OMG.
Insanity is probably the word I choose to describe tipping culture in America. I heard about it before I was lucky enough to visit the US, but I did not know how that thing manifests in your daily life. My basic understanding of tipping is that an extra from customers when they are happy with the services, not a compulsory component in paying somebody else's salary. In many first world countries, it is unnecessary, in some countries it's considered rude, like, "Scuse me don't tip us.' But in the US, it's like the employers way to gaslight the customers to believe that employees well being is customers' responsibility, like whatttt?!?!
I was at a fast food and doing self-service order and this is what I saw right before I paid the order:
By default you are expected to tip 10%, 15%, or 20%., alternatively you can choose 'Other' to give custom tip or no tip. When I ate in 'proper' restaurant or cafe, the default value of your tip are 15%, 20%, and 25%. When you do the math that you are expected to give 25% of the total amount you purchase, which is not cheap, it's honestly insane.
Since tipped workers are not only restaurant workers, you'll see request for tip as well from hotel employee as such:
I have never seen this thing before where you are expected to tip housekeepers in the hotels.
When I was thinking about writing my shock regarding the tipping culture, I saw story on LWT (which I managed to watch it's tapping *yes, I won't shut up about it*) about tipping in the US.
Majority of the story is not shocking, quite the opposite, it's kind of expected. However, there are two points that are new and crazy for me regarding this tipping culture:
1. Lower wage for tipped workers. Tipped workers are people who receive at least 30 USD per month (that's so little) in tips allowing employers in many states to pay this type of worker much lower minimum wage. The hourly minimum wage in the US is 7.25 USD while tipped workers receive 2.13 USD since 1991. The employers argue that the low wage can be offset by the tips given by the customers. By law, if the employee cannot earn the standard minimum wage of 7.25 USD due to little tips, the employer will make up the different, but it's juts never happens.
2. Tipping and it's hierarchy distribution. It turns out that when you are servers and receive tip, you are expected to share/distribute the tip to other restaurant personnel. And when you don't receive (sufficient) tip, you have to use your own money leaving you with minus earning. Whaaattttt????????
I understand when tipped workers ask regular people to put themselves in their shoes and tip, but it should not shift the employer responsibility to pay living wage to their employee. Why don't you just stop with the sub-minimum wage and pay everyone 7.25 USD? This practice is found in some states/cities, so expand it to federal level and everyone is paid fairly. I am mostly confuse that things are sort of flipped over there; something that is supposed to be taken care on structural level becomes individual responsibility to fix it and the other around. Greatest nation on earth.