ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / ECONOMY & WORK

Customer has $250 meal with his family. Then, the restaurant asked him to leave a massive tip

Simple calculations at the end of a meal can make the experience of a delicious outing awful.
UPDATED AUG 11, 2024
Cover Image Sources: TikTok|@Mario Zelaya
Cover Image Sources: TikTok|@Mario Zelaya

Having meals at the restaurant is a fun activity for most of us, and people like to be generous with giving tips to the helpful staff who ensure that their requests are being taken care of. But normal math at how much money one might end up giving as a tip can make you go bonkers. TikTok influencer Mario Zelaya recently made a post on TikTok where he spoke about how much money goes into tipping, and how tippling culture has become a more normal practice.

Image Sources: TikTok|@Marie Zelaya
Image Sources: TikTok|@Marie Zelaya

In the United States, federal law states that the minimum hourly wage for a restaurant staff needs to be $7.25. And if a staff member is categorized as a “tipped worker” then the restaurants can pay them less than the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, since they can easily make more than 60% of the minimum wage from tip alone. What is surprising is that even the non-tipped staff in the United States expect the restaurant visitors to give them a generous tip. The practice has become quite prevalent not just in restaurants but even in bars.

Recalling a recent restaurant bill that Mario had to pay, he mentioned that the tip in the bill was more than 18% of the actual food price. For a bill amounting to $250, of which tip alone was $50. In addition to the tip, he had to pay the taxes which made total money out of his pocket $282. Doing a simple calculation at the end of the meal can make the experience of a delicious outing experience as awful. In some scenarios, it is even observed that the staff members get anxious as they are expecting a good tip for the services they offered, and eagerly look forward to it at the end.

Images Sources: Pexels|Photo by Cottonbro Studio
Images Sources: Pexels|Photo by Cottonbro Studio

It has become a common practice for restaurants to add a tip to the bill of the customers. And in most cases, the tip amounts to 20% of the total bill amount which can be a bitter experience for the customers. Federal law allows restaurants to add it, but customers have all the rights to pay it or get it waived from their bill at their discretion. That’s the reason why some bills even have it under the label discretionary service charges. However, it can be an unpleasant experience for customers to ask the restaurant manager to remove the charges from the bill. Tips are to be paid at the will of the customer if they are pleased with the service being offered by the staff. The practice of adding it to the bills default, and kind of forcing the customers to pay it is not a healthy one.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on January 27, 2024. It has since been updated.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
Apart from the discounts, Walmart also announced changes to delivery timings and updates on an AI assistant.
3 days ago
People will receive a share of the massive settlement based on the number of bars that they bought between the given dates.
3 days ago
The expert that Harrison consulted gave valuations that were closer to what the seller was asking for.
3 days ago
O'Leary's comments are backed by data showing how a vast majority of Americans need coffee to kick-start their day.
4 days ago
The man's wife refused to believe him since she was used to him playing pranks on her.
7 days ago
When told that his profit margins were low, the innovator said that he was selling the product to farmers.
7 days ago
The overlay text of the video reads, "Pov: you and your boyfriend accidentally make 20k+ profit reselling SALT on Amazon."
7 days ago
Although he does plan to take some me time, Richer has no intentions of retiring anytime soon even at 60.
Oct 28, 2024
While Rubush had guessed the word within 10 seconds, the 4-5 second pause she took before saying "WORD" cost her dearly.
Oct 28, 2024
Although the co-founder did walk away with an investment, O'Leary had some harsh words for him.
Oct 27, 2024
The woman says that she went to the store and was treated dismissively by the staff.
Oct 27, 2024
The woman tested the limits of the retail club's return policy and came out successful.
Oct 27, 2024
The crypto expert held thousands of Bitcoins and was among the first ones to advocate cryptocurrencies.
Oct 26, 2024
The expert asked the seller to explain the story behind the memorabilia before making a rare decision.
Oct 25, 2024
His girlfriend grew concerned about the amount of money he was spending.
Oct 25, 2024
Hiring of college grads has also gone down by 6% and is set to drop further according to surveys.
Oct 24, 2024
There's also an ideal time to visit for those who want to try out the maximum number of samples.
Oct 24, 2024
The creator explains that cracking product codes is the key to understanding the value of items.
Oct 23, 2024
Adam Cohen has made a name for himself in the world of tech and advertising, proving that age is no barrier to innovation.
Oct 22, 2024
The family had to spend hours sharing pictures of the gift cards to resolve the issue with Disney.
Oct 22, 2024