International fans visiting the US for the World Cup have become frustrated by the culture of having to tip servers, telling the BBC that tipping fatigue has set in.

Many international fans visiting the US for the World Cup have become frustrated by the culture of tipping servers, telling the BBC that tipping fatigue has set in.

England supporter Geoff Pryor said he understood tipping for good service, but he found it “weird” when buying a bottle of water and “they try to get a tip for doing nothing”.

In the US, staff at some restaurants and bars are paid just over $2 (£1.50) an hour, and they expect customers to tip about 20% of the total cost of the bill so they can earn a living.

Frustrations have also been shared by hospitality staff, with one bar owner telling the BBC that many World Cup tourists have been bad tippers.

  • sunbrrnslapper
    216·
    1 day ago

    We should absolutely pay restaurant staff a living wage with benefits, but I do like tipping because I get better service. My experience has been that restaurants that don’t have tips have lousy service (I’m looking at you el Gaucho in Seattle).

    • Argon@tardigram.com
      7·
      1 day ago

      I preefer get good service for being a nice person before than pay for it. Money isn’t the mesure for everything.

      • sunbrrnslapper
        31·
        1 day ago

        I used to serve. It is a hard job (all restraunt jobs are) and they deserve to be treated well - both in pay/benefits and respect. But tips absolutely change behavior. And I think it is ok to incenticize behavior in all sorts of situations, including this one.

        • alternategaitEnglish
          4·
          1 day ago

          Ok I get it if I’m like a regular somewhere and the recognize me and can remember what I did last time. But since tipping ends up being an at the end of the transaction thing, how does it change behavior for a place I’m going to once?

          • sunbrrnslapper
            22·
            1 day ago

            If you know that good service typically results in a good tip, you are more likely to provide good service even when the outcome is unknown.

            Whn I served, I knew that people with shopping bags tipped lousy (after asking for like 19 refills on iced tea), but business people ate quick and tipped well. I adjusted my service accordingly. Not a sure thing, but it was close enough to true that it changed my behavior.