Tipping culture is a unique aspect of American society. While customary in the United States, tipping expectations and systems differ across countries. Many nations incorporate service charges into their prices. The U.S. is distinct when it comes to rewarding service directly and optionally. This has brought up conflicts for both customers and service workers.
Deanne Sweidan, co-owner of Flippin’ Burger and 1428 Haight Street Patio Cafe & Crepery explained the way she divides tips for her employees in an interview with The Urban Legend. She explained that she always has at least two people working per shift, and splits all tips made in those hours equally between employees working at the time. “If you calculated the $16.99 you’re making an hour plus the additional $35 for the day [in a five-hour shift] you’re making over $25 an hour,” she said.
Chris, a server at Slice House, said, “[Tips make up] 10-18% of my salary.” This is not an uncommon experience, as many service workers in the U.S. rely on tips to make a living wage.
Lucia Ferris ‘24, former Nopa hostess, said, “I feel like tipping shouldn’t have to be a thing. I think that companies should just pay their employees enough. But in this world we live in you do benefit from being selfish.”
According to a 2018 Harvard Business Review, nearly 42 million Americans, almost 30% of the workforce, worked in the service industry with a median hourly wage below $15. Some employers include tip money in calculating a minimum wage, abusing this loophole in the law.
This leaves service workers relying on customer gratuity and working multiple jobs. While this loophole is illegal in California due to Labor Code 351, San Francisco is the third most expensive city to live in in the U.S. As such, servers are still left relying on tips and working multiple jobs to support themselves.
“I read that you’re always supposed to tip 20% now, so I usually do that when there’s an option to.” Daphne Gilman ‘26 said. “If there’s this huge population of kids who are just not tipping, that could eventually have a pretty big impact on the workers.”
Deanne said, “Being a server and doing this business for pretty much all my life, I could never say, ‘Oh, I’m not giving them a tip at all.’ I have to give them something.” Deanne said that her kids always tip when they go out. “I haven’t had to teach them that, they’ve learned that on their own, working with me in this business in this industry,” she said.
However, most teenagers seem to have a different tipping standard. Using the Urban Haight Street discount to check Slice House’s transaction history, Chris found that out of the 17 Urban students who ordered from Slice House on May 15, only one of them tipped, and that tip was only one dollar.
Cole Ambrocente ‘26 said, “[For] singular purchases I don’t think there’s really a pressure to tip. But if I had a friend staring over me it would feel weird [not to].”
Deanne has noted that, oftentimes, Urban students don’t have enough to tip, but she said she isn’t worried. “Like I said, I have kids and I understand how it is.” That being said, a small tip can go a long way, especially in San Francisco.
