from Hacker News

Americans are confused, frustrated by new tipping culture, study finds

by correlator on 11/10/23, 6:48 PM with 23 comments

  • by ModestoBorn on 11/10/23, 8:50 PM

    In America we need to get rid of sub-minimum wages as it's currently legal in many states (Arkansas, Connecticut, Louisiana, etc.) to pay under the federal minimum wage ($7.25 per hour) and make up that salary by tips. Source: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped

    And I would also encourage people to patronize businesses that pay their workers higher wages. Also some of these businesses have higher prices and don't accept tips.

    I live in near Seattle and when I patronize the cafe at Ada's Technical Books in Seattle I'm happy with paying a higher prices for food or drinks because they have explicitly say they don't accept tips and pay their workers higher wages. Source: https://www.adasbooks.com/notipping

  • by yieldcrv on 11/10/23, 7:50 PM

    A) start a town crier that names and shames mom and pop shops with tipping on their point of sale system

    B) put social and legal pressure on point of sale systems like Block to stop pushing tipping interfaces on merchants. On the legal side regulate the merchant codes and what POS systems can show based on merchant code, create consequences for noncompliance. Mandate disabling it completely even for restaurants when in states where the tipped minimum wage is the same as other minimum wage. Do the same to the payment processor, Visa, Mastercard Amex etc

    C) mandate disclosures to consumers when in states where the tipped minimum wage is the same as normal minimum wage

    D) use the local alcohol licensing requirements to require all service personnel to discourage tipping. Verbally, on receipts, everywhere - in states with no separate lower tipped minimum wage. Or else no alcohol can be served.

    E) deny other discretionary features such as outdoor parklets, if tipping culture is not discouraged

    F) disable the ability to e-file payroll taxes for “high risk of tipping“ services, or anyone with many receipts

    how to think of stuff like this: regulate the intermediary. this works under any governance system.

  • by pinewurst on 11/10/23, 6:53 PM

  • by technion on 11/10/23, 9:35 PM

    It's been weird here in Australia- where this is not a thing. - that pos software from America is more and more making us press zero every time I buy something when it prompts for a tip.

  • by egberts1 on 11/11/23, 1:29 PM

    It is very simple: moment I see prompt for tipping on the register after I picked out something, carried it to the register and rang it up myself, is that moment I am going to leave everything behind and head on to the next store.

    Tipping is for OPTIONALLY AFTER the work/service was performed: period.

  • by neonate on 11/10/23, 8:36 PM

  • by dang on 11/10/23, 8:37 PM

    Recent and related:

    People no longer know how much to tip - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38213518 - Nov 2023 (170 comments)

  • by proc0 on 11/10/23, 9:33 PM

    What's so complicated? If you don't want to tip, don't tip. If there are repercussions, that's their business, stop supporting them.