In the United States, if waiters were paid more, would you tip less?

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 haven’t yet read (or re-read) any of the q’s in the link but I pulled this up for shits and giggles. Past Fluther q’s about tipping.

https://www.fluther.com/topics/tipping/

The top one to the right in the “related” column was interesting to reread. https://www.fluther.com/196414/is-this-normal-for-a-wait-person-to-ask/ Especially since one of the loudest nasty voices was later proved to be a fraud account across the board.

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.

The problem is you will not know who is paying more.

A tip is for services and not to supplement their pay. This whole concept has been so diluted.

If I tip it’s because I received good service….........not because of the price of my meal or how much the waitress makes in salary or tips from others. Sometimes I don’t tip at all. Tipping is a gratuity and, as far as I’m concerned, there are no rules around gratuities other than positions that forbid them as part of fighting fraud and corruption.

^^^ Big misconception. The tip used to be a gratuity, until the wage payers decided that it was supposed to be part of the earnings. That is why servers are mostly paid so much less as an hourly.

^^ Yes, part of the issue.

There have been organizations that scam even their employees by by having the POS system set to categorize tips this as a “service charge”. Then keeping the money and not giving to the employees. One local brewery was found to skim $1 million and not give to their employees that earned it. That brewery closed once the labor board caught up with them.

@canidmajor I used to think they were paid so much less, but I see, as per above, at least in NY and CT they’re not paid that much less. I think they used to be paid about 3 dollars per hour, which is definitely a lot less.

Well, then, by all means, don’t tip unless they bow and scrape. Anybody who thinks you can live decently (and I mean barely fucking get by) on $13.75 or $12.50 or whatever an hour is delusional. Tell the 40 year old server at the diner whose 15 year old son outgrows his shoes every six months that she’ll do fine on that kind of money if she just cuts out the luxuries. Whether before or after you berate her for the coffee being not hot enough, or the burger special being medium instead of medium rare. And if it’s a slow day, or the roads are icy, and she only has half the customers, well, that’s not your problem.

Not aiming that at just you, @jca2.

Geez, have a little compassion. Call your representatives, try to get these statutes updated. Talk to the local restaurant owners. It is so rare that the regular public is required to eat in restaurants that a little consideration wouldn’t hurt.

I would never not tip (I know you were not aiming that at me), just saying.

MA minimum wage = $15, but it’s $6.75 for servers. People eating at a restaurant are paying the salary.

Would I continue to tip? Of course – even $15 is obscene. If you can afford to have other people serve you, you can afford to tip your server. And any restaurant that “can’t afford” to pay their employees more than either minimum wage doesn’t deserve to exist.

I completely agree that waiting tables is grueling physically and mentally just like most jobs that the person is on their feet all day and dealing with the public.

I think the minimum matters. If I know a waiter is being paid $15 or more, I think I would round down a little rather than round up. It depends on the bill though.

When I order something very inexpensive I tip way higher than 20% anyway. The waiter is still working just as hard to bring me a slice of pizza as when I order chicken picatta. But, at a restaurant when an entree is already $5—$10 more than it should be and very expensive, I’m not usually overly generous with the tip, but not cheap either. 18%-20% ish in that situation.

The tip in the US absolutely is their pay; it is not an extra. I have to explain this to Europeans and Latin Americans who resent tipping or want to leave just 10%. If the US becomes more like Europe where the waiter is paid better by the restaurant, then it seems logical the customers will be more like European customers and not tip as high.

I was surprised when I first found out so many states have a minimum over $8 an hour for waiters. Of course this is separate from the minimum they must earn in the end, which is their wage plus tips almost always is the regular minimum wage or the restaurant has to make up the difference.

Raising the wage and possibly lower tips increases the taxes coming into the government. Although, very few people pay in cash now anyway so it’s harder to pocket earnings under the table now.

I’ve been conditioned for so many years to tip that I would continue to do so.

Here is how business owners squeeze workers and skim tips

”… or the restaurant has to make up the difference.”

Mostly they don’t. It’s a nice idea, but it rarely happens that way. If someone tries to call them on it, they claim that the server didn’t report all the cash tips.

Yes I will still tip. Until they get paid more than me in my own job. I worked as a waiter once and pay really sucked I saw no point in doing it at all. Might have better luck panhandling.

@canidmajor Totally agree with you.

Although I do get annoyed at the Squarespace apps that ask for tips for everything. Like if I’m buying a candy bar at a gas station it will ask for a tip.

Well, good thing this Q is specifically about waitpeople then, isn’t it.

@canidmajor
“Especially since one of the loudest nasty voices was later proved to be a fraud account across the board.”

I guess you could say that crow was full of caw caw. ;-)

@canidmajor My guess is it is extremely rare a waiter ends up making less than the regular minimum wage, but I believe you when you say that employers are loathe to make up the difference when it happens even though it is a federal law.

The Q was about anyone who qualifies to earn the lower wage, the tip wage, but waitpeople are what comes to my mind first. I guess some hairdressers are paid that way, bellhops, maybe parking valet, what else? I don’t know the federal laws for who is included. I can’t imagine there are hairdressers only given $2.13 an hour, or a similar extremely low number depending on the state, but maybe it does happen in very small towns.

It seems like a crappy job. They deserve huge tips even if paid adequately (if they don’t mess up too much).

I thought about it. It really depends. If they are earning 16 dollars and it seems the amount is already being passed onto the cost of my food, then I may make the tip less then what I usually do.

Americans: Do you find the tip expectation has increased since the 1970’s? When I was a kid it was 17–18%. Now, it’s 20–22%. I say this based on what I was taught to tip by my parents and what is automatically charged to the bill for large parties and catered events. I’ve always wondered if the restaurant or hotel pockets money on the catered events, because usually those waiters are paid a flat amount for the event.

Inflation.