By Joshua Robison / The Jambar
In the United States, leaving a 18-25% tip has always been a cultural norm for any guest at a dine-in restaurant with the purchase of a meal. Growing up in the U.S., I never saw an issue with tipping culture — until I became an adult.
Recently, I went out to lunch with a party of nine. After we all ordered and finished our food, we were informed by the waitress that an automatic charge of 18% gratuity was added to everyone’s tab.
Fortunately all I ordered was water, so I was not charged, but what’s concerning is that in that statement, it is implied that all guests are required to be grateful for receiving service for a large party, whether or not the service was acceptable.
This then begs the question, is a tip obligatory? My answer to that is no. I’m all for giving a tip to a server that has given exceptional service. However, I do not think that I, as a guest of an establishment, should not be expected to give additional money for a service that is expected.
I decided that I was going to dig deeper into the matter and learn what I could about tipping culture and its indirect cause —“tipping fatigue.”
Currently, the state minimum wage in Ohio is $11 per hour. However, the tipped worker minimum wage is only $5.50 per hour. This, along with a 3.4% inflation rate in 2026. This is the issue.
The tipping crisis is the result of two problems. The first being that tipped workers are labeled differently in the first place, resulting in their 50% pay cut from nontipped workers. The second problem is that no one can afford anything because of inflation.
In what world is it acceptable that I am required to pay the salary of a waiter or waitress, but not a fast-food worker? Both serve food to customers, so why are they receiving a different hourly wage?
Not only is this an issue of economics, but tipping culture is the outcome of culture itself.
According to the Cultural Diaries, tipping in countries such as Japan and South Korea is considered offensive. In many European nations, such as France, Italy and Germany, tipping is accepted culturally but never obligatory compared to the U.S.
I know you may be thinking, “This guy sounds like a total jerk. He doesn’t know what it’s like to work in customer service.” You’re right, I don’t. But I do know what it feels like to be broke and trying to decide if I should take a pretty girl out to a nice dinner or not take her out at all because I have always had to make critical choices on spending money.
To the tipped workers reading this, you are all very hard workers and deserve a living wage same as everyone else. Unfortunately, the current system we happen to be in is neither good for you nor me, and I believe there is room to work together to make a change.
A great start would be to change Ohio legislation so that all employed persons are to receive a minimum of $11 per hour.