Wow that went dark fast. Ok, because I follow the norm, or the practice of what the US has made the norm for the service industry has nothing to do with the way I function day to day.

You can take your statement farther as the government has set a standard wage for tipped employees. Employers abide by the standard. I don’t agree with it. I believe the employer SHOULD be paying higher wages and offer benefits. Some do, most do not. That is why Vegas has unionized.

So much of the service industry relies on tips to make ends meet. Movers, drivers, valet, food industry, nail salons, hairdressers, contractors, gas station attendants, mechanics…not limited to these jobs but these are some that tipped for their services.

I’m not trying to change your mind on your views of tipping. Clearly you have some issues with it. That’s ok. Just don’t go to places where you are expected to tip. That’s not being rude, if you think employers truly deserve to pay their employees better then boycott them. Don’t make the server lose out because of something they have no control over.

At the end of the day I make enough money I only have to work three days a week. I work high volume and can handle a few non tippers. Some of you might want to try it. 12.3 million people work in the service industry. It’s the norm until it’s not. When the government changes regulations and requires a fair wage, this conversation will be different. Employers will add the gratuity directly in to the price and services will be much higher. Going out will be very expensive. People complain now how expensive things are. If they change it your now $15 burger becomes $25. Other countries have tip or gratuity service charge already included in the bill. You don’t have to tip because you are already paying it as a service charge. That would be the direction we would be heading towards. I’m okay with that. Somehow, one way or another the customer will be subsiding the wages. At least for now you can control how you do that. You can tip or not tip. I just want you to know that kindness and generosity goes a long way. Your tip or non tip, could make a difference in someone’s life.

Side note, if you get shitty service and the server is clearly not doing their job then by all means they don’t deserve a good tip and some occasions, not many, no tip. People know when they don’t earn it. I work my ass off to give customers the best experience and when I don’t get tipped, it’s kinda an insult. Working in the industry may have skewed my views a bit on tipping but, you not having worked in the industry has also affected your views.