In come the downvotes. Very controversial topic which is going to get hated on by the general public but I’d still like to know if my logic isn’t sound here.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been tipping my entire life, but money matters to me more now that I have more responsibilities.

Why are we tipping? The waiter is just doing their job and they’re getting paid an hourly wage for it, why does society feel like it’s mandatory for us to pay an additional 15% of our meal, at a minimum, for someone doing their job. The rebuttal to this is usually, “It helps them make a living wage.” But with this logic, we should be tipping all minimum wage workers so everyone can have a living wage. Why are we not tipping the other minimum wage workers who provide us with a service like McDonalds workers we come across. They have hard shifts too and feed you, standing there near the hot kitchen all day prepping food.

Back in the day serving used to be a profession for single moms to provide for their kids so I guess the tradition of tipping got passed down. But now there’s so many opportunistic in North America, if servers are unhappy with their wage they should study something and look for something else. Most of the time now servers are young, so very unlikely they are supporting a family and more likely it’s a side job while studying or they’re unsure what career path they want to follow.

TLDR: Why is tipping necessary. I work hard for my money and need it too, why am I giving it to someone else for doing their job.

Edit: For those of you mentioning that you should tip for good service or tip to push waiters above minimum, I’d say $3-5 is a fair tip. Why should a normal tip be considered 15% or even now 20% is being pushed as the norm. People with families eating out really get shafted by the percentage. I don’t think it’s fair to still be expected to pay 15% off hundreds of dollars at a minimum. In Europe the $3-5 is the norm when tipping if the waiter really went above and beyond, and the service is as good as here if not better. And in other parts of Europe and even Asia, tips aren’t even expected but the service is still great because people take pride in their work. In order for things to change here, it has to start somewhere. Right now restaurant owners don’t want the tipping system to change because they save money, servers don’t want the system to change because they make much higher than minimum wage. So consumers are left footing the bill.

Edit: I’m surprised as to how many people are on the same page. The only way for this broken system to change is to unfortunately stop tipping unnecessarily. You shouldn’t feel the need to tip anything or be shamed into it. Otherwise employers will not feel the need to change anything because they’re saving heavily, and the servers will never demand more from their employers because they’re making way above minimum. All at the same time the government loses out on taxes. I hope to someday transition to places like Australia, Europe, and parts in Asia where you can enjoy a meal without being guilted into tipping. The food in these countries are still reasonably priced or cheaper (for those of you saying food will be more expensive) and the waiters still do a great job because they understand it’s what they’re paid to do and if they don’t someone else will do it. We can’t expect anything to change by doing nothing.

Edit: I’m just saying don’t lead with “you look great!” Say “wow! Great to see you! What have you been up to?” People will usually respond with an answer that lets you know if they have changed their lifestyle. Then you can say “yeah! You look amazing” I’m a super nice person. Not a jerk for those of you saying I’m a robot or making mean comments or saying I should have known the difference. Wow. This man had just lost maybe 7-10lbs. It was early on in his illness. He eventually get losing weight and passed away... So I was giving this life tip so people aren’t haunted like I am. In that moment I reminded him he was dying and I hurt him.