this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2024
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As a non-American, sometimes there threads are hilarious.
I mean I get it it's not as simple as we sometimes mockingly make it out to be, but it is a gratuity, meaning something extra on top of a legally required amount.
So yeah, you're very correct it isn't required.
I mean is tipping truly legally mandatory anywhere in the US? I'm sure they could decide to not serve you again, but by law, is tipping truly required anywhere?
No, but not tipping is a great way to ensure you'll get crap service (and potentially tampered with food) if you ever go back.
Also, traditionally tipping was only for waitstaff, "fast" delivery drivers (think pizza delivery and same day couriers maybe), and certain specific one on one service scenarios (hair stylist, barber).
This expansion into other things is mostly because everyone is starting to use the same payment processing pads that have the tipping menu turned on by default and hard to disable, because the company making the processing pads takes a small percentage of every transaction. Combine that with opportunistic business owners figuring out they can pressure anxious people into tipping by just implying they should, and here we are.
Just as I thought. I do understand the culture, I've just never been personally subjected to it. I would ofc tip in the US, but that's one reason it's not high up on my list of places I want to go to.
Well, traditionally it started out as a way to keep your slaves doing slave work without compensation while saying they're not slaves anymore and definitely are getting paid through tips.
https://civilrightsdocs.info/pdf/minimumwage/History-Tipped-Minimum-Wage.pdf
Tipping is never required. Even if some on menu try to make the claim “you have to tip”
No I don’t have to tip
No, never.
Most restaurants have a policy of requiring a tip for parties larger than a certain size. In that case, where the policy is known in advance, then it's part of the bill, and I'd think you have to pay. Otherwise I think it would be treated like theft.
Service charge on the bill is imo a bit different from a tip, a gratuity.
But again, wouldn't know, haven't been.
Definitely not my expertise this subject.
A gratuity fee must be removed if requested in the US even if it is called "mandatory". They cant legally force a tip even with it stated before hand in the menu and signage (there is probably some state where this is somehow ambiguous). Oddly that isn't true about service fees that go to the owner.
However service fees were getting popular in certain parts of California where they had to raise wages and provide medical insurance but they didn't want to advertise higher prices so they just added fees, undisclosed until the bill most of the time. Now California has passed a law to stop the service fees in the "Junk Fees" law. It also banned the automatic tipping practice, which surprised me, as well.