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Comment by astrodust | Hacker News Reader

> ...people who work for slave wages...would hopefully leave and find better paid jobs.

You really have no idea how tenuous employment for people is in those situations, do you? They don't take these jobs because they pay well, they take these jobs because that's all they have.

What they're going to think is "what a fucking asshole". Zero tipping is reserved for the sorts of dickheads that leave "Jesus money" instead of actual cash.

Minimum wage in the UK sounds a lot higher than minimum wage for wait staff in the US which can be as low as $2.13 in some states.

£10 is $13.29, which is a hell of a lot closer to $15 than $2.13.

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This is a very good point. To just stop tipping wouldn't teach the restaurants anything. They still get their money from the food you ordered and can always churn out more wait staff willing to work for those low tips because it is better than nothing. Regulation that takes away the need to tip would be extremely helpful, else this probably won't change.

>> They don't take these jobs because they pay well, they take these jobs because that's all they have.

Really? Because I keep hearing how waiters in the US are actually paid very decent thanks to tips. They are ignoring the fact that the employer pays very little because they can at least make a living from tips. That's not acceptable.

It depends on where you live and work. In a busy urban environment where you're catering to people much richer than you, sure, you can do well.

If you're stuck in a rural location with light traffic and moderate incomes you're screwed.

So my position comes from what I can already see over here - you can go and be a regular delivery driver(with no tips) or work for Amazon Prime for minimum wage because there is a chance of tips. It's destroying the market because people who would otherwise never consider being delivery drivers for minimum wage are now considering it on the nebulous idea of maybe getting tips. And Amazon execs are giving each other high fives because stupid customers are subsidizing something that a multi-billion-dollar corporation should be paying for. The only way to fight against it is to not tip, and convince everyone you possibly can not to tip either. That's the only way to avoid this disease from coming over here. And I don't see how this wouldn't work in US either - yes, maybe there are people for whom like you said there is no other choice. But surely there are people who specifically agree to lower wages because they know they can get tips. If that promise was removed then this wouldn't be the choice people would be making.

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