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Miranda Sandoval

English 113A

Professor Rosenfeld

18 September 2017

Why Tipping Is Right

Do you ever go out for dinner and your waitress delivers the best service to you? You

might think she is doing this so you can tip her at the end of your meal. Sometimes waitresses

live paycheck to paycheck and need tips to make it through. In the article The Case Against

Tipping by Michael Lewis, he discusses the problems against tipping. He argues people put on

a fake facade in order to gain bigger tips. He also claims that waitresses and waiters are already

being paid to do their job and that they are becoming more and more reliant on receiving tips.

Servers such as waitresses deserve tips because they need it for basic necessities and actually

work hard to make sure you have an enjoyable time.

Some may argue tipping can be a burden sometimes as some waiters are expecting a tip;

however, tips are what keeps them going. Servers are becoming more dependent on tipping that

they expect you to tip and when you do not you seem like the horrible person. The article The

Case Against Tipping states, I tried to penalize a cab driver for bad service and he rolled

alongside me for two crowded city blocks, shouting obscenities through his car window. A friend

of mine who under tipped had the message drummed home more perfectly: a few seconds after

she stepped out of the cab, the cab knocked her over (Lewis). Many may think this is over the

top, but employees have become dependent on tipping. Tipping leads to you paying more for

your meal or service, but why if they are already being paid to do their job? Tipping can be
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stressful for the customer because not leaving a tip makes them seem cheap and leaving a tip is

though as overpay for meal or service. On the other hand, servers rely on tips to live off of. Some

may argue that they are being paid to do their job, but they are making well below minimum

wage to live comfortably; however, if people do not tip then employers would have to raise their

wages which means higher menu prices. It is disturbing that restaurants, Menu prices will

increase by an average of 20 percent at Diner and Marlow: Marlows famous brick chicken will

increase by $6 to $36, (Sutton). For the sake of everybodys pockets tipping should not be

abolished.

Tips help servers who are barely making enough money to cover their living expenses.

Tips for servers can be used gas money, groceries, or to pay bills. Many servers get paid

bi-weekly and they get paid minimum wage which is not enough to get by. Some even get paid

under minimum wage because restaurants expect the tips to make up the lost of the wage for

them. The Sundial reports A lot of people live off of their tips so thats something I like to keep

in mind (Arellano). Minimum wage does not justify a comfortable living in the world today.

Also, servers may have to split their tips with the hosts, bussers, and bartenders. Many live in

debt and stress about not earning enough to get through until their next paycheck.

Tips are seen as a token of appreciation for a job well done. Tips motivate employees into

delivering outstanding customer service. Workers feel good about themselves when a tip is given

to them. Tipping also benefits good the customer too. For example, when a waitress or waiter

knows they will receive a tip for good service they feel less stressed about their financial issues

that they actually do deliver good service. Gigi Moody from The Odyssey mentions If we knew

we were going to get paid no matter how polite we act to you, I can promise you that the dining
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experience would be quite a bit different.. Waitresses are more relaxed when they get a tip and

thus better at their jobs which means a more enjoyable meal for you.

Many people claim that serving is an easy job for unskilled people. Yet serving is a job

that requires patience and skill to deliver the best service. Servers are doing more than one job at

a time and they are being paid underwage. Serving is not always easy in fact they could be

working more than three tables at once. In the article The Guardian states, I am expected to

skip bathroom breaks if we are busy. I go hungry all day if I have several busy tables to work. I

am expected to work until 1:30am and then come in again at 10:30am to open the restaurant. I

have worked 12-hour double shifts without a chance to even sit down. I am expected to portray a

canned personality that has been found to be least offensive to the greatest amount of people.

And I am expected to do all of this, every day, and receive change, or even nothing, in return

(Welch). It might not be the most stressful job out there, but to say servers do not at least deserve

to be paid to live comfortably, whether by tip or wages, is an unethical way of thinking.

I, for one, was not sure whether to believe all these articles until I decided to interview

someone who receives tips on a regular basis. I interviewed Sofia Guerrero, a barista at

Starbucks. When I asked her about how she felt about tipping she replied, I like tips, it helps me

out a lot. My co-workers agree with me that it helps them out until payday. She also stated that

she does not rely on tips, but it relieves some stress when she does not have money for gas or

food. I asked her if she ever got upset because she did not receive a tip. She responded by saying,

No. I am getting paid to do what I do and I do not expect to receive a tip all the time, but most

of the time tips are a nice reward for my hard work. Interviewing someone I know that does get
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tipped gives me another perspective. I know most people like her do not expect a tip, but it is

appreciated because it helps them out during the week.

Tipping seems like a burden to most people, but would they mind if they truly knew the

employees would need them to make it to their next paycheck. Servers are paid well under

minimum wage and tips are what they live off of when their check is not enough for bills or

food. Tipping is also a motivation booster for servers. They tend to work better or less stressed

out when they know they are getting a helpful hand in the form of extra money. Serving seems to

be a more stressful job than it seems. They work various tables at once and each one with very

complex and different orders. Many people argue that why should I tip when they are already

being paid to do their job, but do they know the minimum wage for servers is $2.13 an hour. If

customers were to stop tipping then employers would raise wages which would lead to higher

menu prices for your meal. So instead of paying $15 for a burger just cough up $3 for your

server as a token of appreciation for bringing you that burger just the way you asked for it.
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Works Cited

Arellano, Audrey. The Art of Tipping. Sundial, 11 October 2016,

www.sundial.csun.edu/2016/10/the-art-of-tipping/

Guerrero, Sofia. Personal Interview . 8 October 2017.

Lewis, Michael, The Capitalist; The Case Against Tipping. The New York Times Magazine,

21 September 1997, Print.

Moody, GiGi. An Open Letter: Why You Should Always Tip Your Server At Least 15 Percent.

The Odyssey, 24 August 2015,

www.theodysseyonline.com/open-letter-tip-servers-15

Sutton, Ryan. Two of Brooklyns Most Popular Restaurants Eliminate Tipping. Eater New

York, 27 September 2017,

www.ny.eater.com/2017/0/27/16364962/diner-marlow-sons-no-tipping

Welch, Chelsea, Tips are not optional, they are how waiters get paid in America. The

Guardian, 1 February 2013,

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/01/fired-applebees-waitress-needs-tips