tipping culture is odd
(this is a bit of a break from what i usually post about but it was something that just came to mind, so here you go.)
i'm not from america, and i do feel like whatever i've heard about the tipping system over there is not right. i would tip whenever i feel like the person serving me has really gone into it- really made an effort to do their job wholeheartedly. but i do think this is something that should be done voluntarily- not because i have to.
but then i learned that restaurants in america pay their staff below the minimum wage. and then owners expect their employees to rely on tips to pay for bills and housing.
i believe it really shouldn't be like this. instead of employees and customers shouting at each other, they should take it to business owners and managers who pay below minimum wage! why are they owning a place if they can't pay their staff properly? in my mind, employees deserve at least the minimum wage, some guarantee that the work they are doing is getting them something. and customers should get to pay the price that's on the menu without being shamed into paying the employees' salary- that's on the owners!
[NOTE: i do apologise if i have made any obvious mistakes in what i'm saying. once again, i'm not american and my opinion is based on what i know about the tipping culture over there. i just believe that this system is wronging both the customers and the employees- and that the real enemy should be confronted.]