Goo_bubbs

Do you work for free? What if someone came to the place where you work and demanded that you work for them for free? Because that's exactly what you're doing to servers in America if you aren't tipping them, and I can assure you that no one on the planet wants to work without pay. It is not a personal opinion, it's an objective fact.

Also, I'd like to point out the hilarious irony of you making a blanket statement about all Americans by claiming that's what Americans do. The projection is palpable.

I was never trying to justify the arrangement where the employer doesn't pay the employee. However, the reality of the situation is that it doesn't happen that way. In the U.S., at least, servers make their living almost exclusively by being tipped. Yeah, it's shitty of employers not to offer a better wage, but it's equally shitty for people to go to restaurants--fully aware that servers need tips to make ends meet--without tipping servers.

Why am I not surprised with your total lack of empathy?

If you don't like tipping and actually believe that people should be paid for the work they do, then don't eat at restaurants. Show those restaurant owners why they should pay people, and be the change you want to see in the world. Otherwise, you're just an asshole.

Dude... both sides are absolutely not the same. Just look at the policies each side is trying to implement. On one hand, you've got Democrats trying to do things like forgive student debt and raise the minimum wage. On the other, you've got Republicans focusing almost solely on a culture war they've started just because they hate people who are different than they are.

I could go on and on with examples here. While it's true that people parrot things they're told to believe by the media (like pretty much everyone who watches Fox and actually believes it's real news).

Our current Republican party has zero plans to actually help anyone they supposedly represent. It's insane to me that anyone could look at what they're doing and think it's somehow beneficial to society...but I guess that's because I don't think of hurting people as a way to make my own life better.

The problem is that we're at a point where Republicans are not hesitating to lie, cheat, and steal their way to power. They have demonstrated quite clearly that they no longer have an interest in playing fair.

We need Democrats who aren't afraid to fight back or we'll lose our Democracy in America and eventually fall to fascism.

There may not be a good ending here, but it's time to draw a line in the sand.

I worked in fine dining for 10 years. So no, it's not presumptuous of me because I am speaking from personal experience based on my own life as well as many, many people I have known. I'd say that I'm one of the least presumptuous people in this thread when it comes to this topic.

It would be great if employers would pay servers a living wage, but that simply isn't the way things actually work in restaurants.

Personal responsibility? Handouts??! Tell you what, how about you go to work for 8 hours every day and then have your business's clients decide whether or not you deserve any money at all for the work you do. Would you say you're just asking for a handout, or would you say that you deserve to be paid for the work you did?

It's really a cultural problem, and there's no easy solution. I certainly don't know how to fix it. I think it would require everyone not tipping or every server everywhere demanding a higher wage.

Honestly, I hate tipping as much as the next guy. If I decide to tip someone I should be able to feel good about it, like I'm giving them a bonus, rather than feeling guilt-tripped or obligated to do it.

Unfortunately, the system is just set up in a way that sucks for both customers and employees, and the only way you can eat in a nice restaurant and not be an asshole is by tipping your server.

Yeah, it's a huge problem. Yet, here in the U.S., Biden tried to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour when he first got in office and Republicans shot him down. Our problem is that we have an entire political party that is hellbent on harming the average person at every turn, and we have too many uneducated, misinformed people voting for them to do it.

1. 15% is low. So, what you're saying is that you're always a bad tipper.

2. There are tons of factors that can make a good server give bad service. A kitchen that's lagging behind, for example, is totally out of their control. Another table that demands a lot of attention can also throw off service. You've clearly never worked in a restaurant.

3. Most people tip because they're not heartless. I don't think their reasoning applies to you.

Ok, so stay out of American restaurants. We don't want you in them.

And some of them are. It's dumb to make assumptions about an entire profession whose wages vary greatly from city to city based on one person you knew.

You ever see a person break down crying on the job because they're not making enough money and don't know how they're going to eat? I have, several times.

Yes, it's the money that the owner should have given them, but you're not solving the problem by stiffing your waiter. You're just going to make things worse for them.