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Comment by tinalumfoil | Hacker News Reader

Tipping is a cultural aspect, not a legal one. Tipping was written into the law because people were already tipping, not the other way around.

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As long as food servers are paid less than minimum wage it is a moral issue as well.

Servers earn the greater of tipped minimum wage plus tips, or minimum wage. Of course people take serving jobs expecting to earn more than minimum wage, but it's not the same moral issue if they don't.

In theory employers are supposed to make up the difference if tips don't meet minimum wage. But it's infamous for being poorly enforced.

I agree that is a problem. I suspect it's receding as the percentage of restaurant sales paid by credit card increase.

People who dine at restaurants that likely commit wage theft might tip for moral reasons, but to me, it makes more sense to boycott those restaurants and communicate to managers and owners the reason why.

They can, yes. But the instability of wages is a bigger issue. You can do amazing one day, and horrible the next. Combined with the fact that we teach next to nothing about financial planning in the US, and the extreme reliance on consumer debt by our economy, tipped workers are more like gamblers.

I agree. I would love to see tipping be replaced with a steady wage or salary based on skill, seniority, etc., like most careers have.

It's only a moral issue if the server is compelled to work for that wage. Slavery is immoral. Entering into a voluntarily wage agreement is not.

Sometimes life compels you to do things that are necessary, but not optimal. I know people that feed their family on tips.

Workers being paid substantially less than their labor is worth by their employer is wrong.

I actually do wonder. How is tipping in Europe v.s the US where we always do %10 or so

Sometimes it exists, other times it doesn't.

Tipping just about doesn't in Australia, where we pay a reasonable minimum wage ($17.29 per hour for adults in full-time employment). You occasionally find people will tip a taxi driver or bartender, but by and large it's just not done.

Interesting. Some states in the U.S just raised the wage to $14 dollars but nationally it's pretty low

In Toronto we do 15% to 25%. 10% is really low.

But you have a fair min wage in Canada, right?

It's about 11 CAD.

Not for "service workers". They can be payed below minimum wage because they get tips as supplemental income.

In Italy, tipping is fairly rare. It's so much easier to just pay what the meal costs and get on with life.

In sweden I only tip if the service was better than expected.

In Norway where I live tipping is totally unnecessary, the restaurant staff are paid a reasonable wage. I travel to Poland on business and rarely tip anyone, just a few cafes in touristy spots seem to think they deserve it. I often let the taxi driver keep the change when I am flying out because I have no use for a pocketful of small denomination coins.

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