'Go live in a country that pays service workers a livable wage': Europeans and Americans Debate The Validity of American Tipping Culture

Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor

Mar 21, 2023 6:00 PM EDT

Tipping culture in America is pretty straightforward. If you're eating at a sit-down restaurant, it's expected that you tip your waiter 20% of the cost of your meal in total. This system is in place because paying servers far less than the minimum wage is legal and common, with restaurant owners assuming most of their income will be supplied by tips. Tipped employees in some U.S. states can make as little as $2.13 per hour, which is why it's so important to tip them 20%.

Many Europeans visiting America for the first time find this implied, but not technically required, system of tipping to be confusing and unfair. They think that it should be the restaurant's responsibility to pay their employees a living wage and not their responsibility to tip them said wage. While I agree that restaurants should pay waiters more, refusing to tip at least 20% does nothing to help waiters and actively hurts them.