Dex wrote about tipping in the article:
That remained me about this song:
Topi
As for the system in Europe: as far as I’m aware in UK, companies under no obligation to pay waiters at all, under the assumption that they will be capable of making up the difference with tips. They also skim a larger than stated portion off the credit card tips quite a lot of the time.
This is incorrect. In the UK, if a waiter is employed by the restaurant he/she must be paid the national minimum wage- this is a pathetic £6.08 per hour for a person aged 21 or over but it has to be paid. This used not to be the case and a number of restaurant chains applied the tips against the minimum wage but this was outlawed in 2009 following a press campaign.
Quite correct sorry. I remember Gaucho was one of the ones that didn’t even cover minimum wage prior to that legislation. I think the latter statement is still the case bar further legislation though: as far as I’m aware, companies like Café Rouge can legally skim greater proportions of credit card tips than stated without any justification.
Yup, I don’t know about Cafe Rouge these days but it’s true the restaurant can do what it likes with tips and service charges paid through the credit card (in theory cash tips belong to the waiter but in practice these will often go into a pool to be managed by the company). They are meant to make clear there policy about tips to customers but I don’t think I’ve ever seen this done.
In America, the minimum wage is a rotten $7.15 per hour which comes to barely £4.50 per hour. That’s only 75% of what minimum wage is in Britain. Even worse, the minimum wage for tipped employees is a mere $2.13 per hour.
Actually, it’s a bit more complex than that. You get paid (and are taxed at) the minimum wage of $7.15. However, your employer can deduct your tips from that salary as long as your employer pays you at least $2.13 per hour. If you earn $7.00 per hour in tips, your employer will pay you $2.13. and you take home $9.13 per hour. If you earn $5 per hour in tips, your employer will pay $2.28 and you take home minimum wage.
And, since this is the United States, each state can have its own regulations as long as they are at least the federal minimum. In California, both tipped and non-tipped employees get the same $8/hour minimum wage.
I’m not looking to argue but in Illinois the minimum hourly wage for non-tipped employees is $8.25. Employers are required to pay tipped employees 60% of the regular minimum wage which in this case works out to be $4.95/hour.
I work in management for a restaurant company that has multiple locations in Illinois and out of state. ALL of our tipped employees are paid at least $4.95/hour in addition to their tips. When you look at the hourly wage plus average tips the servers walk out with it works out to be ~$22+ per hour. Bartenders are getting similar money with bussers/food runners/barbacks averaging $12/hour between the hourly rate + tips.
The lower minimum wage v the higher actual take home with tips in the States makes sense given the way tipping is done in the UK. As I understand it there is an almost absolute expectation of a 15% plus tip on top of the bill at restaurants in the States whereas in the UK tipping is still optional, dependent on good service, and unlikely to exceed 10%..
According to this website, cost of living is much higher in the UK so absolute numbers aren’t as revealing. Of note there are fuel costs, which are considered an issue worth changing presidents for… Except they’re double in the UK. In general though, as a smaller country, public transport is much better and people have to travel less distance.
Also unfortunate is the high cost of fruit in the US, especially since some of the largest orchards in the world are in Washington. Loose fruit could definitely do with subsidising in order to combat rising rates of obesity IMO.
Have any of you listened the song I linked in in my original post?
My whole point was that tip always. Waiters are people, just like you.
Topi
I agree with the sentiment*, thanks for sharing… but the video is blocked for me, says it contains content from UMG.
- With exceptions: in anarchist Catalonia, waiters very explicitly declined tips. They were establishing a horizontal economy where everyone could meet each other as an equal rather than patron and recipient. At least according to Orwell, at any rate.
The video has been blocked, so there’s no listening to it for me.
But your second paragraph confuses me. Doctors are people, too; should we tip them? Teachers? Elevator operators? Cecil Adams?
Powers &8^]