restaurants are fighting back
Unless it's by raising their prices by 15-20% and paying their employees a living wage, it ain't gonna work. Tipping is moronic.
this post was submitted on 20 Jun 2026
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That’s essentially what they’re doing, but with a surcharge rather than just raising their menu because we love adding on tax and fees here in the US
That's also a surefire way to piss everyone off! It's hilarious to see the extent that restaurants will go to keep the menu price low.
I mean, that's basically what airlines did when they started charging $20 for checked baggage so they could get the price Expedia shows to be as low as possible.
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It’s a bad deal that only policy could really fix at this point.
If you’re the only store with real menu prices then customers just get price shocked at what they’re actually going to be paying when they can go next door to another restaurant that doesn’t tell you the full price up front. Customers would be upset at a mid $18 burger, but at fine with a mid $16 burger + $2 tip.
Imo, the problems stem from the forced rat race of no one having enough money excluding the rich. Prices being high wouldn’t matter if people got paid more, but cause we’re not getting paid more, the companies that target the general population just make everything into cheap knockoff crap to still turn the same or better profit margins.
Policy created the problem.
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It's not my fucking job to make sure your workers are paid appropriately. I came here for a fucking steak and some freedom fries. I paid for my fucking food and I just want to eat it in peace. Stop turning your problems into my problems.
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I wish this exposed tipping culture for what it is, but America is so deep in capitalism that you'll hear more complaints against this.
It's so fucking stupid
Just raise the prices by 20% and also pay the staff 20% more.
But fuck workers' rights and living wages, right?
They wouldn’t need to raise prices that much.
During the Obamacare debate the Papa John’s CEO was upset that he would have to raise pizza prices a few cents to pay for the health insurance his workers need. Wealthy people are psychopaths.
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Tipping does not lead to better service. Arguably worse, They want you out asap to get the next tipper in the seat.
Also, can't see why someone should pay a waiter more for bringing 5 steaks an 5 champagnes instead of 5 burgers and 5 soda's. Kind of the same job and effort.
I remember when I spent time in the US, tipping was the absolute worst part of the experience.
If I was with a big group going to a restaurant we would have a server constantly checking in with us, chatting and telling stories, getting us deals and freebies. When I would go out alone I would get ignored. If I dressed down I would be treated worse than if I was dressed up. One time I even waited an hour for a table before walking out as larger groups got seated ahead of me. How people are treated is based on how much money they think you'll hand over.
Everything about tipping is greed and it's gross.
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Look, I worked in restaurants for half of my adult life and even though the system is fucked for tips it's not like the wait staff has a say in the matter so punishing them by not tipping is completely pointless. That being said, I'm pretty sure 90% of wait staff agree with you about tipping but are unfortunately stuck in the system just like the rest of us. But even when considering all of that it's absolutely insane that people are expected to tip when it costs $100+ just to go out to eat with a few friends.
Basically what I'm saying is that it's generally a more complicated issue than it looks from the outside, but the long story short is that the staff are the ones getting fucked over by everyone else and it doesn't make sense to punish them. It's infinitely more helpful to leave a negative review than it is to not tip the wait staff. If you do that it actually brings attention to the issue and hurts the business instead of just punishing someone for trying to do their job.
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Lol
Tip is a con
As far as tipping, Reynolds understands why some visitors aren’t leaving American-sized gratuities.
“They’ve already spent a lot of money to be here in the first place,” he said. “The tipping, I’m not too fussed about it.”
His advice? Embrace the local customs.
“I think if you do come here, you should just engage in the culture because I think you’ll have a better time.”
In what way tipping makes my stay better? American are so far up their ass they made tipping their culture. If you just include it into the price and then pay the waiter/waitress like human being then there won't be any confusion.
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That US tipping culture doesn't make any sense. Tipping should be optional when customers think they got wonderful service. In other words, it is up to the customer to decide and not part of the "menu", neither should it be an expected component of the employment package, it should be a bonus not given by the employer.
What really doesn't make sense from a customer perspective is that recently everywhere you go somebody is asking for a tip, but you're only expected to tip:
- Taxis but not busses or trains.
- Restaurants but not fast food restaurants, and sometimes restaurants add a service fee that may or may not include the expected tip, especially if you are with a large group. Typically, you are expected to tip if you are assigned a seat, somebody takes your order while you are seated and brings your food to you, and you pay after you eat.
- Food delivery but not any other kind of delivery.
Examples of inappropriate places where a tip is sometimes requested but not expected:
- When placing an online order from a warehouse.
- When placing an order at a fast food restaurant.
- When buying something that you picked up off a shelf yourself and carried to the checkout.
It makes lots of sense when you realize that it makes more money for the owning class, so they like it a lot.
Also it got started right after slavery ended, so you can imagine who was getting told "sorry you didn't make any money today, better luck tomorrow."
I guess the tourist never really cares about the local custom or the local worker. It's up to the locals to fix their labour laws.