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Tipping, whether in restaurants, coffee shops, or the hair salon, is all around us now. I was recently at a concert, and the card reader asked if I would like to tip for a water bottle. When it comes to someone serving you, like at a restaurant, the tip can encourage them to give good service. But does every industry really need a tip?
I believe that looking at the type of service and the employee’s hourly wage should reflect the expected tip, if given good service.
The minimum cash wage for tipped employees in the U.S. is $2.13 because of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Normal minimum wage for Kansas is $7.25. So, for many servers at sit down restaurants, like Olive Garden and Cheddars, those employees truly do live off tips. So, when going out to eat, it makes sense to tip a server 20 percent or more for a great service and drop to 15 percent or so for bad service.
Now, when looking at a coffee shop, or a concert concession stand, they make at least $7.25 an hour. So, if the service of making or grabbing the drink, is mostly paid to a livable wage. Adding tips on top of that is genuinely nice for employees, but as a customer it can be annoying. Adding a dollar to a six-dollar coffee can seem a bit much.
Now, it is important to recognize if the tipping culture is too much, or fair. It is supposed to encourage good service, but it does not always. Without tipping culture, especially in the restaurant industry, food prices would potentially go up to pay employees fairly. So, either side of the story is bittersweet.
The history of tipping can be traced back to Europe, but America is one of the few countries that it is very prominent in.
“Tips were left in European taverns to ensure quick and good service,” said Ashlen Wilder in a 7 Shifts blog. “Wealthy Americans discovered it for themselves in the 1850s and 1860s while traveling in Europe. Tipping in Europe was born in the Middle Ages, a master-serf custom where servants would receive extra gratuity for excellent performance. American travelers brought it back to the states as a way to feel aristocratic. But tipping did not take off immediately in the U.S. There was a high level of resistance to it, and tipping was deemed un-American.”
However, the resistance did not stop tipping culture from growing in popularity.
“Despite this resistance, tipping took root in the American South after the abolition of slavery and the American Civil War,” Wilder said. “Service and hospitality were often among the first jobs freed enslaved people took. Some employers in this industry did not offer an hourly wage, and lower-class employees relied on the mercy of patrons to leave a gratuity for pay.”
Similarly to the U.S., patrons in Canada and Colombia also tip staff 15-20 percent, according to the Western Union. In Argentina, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru, servers are used to a little less, with 10 to 15 percent gratuity being the norm.
Most restaurants in Brazil, Chile, and Costa Rica include a 10 percent sit-down charge to the bill (referred to as a “cubierto” in Chile). In these cases, no one expects a tip, but customers feel free to put down an extra 5-10 percent in cash as the servers might not receive their share.
Tipping has been around a while and is very prevalent in America. It is a societal norm now, and some people dislike it. However, the grass is not greener on the other side, because prices would go up. It is a complicated issue, and tipping is not going anywhere anytime soon.
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