>

Why do you support slave labor that exploits hard working people?  I want servers to make a guaranteed living wage from the capitalists that employ them.
Still an act of appreciation on my end. Here it's illegal to force mandatory tips or add them to a bill, so I simply do not leave a tip unless the service I'm provided shows it's deserving of one. Why would I give an employee who rolls their eyes, mutters, is inattentive, etc. any extra money? For doing their job poorly? >

Commercial law needs to forbid deceptive marketing of fake prices that are less than the real price.  Consumers need to push back against deceptive advertising that excludes employee compensation, “resort charges”, and other strategies to advertise falsely low prices. >

Consumers also need to stand their ground about what does and doesn't earn a tip. If you bring me something, okay, I'll tip. I don't tip at McDonalds, therefore of course I'm not going to tip at Starbucks or another place where I walk up and you bring me food at the counter. 
It's also ugly how the register companies use dark patterns to discourage not tipping. (High contrast buttons for tips, background blending on "skip" or "no tip" >

I don't disagree with you at all, but who will start? When my prices are 20% higher than the place across the street that drives customers to my competition. 
It it was forced and everyone had to do it at once then it would work. But as it is today, any business that tries to go without tipping is at a serious disadvantage to the competition that doesn't and is able to advertise a lower price. >

Well if you're expected to tip 20% then the price is the same. 
Also the other thing nobody seems to want to say is that, at least for large corporations, if the wages were slightly more normalized across the company structure they could pay workers more without increasing costs. CEOs and manager types would have to accept not getting huge bonuses etc, but it's fairer overall and would help stabilize society. And let's face it, I don't care if they can't buy a third home or a yacht >

First, restaurants and other food service institutions generally make razor thin margins. You don't have CEOs taking massive bonuses.
Second, most skilled tipped staff today would oppose getting rid of tips. It's a difficult to job to do well and a skilled waitress or bartender can make bank from tips at a high end place. Getting rid of tips is basically asking them to take a massive pay cut. >

Then why does the entire planet do ‘service’ jobs perfectly fine, without tipping culture of USA. But America can’t? 
Don’t give me that shit. 
We pay our staff a liveable wage, the cost is put on the menu. Stop making lame excuses. The staff still receive decent tips, obviously not as much as USA workers, buts it’s not a necessity and it’s just like a nice bonus at the end of the night/week/month (however your venue chooses to divvy it up). 
You’ll literally pay the exact same as a customer. It’s just that instead of throwing down 20% tip. That 20% is factored into food costs and the price of meals. It’s basic math. 
Ey? The entire world functions just fine. But you guys can’t? Get stuffed, mate. >

It's momentum.  You would find it nearly as impossible to switch over to a system like ours, but we do it just fine.  People are resistant to change and even when everyone would like to change, the game theory here punishes anyone who tries to be ahead of the curve.  So even if most restaurant owners would be happy to switch, they all want to be the last ones to do it. 
Also, you've got servers in California getting $15 an hour minimum wage + 20% tips on prices that are inflated to cover that $15.  These people are making $80k a year (based on your linguistic choices I'm going to assume you're Australian, so this is about $120,000 a year in Digeridollars).  They make more than most of the college graduates in this country. Good luck getting them to give that shit up without riots. >

Why would anyone need to give up anything? The restaurants include the service into the menu prices. Customers pay that as the total cost to go to a restaurant is exactly the same as it was before. So the total money collected by the restaurant is the same as price+tip was in the past. Then it's up to the owner and the staff to divide that. If it's so that the staff is willing to fight (=to go on strike) if the switch would mean a decrease in their income, then the owner has no choice but to pay them wages that equal the old wage + tip. 
The only thing that would change is that the waiters would not be able to dodge taxes by taking some or all of the tips without paying income tax for that. And that's how it should be. The college graduates that you mention pay taxes for every cent that they earn, so why shouldn't the waiters? >


Why would anyone need to give up anything? The restaurants include the service into the menu prices.

The restaurants that try that go out of business as the skilled servers go to places that do tips and business dries up due to the higher up-front cost. >

Why don't they pay the skilled servers more? What up front cost you're talking about? If the tips are included in the prices and then wages paid later, the owners actually keep some of the money for a while that currently goes directly to the waiters as tips.
And in any case what is this magical skill that American waiters possess that nobody else in the world can obtain but instead the restaurants work fine with service included in the prices and the service staff paid higher regular wages? >


Why don't they pay the skilled servers more?

How much more?
What is the actual acceptable hourly wage for servers in the United States if tipping does not exist? >

So much that they get workers. That's how all other industries work. If you don't pay enough, you don't get workers from the labour market.
I don't know what do you mean by "acceptable". I'd imagine that most servers would not accept a decrease of their income when switching from tips to wages. So, the employer could either pay that or lose his workers. Just like it works in all other industries. >

I’m a good tipper and I absolutely hate tipping because of how out of hand it has become. Tipping in the drive thru? Tipping the same amount for a to go order as dine in service when I never even got a drink much less a refill - and the total after tax is what’s expected to be tipped on? (When did that change anyway?) I’m over all of it. I wish places would pay a living wage and we could eliminate tipping altogether. I rarely eat out anymore because of how ridiculous it has become.
Edit: fixed typo “Al” to “all” >

Just because they ask for tips doesn’t mean you need to tip. Be confident tipping what you feel is appropriate and sometimes that is nothing. If you enable the behavior it will keep spreading. >

I agree with this, and IME most people don't react at all, let alone make a fuss over it. I think a lot of people are afraid of being lectured or some kind of confrontation, which is very unlikely to happen. Kind of like how they say, don't worry about what people think about you because they don't think about you as much as you think they do. Most people want to avoid a confrontation as much as you do. >

Yeah, having worked a fast food job years ago, before the iPad tipping norm, most of my time spent at the register was spent thinking about what I wanted to do when I got home and how to optimize whatever video game I was playing at the time iirc. >


And let's be honest, it's kinda crazy to feel the need to tip someone who didn't really even provide a service for you, other than what is expected from them in the normal duties of their position.

This so much. I've been trying to pinpoint what felt wrong to me about the whole thing, and this is it >

The other day I bought a ridiculously overpriced bottle of water at a kiosk inside a bus station. I got a Square prompt for a tip. The article OP is referencing said it would be “miserly” not to tip in that instance. Fuck that. >

But hey, that attendant had to take your card and swipe it! Oh wait... they don't even do that anymore.... >

Seriously! I don’t even think the guy even looked up from his phone besides to scan the water. Brutal. >

My ex's server friends hated when people would talk about getting rid of tipping in exchange for a higher wage as they work at a Steakhouse and even if they made 30 an hour it would pale in comparison to how much they got in tips from old fat rich dudes. >

This is ultimately why it’ll never change, because servers don’t want it to. Why on earth would they want to get rid of tips in exchange for a consistent wage? They’re making $20-$30/hour for a relatively low skill job that just about anyone can do with little to no training. 
They’ll talk about how stressful it can be, and I’m sure it is, but fast food workers work under just as much stress and aren’t payed nearly as much. 
I think minimum wage across the board needs to be upped to reflect cost of living, but that’s a conversation for another time. >


They’re making $20-$30/hour for a relatively low skill job that just about anyone can do with little to no training. 

Are they making that money because they're skinny pretty women? Otherwise there wouldn't be poverty in USA as anyone can become a waiter and make almost 30 bucks an hour >

They’re making that much because it’s basically taboo to not leave a tip. It doesn’t matter what you look like, or even how good you are. You will get tipped. For every person that doesn’t tip, there’s two more that tip 30% because “they used to be a server.” >

I was raised in Mexico, so my views on tipping are different than those of someone born and raised here, but I always thought that tipping was for a "above and beyond what was reasonably expected" service or quality of the meal
Now I feel weird every time I grab a to go order and the screen is asking if i want to tip even though the waiters didn't offer any kind of service and I still don't know if the  quality of the meal merits a tip
I don't mind tipping 20% + for a good meal / service, but I'm definitely not on board for tipping by default, particularly not at 20 % >

Nope, I’ve seen people argue that you should still tip for bad service because they may just be having a bad day or because they live off of tips. It’s bullshit considering some states mandate a minimum wage for servers separate from tips. >

Not some states. All states. >

I recently moved from the United States to Europe. 
I expected the standard of service to drop because of the lack of tipping but it really hasn’t. If anything, it’s better. Waitstaff seem more laid back and genuine. Probably because they’re not scrounging for tips. 
However, one thing I have noticed is that it’s much harder to be seated at restaurants here. Many of them expect a reservation, many are only open a few hours a day or a few days a week or even a few months out of the year.
I assume this is because if they don’t know how many customers to expect, they don’t want to pay waitstaff to just sit around doing nothing. 
This seems to me to be one small advantage of tipping culture in favor of the customer: restaurants are nearly always open in the U.S and are much more flexible to drop ins because the waiters need customers to get paid and the business does not lose many from having people “on the clock”, who are doing very little. 
I could be wrong. Just a pet theory I developed since moving here. >

For what it's worth: I've spent some months throughout different central-European countries and tipping was expected everywhere we went, albeit less than the American expectation (~10%-15%).
I also disagree, I prefer American service and consider it better. While Europe's service was in general more genuine, I like the politeness, even if slightly histrionic, that comes with American service. They didn't smile very much and I felt bad getting their attention because it seemed like I was inconveniencing them. >

In Europe tipping is for special occasions or tourists. You don't tip at the local restaurant next to your home. You could tip at fancy places but it's fine if you don't. I would expect 30% of people tip at fancier places. >

That's a broad stroke, tipping culture varies between countries. >

I don't think any European country have tipping at the non tourist lunch restaurant atleast, happy to change my mind incase you know a location for it. >

Tips are not expected in most countries. However tips are appreciated of course, in ”normal” places too (and meaning in sit down full service restaurants, not fast casual). A few dollars/euros/pounds is perfectly acceptable, moving to bigger notes (5/10/20$) for exceptional service or large bills for a group. Noone will give you a side eye for not tipping; the tip is just nice pocket change on top of your wages. >

I am in Europe and from what I see on USA TV, your tipping culture is unfair on everyone and does not make sense.
In my country when we go out for a meal we are not expected to give the server anything extra. For example if I pay with a credit card I'd never add anything extra as I know that it would go to the owner. However many servers are polite and helpful so it is not unusual to leave them some cash. But we only leave something like 5 euros even for a 50 euro meal. 
We also have men who deliver very heavy things such as gas cylinders and some people give them a small tip - but the tip is usually 50 cents to 1 euro. We do not feel bad about this because we know that these people are well paid. >

Don't just say "Europe", say your country we're not in the USA here! >

It's pretty much any country in Europe! >

I'm 100% certain in Split they took advantage upon realization the guy was an american tourist. 
As an european, I tip if service was decent, but as the person above said, I leave 5-10 euros in cash max, even for a 100+ euro meal. >

What I hate about this tipping culture is that people are soooo brainwashed about it that instead of fighting the billionaire corpos to provide them living wages, people are fighting other people who are just like them and demanding that they shoulder that burden. 
If anyone says "I don't support tipping culture", people lose their goddamn shit and call that person all sorts of names! Why don't you realize it's not your customer's duty to provide your salary, it's your employer's. Get angry at the employer, not your fellow pleb citizen. But nope, indoctrination is too deep. >

Not many restaurants that have tipped staff are owned by "billionaire corpos", it's mostly mom and pop places. >

I'm a pretty lonely guy these past couple of years. I'm pretty introverted so I don't need much but sometimes I'll head out to the local diner. I like being a regular, I like that the servers remember me, the cooks. It's not a special occasion but I'll put on a clean shirt and trim my beard, try and look like a human. It's really the only time I walk through a door and see someone's eyes light up, someone happy to see me. I'm not delusional, I know it's not my charming personality, it's that I'm a good reliable tip. But they do give a shit, they make sure my food is right, they get the coffee to the table before I sit down. It's not a lot but it makes me feel special for an hour or so. It feels good to have someone ask how my night's going, and pretend they care about the answer.
It's a dumb reason to keep tips, your livelihood shouldn't be based on it. But outside Zoom meetings it's some of the only social interaction I get, sometimes for weeks, and I know they wouldn't give a shit about me otherwise. >

It might not all be the tip.  Part of your good service might just be because you’re nice to them.  That’s something to look forward to for these industry folk, especially as time moves along, here.  People has gotten so mean. >

You're right... I worked at a donut shop and this lady told me she really only comes there because I'm so nice. Sometimes you don't even realize the impact you have on people just by being nice to them and listening to them or whatever. I really would have never had a clue a customer would care about me that much. It was nice to hear tho >

What a sweetheart she was to say something and how cool of you to get her there.  That stuff makes such a huge difference on both ends. >

No sales tax on the tip.
If the restaurant were to raise the price of the food enough to eliminate the tip, you'd pay sales tax on that higher amount. >

That's a good point. The easiest solution is to charge x for the food and add 15% service fee. Then the sales tax is  only charged to the food bill. >

Why should I have to pay you when your employer should be paying you? Tipping has led to allowing employers to pay subpar wages and get away with it. >

I completely agree. It’s way out of hand. Tipping a waiter or waitress for serving me at a sit down restaurant makes sense. Tipping someone for taking my order before I’ve even received my food or drink is absurd. The percentages also seem to go up and up over time. When I was a kid 10% was a good tip, then it went to 15%, then 20%, now 25% is the norm and many places add up to 30% gratuity. It’s insane. 
There’s actually an easy fix for this. Pay wait staff at least minimum wage like every other job. Large restaurant chains have lobbied for decades to exempt themselves from minimum wage laws and they’ve used the idea that tips provide a lot of the wages as an excuse. They’ve successfully guilted the rest of the population into tipping absurd amounts by underpaying their employees. Larger chains also use these unethical practices to undercut the prices of small restaurants who actually care about their workers and pay them fairly. >

We definitely have to follow the Europeans on this one. Give servers and bartenders a proper wage, then educate the customers to what they are getting, what they are no longer expected to do, and to not be an asshole in the process.
I worked at Denny's for 9 years. Upon leaving I went to a restaurant that was a step up, think of Applebee's, Red Lobster, etc. This was called Damon's, and it was all grilled & BBQ. 
There were two dining rooms, one being a traditional dining room, the other was over sized booths all facing in the same direction, arena style, with six big screens up on the wall. And each table had audio controls so they could listen to whatever screen they wanted to.  They could get wireless devices for their table to play trivia.
You could have the greatest customers, they got very excited and were right there with you. Or you could get the people that come in on Saturday at noon and stay until 9:00 p.m. and have only bought two yards of beer and an onion loaf (pre-blooming onion days) and wanted to leave you two dollars.  
We were not allowed to cash out our customers, or have another server take them over. So you stayed no matter what, and still only getting server hours. And if your shift was over, you were pulled from the floor still waiting on that table, and you were still only getting $2.17 an hour.
Between the two dining rooms was the service station, the window to the bar, and the entrance to the kitchen. The entrance to the traditional dining room and the bar were at the front door.  In order to get to the clubhouse you had to walk down a hall to get around the bar which was a considerable size, only to get to the clubhouse which was twice the size of the traditional dining room.
During the week for lunch service because the bar was slow, they would give the bartender to take a section. For whatever reason they always wound up taking all the booths along the wall of the kitchen, which was the furthest thing away. Additionally they had tables and chairs in the bar, so they could have been seated there and had ample viewing of the big screens.   
So if your customers ordered a drink, you had to wait for the bartender to get around to you, and your customers had to sit and wait until hers in the clubhouse and in the bar were taken care of.  And of course then we were expected to tip her out.
Having worked every position including as a supervisor at Denny's, I knew which practices were wrong (illegal), and between being autistic, having ADD, and originally being from NYC, know that I do not have a filter.  LOL. It goes without saying I was not everybody's favorite server.
I was scheduled a weekend dinner shift, thankfully in the dining room. We had the head server/supervisor who had close to twice as many tables as everybody else, especially me. And of course everybody was expected to expedite her food, and prebus if they were walking past the tables, and they were set up so you had to walk through her section in order to get to the kitchen.
Anyway, we have all this nonsense going on, and we're busy. And the busboys are taking their time, you know because they're high schoolers who are only there for a paycheck and to talk about and meet girls.  Coming from Denny's I had hustle, so I'm bussing and resetting my own tables so I can make some money. 
We get to the end of the shift and it's time to tip everybody out, and I only gave them $2. They came at me, demanding to know what my sales were, because they knew that I didn't tip them out enough and besides there was three of them and you can't split $2 between three people. And they all made minimum wage... but I didn't.  
The manager got called into it, and they're trying to tell me that I'm obligated to tip them out based on my sales regardless of how many they actually bussed. It was one table, a 4 top that when they left only needed to be cleared of glasses, napkins, and my cash tip.  So why again was I expected to give two dishwashers and a busboy a chunk of my tips? I don't think so.
And it doesn't help that the public doesn't know or understand that servers are generally required to tip out.  I worked at another restaurant of that caliber, if you will, and when the manager would pull the end of shift report, they would calculate how much we "owed" the bussers and the bartender, and factor that into how much we were told we had to pay!  
So you didn't even know half the time, how much they were taking out, how much everybody was getting out of your money. And servers get taxed on all of it, especially nowadays when everything's electronic, there's no way of reporting tips separately most of the time.  So if you had a bad night, or they didn't do their job and you were doing it for them, it didn't matter. You're getting taxed on money you didn't earn, AND money that you didn't get to keep.  And the dishwashers and busters all make minimum wage at least and do not have to report tips.  
As if all of that's not bad enough, I went through a Starbucks drive-thru about 15 years ago, and they had a tip jar hanging out the window! I asked them do you receive an hourly wage for what you do?  Yes. Is it above or below minimum wage. I was told they made something like $8 an hour.  Do you claim tips?  "No, that's why we only get tips in cash."  Excuse me?!?  
When I started waiting tables in 1984 I was making a $1.66 an hour, even though the rest of the table waiting world was getting $2.01 an hour. Somehow Denny's got some loophole back then that they didn't have to pay full minimum wage because they gave us one free meal either before or after our shift, and if we worked long enough to require a break, we would get a free meal then too.  (Limited menu of course). Which was great, you'd rarely if ever seen anyone giving out free food now.  But there was no opt-out, so if you chose not to eat, your wages weren't adjusted, so they paid us like shit because they could. 
Minimum wage was $3.35, and when I started cooking  I made $3.85. 10¢ more than the guy they hired in off the street "even though I was female" because I already knew the menu. Boy did that make me feel appreciated... {insert eye roll here} and mind you, at the time, a cup of coffee with 50¢, and a Grand Slam breakfast was $1.99. >

not sure why you are complaining about ur costumer base when you worked at a dennys and  applebees I'm pretty sure people who eat there don't go there for an outstanding meal or service and likewise its fair you shouldn't except anything extra out of them, if you wanted to you could always work at a more formal restaurant and make way more money. >

You misunderstood what I wrote. I never complained about the customers, I was speaking about the coworkers, and parts of the industry that the general public doesn't understand. >

Ahh ur totally right I def misunderstood I apologize, sorry u had to work at a restaurant like that, I suppose I’m privileged in that my managers never have put up with lazy workers like your busboys even if they were teenagers because we had hard working teenagers bussing >

It's all good, and no sweat, that was a hundred years ago.  Tbh, the crazy part is that I made more money at Denny's and we were all treated fairly, and the crew looked after o!e another.  I took home what I made, without having to share it with other people. And don't get me wrong there were times where we would tip the guys that were coming out and busting tables for us when it was a crazy shift.  But it wasn't required or forced on us. When somebody came out busting ass to help turn tables, they were doing it for everybody, and they weren't thinking about the cash they were going to get at the end of the night and which one of the servers tips better and making them their priority. 
If we eliminate tipping for servers and give them a good wage, that cuts having to tip out other employees who aren't recording the extra income, aren't paying taxes on it, and aren't getting a reduced wage because of it. >

I don’t mind tipping out by bussers and other staff tho bc even after tip out I’m leaving with at least 25 n hour >

To actually do something about this all food chains need to start paying their employees more. Which unfortuantely is quite unlikely.
The alternative being that everyone just stops tipping, but that would mean that the employees would be heavily underpaid (as they already are, but the tips increases this pay).
I myself live in a country where tipping isn't expected at all, and servers get paid enough which makes the US's tipping culture seem like madness to me, but it's unfortunately a system which is quite difficult to break. >


To actually do something about this all food chains need to start paying their employees more. Which unfortuantely is quite unlikely.

It's unlikely unless the law is changed to make it mandatory. Ensuring all servers are paid at least a livable minimum wage would be something that could be pushed for. If some companies aren't able to survive the wage increases and close as a result, so be it, new companies will spring up in their place. >

Yeah, that's true. The only realistic way to make sure the employees are paid enough is to enforce some minimum wage.
That's about how it works here in Norway, and yeah sure someone gets paid way less than what they are deserved, but they are atleast paid enough to live. >

I do agree with it getting out of hand, and it’s coming from a full time server. The only difference with us is that we do pretty much everything, clean tables, answer phones, take our own food, hand out to go orders, make our own drinks, etc. Sill get paid 2.13 hourly. I can’t speak for other servers who have these things done for them, but for example if someone comes in to get a bottle of water or just a drink, I feel so embarrassed to turn the screen around and make them sign where it’s asking for a tip, most times I just press no tip myself and ask them to sign… a lot of times it is changed for what I think is social pressure. What also should be mentioned is that the tips aren’t very reliable, a lot of restaurants get busier at certain times a year, and it’s dead other times. A lot of the money made during busy season should be saved for slower times. Corporate greed is real; they don’t want to pay, and they don’t really care if you tip the server or not. >

Saturday I went to a local Italian grocery store to get some specialty ingredients. The screen at the counter asked me if I wanted to leave a 15%, 25%, or 30% tip.
For what? Only thing I could think of was they sell sandwiches (which I did get, but out of the cold case.)
Who am I tipping on my grocery bill? >

Anybody living somewhere where you don't have to tip  (like where I live) knows that this tipping culture is abusive and disgustingly predatory for anybody involved apart from the owner. >

In Virginia the hourly for a tipped employee is $2.13 or something like that.
They have to invoice the employer if their tips don't make it to minimum wage. >

Yeah I grew up in Michigan and I believe the law there is very similar to this still >

Haha I can’t change your view because I agree with you. It’s ridiculous that the “minimum” tip is now 20%. Of course generosity feels great, but I’m a strong believer that the tip should be proportional to the effort of service.
Lousy service gets a 5 or 10% tip and don’t feel the least bit bad about it. Egregiously bad service gets 0% tip.
But the opposite is also true. Good baseline service with no issues gets 15%. Amazing service gets 20-25%. >

I’m guess I’m pretty much a career bartender at this point, and I agree with you. 
I REALLY appreciate when people tip well and I try to go above and beyond for customers that I like. I have a lot of regulars who hit me with >20% tips frequently, so I feel like they deserve the best service I can offer them when they come in.  
Sometimes people don’t require much and they don’t want to open a tab or anything, so I’m really fine with getting ~15% tips on interactions like that. In fact, it makes me appreciate my regulars that much more, which circles back around to the original point of how tips really SHOULD be based on quality of service rather than some standardized expectation. >

Agreed. It's time they increased/regulated and revised the federal minimum wage regularly like they do in Europe and many other countries. 
It's weird how you ask them to cover their noses to keep themselves and their loved ones alive and they'll all take it to the streets to voice against it. But, make their livelihoods depend on alms and gifts of non-employers despite holding full-time jobs, and they comply? For years together? 
So then what's the difference between the unsolicited window cleaners you find on signals, who then EXPECT money from you, and the waiters in restaurants? I'll go get the food myself then. If you're employed, make the employers pay. If employers don't, UNIONIZE. Go make your politicians do their jobs. instead of licking capitalists' buttholes, they should make employers pay a wage that matches the inflation levels (if not above). >

Most tipped staff want to keep it that way, as they make far more money overall. A waiter/waitress covering an extra table makes more money for doing so when tipped, but gets nothing extra of paid a regular hourly rate. >

The basic paradigm is wrong. "Companies externalizing the cost" has no functional difference then companies raising prices to the consumer, the cost for a restaurant meal nets out the same. So then you're left with the world as it exists in the US in 2023, the existing restaurant model, with tips, and some either service fee or raised prices restaurant model without tips. 
Having witnessed the changes in in airline and hotel business in the last 20 years (also both hospitality) consumers will choose 99.99999% of the time the option with the lower up front prices, even if it nets out more expensive in the end. So restaurant A pays workers the bare minimum (and they expect tips) and restaurant B serves the same food that costs 15% more on the menu, restaurant B is going to fold, quickly. >

I’ve got a formal education in econ and I disagree. There are behavioral effects from tipping and the owner will continue to set prices for profit maximization which isn’t necessarily a price increase as large as tips were. 
I do agree about the competitive disadvantage for restaurants which don’t tip which also goes to the behavioral economics piece. Hence why I think the problem needs to be resolved through legislation and supply side pressures. >

Well shit, I guess your formal education solves it. I guess work to make tipping illegal in the US. I'd chip in $100 on your campaign if it stops these endless whining reddit threads. >

What is their formal education in Econ? Sounds like someone who took a class or two in college. Most people who have a degree in a thing say that they have a degree, not a formal education. >

Glad to hear I’m not “most people” >

The problem is Americans may not be willing to sacrifice the service they are used to getting in order to not tip. For example, when I visited Europe, a single server will be in charge of 15-20 tables easily. They never introduce themselves or say they're pleased to serve you today. They come, get your order, and leave. Free refills aren't a thing so they aren't watching your glass and bringing you drinks constantly. They are less likely to be amenable to changes on the food such as substitutions or additions.
This is one of the reasons I, personally, believe  restaurants can afford to pay their staff better in other countries, because they have fewer people working and each person is managing more tables. They're able to do this by providing "worse" service (really just less attentive). Less attention per table, more tables at once, more food being ordered, fewer people to pay. >

As an American who also has lived in Europe, I feel the opposite. I felt like the service was fantastic in Europe.

Servers interact casually & naturally with you
Servers leave you alone to enjoy your meal
They aren't trying to upsell you on everything >

I 100% prefer the European model. However how will Karen or your average boomer feel? >

Not sure! I'm an older millennial myself but also very introverted! >

Preachhh >

One of the things that annoy me the most about compulsory tipping cultures is that they allow entrepreneurs outsourcing their risk to below-minimum-wage employees.
If in a restaurant where tipping is expected, for some reason no customers show up in a month, the waiters go empty. If the same thing happens in a restaurant where waiters are paid a living wage, the big boss has to take a cut to his profits. The latter seems a lot preferable to me. >

Tipping shouldn't have ever existed in the first place. Companies should be paying everyone a normal wage and if customers want to tip it's because they feel like it not because it's expected or needed of them. It's should be strictly out of generosity if they feel the worker did extra in the role >

I went through a fast food drive through yesterday and they had a tip jar.
I was thoroughly confused... >

Yep, and the deeper evil is that when they do externalize costs, commercial real estate knows that restaurants can absorb a greater hit to their bottom line and so jack their rents up which in turns raises meal prices which in turn raises tips even more. It’s fucking absurd and has gotten out of control, absolutely. By the time you’re going to swivel your little Square iPad to me and ask me for a tip for counter service? No. Get out. That said, people don’t tip their barbers/stylists nearly enough! So it’s the restaurant industry in particular that sucks, and now I avoid going to sit-down restaurants at all costs except for special occasions or friends in town. Tipping at restaurants is inflationary and regressive for all. Bars that only serve drinks are a totally different story. They don’t expect 20% of whatever you order! That’s closer to how restaurants should (and used to) work. >

Is getting out of hand? It became out of hand the moment that it became legal to pay sub minimum wage to service workers because of the tip expectation. While that exists its pretty much impossible morally to just not tip on principle. 
If you got your food/service then you should tip. Full stop. The percentage is malleable depending on location, but if you are getting a meal in a HCOL area like New York, 20% is very reasonable. >

I never tip. I shouldn't be guilted in to subsidizing employee wage while the employer is buying another boat. >

You don't tip after a sit down meal? >

Nope. I pay the advertised price. They should increase prices and pay employees more. >

Well you are pretty worthless. That is clearly not the business model in effect and your silent protest will not change things. 
You should only eat at the few restaurants that follow the no tipping method, otherwise you need to eat at home. 
Manchild. >

Protesting always works. Gets people talking and upset at the status quo.
Just like we see here >

How many restaurants have changed their payment policies to counter the fact that you’re a dick?