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Why Residents In Seattle Are Refusing to Tip
Townhall.com ^ | 29 December A.D. 2024 | Sarah Arnold

Posted on 12/29/2024 3:05:09 PM PST by lightman

In Seattle, a growing number of people are growing tired of tipping and are reportedly refusing to tip restaurant staff due to the city’s significant minimum wage hikes. With Seattle’s minimum wage now among the highest in the nation, some residents argue that tipping is no longer necessary, believing the increased base pay should cover service compensation.

According to a Daily Mail report, residents in the Democrat-run city feel it is unnecessary to tip service workers. The minimum wage will increase from $19.97 to $20.76 an hour on January 1, 2025. Seattle’s Minimum Wage Ordinance requires the wage rate to reflect the city's inflation rise.

One Reddit user said they are “done tipping 10-20 percent come January 1st,” while another person claimed that with the minimum wage hike, food industry workers have “finally reach[ed] a level playing field.”

“With Seattle’s new minimum wage going into effect really soon, most food industry workers are finally reaching a level playing field. As a result, I’ll no longer be tipping more than 5-10%. And I’m ONLY doing that if service is EXCEPTIONAL,” another person said.

“Any instance where I am ordering busing my own table, getting my own utensils, etc warrants $0. I also am not tipping at coffee shops anymore,” another user wrote.

Seattle’s minimum wage ordinance was designed to ensure a “living wage” for all workers, including service workers. However, the city’s push for higher minimum wages has had unintended consequences. Consumers are voicing frustration over "tipping fatigue," which is made worse by "tipflation," as suggested gratuities climb alongside wage increases.

“'I will only tip for service at our table. Being asked to tip before receiving a meal is a no-go,” one person wrote on the blog. “Being asked to tip because someone handed me a loaf of bread across the counter and then operated a till, not a chance.”

On the opposite end of the industry, Seattle restaurant owners are panicking over the minimum wage increase, saying it would add an extra “$45,000 in expenses per month that they don’t have.”

“Seattle restaurant operators are panicked ahead of a minimum wage update that will now prevent tips and benefits from being deducted from hourly wages.” KTTH radio host Jason Rantz wrote in an opinion piece.

As a result, mom-and-pop stores are forced to close due to the high cost of paying their employees.

A recent report found that Americans spend an average of $453 more yearly on tipping than they would like to because of “guilt-tipping.” Customers say they spend up to $37.80 extra monthly because they feel they must leave a gratuity. A poll conducted by Talker Research found that over a quarter of the 2,000 people surveyed said they were “always or often forced to tip more than they would like.”


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; US: Washington
KEYWORDS: gratuity; guilttipping; seattle; tipflation; tipping
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Unintended consequences 101.
1 posted on 12/29/2024 3:05:09 PM PST by lightman
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To: lightman

Key point is that Seattle will no longer have two-tiered minimum wage with tipped employees receiving a lower rate than others.

IOW they will not be dependent on tips.


2 posted on 12/29/2024 3:06:36 PM PST by lightman (Beat the Philly fraud machine the Amish did onest, ja? Nein, zweimal they did already!)
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To: lightman

Better solution: cook at home.


3 posted on 12/29/2024 3:06:49 PM PST by SauronOfMordor (Either you will rule. Or you will be ruled. There is no other choice.)
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To: lightman
I don't like tipping when those demanding a tip are making $20 per hour. I understand that delivery drivers are the most obnoxious about demanding tips. And worse are those touch screens at the point of sale trying to extort a tip from you. If the EU gets anything right it's "no tipping".

4 posted on 12/29/2024 3:14:11 PM PST by Governor Dinwiddie ( O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and His mercy endureth forever. — Psalm 106)
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To: lightman

The left knew that higher wages would impact tipping. For the left, it’s all about tracing income and keep poor people poor.

The high earning lefties don’t like it when somebody can outearn them by being good at their job. For all the talk of equality, those on the left mean equality for us and not them.


5 posted on 12/29/2024 3:14:55 PM PST by Jonty30 (Genghis Khan did not have the most descendants. His father had more. )
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To: lightman

Tips are now BUILT IN TO THE SALARIES of those people serving food in these Blue States. Anything beyond simply paying for the meal plus tax is DOUBLE TIPPING. And for what, some tattoo’d and pierced person to make you go broke?


6 posted on 12/29/2024 3:22:40 PM PST by BobL
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To: Governor Dinwiddie
Food delivery drivers generally are independent contractors who decide for themselves which orders are worth picking up. As long as you disclose up front that you don't intend to tip, nobody has a right to complain.

Then again, that also means you may wait a very long time for your delivery.

7 posted on 12/29/2024 3:22:58 PM PST by Bruce Campbells Chin ( )
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To: lightman

Happy to say there is no virtually no tipping here in Japan . Good service is standard and expected of each and every employee. They carry themselves with honor regardless of their income . However , we recently had our heater/AC unit cleaned - a 2 1/2 hour job - and both my wife and I watched the serviceman do it . He was very meticulous , conscientious and friendly . He even gave us some other house cleaning tips as we chatted . He saw I was quaffing a Cooper’s stout beer and said “ craft beer is delicious “ so I knew he was a beer drinker . I gave him a 6 pack of Suntory Premium Malt as a tip .


8 posted on 12/29/2024 3:23:35 PM PST by sushiman
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To: lightman

I will be laughing when, hopefully, become not taxable. All of the income with these high minimum wage states will be taxable. Many countries, such as New Zealand do not have tipping and do not want foreigners tipping to ruin their system. Their service workers are paid the same as other workers.


9 posted on 12/29/2024 3:23:47 PM PST by Freee-dame ( )
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To: Freee-dame

Tipping becomes not taxable


10 posted on 12/29/2024 3:25:51 PM PST by Freee-dame ( )
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To: lightman

Minimum wage never affected wait staff in restaurants in ny as far as I remember when I was in college. That’s some time ago

Who’s tipping non restaurant people


11 posted on 12/29/2024 3:30:26 PM PST by stanne (Because they were mesmerized by Obama, the man for whom this was named, whose name they left out of )
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To: lightman

Tipping waitresses and drivers is fine but you go into these stupid shops now and you get am unsmiling purple haired freak who won’t even say thank you even if you do drop a buck or two into the jar. Young staff don’t even say hello anymore. When that happens I say “thanks for the pleasant greeting” and then move on to whatever request/purchasing business I have with them. They’re miserable unhappy leftists in many cases.


12 posted on 12/29/2024 3:33:20 PM PST by toddausauras
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To: lightman

Good liberals in Seattle won’t tip? B@$tards


13 posted on 12/29/2024 3:39:33 PM PST by BigFreakinToad (All she is, is cackles in the wind.)
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To: BigFreakinToad

It’s given. Lefty’s din’t tip like conservatives.


14 posted on 12/29/2024 3:54:47 PM PST by DIRTYSECRET
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To: lightman

Lab test of only one plate of restaurant and fast food place food out of 700 showed no human saliva or nasal mucus in the food. (kidding-—maybe).

Better eat at home.


15 posted on 12/29/2024 4:03:17 PM PST by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls. )
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To: lightman
Speaking of tips.

Making a political donation I was asked if I would "tip" Winred?

After being spammed and having my # handed out or maybe sold like candy from Winred, I suggest they rot in hell before I would ever "tip" those inconsiderate low-lifes.

16 posted on 12/29/2024 4:06:16 PM PST by lewislynn
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To: BobL

They tried that here in MA and was voted down, amazingly enough.

-SB


17 posted on 12/29/2024 4:20:47 PM PST by Snowybear (Liberalism is a mental disorder)
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To: lightman
My daughter works for the state of WA at a mental hospital. She had to have a university degree to get her job. To advance, she went back for her masters.

Thanks for the minimum wage laws, a McDonald's counter person now makes about the same per hour as my daughter.

18 posted on 12/29/2024 4:24:48 PM PST by llevrok (Keep buggering on!)
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To: lightman

Tipping originally was not a right of passage. It was earned with better, or in some cases, exceptional service. You could get any server to do the job at the minimum. But that one that checks occassionally but not overbearing, keeps drink filled without request, and expediately gets the check to the visitor is earning the tip, not getting it.

We noticed, surprisingly, on a cruise that they started taking tips out for the staff at a set rate and if you wanted to go higher, that was your call. But we, also, noticed that when the tips were automatic, the service level dropped and they stood around like a frat party. We went down to customer service and told them we were refusing to tip this way and we would do our own tipping. We didn’t get any better service but we didn’t pay them to do that. Our cabin stewart did an outstand job, with extras, and he was rewarded. This was before a set team traveled with you from restaurnat to restaurant so we didn’t tip anyone without handing it to them as others were not awarded. They didn’t earn it.

So by raising the wage of the servers, they are offering them tips to cover what they had to earn before in salary. They have no reason to earn it now.

wy69


19 posted on 12/29/2024 4:28:53 PM PST by whitney69
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To: SauronOfMordor

Exactly what I do! Tipping has gotten so out of hand. It used to be 10% was normal. Now you are a cheapskate with only doing 15%. Between rising prices and tip creep, I won’t eat out as often as I used to and, often, when I do, I opt for better fast food options like Wendy’s or Chick fil-A.


20 posted on 12/29/2024 4:31:14 PM PST by Vigilanteman (The politicized state destroys aspects of civil society, human kindness and private charity.)
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