Tipping in the service industry

[CapnAwesome]

I don't think people are not tipping in Spain because they have health care. Really people are not that deep thinking. I also don't think there was tipping in those countries before they got universal health care. So that explanation is quite a stretch.

There are still tons of non-tipping cultures with lower wages than the us you'd have to explain. Since the us actually has fairly high wages except compared to a very very small amount of countries, the explanation falls well short. Tipping is just cultural. Every culture has a different tipping custom. I don't see much of a pattern to it.

That wasn't my point. My point was, servers in Spain don't need tips because they make enough to survive. I get that tipping is cultural, I don't think I argued against that. My argument was the state of tipping in the US is due to owners not paying their staff enough. Tipping probably started out as a nice way to reward your server, but owners see it as a way to avoid paying their staff, and as long as the tipping culture continues, owners can get away with paying their staff less than a standard minimum wage.

Not to mention I'd much rather get a tipped job in the us than the flat minimum wage in most European countries. The minimum wage in Europe isn't all that special and in some countries is awful. It's better in the west coast of America for sure plus you get tips.

You're ignoring the fact that servers in other countries aren't always paid minimum wage. A quick Google says that minimum wage in Spain 858.55 euros a month. Another Google suggests the average wage of a waiter (server) in Spain is 1,338 euros a month.

In the US waiters aren't always paid the minimum wage either. I'm not. So I don't get your point about what that has to do with tipping. There seems to be plenty of other countries that fit the criteria you've set forth for tipping yet don't have them.

Also, I almost forgot, Canada has the same tipping culture as the US. So that's a pretty good sign that it's a cultural thing and not a by product of US laws.

I think it's just part of our culture for historical reasons. If we didn't have it you'd just pay more for your food and waiters would make a higher wage. So I would argue that tipping isn't a result of low wages for waiters, but low wages for waiters is because the customer directly pays part of their salary rather than in Europe where the customer indirectly pays it through high prices.

I don't really see the superiority of either system. (Edit: actually I'd say the US system is slightly better. For one, I think if you can make more. Two, you definitely have better customer service in the US)

Edit: it's always nice having a conversation with you on here, by the way. It's like, a refreshing break from all the over emotions. Plus I think you are basically the only other person who researches and learns while they are posting, which is cool.