If someone is doing their job, they should be paid for their job - by their employer.
The idea of tipping someone for doing their job makes no sense at all. Even if they’ve done an exceptional job and went out of their way to provide the best service possible, a tip seems appropriate at best.
Give them a thanks, and let their employer know how wonderful they were. Let their “tip” come from a raise, work incentives, extra time off, or whatever else their employer does to reward high-performing employees.
If they aren’t being rewarded at work, then the problem is with the employer, not the customer/employee relationship.
If their work is the type that word of mouth marketing and referrals can help them, certainly spread the word!
But tipping someone to pour coffee or to wrap a sandwich? GTFO.
If you go to a business (e.g. a restaurant) that is known for offering low prices by paying sub-minimum wage subsidized by tips, and you happily pay the lower price without tipping, you are not helping. The business owner has no incentive to change their compensation, you’re just screwing over a working class person.
If you take offense to this practice, don’t go to businesses that use it. Better yet, write your representatives to draft legislation to end tipped wages. Otherwise, you’re just treating yourself to a little discount at the expense of the worker, no different from their employer.
If you go to a business (e.g. a restaurant) that is known for offering low prices by paying sub-minimum wage subsidized by tips, and you happily pay the lower price without tipping, you are not helping.
I wouldn’t support at a place like that at all.
If a business is paying sub-minimum wage, it’s 100% up to the business to get their act together. We should force them to as a society (legally or otherwise), rather than bend over backwards to cover the shortfall as “tips”.
If the business owner is paying a sub minimum wage and banking on tips to make up for it, then it is the employer screwing a working class person, not a customer that doesn’t tip. Most places don’t have a big sign on the door stating “our staff relys on your tips you intend to come here.” Most customers are clueless to what an employer is paying their employees, expecting a customer to know what places are sub minimum wage and which are not is a bit ridiculous.
This is the norm in America. I would assume this is common knowledge, but even still my comments are directed towards those that admit they know the staff relies on tips, but don’t tip anyway because it’s “not their job”.
Again, if you go to these businesses knowing the majority of the waitstaff’s compensation is in the form of tips, and you patronize the business without tipping anyway, you are on the side of the employer. The employer sees zero loss in revenue from your lack of tip. You have formed an alliance with the business owner to exploit the worker.
If you would like to not screw the employee while also not tipping, the answer is simple: do not patronize that business. Contact the owner and let them know you don’t plan to return until they pay their staff a living wage. Otherwise, you’re just selfishly joining in the exploitation, full stop.
The server minimum wage in my province is $16.55/hr, the base minimum wage is $17.20/hr, a difference of $0.65/hr.
If the server get a $1 tip per hour, they are beating minmum wage. I’m not sure if the numbers are worse in the US but this really doesn’t seem that bad. I think servers should be paid the normal minimum wage, but i doubt there are many servers that stay employed at the restaurant making less than $1/hr in tips.
Which province is that? The only province I can find with a tipped minimum wage is Quebec and both of their minimum wages are lower than anything you said.
I must have used an old source it did change very recently. I only knew servers made a different wage because my sister worked as a server. I should have also mentioned that when the server wage was in effect, servers were guaranteed to be brought up to standard minimum wage if they failed to make enough tips.
The tipped minimum wage in the US is far less than 96% of non-tipped. Federally it’s more like 70% of standard minimum wage, in my state it’s about 75%.
Quebec is the only province that has a lower minimum wage for tipped workers at 80%. Everywhere else, a server at a sit-down restaurant you’re expected to tip is making the same as a server at a fast food restaurant that you’re not expected to tip.
If someone is doing their job, they should be paid for their job - by their employer.
The idea of tipping someone for doing their job makes no sense at all. Even if they’ve done an exceptional job and went out of their way to provide the best service possible, a tip seems appropriate at best.
Give them a thanks, and let their employer know how wonderful they were. Let their “tip” come from a raise, work incentives, extra time off, or whatever else their employer does to reward high-performing employees.
If they aren’t being rewarded at work, then the problem is with the employer, not the customer/employee relationship.
If their work is the type that word of mouth marketing and referrals can help them, certainly spread the word!
But tipping someone to pour coffee or to wrap a sandwich? GTFO.
Should.
If you go to a business (e.g. a restaurant) that is known for offering low prices by paying sub-minimum wage subsidized by tips, and you happily pay the lower price without tipping, you are not helping. The business owner has no incentive to change their compensation, you’re just screwing over a working class person.
If you take offense to this practice, don’t go to businesses that use it. Better yet, write your representatives to draft legislation to end tipped wages. Otherwise, you’re just treating yourself to a little discount at the expense of the worker, no different from their employer.
I wouldn’t support at a place like that at all.
If a business is paying sub-minimum wage, it’s 100% up to the business to get their act together. We should force them to as a society (legally or otherwise), rather than bend over backwards to cover the shortfall as “tips”.
That’s perfectly fine. If you don’t approve, don’t give the business your money. If you do, you’re complicit.
If the business owner is paying a sub minimum wage and banking on tips to make up for it, then it is the employer screwing a working class person, not a customer that doesn’t tip. Most places don’t have a big sign on the door stating “our staff relys on your tips you intend to come here.” Most customers are clueless to what an employer is paying their employees, expecting a customer to know what places are sub minimum wage and which are not is a bit ridiculous.
This is the norm in America. I would assume this is common knowledge, but even still my comments are directed towards those that admit they know the staff relies on tips, but don’t tip anyway because it’s “not their job”.
Again, if you go to these businesses knowing the majority of the waitstaff’s compensation is in the form of tips, and you patronize the business without tipping anyway, you are on the side of the employer. The employer sees zero loss in revenue from your lack of tip. You have formed an alliance with the business owner to exploit the worker.
If you would like to not screw the employee while also not tipping, the answer is simple: do not patronize that business. Contact the owner and let them know you don’t plan to return until they pay their staff a living wage. Otherwise, you’re just selfishly joining in the exploitation, full stop.
The server minimum wage in my province is $16.55/hr, the base minimum wage is $17.20/hr, a difference of $0.65/hr.
If the server get a $1 tip per hour, they are beating minmum wage. I’m not sure if the numbers are worse in the US but this really doesn’t seem that bad. I think servers should be paid the normal minimum wage, but i doubt there are many servers that stay employed at the restaurant making less than $1/hr in tips.
Which province is that? The only province I can find with a tipped minimum wage is Quebec and both of their minimum wages are lower than anything you said.
I searched for server minimum wage in Ontario.
I guess you can find anything if you search for what you want to hear.
Here’s the Ontario ESA Nothing about server or tipped wages.
Heres the page I assume you found (it was right near the top results of “server minimum wage in Ontario”) $16.55 is the old minimum wage for everyone until it went to $17.20 this October.
I must have used an old source it did change very recently. I only knew servers made a different wage because my sister worked as a server. I should have also mentioned that when the server wage was in effect, servers were guaranteed to be brought up to standard minimum wage if they failed to make enough tips.
The tipped minimum wage in the US is far less than 96% of non-tipped. Federally it’s more like 70% of standard minimum wage, in my state it’s about 75%.
Quebec is the only province that has a lower minimum wage for tipped workers at 80%. Everywhere else, a server at a sit-down restaurant you’re expected to tip is making the same as a server at a fast food restaurant that you’re not expected to tip.