Why are in the usa waiters paid only from tips instead of getting a salary (here in europe, they have base salary and tips are given for a good service and are just extra income) and how are then the cooks paid?
Why are in the usa waiters paid only from tips instead of getting a salary (here in europe, they have base salary and tips are given for a good service and are just extra income) and how are then the cooks paid?
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Because America is a third world country
US servers make “tipped employee” wage, plus tips.
Because thats how they want it because they can make even more in tips.
Remember, tipping is optional 🙂
Almost everyone hates it, but very few people want to change it.
Employers love not needing to pay their employees. They are the first lobbyist group that will fight against wage reform for tipped employees.
The employees actually love the amount of money they can make on a good night of work. Though it severely hurts gig economy workers who work in less profitable locations or hours, there are many successful workers who make significantly more money than they ever would on a proper hourly wage. Some waiters working dozens of tables on a fast paced and busy night could easily make hundreds of dollars more than a “fair hourly wage” would ever pay them. Tipped employees often also join in to fight against wage reform for tipped employees.
Consumers will complain about tipping culture getting out of hand, but at the end of the day they will always vote with their wallets. Invisible costs are often not factored in when determining their spending, so a lower menu cost with tip at the bill is more attractive than a higher menu cost without a tip. Businesses that have moved over to higher menu cost without expectations for tips have proven time and time again that their business actually suffers as a result of the change.
Tipping is a psychological trap and one that is actually very difficult to undo once normalized. If you live in a country without it, do not let it take root. You can’t just take it back, and once it has manifested itself, you will have that stupid tipping prompt window shoved in your face in every transaction you make.
When we abolished slavery it allowed employers to keep servants/servers on in a subservient role for very little pay.
It’s evolved over time and servers do get a low minimum wage, and there is an informal social contract to tip at least 15%, more for great service. Servers like it because they can make pretty good money and the better servers make more money. Restaurants like it because the price on the menu appears a bit lower.
Cooks, dishwashers, busboys, etc. get paid regular wages, but some restaurants have a tip-out system where servers share their tips with the rest of the staff. This can be abused (cook only makes food quickly for the server that tips out the most) and is not allowed in many places.
When cashless payment became the norm, a lot of places that previously expected no tips left the default tip options on the machine, which pissed off a lot of people.