What would you do in this situation?

[aschen]

Originally Posted by gacook

Uh, no...they DO get an hourly wage. The tip just makes that wage better. It is indeed a "reward;" however, having worked for tips in the past, a waiter/waitress has to be pretty damn terrible not to get a decent tip from me (at least 20%).

not really, its negligible and below the legal limit to qualify as payment for employment

The tip is misnamed, and is part of the regular salary

The system "don't make no sense" but its the one we use

[recycled sixtie]

A few points I would like to make. Doing a runner is illegal.If you get caught you could get a criminal record.

My daughter's husband who manages his dad's Irish pub says their serving staff are paid minimum wage and they depend on tips to supplement min. wage. Now our Provincial NDP(think socialism) want to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour in a couple of years from now.
Son in law says they will have to lay off staff coz wages will be too high for him to pay them. So for now employees depend on tips. Tips are important to supplement their income. So think about that when you next go to a restaurant. I tip 15-20%except when they spill on a family member.

Guy

[wdfifteen]

If they get paid minimum wage of $15/hr perhaps you aren't expected to tip them any more? Kind of like France.
In the US (at least on the fed level) the minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13 while the min. for hourly is $7.xx. Tipped employees are generally treated differently. The tip is acknowledged to be part of their income.

[sammyg2]

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word tip originated as a slang term, and its etymology is unclear. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the meaning "give a small present of money" began around 1600, and the meaning "give a gratuity to" is first attested in 1706.[5] The noun in this sense is from 1755. The term in the sense of "to give a gratuity" first appeared in the 18th century. It derived from an earlier sense of tip, meaning "to give; to hand, pass", which originated in the rogues' cant in the 17th century. This sense may have derived from the 16th-century tip meaning "to strike or hit smartly but lightly" (which may have derived from the Low German tippen, "to tap") but this derivation is "very uncertain".[6] The word "tip" was first used as a verb in 1707 in George Farquhar's play The Beaux' Stratagem. Farquhar used the term after it had been "...used in criminal circles as a word meant to imply the unnecessary and gratuitous gifting of something somewhat taboo, like a joke, or a sure bet, or illicit money exchanges."[7]

The practice of tipping began in Tudor England.[8] "By the 17th century, it was expected that overnight guests to private homes would provide sums of money, known as vails, to the host’s servants. Soon afterwards, customers began tipping in London coffeehouses and other commercial establishments."[8]

The etymology for the synonym for tipping, "gratuity", dates back either to the 1520s, from "graciousness", from the French gratuité (14th century) or directly from Medieval Latin gratuitas, "free gift", probably from earlier Latin gratuitus, "free, freely given" . The meaning "money given for favor or services" is first attested in the 1530s.[5]

Tipping is a widely practiced social custom in the United States. Tipping by definition is voluntary. In restaurants offering traditional table service,[61] a gratuity of 15% of the amount of a customer’s check is customary when good service is provided. In buffet-style restaurants where the server brings only beverages, 10% is customary.[62] Higher tips may be given for excellent service, and lower tips for mediocre service.

In the case of bad or rude service no tip may be given, and the restaurant manager may be notified of the problem.[63]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_(gratuity)

61.^ "Everything you need to know about how restaurant tipping works". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2014-09-01.
62.^ "Tipping for a Buffet - Peggy Post Etiquette". Good Housekeeping. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
63.^ "Rules for Restaurant Gratuities | Chron.com". Smallbusiness.chron.com. Retrieved 2014-01-22.