Dear Quentin,
Today my partner spoke to me for the third time about why she disagrees with my belief and practice of not tipping waitresses.
To me, as long as all service staff are doing their job and getting paid an hourly wage, there is no reason to tip anyone, whether they mess up on my order or give me great service.
I don’t understand why waitresses need to be tipped when like all other service staff, like construction workers, cleaners, fast-food attendees, etc.
I’m not expected to tip all other service staff so why is she bothering me with tipping the waitress every single time we go to a restaurant?
They are doing their job like everyone else.
She keeps telling me it’s the right thing to do but why?
Please explain.
A Confused Non-Tipper
You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions related to coronavirus at qfottrell@marketwatch.com, and follow Quentin Fottrell on Twitter.
Dear Non-Tipper,
I assume you choose not to tip waiters too. There are several reasons why you should tip wait staff, the first among them is that restaurants expect you to tip, they leave a blank space on the bill for you to tip, and if you don’t want to tip, stay home. It’s part of a social contract — whether you like it or not — every time you go to a restaurant. Every time you leave without tipping, you are not only insulting the person who waited on your table, but you are breaking that social contract. So you do have a choice: stay home and don’t tip, or go and tip.
Second, and most importantly, it’s an economic justice issue. Wait staff are not like other workers you have mentioned. The federal minimum wage for tipped employees like wait staff and bartenders is $2.13, a figure that has not budged in 30 years, versus $7.25 per hour for non-tipped workers. “In the seven states that have raised the tipped minimum wage to the full minimum wage, the poverty rate among tipped restaurant workers is more than a third lower than in New York,” according to the nonprofit organization One Fair Wage.
“If anything, we should be tipping our wait staff and delivery people as much as we can afford during these uncertain times.”
Service workers have taken the brunt of the financial and health ramifications during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have had to deal with the public’s questions and mood swings — with the added threat of the coronavirus. We should be tipping wait staff and delivery people as much as we can afford during these uncertain times. Restaurant workers have an unemployment rate of 7.5%, above pre-pandemic levels and higher than the overall 4.8% unemployment rate. Many venues closed down, while other workers have decided it’s not worth it anymore.
Third, of all the issues to make your cause célèbre, this one is a doozy. Did you tip on your first date with your girlfriend in order to ensure smooth passage to a second date? Because this would be one sure way to prove a petty point, and nix any chances of a follow-up date. In other words, is it not easier and more gracious to leave an extra 15% to 20% for a meal — a few dollars here and a few there — to help someone else put food on the table? Is that not the best practice of all capitalists and socialists — spread the wealth, keep the economy chugging along?
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More from Quentin Fottrell:
• ‘I’m getting compassion fatigue’: My parents said they’d rather quit their jobs and lose everything than get the COVID-19 vaccine
• ‘I don’t want a permanent freeloader as a boyfriend’: We met during the pandemic — and he moved 900 miles to be with me
• My mother-in-law changed her will and left everything to her second husband. Can her children contest the will?
• My brother-in-law died, leaving his house in a mess. His landlord wants me to repaint and replace the carpet. What should we do?
This post was originally published on Market Watch
