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> it's not even customary

This is thoroughly false. It is so customary in the US that it has been baked into the minimum wage laws: in general, the federal minimum wage is $7.25, but for waitstaff and some other "tipped" jobs, the minimum wage is less than a third of that, at $2.13. The whole system is completely appalling, but that doesn't change the fact that in a lot of places the waitstaff is effectively subcontracted out and paid for by the patrons rather than by the nominal employer.

you're only right in the US centric view of things; it's totally abnormal else where.

The minimum wage stuff is not true in California, at least.

You left out the part where they are still guaranteed minimum wage if they don't get enough tips.

Try working at a restaurant and actually getting them to pay you that. They don't.

is the minimum wage not legally enforced?

Surely it is if $2.13/hour leaves enough left over to hire a lawyer, or the employee is confident that the payout will be greater than a decade of lost opportunities as "someone who sues their employer".

They did at my crappy small chain (in a Southern state without as many worker protections). It was automatically done in their payroll software based on declared tips/hours (where most servers didn't declare cash tips and were thus more likely to make the non-server minimum wage).

I'm sure you're right, because that's the general attitude they operate with in that industry, but I was a server for six years and most of my friends still are, and it's totally unheard of for a server to end the night below minimum wage. I've never known a server to come away with less than kitchen staff and the norm was much higher. A really bad night at a cheap buffet was 60 in five hours. If it was slower than that servers and kitchen staff would just be sent home.

Surprised this comment is 15 hours old and never got the "But they're legally required to! Complain to the Department of Labor and sue them!" response.

While I'm sure most restaurants stay legal, there's a non-zero number of restaurants with owners that don't make up the missing pay and let workers end up making less than minimum wage, but the workers don't complain because they're truly desperate for work, or their local government won't do anything about it.

Now I'm remembering the Amy's Baking Company episode of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares where one of the owners, Samy, admitted that he takes all the tips his wait staff make, despite being illegal (Source: https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.htm)

> in general, the federal minimum wage is $7.25, but for waitstaff and some other "tipped" jobs, the minimum wage is less than a third of that, at $2.13.

In the United States, pay for tipped employees is regulated by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which among other things requires that they always be paid a minimum wage.

https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.htm

If anyone is claiming that a particular restaurant violates the law by paying lower than minimum wage to their servers, then that's the problem right there, not anything to do with tipping or tipping culture. If anyone is not being paid minimum wages they are owed, the US Department of Labor will be happy to intervene:

https://www.dol.gov/whd/contact_us.htm

A lot of waiters don't report because they can't afford to lose their job over the odd slow week where they're stiffed $20 and then get blacklisted at other restaurants. And no, that's not a lot of money to lose out on, but it adds up.

And yes, it's illegal to fire someone over reporting, but it happens all the time. And it takes time for a lawsuit to go through, so you've gotta find work somewhere else in the meantime. And now you have to also take time to sue your old company. When you're barely afloat, it's not worth rocking the boat because you might drown.

That's reality for a lot of people. You can't just say, "this is the law so it's not happening."

Maybe federally, but in Oregon, where I live, restaurant workers make at least state minimum wage ($9.75), and in Portland, the wage is going up to $15.

I feel a good first start would be to get rid of the tipped-job-exception from the Federal minimum wage law and set it a fixed minimum regardless of job classification.

That's a good description of how some parts of the world work. It might even be a good description for how the US should work. It is not even remotely a good description of how the US does work.

Perhaps it's different where you live, but you may want to consider how not tipping will be perceived by those around you. Giving others the impression that you're selfish and lack empathy has very real costs, even though they may not be as immediately obvious as the cost of paying the tip.

Where are you located? 15% for average service is definitely customary at sit-down restaurants in the United States.

Do you know anyone who actually works in food service? I do, and they'd be pissed if everyone skimped with a 15% tip. It's 20% for adequate service, 25% for excellent.

This is hilarious, and sad. What a broken system.

More proof that tipping is wrong, local variances with no way to find the local standard!

Well that's news to me. I generally tip 20% and thought I was being generous...

I agree that 20% is the new normal. 10-15 years ago, it was 15% for adequate, 20% for excellent (that's my memory of major US cities on both coasts). Tip inflation is real.

25% is crazy.

Depends. 20-30% if you are dining solo and not drinking in a place which is normally couples and with some wine, seems fair, since what actually matters to the waiter is total tips at the end of the night. My check is probably $40 vs $120.

You are also less work for them. I'm not sure why you feel obligated to make up for the fact that you aren't blowing 120 dollars at the table.

I'll tip 30% at like an Ihop when my bill is 11 bucks because "total tips" is what matters.

They get a finite number of tables in an evening.

Yeah I do, and of course they claim everyone should give them more money. Since I frequently heard that the new standard is 20% I've reduced my tips to 10%, pretax. If a bill helpfully prints calculations and the lowest option is greater than 15% I will leave less than 10%.

Taxi drivers get $1 no matter the fare. The gall of that industry to even ask...

And even the slightest infraction of protocol and I leave 0.

I used to overtip all the time. I got absolutely nothing of value for doing it, so forget it.

I got a tip for ya right here: it's your money, do what you want with whatever's left after taxes, fees, fines, and mandatory contributions.

When I was in LA recently I was tipping 15% for good service. Hope the waiters can make rent! /s

It seems customary enough in the US that in the movie Reservoir Dogs hardened criminals berated one of their own because he "didn't believe in tipping" the waitress. This brilliant scene is on Youtube, in case anyone needs Steve Buscemi's take on iLoch's comment as a relief from this subthread.