Hey Folks!
I’ve been living abroad for over half my life in a country where tipping is not the norm. At most you would round up. 19€ bill? Here’s a 20, keep this change.
Going to the US soon to visit family and the whole idea of tipping makes me nervous. It seems there’s a lot of discussion about getting rid of tipping, but I don’t know how much has changed in this regard.
The system seems ridiculously unfair, and that extra expense in a country where everything is already so expensive really makes a difference.
So will AITA if I don’t tip? Is it really my personal responsibility to make sure my server is paid enough?
Refusing to tip wouldn’t change this because the dark secret is that employers wouldn’t pay living wages even if they wanted to. Unilaterally raising your costs without an associated raise in profit is a big no-no unless you own the restaurant’s property. Commercial landlords have a lot of say in how your business is run because they often have revenue sharing agreements.