and have visited Nagano, Nagoya, Kyoto and some smaller cities in between.

I keep telling this to people who think server wages are a thing.

What do you think @gonzo-rand19@moist.catsweat.com ?