Okay now it’s going to ask you a question on the screen…we have all heard those words and dreaded those words.
When did tipping seem to become such a chore among the average American? Funny enough, Americans were actually the ones who invented tipping. In the 1850’s through the 1860’s wealthy American voyagers would give an extra amount of money to Europeans for excellent performance. However, Americans love talking about tips! Many countries do not require tips, have gratuity included, or it is not a part of their customs or culture to receive a tip, so why in America are we always tipping.
I personally leave at least a 20 percent tip no matter what. Whether my waiter/waitress was the not the nicest, whether they messed up my order, or anything else that could happen. When I am at a sit down restaurant I think it is the right thing to do to tip 20 percent. However, big corporations have seen how restaurants getting tips means they can afford to pay their employees less, cut down on fundings, or cut out anything extra. From car service apps to local businesses they always ask you one more question before you pay.
A big expense for most college students is eating out. In some states the average cost of eating out is nearly five hundred dollars for college students. That is insane! Most college students prefer to get food through DoorDash or UberEats because of how convenient it is. However, with tips/tax/cost of product things like DoorDash and UberEats become expensive very quickly. Instead of the workers complaining of how little they got tipped and consumers complaining about paying for tips on top of their fees/products/tax, both the worker and consumer should be upset at the company. Now hear me out, if companies had paid their workers more then there would be no need for tipping at all.
It is scary to think that in 10 years you could be tipping someone just for holding the door for you. This tipping culture that we are living in today is especially bad for waiters/waitresses. Pretty soon tipping will be everywhere and more people will stop going out to get food/services/other things because it will become too expensive. Tipping has always been a common occurrence especially for restaurants in the United States however it brings up valid points and concerns, will people stop tipping altogether due to how expensive it is becoming?
Ask anyone around you how they view tipping and they will most likely say they tip because it is the right thing to do. I personally think that the right start would be for companies to pay their employees well to begin with.