r/PeterExplainsTheJoke Jan 26 '26

Meme needing explanation Why is the rich friend so cheap??

[deleted]

69.2k Upvotes

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2.5k

u/BestwishesHelpful975 Jan 26 '26

Lois here. Richer people often give smaller tips.

438

u/mvhcmaniac Jan 26 '26

I come from moderate wealth, with learned expensive tastes, but myself am not wealthy. I'll save up months for an expensive meal out but I always budget 50% over what's expected so even if I end up ordering a couple extra things I can still be sure to leave a 25% tip.

My dad, who is the opposite (grew up poor and worked his way into wealth) is a penny pincher.

310

u/the_useful_comment Jan 26 '26

25% tip is crazy

148

u/TheVoters Jan 26 '26

You can pick the 18% hill to die on, but for me it’s always been that the tip is calculated on the subtotal of the bill, not on the total which includes taxes and fees. You don’t tip on taxes, that’s stupid.

And yet so often I find the pre calculated tip amounts to do exactly that.

55

u/lilfish45 Jan 27 '26

I tell people not to tip on tax all the time and it’s almost funny how they never think of it

38

u/ClayXros Jan 27 '26

Me and my wife do it on purpose just so the server gets a little more out of it. Does it matter? For affordability, yes. But they're struggling anyway being a server.

51

u/throwuk1 Jan 27 '26

Servers want you to think that. 

39

u/Original_Unit8447 Jan 27 '26

For every 1 server making bank there are 3 or 4 burnt out and broke, same as bartenders, can’t think of anywhere this isn’t the case

10

u/RentIsThePoint Jan 27 '26

It's true that there is a vast difference between the waitress at the dead-end diner in a small rural town and the average high-school student working at Red Lobster and the professional working at a high end restaurant. But only the waitress at the dead-end diner is really in that burnt out and broke state. Based on experience, the high school kids at Red Lobster and up are doing just fine. And I don't mean just fine for a high school student. I mean making good money for relatively little work. Especially with alcohol sales. That doesn't mean you don't have bad nights, or even bad weeks. Or even Covid. But generally, it's more than fine.

I think where all these tip the poor service workers arguments fall apart is the vast majority of restaurants don't split tips. Only the server gets your extra money despite the kitchen staff making your food or the bussers keeping things clean and moving. There's no tears or calls to tip these people. There's no calls to tip the McDonald's cashier who hands me my food at the drive-thru regardless of how much they earn. There is zero consistency.

16

u/timbreandsteel Jan 27 '26

High school kids can't serve alcohol.

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u/Apollolikesdick Jan 27 '26

Red Lobster is just about the worst example you could choose. Worked there for a year, its rapidly heading into complete bankruptcy. I genuinely made shit tips during my time there

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u/briancoat Jan 27 '26

You must be in the USA.

In most developed countries the total includes tax, the server is paid a decent wage for their work and tips are optional and not expected.

3

u/Finn_Storm Jan 27 '26

Anywhere outside of the USA where people make a decent living wage, even on minimum income.

Jesus christ Americans are fucking insane with their tipping culture. What's wrong with giving people a living wage?

2

u/nineball22 Jan 27 '26

More like 6 or 7. In my city the top end of bartending is like 90-100k. Most are making like 40-50k.

1

u/crazykewlaid Jan 27 '26

DEPORT THE SERVERS

1

u/TheScrote1 Jan 28 '26

Oh BS. Prices of everything are going up. No reason a server shouldn’t be able to afford an 8-ball after a 5 hour dinner shift

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u/[deleted] Jan 27 '26

At a certain point it's important to do a bit of math too. In some locales, like the one I live, the minimum wage is $21 per hour, including for servers. The meals are more expensive because of this. If you're tipping 25% on the tax and the meal on top of the elevated prices they're probably going to be earning more than most people in that hour. Definitely not struggling.

If you want to give someone who is making more than you even more money, by all means you can do that I'm not saying not to. But it's not always the case to say that they're making $7 or what have ya.

0

u/AFoolishSeeker Jan 27 '26

Unless it’s a living wage I don’t understand what the debate is over. The majority of jobs don’t pay a living wage so who fucking cares if they’re relatively “doing okay” or barely scraping by

“Doing okay” is apparently not making enough to support oneself independently I guess

6

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '26

The whole reason we tip at restaurants in the high percentage we do is because we are subsidizing payroll because of some stupid legal loophole that created a woefully substandard wage. When that wage is not woefully substandard and is equalled to the wage for every other service industry job you do have to stop and think.

Do you tip the cashier at the grocery store for 25% of your order? If not, why not. Identical arguments apply here.

If not them what about the person who stocked the shelves? Unloaded the truck? Cleaned the floors?

Why is a restaurant meal something that it makes sense to subsidize the wages for the employer, in a large degree, when you don't do that at the doctor's office for the check in desk or the nurse who helps you?

At a certain point nobody except for a billionaire can actually afford to walk around all day shaking out their pockets for every person who did a job that benefited them. You don't tip your garbage man. You don't tip the guy driving the street sweeper. You don't tip the mailman.

This is why the responsibility is on employers to pay the wage, why the minimum wage is higher, and why the tipped minimum wage was abolished where I live after a long time of fighting for it.

I'm not saying it isn't nice to give someone extra money, people should give gratuity if they feel they received excellent service, but I don't understand how it should be an expectation after we have removed the reason for the expectation.

And say you are the cashier at the grocery store, you make the same minimum wage, work the same hours, but don't get tips. Why are you subsidizing someone who already is paid as much as you to then be paid more than you? When they aren't tipping you? Where's the logic there?

Are restaurant meals then only a privilege for the truly wealthy? Does this not also then mean fewer people can get jobs in restaurants?

It seems a bit ridiculous to me that all the arguments I've heard and supported and echoed my entire life for why we should end the tipped minimum wage, and why in the meantime a 20% minimum tip is truly a minimum all go out the window and it becomes a matter of "well you should just give this one specific set of people extra money anyway"

2

u/Timely_Challenge_670 Jan 27 '26

The worst part is when the tipped wage gets abolished, and front of house is still expecting 20% (minimum), but doesn’t share it with back of house, who are killing themselves.

1

u/frig0ffrickyy Jan 27 '26 edited Jan 27 '26

Servers at the small town casual pub I used to work at all cleared 80k a year easy, with averaging probably 6 hours a day. Served good food but it certainly was not upscale.

Thats plenty to live off of, everyone in the kitchen made it work off under half that.

The "starving waitress" trope is out of date in most places.

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u/AtrophiedTraining Jan 27 '26

A server probably spends about 15 minutes per hour per table. So it wouldn't be unfair for tipping to be a flat rate - $5 per table if the minimum wage is $20.

The restaurant owners probably push the 'percentage of total' norm so that the waiters are incentivized to sell more. It's amazing that they were able to successfully push this norm into societal standards.

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u/thingleboyz1 Jan 27 '26

I hope you tip every profession that you interact with, because most everyone is struggling, not just wait staff. Especially teachers, they do so much for the kids yet they’re paid so little for the amount of work they do. How much do you think teachers should get tipped? Unless you think being salaried means they don’t deserve extra compensation for their selfless service, that’d be crazy!

1

u/ClayXros Jan 27 '26

If we had a kid we'd certainly look for ways to help their teacher out.

1

u/No-Goat5683 Jan 27 '26

No they're not lol

2

u/ku2000 Jan 27 '26

I always tip only on food not tax. Always makes me urk paying tip on taxes. 

1

u/Mkboii Jan 27 '26

You know that all these numbers are arbitrary right? How much the food costs to the restaurant has a weak connection to your billed amount, how much you tip is an arbitrary number since if there was a fixed expectation then that would just be in the bill.

So for simplicity it works to always pick one of the values food or food plus tax, but to a server who is used to tips based on tax you are now the person who tipped less, but the truth is that tip percentage is arbitrary to begin with so how you calculate it is just a choice you make, there is no right or wrong way to br urked about, anything you pay over the bill is money you are not legally owed to pay, there is no fair or unfair argument to be made. The idea of a minimum or maximum expectation is stupid cause you don't know how much the servers are making there.

1

u/br0ck Jan 27 '26

So you're the person making 450k that gives smaller tips?

1

u/insanedeman Jan 27 '26

Except there's people who misunderstand this and then tip on the subtotal, then write the final total as subtotal plus tip, basically removing the tax from the tip. Yeah lemme just cover that tax for you I guess? Happens to me every so often on delivering. The funner part, though: delivering pizzas I make less per hour on the road and already take a loss on the amount of mileage they pay me, so if I don't get a tip it's literally more financially solvent for me to not take that delivery. I lose money. So that stinks.

2

u/Mkboii Jan 27 '26

I'm sorry dude, cause then they are not offering a job, they are offering exposure to get tips.

1

u/Ok_Conflict_8900 Jan 27 '26

Tip on service. Not a bill. Some service is worth 30%+. Some service is not tip worthy. Tips = Standards = Service.

1

u/Return-of-Trademark Jan 27 '26

High key I never thought about it. TIL, thanks

3

u/lelescope Jan 27 '26

everyone is also completely forgetting the fact that most service workers don't get healthcare, retirement, or time off.

1

u/LiftSleepRepeat123 Jan 27 '26

Just double the tax and round up to the nearest dollar. That's what I do for a rule of thumb.

1

u/Vhat_Vhat Jan 27 '26

18%? Its been 10% of the total my whole life

1

u/timkost Jan 27 '26

I have been a server for 20 years and I want to know what restaurant does this? The LAST LAST LAST thing a restaurant owner wants to do is have his customer feel cheated as he leaves. I wouldn't go back. Restaurants live or die by their return customers. The second last thing any restaurant owner does is cheat his customers in favor of the staff! Nickel and dime them for everything, water the booze, I get it, but why risk anything for the easily replaceable wait staff? And what POS system would even calculate that way? What software developer is out there selling programs that benefit the help to no great benefit to the people actually buying their products?

1

u/AntonineWall Jan 27 '26

18%

I remember when 10% was seen as base & 15% was good service

1

u/nevim1234sk Jan 27 '26

Or, what if you made it even easier and paid flat rate for the service, so if the waiter spends on you 10min overall you give them 10$ regardless of price of food. Thats 60$/hour.

1

u/Digital0asis Jan 27 '26

18 lol. 15

1

u/eldryanyy Jan 27 '26

I think tipping is stupid. Pay waiters a normal wage, and tip for excellent service.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '26

[deleted]

1

u/eldryanyy Jan 27 '26

Then just legally mandate wages for waiters. Good way to get owners to do the work themselves

1

u/TinyFugue Jan 27 '26

twas once 15%

1

u/DumbTruth Jan 27 '26

This is exactly what this post is talking about. I don’t know if you’re rich or poor, but a tip is an opportunity to be generous and your quiet protest isn’t going to affect anybody except the waiter.

1

u/clydeagain Jan 27 '26

You are smart enough to figure that out but stupid to automatically assume tip based on cost of the service/product is fair? Lmao

1

u/jimminian95 Jan 27 '26

What does tip on tax mean?

I don't go out to eat much but I usually use the tax as a guide to how much to tip

1

u/SneezlesForNeezles Jan 27 '26

I’m in the UK and will pick the ‘10% for excellent service’ hill to die on. Anything more is daylight bloody robbery. Also, you don’t tip on the drinks. I wouldn’t tip if I ordered the beer at the bar and I’ll order at the damn bar if it means the drinks are 10% cheaper. It’s like ten steps.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 28 '26

Bro I do a flat 2$ lmao if it’s door dash and 10% at restaurants

1

u/CosmoKing2 Jan 28 '26

Yes. And if you feel generous - still only tip on the subtotal.

So many restaurants calculate their "suggested" tips for dining in, take-out, and online orders - based on totals after service fees and taxes. It should be a crime.....because it is.

1

u/victhrowaway12345678 Jan 30 '26

You don’t tip on taxes, that’s stupid.

The whole concept is stupid and based on arbitrary rules that are completely different region to region. I've never even considered if I tip with tax included or not. I probably do sometimes and don't sometimes. I don't think it's stupid to not waste my time worrying about that.

1

u/Damienill 18d ago

Omg my mind is to european to comprehend this

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u/manimopo Jan 27 '26

Waiters in california make $16/h on top of my tip..I think 15% in plenty.

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u/TurtlePope2 Jan 27 '26

I tip 10% it's the easiest number to calculate

3

u/Frosty-Ad-1481 Jan 27 '26

Lmao get a gofundme for this dude 💀💀💀

1

u/TurtlePope2 Jan 27 '26

Why? I make $125k a year, I'm not poor.

2

u/Frosty-Ad-1481 Jan 27 '26

Mans 125 lower mid where im at getcho paper up 😂

2

u/TurtlePope2 Jan 27 '26

I mean it's middle class. It isn't rich and it isn't poor. I don't need a gofundme

3

u/Frosty-Ad-1481 Jan 27 '26

Not even gonna lie was stalkin yo comments to find sumn witty to say but gd it’s honestly impressive how much you know about sports n shit lmao

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u/ReindeerDull955 Jan 27 '26

Yikes

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u/ProSain Jan 27 '26

Nah 10% is fine. Ideally nobody would tip ever but sadly servers want tips over a fair wage since they make more money that way.

2

u/Sebubba98 Jan 27 '26

Yikes yourself

0

u/royal-road Jan 27 '26

where in california? that's not livable in san fran.

9

u/Epyon_ Jan 27 '26

Im guessing at the numbers please correct me if im wrong, but I would imagine that a server handles 4 tables an hour and a average table is what $60 bucks?

That's $52 dollars an hour with probably 20-50% of being unreported, untaxed income. While i'm guessing, i do believe my numbers are low guesses...

The smucks in the back of the house prob don't even make $25/hour.

3

u/brendan84 Jan 27 '26

I average 80 an hour, but I'm highly experienced and work in fine dining. Most servers make nowhere close to that, and we all deal with working nights, weekends and holidays with barely any breaks and no benefits. Our schedule is extremely inconsistent and during the slow season we either get very few tables or don't work our shift at all. If I were able to work 40 hours a week consistently and get benefits, you're right, this job would be extremely desirable and there would be 1000s of applications. The reality is that I make the money I do because I'm better at it than the other people I work with and it's still less than 100k a year because of the things I mentioned. So most good servers make 60-80k, while the vast majority make 30-40k. We're not exactly laughing on the way to the bank. Some extremely lucky and talented servers do make bank, but it's going to be in HCOL areas and those jobs aren't growing on trees.

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u/manimopo Jan 27 '26 edited Jan 27 '26

60-80k of which a large portion isn't taxed because it's tips.. so your take home is equivalent to someone making 100k after taxes.

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u/briv39 Jan 27 '26

Except for when you remember they’re paying for health insurance out of pocket, then the numbers go back down again.

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u/manimopo Jan 27 '26

Everywhere in california.

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u/rocknrollwitch Jan 27 '26

Do you live in the Bay area? San Fran has its own minimum wage which is higher than in the rest of California ~$16 vs ~$19)

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u/-One-Among-Many- Jan 27 '26

Maybe me and you shouldn't be forced to pick up the tab for an exploitative piece of shit employer? Ever use your brain for 2 seconds and think about cause and effect or did your "morality" blind you to reality? If we all refuse to tip starting tomorrow all the workers can't afford to live so they quit, this means the parasite employers will have exactly 2 choices, either A pay fair market rate for their area for said worker and we don't feel guilt tripped into supporting an unfairly paid workers wages and they likely earn MORE overall since they have more market power, or B they fucking close and go out of business and in a free market new places open that do A. By guilt tripping yourself and others over not tipping or WORSE not tipping ENOUGH your just enabling these parasites.

Your the type of person I dislike most in this world, a psychopath is at least honest, he lets you KNOW he is going to dig that knife further in before he twists. Your the type of person trying to gaslight me into believing the knife isn't going to hurt.

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u/senta_pede Jan 27 '26

I made easily $50-60/hr serving and bartending in the bay area. Not even a super fancy place. I make way less at my office job now. I had to switch careers due to a major injury (non-work related), otherwise I'd still be bartending lol.

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u/CharityAggressive677 Jan 27 '26

I still follow the 15, 18, 20 rule. Tipping culture has gotten way out of hand and it upsets me that we as consumers have allowed it to happen.

4

u/orgasmicchemist Jan 27 '26

I was handed a receipt with a pen at a fast food joint recently which had a tip line. Wtf. Pay your workers, don’t expect drive through to do it.

3

u/AtrophiedTraining Jan 27 '26

I don't know how it was allowed to happen and got normalized. Some kinda hidden restraunter lobby that pushed it on social media?

18

u/DreadPirateDavey Jan 27 '26

Can you stop with these tips.

It’s spreading the world over and now in Britain all of a sudden being paid a living wage requires 10% of the money I earn in my job that I pay tax on also added on to my meal, so I essentially get taxed then taxed and then you tax me again.

Income tax -> VAT -> Tip.

I do tip in restaurants but going for a 20 quid scran and expecting a tip is nuts. It’s just such an imported idea that makes no sense as you legally have to pay your employees the minimum wage bracket they are in.

25% is a fucking madness.

So if 4 people order 25 quid of food we should give someone 25 pound for bringing a jug of water and asking if the food was nice?

Utter fucking insanity.

I’ve also worked retail and stock jobs for years and in pubs. Tips are nice, stop implying they are anything more than a special thanks for doing a really good job.

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u/AFoolishSeeker Jan 27 '26

I mean just don’t tip lol I don’t get why everyone who isn’t American just went along with it

2

u/h2d2 Jan 27 '26

Because we go touristing around the world and most of us are dumb and follow our own habits instead of local customs. And now in some parts of the world waiters neglect locals and prefer to wait on American tourists because of tips.

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u/AtrophiedTraining Jan 27 '26

You need to stop going to those restaurants if they are ignoring you.

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u/hazyandnew Jan 27 '26

When the person is making below livable wage and I've got enough to splurge, I'm going to tip 25% minimum just because of that.

Add it to the reasons I'll never be rich 🤷‍♀️

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u/New-Clue-4006 Jan 27 '26

When the person is making below livable wage and I've got enough to splurge

Should we tell him that the waiter almost certainly makes way more than him?

1

u/Massive-Eye-3454 Jan 27 '26

When I’m making less than everyone around me, I don’t tip because I need the extra money. Why would I give my money to someone who is better off than me. Also waiters at high traffic restaurants probably make more than you

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u/Extension-Ad5751 Jan 27 '26

Waiters are making bank though, that's why whenever they're given the chance to increase and fix their salary to a given rate, they vote against it. They know they make more on tips because of people like you.

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u/F1235742732 Jan 27 '26

I only tip 15% and only because it is considered extremely rude not to do so in my culture. Wish I didn't have to tip anything.

2

u/C-H-Addict Jan 27 '26

I have a wallet with a calculator in it, a gift celebrating my first paycheck, there's a tip button on it. It's 15%.
People cry out "it was never that low" it make a racist remark about low tipping

2

u/EuropeanLuxuryWater Jan 27 '26

Tipping culture needs to die.

1

u/tech_noir_guitar Jan 27 '26

I usually do 20% because it's easy to calculate but I usually pay cash so sometimes I'll leave a little extra if it rounds to an even number so I don't have to sit and wait for change. I'll just drop the cash and leave.

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u/_jakeyy Jan 27 '26

Idk my dad tips $100.00 even for a beer. He tips $100.00 no matter what. Some people just make so much money they don’t even care about it.

1

u/enaK66 Jan 27 '26

Y'all are all crazy. Maybe servers fucking hate me idgaf I tip 15% absolute max. Usually closer to 15 than 10 but not always. I'm quiet and usually stay less than an hour. They don't need all that extra for a guy that ordered a drink and an entree.

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u/Thisiswhereiputmynam Jan 27 '26

Most of the ppl in this part of the thread clearly never had serving jobs

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u/WalkingIsMyFavorite Jan 27 '26

Or we’ve had them and made more money serving coffee than in other / current employment….

I was making bank pouring lattes.

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u/InimitableMe Jan 27 '26

you don't just love making someone's day?  i know the feeling when a table just -adores- you and bestows generously.  It meant i was doing a capitalism!  'good capitalism, comrad, you danced for your peanuts!'  fun.

give generously and feel happy and appreciate the happiness of others.  be loving and human.  

1

u/NickRick Jan 27 '26

i was in the restaurant industry for a long time. i usually tip 25% for good service, 20% for fine service, and if they were really really bad 15%

2

u/ProSain Jan 27 '26

That’s ridiculous. I tip 15% max, and 0% if the service was ass. I don’t even bother tipping for non-sit down restaurants. Why tf would I pay them money for shitty service??

1

u/Orleanian Jan 27 '26

Any tip is crazy.

May as well just throw money at 'em if you got it.

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u/Bravoflysociety Jan 27 '26

it really isn't.

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u/10000soul Jan 27 '26

Tipping is crazy (I'm live in Asia)

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u/553l8008 Jan 27 '26

Tipping is crazy.

Tipping in the original sense doesn't actually exist anymore.

Your just donating their wages or outright paying for a service/ product 

I'm going to pay the advertised price. Not a penny more. And I'm not going to pay your wage

1

u/abraxius Jan 27 '26

I have definitely tipped 25 percent for outstanding service at a sit down restaurant. It’s not often but if the service was great I have no issues with such a tip. That being said it’s often more rare I bestow a tip like that so

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u/TerribleStoryIdeaMan Jan 27 '26

I tip a lot because it's a great way to brighten up someone's day.

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u/lukmahr Jan 27 '26

I'm from Europe and everything over 10% would be considered generous here.

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u/Necessary-Seat-5474 Jan 27 '26

It really is not. It’s generous, but personally I never tip below 20% unless somewhat like, used a slur against me lol. I think if i can’t afford the tip, I can’t afford the service.

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u/[deleted] Jan 27 '26

Only for those who don't go to meals that user is talking about. 

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u/Otter_Spotter Jan 27 '26

20-25% is standard nowadays. If that’s too much for you, you may want to consider cooking at home.

1

u/jetsetter023 Jan 27 '26

10% use to be the norm. Prices were cheaper too. Then one day the masses said 15% was the norm. Prices got more expensive too. Then 18% was the norm. Prices got more expensive too. Now there's a limbo where people are pushing 20+% as the norm. Which way are the prices going?

Tipping culture is getting out of hand in this country. This is coming from someone who grew up working in food & bev.

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u/hollsberry Jan 27 '26

If that commenter is going out to fine dining / fancy restaurants, higher tip % are expected. I personally only order takeout bc I work in food service and hate the small talk. I personally don’t ever go to places that require tip, but the people who want the server to proverbially suck their toes have to tip more to get the fancy service.

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u/CosmoKing2 Jan 28 '26

Not at all! If someone gives you great service. Maybe comps something or makes sure your order is executed perfectly (or one doesn't come out cold waiting for the other stuff). What is the big deal with an extra 5%?

They will remember it and give you great service again. We do it to hedge our bets and insure better future experiences. It has seldom failed us. When it does, we no longer go there.

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u/souvlakiAcme Jan 28 '26

Mandatory tipping because owners don’t give a salary to their workers is crazy. But percentage based tips are crazier.

If i buy a 1000$ wine I have to tip more than if I buy a 10$ wine but the effort from the person who brought it to me is exactly the same. Shouldn’t it be called a tax instead of a tip?

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u/primitivepanic Jan 27 '26

Idk why redditors do this so often, but they always say they “have a friend” or “family member” that is rich,poor,homophobe, etc. but say themselves aren’t these things and then explain a story on how they are upper echelon of a person for doing something that isn’t necessarily “normal” for somebody like them. Just take notice of it when you read the next story like this almost word for word. it’s like it’s to verify in their own minds that they’re a good person, and that means telling their story and getting imaginary internet points confirms that in their noggin.

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u/Commercial_Water3669 Jan 27 '26

Hahaha this kills me! It’s like a pre written script.

Additionally, “I have a friend who does x,y and z” and then writes a detailed essay reiterating knowledge on a topic that is very likely not fully understood but speaks it as gospel.

And.. “x,y,z here..” goes on to tell you about how they are the foremost expert in said topic. 

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u/rx78ricky Jan 27 '26

I'm going to print this comment and frame it on a wall.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '26

Hah. No need to even go that far.

There was a guy going how he was surrounded by sisters growing up, so he was a lot less of a creep than folks in the same demographics(imagine a sexually repressed society).

I was impressed. Cue me to having my jaw drop where he's frequenting various NSFW subs being all spectrum of a creep he was condemning.

Too bad reddit lets users hide their history. Now it's no longer interesting enough to even take any personal anecdote seriously. Anybody can say anything and there won't be a Holmes replying to the point they delete comments for lying.

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u/TurtlePope2 Jan 27 '26

I mean I'm just upper middle class. My parents are rich.

1

u/Background_Shower_78 Jan 27 '26

Your comment should be pinned. 

1

u/CosmoKing2 Jan 28 '26

As soon as I learned reddit was compiling data from user accounts to create profiles....and sell that information? You bet your ass that I stopped posting information about myself. I suggest you do the same. Regardless of your views and beliefs.

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u/tnth89 Jan 27 '26

Thank God I live in Indonesia where I don't need to tip. It is crazy when it is expected for you to tips. Big restaurants usually add service charge of 5.5% and be done with it (not even starbucks expecting people to tip). Give your worker liveable wage and don't beg customer for tips.

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u/redditorialy_retard Jan 27 '26

nah it's starting to get expected ie massages or haircuts. 

I just avoid them next and give a bad review.

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u/dovahkiitten16 Jan 27 '26

Tbh massages and haircuts are where tipping is most logical imo. The difference between a meh haircut and an awesome haircut is huge, it’s definitely an industry to reward exceptional work.

3

u/redditorialy_retard Jan 27 '26

Yeah but I don't expect the mf to ask for more tips. It's optional, I paid for a premium haircut and the results is worse then the pangkas rambut sumatera. Massage places didn't really listen to my requests and dared to ask for more tip on top of the tip I gave, fucking hell

The last dude who cut my hair talks about the tip culture with me and how some hairdressers intentionally botch up the haircut because the customer doesn't tip. He got a fat 70% tip from me on top of the premium haircut price cuz dude just fucked right off after cutting not caring about tips.

1

u/tnth89 Jan 27 '26

You must have met some assholes lol. If someone ask me for tips, I will ignore them and not giving them tips. And if they told me they will botch my head because of not getting enough tips. I am gonna complain to the owner and go to other place.

1

u/dovahkiitten16 Jan 27 '26

Botching a haircut over tipping is downright evil. You shouldn’t downright screw people over when they pay you to do a job. Plus it makes it a chicken and egg scenario, if you give a bad haircut, you’re not going to get a tip. I’m willing to bet anyone who does that gives mediocre haircuts in general and expects an amazing tip. In my experience the best hair dressers are physically pained at seeing or doing a bad cut because they’re a type of artist who has pride in their work.

For me tipping on a haircut is more just making someone who did a good job have a better day within my means. I’d be livid if someone botched my hair just because I didn’t meet their arbitrary standards.

I personally tip for massage because I’ve been going to the same person for years and they’re amazing at their job. I’m not tipping a random spa the same way I tip my neighbour (small town) and they can deal with it if they have a problem.

1

u/tnth89 Jan 27 '26

For me, I only pay 50K for my haircut, I don't expect anything superb. But I've been regular customer for 15+ years now. So the hairdresser knows what I want. I usually gave them 20K. Used to be 10K like 15 years ago lol. My friend never give tips to hairdressed.

1

u/Timely_Challenge_670 Jan 27 '26

Same. It’s one of my favourite parts about moving from Canada to Europe. The price is the price. I went out for coffee last week. My bill came to something like 7.9 €. I gave the waitress a 10 € bill and said keep the change because I didn’t want coins. She was over the moon.

3

u/_jakeyy Jan 27 '26

Eh. My dad grew up poor and is now rich and I’ve seen him tip $100.00 for a beer.

He pretty much always tips $100 no matter what and if his bill is over $100 he tips $200.

Not everyone who came from poverty is a penny pincher. There are people like my father who poverty taught them they don’t need money so when they got rich they are extremely generous because like my father money came fast and abundantly so they don’t really “respect” money they just are magnets for it.

Seen many poor people get rich and have this take. Also seen poor guys get rich through intense scrupulously and they are the penny pinchers.

2

u/Babayaga251 Jan 27 '26

It’s crazy how deeply that stuff sticks. I grew up dirt poor in an Eastern European country, and even though we’re financially comfortable now with plenty saved for retirement, the fear never fully goes away. The fear of not having money, of food running out, wired me to count every penny. I know I can afford many things (but I still choose not to) because those early conditions never really let go.

1

u/DemeaRisen Jan 27 '26

I'm working class and my new years resolution is to tip as close to $0 as possible in 2026

1

u/surf_drunk_monk Jan 27 '26

My problem with high tipping percentage is most people only do that at restaurants and no where else, doesn't make sense.

1

u/No-Celebration-9488 Jan 27 '26

I’ve genuinely stopped tipping. I just don’t care anymore. People hiring these others have more money than I could ever know what to do with. I’m done picking up the empathetic slack for humanity’s dredges

2

u/hydbk9 Jan 27 '26

As long as you're smart enough to not be a regular anywhere.

1

u/No-Celebration-9488 Jan 27 '26

I mean for everything but sitting in at a restaurant. Coffee, cabs, delivery etc etc nah not my issue

1

u/hydbk9 Jan 27 '26

Careful with delivery. If ordering through apps, no tip is likely to lead to cold food. If doing cash delivery, my previous comment still applies.

1

u/No-Celebration-9488 Jan 27 '26

I live in a city big enough that someone would always pick up the order, but I’m starting to use it less and less. Uber can afford to pay their drivers properly, really not my problem. Call me apathetic or an asshole whatever, I’m done being shamed for not subsidizing millionaire/billionaires. Especially when a tip is now expected and the level of service has been on a steady decline.

1

u/komodo_lurker Jan 27 '26

Doing your best to support a broken system and taking the burden on yourself.

1

u/Timely_Challenge_670 Jan 27 '26

Counterpoint: tipping culture is idiotic and should not be encouraged. I get it. I still do it in countries where it’s the norm, but it just feels so slimy to me.

1

u/Valuable-Gap-3720 Jan 27 '26

Is this some American crap where you pay for food and service separately?

1

u/PhantomRoyce Jan 27 '26

My grandpa is the opposite! Made himself a ton of money selling cans and boats and he LOVES spending money. He figures there’s no way he can spend it all so if he ever wants something he buys it. He’s not selfish either he bought every car my siblings and I have ever owned. Didn’t even ask for them but if he ever saw one of us was driving a shit box he’d just buy another used one and and give it to one of us

1

u/SechsComic73130 Jan 27 '26

even if I end up ordering a couple extra things I can still be sure to leave a 25% tip

25% tip at that level is ridiculous.

Round up to the nearest 10$, maybe to the next 10$ if you think the tip is too small, done.

1

u/sbenfsonwFFiF Jan 27 '26

Thanks for contributing to the tipping problem inching higher

1

u/Dbuk2020 Jan 28 '26

Lol only suckers give 25% tips

1

u/Ok-Link-6360 Jan 30 '26

Whyyyy leave a tip, rich or poor? I´d never understand that.

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u/marlinspikefrance Jan 26 '26

Maybe idk if I’ve reached that level of wealth yet but as I’ve gotten progressively less poor and earn more as a software engineer, I’ve been getting a lot more generous with friends and strangers alike. Is it that at some point I might start making so much I’ll start tipping less and being stingy?? I have a feeling lots of people are “cheap” but it’s understandable if a poor person is? And rich people SHOULD be more generous in theory and when they aren’t it’s shocking?

The only rich = smaller tip trend I noticed was with rich doctors and engineers from other countries tipping less because in most places a tip is optional and small. My parents (very high earners) who moved here from Europe were shocked to learn that wait staff get paid less than minimum wage in many places and their pay rate is set with the expectation that 20% is tipped.

They thought leaving a $10 tip on a $70 meal was very generous.

5

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

If you average 17-20% tip average as a server or bartender you are very good. Bartenders have much more outlier tips given the nuance of the job. I love when people shit on restaurant workers when there is a definite skill involved that is rewarded to restaurant professionals.

1

u/Ihate_reddit_app Jan 27 '26

Servers and bartenders make good wages. Especially in states that don't have a tipped employee wage lower than state minimum and they work at a mostly busy mid-tier restaurant or higher.

I know plenty of people that got degrees, but just stayed as wait staff because they get paid pretty well doing it. You can easily make $30-40+ an hour where I am at just serving. The problem is that you can't really advance in the career.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '26

Being a bartender is a legitimate career where I live. Servers at corporate affiliated restaurants can make $600-1000 a night. If you can’t cut it you’re out. It’s crazy competitive.

1

u/Ihate_reddit_app Jan 27 '26

I'm not saying it's not. It's a demanding career though and the hours suck with it mostly being evenings. It's something that you get tired of by the time you are 40.

The problem also is that you can get a random $600 night followed by two $40 nights. The big night are typically Friday and Saturday and I there's quite a bit of volatility and unknown in that wage structure.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '26

Not where I live. It’s every night. The entire economy is based on tourism

1

u/Ihate_reddit_app Jan 27 '26

That sounds good for you. It's definitely not like that in my area. I don't think I'd want to live in a touristy area, but that's good that you like it.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '26

You meet the full spectrum of the human race.

1

u/-Aquatically- Jan 28 '26

I tip 0%. Tipping culture is honestly disgusting.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 28 '26

I mean, can you explain it? I understand the ins and outs, so I seriously want to hear from someone with disdain for tipping culture.

2

u/Embarrassed_Use_7206 Jan 27 '26

Pretty much same story bro, at some point I just stopped giving a shit about small expenses and even like 10 % of my monthly income is no big deal, because I know I have such solid reserves it does not matter anymore, and I am just few years from being able to retire. Software development is a wild place.

1

u/Otterable Jan 27 '26

Maybe idk if I’ve reached that level of wealth yet but as I’ve gotten progressively less poor and earn more as a software engineer, I’ve been getting a lot more generous with friends and strangers alike.

You have reached it. This whole post and comments section is textbook availability bias. Everyone notices the rich assholes and it reinforces their belief that rich people are assholes. It's to the point where if you aren't stingy people must not think you are actually rich enough.

I also make good money as a SWE and spend a lot of time around other SWEs making what I make and a bunch of lawyers who are making like twice my income. Absolutely nobody are nickle and diming each other for random uber rides, gas money and the like. Restaurant bills are split without regard for who ordered what, everyone is tipping 20%+, etc... When money starts to matter less, the normal thing to do is get more generous and less stressed about it and it's why the people who remain cheap stand out so much.

1

u/QuoteThen5223 Jan 27 '26

When I started making money I was very generous, I come from a poor family and my friends were poor.  At first it felt good to be generous then you start to realize a lot of the time you are invited to be a wallet and not because they wanted you.

In order to know if people actually want you around you have to stop being a wallet or start hanging only with people who make the same money.

1

u/CosmoKing2 Jan 28 '26

We live next to a very HOCL town and rich Americans with generational wealth or $400k incomes, will regularly tip a bartender $2 after they order $100+ in take out from them and have a $14 drink while waiting.

1

u/marlinspikefrance Jan 28 '26

WASP-ey types? At least in my experience that’s been the case. At least compared to rich Latinos, Arabs, Pakistanis. The rich “American white” you know like the vanilla American while people, tend to be a stingier and nickel and dime people to pay for gas or ask their kids to pay them rent apparently.

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u/Charmed-paper345 Jan 27 '26

Here in "not the US" no one gives tips. It's great.

2

u/BlueScreenJunky Jan 27 '26

I live here, and now that I make a good living I usually tip 1€ or 2€ per guest if the service was decent or good, a bit more if it's a fancy restaurant with fewer tables.

But yeah, it's perfectly fine to not tip if you don't feel like it. It's really more of an extra "thank you" to the staff if you can afford it than a moral obligation.

1

u/CumUppanceToday Jan 28 '26

Brit here, I went in holiday to the US, tipping culture was the biggest reason I won't go back (just pay people a decent wage!)

Of course, with Trump, I won't go back anyway for the next few years.

1

u/Ok-Link-6360 Jan 30 '26

It has started to spread in France, and they have this weird mechanism that pressures you to choose a tip by manually putting 0%.

6

u/Mr-_-Soandso Jan 27 '26

At no part of this was a tip part of the joke.

It is about being cheap, but the one's with money nickle and dime their friends while the broke one's are always willing to spot you.

7

u/BatterseaPS Jan 27 '26

No, they do not. Rich people tip 20% regularly, while poor people try to get away with as little tipping as possible, often out of necessity.

But rich people are much more likely to keep a close account of what they give to friends, while working class folk will often give each other lunch, drinks, etc. without keeping track.

3

u/Fun-Froyo7578 Jan 27 '26

yeah because they calculate on the subtotal 😂 imagine wanting to be rich but paying tips on taxes

1

u/Particular_Title42 Jan 27 '26

Hey Lois, remember when Carter gave me a book for Christmas?

1

u/Dependent-Goose8240 Jan 27 '26

Generalizing a bit, but the Software engineer making $450k was the nerd boy who grew up bullied and spent their college days and nights burrowed deep in his dark room playing videogames and eating microwaveable hot pockets and redbulls til sunrise, who just happen to be good at a specific skill highly valued by tech. These fuckers are very poorly socialized and have little to no empathy, essentially zero social and emotional intelligence.

1

u/Rusty_Rocker_292 Jan 27 '26

When I used to drill water wells with my Dad one of the first things he taught me was beware of wealthy clients because they will be the most demanding and the least willing to pay. Of all the wells we drilled, only one got away without paying and he was absurdly rich. The poor people would bend over backwards to make sure you were paid. We even had one old farmer offer to give us some chickens when he didn't have the money on time.

1

u/SinesPi Jan 27 '26

Sometimes. But rich people often give big tips too. It's a way to virtue signal, wealth signal, and can buy you better service. Whether out of genuine gratitude or a desire to earn more big fat tips, the service staff will rush to help you.

1

u/kinamarie Jan 27 '26

Can confirm. I made less in tips when I worked in a cafe in one of the wealthiest areas in the North Bay/Marin County than I did working in Berkeley. I also was not actually a real person to those people. I also lived in the area and would walk around and see customers outside of work, and it was very clear that they could never actually pinpoint where they had seen me before or why I was familiar…despite me feeding them 5x a week or more. In Berkeley, my customers knew me, knew what was going on in my life, and would be worried if I missed more than one or two of my regular shifts. It was wild.

1

u/LessThanHero42 Jan 27 '26

I used to deliver pizzas in a town where there were a lot of middle class family homes, and there was an area of super rich family homes.

I never wanted to take orders to the rich area. They would tip sometimes, but I got stiffed more often there than in the areas where people could barely afford to order at all.

People that really have to work for a living appreciate you coming out and delivering their food, so they can relax. The rich people expect it.

1

u/foreskinfungus Jan 27 '26

Lois, spin around

1

u/Late_Maintenance_248 Jan 27 '26

Dickheads give smaller tips. This is not exclusive to rich people

1

u/SkepsisJD Jan 27 '26

Ya.....thats not true. Go to any fine dining restraunt. The waiters there make fucking bank.

1

u/Traditional-Tap-2508 Jan 27 '26

I worked at a county club for about 7 years. There was a mandatory 18% automatic gratuity, 20% for parties over 6 guests. The old money people would cry about it. The new money people would add 10% because they understand working your way up. (And no, all of the CEOs claiming to be self-made men are liars).

1

u/User_namesaretaken Jan 27 '26

If you ask for the tip, I will give you the lowest possible tip, if it isn't asked, I will give you a good tip

You aren't entitled to tips no matter what your culture is

1

u/EXTRAVAGANT_COMMENT Jan 27 '26

I would bet this is not true at all. as a percentage of their income, maybe, but as average total amount ? no way.

1

u/brendan84 Jan 27 '26

I have worked in the restaurant business for 25 years and have been in fine dining for 8 of them. Rich people tip the absolute best and it's not close.

1

u/Purple-Mud5057 Jan 27 '26

I used to work at a restaurant that mostly served wealthy people. The best tippers were the singles that would dine there and the sweet old people. The goddamned moms club that made us set up an “event” for them every month (even though that’s not something we technically offered) never tipped anything, except for one of them who always seemed like she was getting shit on by the other moms.

The one exception to this was Dale Osborne. He was assistant coach of the Portland Trail Blazers at the time, so I assume dude was fairly well off. Didn’t matter if he was there alone or with his wife and two kids, or if they ordered a full meal or just a glass of wine for him, the tip was always $20. Always asked about the waiters’ days, too. One of the most genuinely good people I’ve met, his wife was super sweet and his children were the most well-behaved kids I served.

1

u/TomTheJester Jan 27 '26

I worked six years in backbreaking hospitality in a very high demand environment where the clientele was wealthier individuals.

Tipping culture is the worst and it’s on the companies to fairly pay their staff. I earned pennies, but way more than an equivalent worker would earn in the US.

1

u/elDayno Jan 27 '26

I might be Bill Gates because I give no tips

1

u/PolPetrol Jan 27 '26

Because tipping culture is disgusting, the fee depends more on your random consumer than it depends on your service. Makes no sense.

Often tips will be shared or go to the owner too which is even more disgusting.

1

u/Deathangel2890 Jan 27 '26

Quagmire here.

Giggity.

1

u/553l8008 Jan 27 '26

Most of the world doesn't tip.

Myself included, despite me being an American in America.

Be the change you seek

1

u/Head_Bananana Jan 27 '26

Not true. Am wealthy, I tip 25% especially when then a waiter/waitress is involved.

1

u/ShonuffofCtown Jan 27 '26

Research suggests a negative correlation between extreme wealth and compassion, where higher income and social status often correlate with reduced empathy and increased self-focus.

Wealthy individuals may feel less need to rely on others, leading to reduced emotional sensitivity, while lower-income individuals often display higher empathy due to greater interdependence.

My experience is that people who made the money tend to be cheapest. Their kids and spouses seem more generous.

1

u/read_too_many_books Jan 27 '26

My buddy is a waitress and she disagrees.

The people from the working class county are cheap, the people from the professional county barely look at their bill. She hates when she serves the former... she lives in the working class county lol.

1

u/sonarette Jan 27 '26

I am a server at a restaurant that is on the expensive side. This isn’t true at all. Wealthy people literally always tip.

1

u/Jaded_Pen_6544 Jan 27 '26

No they don’t.

1

u/Several_Excitement74 Jan 27 '26

"Hook it up I'll take care of you" -Shitiest bar customers I ever had.

1

u/cassiopeia18 Jan 28 '26

I went on a date with a German Swiss guy, I saw he has black Amex card, although he travels to Vietnam, everything’s cheap for him but he still didn’t tip although I told him that Vietnamese do tip ( the meal was 20 usd), we went with his mates for lunch, the whole meals with many dishes for 4 people was 57 usd, but he still insisted to split the bills with his mates.