Tipping in Restaurants in the U.S.A.
Tipping in full service restaurants in the U.S. is different than the rest of the world. It allowed me to make a pretty decent living for two decades, but it can be confusing. So let’s talk about it.
More content and chat on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/bistrohuddy
Merch Store: https://www.bistrohuddy.com
Other places to find us:
Instagram
@drewtalbert
@andreakelley (wife/co-writer)
TikTok
@drew_talbert
Facebook
www.facebook.com/drewtalbertfb
We use Epidemic Sound for all the licensed music and sounds! Awesome library! Use my link: https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/cojmn4
@melaniemccoy8586
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
I’d say you can’t pay me enough to be a server, but apparently they don’t get paid anyway.
@Xichi00
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
Once a few years ago me and my brother went to waffle house. We were teen and were paying with a parents credit card. We didn't get thst much, but at the end the guy at the counter (who didnt serve us or cook our food mind you) told us "we get paid $2.13 and hour. If you're not gonna tip, dont come back". The fact thats even legal is absolutely insane. I can see why Nico no longer works there lol.
@PiikachUwU_OSRS
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
Congrats on spending 5 minutes talking about the most bullshit common practice in the world 😂
@deliciousconsumer
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
Actually, BOH getting 4%, where's this 23% for boh?
@ColtonArgyle
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
Where im currently working (Local Pizza joint) i was started at $7.50 an hour and then moved up to $8.00 an hour. we are not full service we do some things like bring out your food and clear your table but that's about it. As for our tips, we tip pool. if im lucky i might get a $5.00 tip tho and its maybe $20.00 for the whole night that i actually get to keep.
@peterlapointe4851
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
In Canada, servers get around $18 and hour, so I don't think tipping should be a forced or mandatory tip.
@cherrydonner5298
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
Thanks for the history
@Spegrogy
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
My state (Washington) is another one of the 7 states that require a minimum wage, and since our minimum wage is so high you could probably make some really good money as a server
@Kokichi_ultimateliar
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
wwpd is now my life motto
@dsalchr
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
No tip for full time kitchen staff, except dishwashers or food runners. Chefs, cooks, prep usually have benefits and work for the most part full time. BESIDES KITCHEN STAFF DOESNT HAVE TO DEAL WITH ASSHOLES I live in Oregon where everyone get min wage, but servers never work full time and kitchen staff usually does. no full time, no benefits.
@MichelPlungjan
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
Is it easier for a US customer, who is used to pay more than what the tag says (state tax etc) to be used to also pay more for a steak dinner than what the menu says (state tax? plus tip?)
I do not actually know if normal US restaurants are cheaper at the end of the day than a normal European one.
@boring1839
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
In my country miminum wage is like 10$ but tipping isnt common, most like, industries pay living wage 21$
@erwinfletcher4428
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
I waited tables for about 20 years full time and another 10 off and on as a second job. At some places, I made insane money working only 25-30 hours a week and other places I was lucky to leave a shift with 40 or fifty bucks after tip out. In Nc, we make 2.13/hourly. All the places I worked had to tip out bar and bussers. At different places I’ve had to tip hosts, runners, expos, soup/salad/dessert station, and kitchen. I wasn’t a good student, and waiting allowed me to make a decent living because I never got a degree or was qualified to do much other than retail/restaurant/hospitality type stuff. The downside is no health insurance, no sick or vacation time, no guaranteed income, no retirement pension, and not enough base pay to withhold for income taxes. Honestly, I would love to still be doing it. I loved the hours (not having to wake up early every day), the energy, the camaraderie, the money. But around 40, I knew I had to have some health insurance, so I got a full time job with benefits. The job is okay, but I hate the hours. It feels so early and inflexible after all those years of shift swapping and not having to be at work until 4 😂. A lot of people want the US to move away from tipping and demand that restaurants pay their employees adequately, but I could have never survived on an hourly wage without tips. Restaurants will send hourly employees home when it is slow so they don’t get enough hours. Restaurants can be fun and profitable places to work, but they can shit on employees whenever they please (don’t piss off the head waiter or whoever makes the schedule kind of bullshit) and are ripe for exploitation.
@jps8674
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
Love your channel!
@sith29
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
I aint rich sorry but i tip what i can , something is better than nothing
@leamichelle3792
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
So from the explanation it sounds like the start of the tipping culture fired back because it led to the minimum wage of Dollar 2.13. With the argument that the waiters made such a lot of money from the tips alone that their wages can be cut to the absolute minimum.
@gsh4373
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
California doesn't allow sub minimum wage for servers, but they also allocate expected taxes at 8% of sales.
@Cookie-ri9pz
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
I worked in S. Florida in the middle 80s. We made $2.50/hr. I had to tip the bus boys and the waitress had to tip the bartender out. I still cleared $1000 to $2000/wk working Friday and Saturday night. I made more in 2 days than I did all week at a securities firm.
@jordanlipinski3220
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
I’ve been working in restaurants in the US since I could legally work. I’ve had 2.13 jobs where I’ve relied on tips. I’ve had $8-$15 hourly both with and without tips. I’ve tipped out the back of house staff with auto gratuity. Every job is different but the consensus is that servers and restaurant staff DO almost completely rely on tips.
@MIRIsSTYLE
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
Okay so my first waffle House job where I had to exist on tips. The pay was 50 cents an hour, it was a long long time ago. So when I first started all of my tips wanting to pay my bills and I would take my lunch meal home to my son so that he could have dinner as soon as I get home. Then one day they decided that I was not allowed to take food out of the restaurant that that was stealing. That's even though they knew that I was taking it to my child and I was only taking one meal. And it wasn't even an expensive meal and on my days off I would make sure that he got a good nutritious meal.
So I quit and I got another waitress job . They shut down the same rules I could not take my waitress home to my child I went through a couple more restaurants and I'm like this ain't going to work. My child is the only reason I'm working these jobs to begin with. I can get a janitor's job and do better.
So I got a hazmat job. Didn't have to worry about my child going hungry then. He's 45 now.
@leaembree9567
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
Thank you for explaining this!
@rod.171
April 2, 2026 at 8:57 pm
Service charges, can we talk about those?
A service charge is not the same thing as a tip. When a restaurant labels something as a “service charge,” that money legally belongs to the restaurant, not the server. Management can pool it and distribute it however they choose, including using it to cover wages, benefits, or other operating costs , as long as employees receive at least minimum wage under state and federal law.
Unlike tips, service charges are not required to go directly to waitstaff, and owners or managers may retain a portion depending on how the policy is structured and what local labor laws allow.
So if you see a service charge on your check, don’t assume it’s all going to your server. It may support the broader staff or simply the business itself.
Comments are closed.