Tipping has become an issue in the United States. Restaurants and cafes often expect a 20-30% tip for even simple services, such as making a coffee or serving a meal. Meanwhile, in many European countries, tips are small or non-existent because workers are paid a decent, living wage. In the U.S, tips are necessary for workers to make enough money to survive. Tips also mean businesses can charge less for food and depend on customers to pay workers’ wages themselves.

All of these factors can lead to many problems with a tip-dependent system. Among workers themselves, the amount of income on any given day is not predictable. Some days, they make a lot in tips, and on other days, they make very little. A 2024 report by One Fair Wage found that over 60% of tipped workers say their income is not enough to cover basic expenses like rent or groceries. This leads to tipped workers having a higher chance of living in poverty.  Worse, according to Nina Mast of the Economic Policy Institute, many people in tipped jobs are women or people of color, and relying on tips can make these jobs unfair.

Tipping also puts pressure on customers. People feel forced to leave a tip, even for simple services, or worry they didn’t tip enough. A simple coffee or meal ends up costing significantly more than the menu suggests due to the added tip. Tipping culture makes eating out stressful, and can make people feel guilty for not tipping as much as others.

There are many ways to fix these problems. One solution is for businesses to pay all workers a fair living wage so that they don’t have to rely on tips to survive. Some restaurants now include the cost of service in their menu prices to make sure every worker, from servers to cooks, is paid fairly for their hard work. Raising the minimum wage for tipped workers would help make sure that everyone in the service industry is treated equally and with respect. A change in tipping culture would benefit everyone. Workers would have fair pay without being dependent on unpredictable tips. For customers, they would not feel obligated to tip or be stressed about how much to tip. Businesses would have honest prices, and jobs in the restaurants would be seen as better jobs. Ending the reliance on tips would make work safer and less stressful for both customers and workers.