Same here. For me it was the realization that what I thought was appropriate tipping – 15% – was actually an insult to servers. Thanks to the internet, I saw how servers retaliate against what they think is a bad tipper. I realized that proper tipping is subjective, and there was no way to be sure I wouldn’t be punished for something I did wrong unknowingly. So rather than risk it, I just decided to learn how to live without eating out.
Yeah, 15% was considered good in the '90s, but it’s been upped to 20% for a couple decades now.
Which means the longer that the minimum wage for tipping remains $2.13 for nearly half the United States - we’re probably going to see that social expectation rise to 25%.
Which honestly- sucks more for the workers than most of us who will be shifting to that level of tipping. Because it will be met with social resistance to wanting to pay more, and probably a period of actually less income for them.
