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alexalexalex09 t1_iuilz92 wrote

Reply to comment by Captain_Clark in Tipping is how companies trick us into paying for their goods and their payroll by yodal-io

Sometimes true, but according to law servers aren't supposed to be paid less than minimum wage after tips. Company needs to make up the difference if tips are too low. Not that minimum wage is enough, but they certainly shouldn't get less than that

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Captain_Clark t1_iuirggn wrote

Yes, it’s a strange arrangement. One may certainly earn more in tips than min wage would provide. But the determining factor in a tip’s amount is the price of the meal, which has no direct correlation to the degree of service provided by the wait staff.

A server may devote the same amount of effort in waiting tables at a pricey restaurant or an inexpensive diner, but the diner tips will pay less.

Obviously, the process is intended to allow higher-priced restaurants to hire the best, most attentive and excellent wait staff. But there’s a big presumption here, that a good waiter at Denny’s will naturally be waiting tables at a five-star steakhouse some day.

The server at Denny’s may work three times harder than the server at Ruth’s Chris, but earn a comparative fraction of pay in tips. The server at Denny’s has no control over this, despite how good a server they are - and a tip is supposed to reflect the quality of their labor.

A bad chef can destroy a server’s tips. Unclean bathrooms may destroy a server’s tips. A lengthy wait for seating may do so. A customer may simply be a cheapskate or even a racist creep who doesn’t like to tip certain people. These are circumstances which have nothing to do with how well the server does their job.

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