In the United States if waiters were paid more would you tip less?
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JLeslie (
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3 hours ago
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If the tip minimum wage is as high as the regular minimum wage would you tip less?
California and a few other states the minimum wage for waiters is already the same amount as the regular minimum. if I a
Some states the tip wage is higher than the federal tip wage, but not as high as the state regular minimum wage.
In Florida the tip minimum wage is $9.98 and regular minimum is $13.
I think most Americans tip around 20% of the bill, but also assume the server is only paid $4—$7 an hour.
I’m curious to know what you assume wait staff at restaurants are paid by their employer and if you knew how varied the minimum is state to state for tipped employees.
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8 Answers
I’d probably only do 20% at that point.
I’m just researching first and I did CT and NY (I live 5 minutes from the CT line so I do most of my shopping and dining in CT). This is what I found:
Connecticut allows employers to pay service employees who earn tips a tipped minimum wage rate of $6.38 per hour. For bartenders, who customarily receive tips, employers must pay a tipped minimum cash wage rate of $8.23 per hour.
As of January 1, 2025, the minimum wage for tipped employees in New York is as follows:
New York City:
Tipped Food Service Workers: $13.75 cash wage with a $2.75 tip credit (total minimum wage of $16.50).
Long Island & Westchester:
Tipped Food Service Workers: $13.75 cash wage with a $2.75 tip credit (total minimum wage of $16.50).
Remainder of New York State:
Tipped Food Service Workers: $12.90 cash wage with a $2.75 tip credit (total minimum wage of $15.65)
I might pay less tip if they made the minimum, although the amount they make is actually not a whole lot less than minimum (from my research above).
I don’t get why they say the wait staff has to share their tip with the back of house and the hostesses, when presumably the back of house (cooks) and hostesses make the state minimum and the wait staff doesn’t.
I was out with a group of friends the other night and we were talking about this very subject. If the wait staff wages were raised to pay them the minimum, the restaurants would just raise the cost of the meal. I am guessing that with tips, the wait staff makes way more than minimum, in most places, so paying them minimum with no tips would make them not want the job.
Probably not, but it would depend on what the actual wage was.
Even if minimum wage was $20@hr (which it’s not), working a 40 hour week for 50 weeks a year is only $40K annually, which really doesn’t cut it in this economy. Most servers don’t work 40 hours in a week, most servers don’t get benefits, or have a 401K.
And most servers lost their savings during the pandemic.
A server would probably have to set my hair on fire to not get a very generous tip.
It’s grueling work, especially in the places like diners and chains. A long time ago, a jelly here was dismissive about the tipping thing and said: “How hard can it be to carry food?”, which is an attitude so many here have had. It’s fucking hard, especially when you carry food to people who think you are somehow lesser for doing so.
If you look at the tipping Qs from the past on fluther, you’ll find that a lot of jellies feel that way.
It’s just gross that they do.
I’m going to read it in a bit. It looks interesting. @canidmajor
When I was in Prague last year a waiter told me not to tip because they all make a good wage.
The Europeans I know are generally appalled by this whole thing.
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