Be honest; No one that would travel from Europe to the World Cup cares one bit about social issues.
Of course not, the tip is just viewed as an additional surcharge and they don't want to spend that money. The social issue is very likely, if at all, just an after-the-fact rationalisation/justification.
I went to the US in 2024 and it was outrageous, every card terminal asked for it
I was under the impression it was just for sit down meals and not stuff like Starbucks or non food related things
It is just for sit down meals and personal service. If someone is handling your car or your luggage or delivering food to your house, or cutting your hair that's personal service.
The kiosks ask because they can blame the software and get away with it.
What you are describing is a major contributor to tip fatigue. Everything is asking for a tip, meanwhile actual tipped employees are still making $2 an hour. It's out of control.
Hold up, you're missing some nuance and it's gonna make Europeans in here believe it's true. In the US, any job can collect tips, it's literally free extra money for no extra work so that's why you see the tip option everywhere. That said, not all positions which collect tips get the service industry $2 minimum wage.
Most positions such as barista, hair stylist, etc get paid minimum wage plus they get whatever tips you give pay them. These positions typically get minimum wage because, despite there being a tip option, most people don't tip significantly (hair stylist might depending on the type, but their base fees are already very high). Think of these as your $1 tip category, it's people who you aren't socially obligated to tip, don't expect a tip, get paid at least minimum wage regardless of your tip, and contribute to tip fatigue.
The other tip group are full tip positions, such as waiter or bartender. These positions get $2 an hour unless they fail to get enough tips on average to meet the $7 minimum wage. Realistically, if they aren't getting at least $7 minimum in tips then they are going to leave or get fired long term. These positions you are socially obligated to tip and they expect a tip. Strangely enough, some of the biggest proponents for this tipping position are the people that work in this field, career waiters and bartenders, because despite the very low potential income it also has a fairly high potential income for a low skill job depending on a lot of different factors. This is your percentage tip category.
The $1 tip category won't go away, no matter how annoying it is, because it's literally free money and no one expects you to do it (and if they do feel free to laugh in their face and never give them business again). The % tip category also probably won't go away because it allows the business to shift costs to the customer and the people in the career support it.
You might wonder why people in the % tip category would support it, it's because it's a low technical skill job (hard work only), a lot of the tips are tax free, people who don't like it leave the career, and it often attracts certain types of people (perhaps neurodivergent is the right word, but I really mean the type of people who don't want a 9-5 Mon-Fri job).
Not sure where you live but this is now also the case in Germany
UK, a few chains tried it here but I imagine it was enough to drive people away so you don’t see it much anymore
That'll show those service workers for working in the US.
Don't get me wrong I fucking hate tipping culture so much and am eternally grateful that I don't live in the US but who are you really punishing here?
In the current system it will not change unless it is forced by things like this or progressive policies. You want them to just keep it going how it is?
World cup is too short term to change it, will have to be slow policy push for minimum wages.
If you want people to strike then support them, misleading them into thinking you’re going to be paying them for their time and labor (tipping is expected in the US, which is why in many states it’s legal to pay servers barely more than $2/hour) is just a dick move. Or just be upfront with them and tell them you’re not going to be tipping and get served accordingly. Or go to a place where non-tipped workers are employed. There are a lot of options that aren’t ‘shit on someone working for $2/hour and tell them it’s for their own good’.
Workers in Europe weren't handed the rights they have, in some cases people literally died fighting for them. The only tip I have for American service workers is "unionize".
If the servers don't get tips anymore, they might simply strike for a living wage. The current system just makes servers even more dependent with every single tip that replaces what should be a wage. Somethings gotta give, it's not the workers, and the bosses wont budge without pressure, so even if it's hard, it might be the only way something really changes for the better.
The problem is the workers who get tips generally like it because they can potentially make a lot more than a comparable fixed wage. On a good night you can make several times over the base wage, and under-report cash tips on your taxes (or omit them entirely, but the IRS might catch that).
So a lot of workers don't want tipping to go away any more than the restaurant owners do.
Then they also have to deal with people who see through the shenanigans and refuse to tip. Fuck em.
As much as I hate tipping (I also don't get paid extra money for simply doing my fucking job), it is different in third world countries like the USA (a large country in north america, close to Canada and Mexico), which lacks fundamental human rights and a social security system. There, waiters in restaurants usually need tips for earning a living wage as restaurant owners do not or barely pay them. Therefore, tipping is not only polite but also necessary to not additionally punish workers for a system they are barely responsible for. Let's hope that civilised countries start development projects in the USA in order to improve the system and living conditions of these people.
Political change is difficult as the USA is stuck in a quasi-democratic two-party system that is currently developing towards a dictatorship. But maybe through enough time and effort we can help this country and it's people to get on a better track.
I'm sure workers get paid minimum regardless. Tips are a way for the employer to pay sub-minimum wage, as long as they add up above minimum wage in the end.
If you don't like tipping culture, don't screw the worker while inconveniencing the restaurant not at all. Boycott the restaurants unless they pay fair wages. Go to the grocery store. Plenty of good meals to be found there.
But that requires a personal inconvenience instead of feeling good while saving money.
If a waiter does not make enough in tips for minimum wage, the businesses is legally required to cover the difference. So let's stop with the guilt trip. Part of the problem stems from the same servers that oppose doing away with the tip system because they make so much more from it.
A tip is meant to be "Here's an extra $10, I know you're already getting paid a living wage, but you went above and beyond and were the star show the show, you deserve it." That's not what we have in the USA, we have some broken tipped minimum wage that makes it feel like an obligation. It's broken.
It’s also the same in Canada. The tipping has also been in fast-food and other stores, and I’ve just been saying “skip” every time. Like, food’s expensive enough these days without tipping someone who hasn’t even gone out from behind the counter and who will, quite possibly, not even see the tip.
There's lots to unpack here.
I'm not defending tipping as the way it should be, only that this is the way it is. Any one coming over to the US and not tipping to "make a statement" isn't hurting the restaurants, they're hurting the workers. And while we rightly expect US tourists to respect the customs of countries to which they travel, we should also expect the same of tourists to the US, at least those customs that affect the workers.
These tourists will "make a statement" for these couple of weeks, giving business/money to the restaurants but none to the staff, then leave and nothing will have changed except the bank account balances of the staff. If they wanted to make a statement, they'd seek out restaurants which already more closely aligned with their position.
I’m not aware of any successful restaurants in the U.S. who have higher prices eliminating tipping and pay their staff a salary. Every instance I’ve seen of this fails.
Of course. Practically every other restaurant in USA is charging much lower prices with their much lower wages.
Remove that from the equation (make them all pay actual human wages for people so that they can live in houses and so forth), and no restaurant in USA can do that. Problem solved.
Somehow, restaurants ALL OVER THE EARTH can stay open without tipping.
Figure it out
Before you say this is great, remember that those people willingly traveled to the US for a fascist event.
Any way the US could keep them?
I appreciate america-dunking as much as everyone but are we really going to pretend that there is no exploitation in the service industry in Europe?
EDIT: PS, if you want to actually do something beyond smugly complaining, put your money where your mouth is:
Any system with an owner vs worker dynamic is exploitative, the US just provides a masterclass example of it.
I never before thought about FIFA bringing attention to social issues but think about it, the book the spotlight on Qatar, and now the United States, they should probably go to North Korea next.
They're just gonna go to wherever is corrupt enough to give them the biggest kickback.
Cool, I'll remember that next time I hear Europeans say that Americans tourists are rude and disrespect others countries cultural norms.
Exploiting workers is not a "cultural norm" I want to continue.
Then don't go to the restaurant. Y'all are the biggest fucking hipocrits. Give this guy business but cheap out on the person waiting on you. Pretend it's on principle but it's really that you are enormously cheap.
I'm sorry but Europeans are easily the cheapest people on the planet. Stop pretending it's a protest. You just will take every opportunity to save a penny.
Seems like you’re just being cheap assholes to me. A couple idioms come to mind:
Tip your servers and bartenders or go to McDonald’s. Don’t be rude while you’re a guest.
Make your capitalists pay their workers what they are worth, it's rude to milk the guests for something you should have done ages ago.
Look, I see the sentiment and I get it, but putting up with the absolute bullshit that is the US tip system is horrendous.
I'm not surprised many europeans aren't doing it, it's stupid and they are probably confused why they are being asked to tip like 20%
I'm surprised europeans even go to USA... with ICE arresting anyone who looks at them funny...
Also - I think people should do what they want in this specific matter. USA is supposedly "land of the free" so as long as there is no official government-mandated tip amount, tipping 0$ is as good as any tip amount. Tipping is as much of a cultural thing as the tax level, that is - none.
Fun fact: These states require tippable workers to be paid the full minimum wage:
Source: Department of Labor - Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees
Tbh, this is a distraction. News channels pointing to those (few probably) pesky foreigners refusing to tip, and everyone falls for the rage bait.
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