What the Actual ****!? Has Tipping in Arizona Gotten Out of Hand?

I was talking with a friend the other day about tipping. My friend, who I'll call Annie, works at a chain restaurant as a waitress. She's been waiting tables for a long time and she's VERY good at it.

I've eaten at the restaurant where she works a number of times, and I'm always glad when she's our waitress. She treats us well, which you'd expect since she's a friend. But I watch her as she interacts with her other tables, and it's clear - she's a true master of her craft.

Arizona's Tipped Minimum Wage

The other day our conversation turned to tipping. You expect to tip your servers in a restaurant because, in most states, servers get a much lower hourly wage than people employed in other jobs, like kitchen staff for example.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, "the minimum wage for servers and waiters/waitresses in Arizona is the same as the tipped minimum wage in Arizona." That tipped minimum wage? $10.85 an hour.

Compare that to the current minimum wage for non-tipped employess in Arizona, which is $13.85 an hour. And it's been going up annually based on cost of living increases.

I've talked to Annie and other servers about the wage disparity. Generally speaking, the tipped minimum wage doesn't go up very often, and since most of those earnings go to payroll taxes, most servers don't rely on that paycheck.

Why Tips Are Better for Waitstaff

When I told Annie I was shocked at how small her paycheck was, she told me it was fine, because she could make a lot more in tips, particularly with her skill and experience.

It's a system that's worked for a long time, and she likes it. It's an incentive to work hard and do a good job, and it's a way for customers to directly reward that great service.

When Tipping Gets Out of Control

Tipping your server, your bartender, or someone who provides another type of direct service, like your hairdresser, nail tech, or aesthetician just makes sense because in most cases, the people who provide these services are paid tipped wages, too.

But tipping literally EVERYONE ELSE is getting out of hand, even those who don't make tipped wages.

Tipping Everyone Else

A user on Reddit was shocked when he went to pay his bill for the siding he'd had installed on his home. The total bill was in excess of $40k, and he was making payments in installments.

While he was making this month's payment, he noticed the business had put a new "tipping feature" at the end, where customers could add an optional tip as they pay their bills.

In the words of this Reddit User, “What in the actual f*** is this?”

Where's the Line?

Where's the line for tipping? Should we limit tipping to tipped wage earners, and the self-employed, or should this become common practice for everyone?

Send us a message on our station app. We'd love to know your thoughts.