I can only speak for how things are in the US (and for everyone saying so, of COURSE our economic and worker situation is messed up, it's borderline criminal, but realize it's what we are working with over here). In any sit-down restaurant where a waiter/waitress takes your order, refills you beverages, and takes care of your meal, it is considered a fairly serious insult to not tip someone. Workers aren't even making gas money off their wage in alot of cases. A dollar or two is the BARE minimum that would be considered socially acceptable and depending on the size of the bill that would also be viewed as insulting in some cases. 10-15% is pretty good in most cases, at 20% and above you are feeling great about it. Again, I did this work for over a year and some days I walked home with $10, and some with over $150. It's stressful to say the least if you rely on it for your livelihood.
There was a blotch on my screen near the i in the title (and I didn't really consider the s). Anyways, it looked like it was asking if Walter should be tipped. My answer to that would be no. I don't think I like this Walter fellow
Tipping is a good system on the chance that you actually get abnormally bad service. One time I had service that was so bad that I left a penny for the tip. I wanted the server to know without a doubt that I didn't simply forget the tip.
Recently I was at a restaurant and the waiter came to me with the bill. Apparently they had increased the prices (at least on the things I had happened to have just eaten) by 25%. They just had done this just that day, but hadn't replaced the menus (which still had the old prices on them). Anyways, I had waited at this place for about 15 minutes for a friend before even ordering. Between that and the hour or so we spent in the restaurant you'd think he would come over and informed us of this price increase. Nope. He claimed he "forgot" but there were only like maybe 5 other tables that were occupied at all during this period. Anyways if he had just forgot that would have honestly been one thing, but we ended up having to argue to him for probably a good three to four minutes that it was unreasonable to expect us to pay this increase (and he honestly stood there unsure of what to do and came across as expecting us to just suck it up and pay). Needless to say he didn't get a good tip.
Where I live, servers receive at least minimum wage, but you're still expected to tip a decent amount (I think 15% is pretty common). Now I used to work in a restaurant, but as a cook. There was no categorical difference between the wages of servers and cooks, meaning that servers on average will earn more than cooks once you factor in tips. I never understood why servers deserved to earn more than us. A lot of people might say "because they have to deal with customers", but I would counter that that is part and parcel of the job. It'd be like a cook expecting a little bonus for each table they fed, on top of their wages. Not to mention all the jobs that require dealing with customers that don't get tips.
Now, I am not against tipping completely, but rather the fact that tipping seems to be assumed. As in, you are expected to tip by default, and only if service is bad does that tip go away (and even then people might tip, just a lot smaller). I would rather have it that tipping be more or less reserved for rewarding exceptional service.
I still tip, but mostly because people label you as a cheap bastard if you don't. But I am a little bitter about it
There was a blotch on my screen near the i in the title (and I didn't really consider the s). Anyways, it looked like it was asking if Walter should be tipped. My answer to that would be no. I don't think I like this Walter fellow
Hey! My Friends name is Walters!(and he always gets better tips than I do.)
Where I live, servers receive at least minimum wage, but you're still expected to tip a decent amount (I think 15% is pretty common). Now I used to work in a restaurant, but as a cook. There was no categorical difference between the wages of servers and cooks. I never understood why servers deserved to earn more than us. A lot of people might say "because they have to deal with customers", but I would counter that that is part and parcel of the job. It'd be like a cook expecting a little bonus for each table they fed, on top of their wages. Not to mention all the jobs that require dealing with customers that don't get tips.
I know a lot of places pool the tips and redistribute it to include the kitchen staff. Hopefully in that system if there are bad servers, they would get yelled at by their coworkers.
Where I live, servers receive at least minimum wage, but you're still expected to tip a decent amount (I think 15% is pretty common). Now I used to work in a restaurant, but as a cook. There was no categorical difference between the wages of servers and cooks. I never understood why servers deserved to earn more than us. A lot of people might say "because they have to deal with customers", but I would counter that that is part and parcel of the job. It'd be like a cook expecting a little bonus for each table they fed, on top of their wages. Not to mention all the jobs that require dealing with customers that don't get tips.
I know a lot of places pool the tips and redistribute it to include the kitchen staff. Hopefully in that system if there are bad servers, they would get yelled at by their coworkers.
Yep, I think the restaurant I worked at might have been the only restaurant in town that didn't have some sort of tip redistribution. Also, my restaurant did actually have a cup labelled "tips for cooks" by the till. I think the idea was that people getting take-out could tip the cooks (as it doesn't really make sense to tip the server in that case), or if someone just really liked their food. However, it was a joke. Most of the time people treated it more like a 'take a nickel, leave a nickel' jar. In 4 years I probably made like $100 in tips.
Getting political here for a moment, I believe that raising the minimum wage (the standard, not specifically waiting minimum wage) does adversely affect employment. However, I also think that the trickle down method is stupid. It doesn't even sound effective.
Getting back on topic, I've heard that in Japan tips are happily excepted, but not the norm. Unlike in Sweden, apparently. I don't honestly understand why servers in Sweden would think you're a schmuck for that. I know, cultural differences and all, but you're getting paid more. Why're you complaining?
I said some would laugh about it. It's a lot likelier people would just get offended (allthough they might accept it anyway out of politeness) - we generally don't like handouts and don't appreciate people making us feel like we're beggars.
The people who laugh st others behind their backs are obviously rude dicks, but it's what you can expects from some people. You aren't doing them any favours, and they basically see it as having tricked you.
But again, my experience in the field isn't the biggest. I haven't worked in it myself, just hung out with people who do.
Waiters should be tipped, but only if they behave properly. I mean, a bad-mannered, foul-mood, ill-tempered individual, who treats you not as a customer but as a burden instead, however bad/unlucky his affairs are, and even if other people are to blame for this (like his/her employer...), does not deserve any extra. It is not that hard to smile at, welcome, treat nicely other people, even if it might not be genuine, but as an obligation of your work, or rules of workplace. Customers can be angry or sad themselves, and if a waiter/waitress is kind and reassuring to them, they can even feel better, more relaxed, and consider even staying some more and buying more stuff.
I tip, usually. But only when they do not help ruin my mood further. Bad quality food/drink/service i can forgive, but never ugly manners.
Absolutely agree. There's no excuse for poor service. If a waiter pulls that kind of crap, they should count themselves lucky if they're still employed at the end of their shift.
I've worked in customer service and food service specifically in the past. I think that, in an ideal world, there would be no tipping. Tipping is essentially the business owner demanding that the customers pay a portion of their employees' wages directly while appearing more attractive due to lower prices. I don't think the servers should be payed less, they should be payed as much as they ultimately make now but should be payed by the owner of the establishment.
The mentality that restaurant prices would go up if tips didn't exist just shows the uncertainty of tipping. It's taking a part of the money that the servers are owed and telling them that the customers are going to maybe supply that. If people are tipping appropriately then doing away with tipping doesn't actually increase the price of eating out, it just increases the price for those that currently don't tip while slightly decreasing it for those that currently do.
Some say that tipping encourages good performance, but this doesn't really hold up under scrutiny as workers are expected to perform well whether they are interacting with customers or not. If a server is performing poorly or treating customers poorly (as customer service is a primary function of their job), then the customer can complain and the server's job security is threatened, which is the case when anyone doesn't do their job properly. Adding in the layer of tipping just seems to me to be an unhealthy power dynamic wherein certain types of customers enjoy the power of holding that tip over their server's head as they know that the server relies on tips and that it's entirely at their discretion whether or not they'll provide it. Others just enjoy that it isn't mandatory as they can simply pay less by not tipping and nothing can really by done about it. Also, many places pool tips which makes them even more pointless.
There are laws that require employees to be paid a reasonable amount and to be treated reasonably by their employers, but a customer isn't required to pay a tip, so forcing someone's livelihood to be dependent upon the discretion of unregulated customers runs contrary to the spirit of all other types of employment. I think that the pay of tipped positions should be increased to what they ultimately make on average now, including tips. In the case of servers, the price to eat at a restaurant would be raised accordingly, but for a majority of people this would mean paying the same amount or slightly less, the servers would be earning the same amount (but it would feel more secure and be regulated), and the only real change would by the removal of an oddly exploitable system that seems to do more harm than good overall. I don't see this happening anytime soon, but it seems ideal to me.
I could be wrong, but I think I remember reading that if a server is still making less than minimum wage after tips, the employer is obligated to supplement that server's wages equal to the difference.
Also, regarding the idea that tipping encourages good performance: I'm pretty sure there have been studies done that found that physical attractiveness (among other things) plays as large a role (or larger) than performance.
First. Minimum wage in Britain is to be boosted to £8 so $13 dollars per hour. So in a quiet pub. Carrying the platter without dropping it may be the only thing they will be asked to do. Also a busy pub may have waiters rushing around like olympian sprinters.
Also in Britain, tips can be collected by the company and kept by the company.
Giving tips in Blighty follow these rules.
1. Judge. Do they deserve it? Crud service = no tip. Maybe food was late, but they still kept you in the loop and the drinks flowing. Or entertained the little gnome... Indifference normally leads to no tip.
2. Ask if they get to keep there tips. You will get some interesting answers here. A tip box is actually quite common, where all the tips are collected and split to all staff, including minor kitchen staff. Another surprising one is "Oh. It's included in the bill" If you hear these words, they are obliged to remove it if you ask. And yes, they can do it, as long as it is clearly written on the bill. I always have them take it off, then tip. Charged tips go to the company in most cases.
3. Tip 10% Anymore is seen as extravagant. Any less quite pointless. Always tip in cash. Even if you have paid for the meal on the card. Tip using a card usually means the company gets the money and not the waiter person.
I actually teach kids to do this... If there is a reasonable step I have missed let me know.
Tipping is a good system on the chance that you actually get abnormally bad service. One time I had service that was so bad that I left a penny for the tip. I wanted the server to know without a doubt that I didn't simply forget the tip.
Recently I was at a restaurant and the waiter came to me with the bill. Apparently they had increased the prices (at least on the things I had happened to have just eaten) by 25%. They just had done this just that day, but hadn't replaced the menus (which still had the old prices on them). Anyways, I had waited at this place for about 15 minutes for a friend before even ordering. Between that and the hour or so we spent in the restaurant you'd think he would come over and informed us of this price increase. Nope. He claimed he "forgot" but there were only like maybe 5 other tables that were occupied at all during this period. Anyways if he had just forgot that would have honestly been one thing, but we ended up having to argue to him for probably a good three to four minutes that it was unreasonable to expect us to pay this increase (and he honestly stood there unsure of what to do and came across as expecting us to just suck it up and pay). Needless to say he didn't get a good tip.
This is actually illigal in Canada. I would of told them to call the cops and have the restaurant charged with fraud when they arrived.
And always tip in North America. Think of it as you paying for the service the person is providing. 5-10% for lousy service 12-15% for good service. 15-20% for great service. 25+ if they something extraordinary for you.
In the US, I only tip less than 20% if the service was truly lousy. I would rather that gratuity be built into the server's wages, though; there's something about obligatory tips that makes me feel like I'm holding someone's fate in my wallet, which makes me uncomfortable. I don't want to end my meal by assessing the server's manners; at the end of the meal I want to pay my bill and leave.
Some people might enjoy leaving a good tip; to me, it's an extra step that detracts from my dining experience. When my wife and I traveled in Italy for our honeymoon, tips weren't expected in the same way they are in the US. And eating at a restaurant was always much more pleasant as a result.
Tipping is a good system on the chance that you actually get abnormally bad service. One time I had service that was so bad that I left a penny for the tip. I wanted the server to know without a doubt that I didn't simply forget the tip.
Recently I was at a restaurant and the waiter came to me with the bill. Apparently they had increased the prices (at least on the things I had happened to have just eaten) by 25%. They just had done this just that day, but hadn't replaced the menus (which still had the old prices on them). Anyways, I had waited at this place for about 15 minutes for a friend before even ordering. Between that and the hour or so we spent in the restaurant you'd think he would come over and informed us of this price increase. Nope. He claimed he "forgot" but there were only like maybe 5 other tables that were occupied at all during this period. Anyways if he had just forgot that would have honestly been one thing, but we ended up having to argue to him for probably a good three to four minutes that it was unreasonable to expect us to pay this increase (and he honestly stood there unsure of what to do and came across as expecting us to just suck it up and pay). Needless to say he didn't get a good tip.
This is actually illigal in Canada. I would of told them to call the cops and have the restaurant charged with fraud when they arrived.
And always tip in North America. Think of it as you paying for the service the person is providing. 5-10% for lousy service 12-15% for good service. 15-20% for great service. 25+ if they something extraordinary for you.
I believe our tip was a $1 on what ended up being a $33 bill. I can live with it. The particular bar was called Pauper's Pub (its near Bathurst and Bloor) and I just won't ever go back there again.
I give 17% tip as a standard because I like being nicer than 15%, but am too poor to do 20% everywhere. That said, one place I (usually) tip 50%+ is waffle house. The staff is always so friendly and I just always feel really generous when there. Besides, my average ticket is, like, $10. It's not exactly breaking the bank to leave a good tip on that.
Economics is a science, and this is nothing more than a disproven hypothesis.
@jackjack Hordes of respected economists would wholeheartedly disagree with this sentence. The Noble Prize in economics have gone to many people... many who entirely disagree on core issues.
In many sciences, you can prove and disprove a hypothesis and find the best way to apply certain principles. Economics is often the opposite of this. Some principles that work in Industry A do not work in Industry B.
Economics is often counter-intuitive. Science is to ("the world is flat or else all we'd fall off, right?") but economics takes it to a whole new level on many things. My economics professor from my college days actually wrote an entire REALLY INTERESTING book about this. The name sums the counter-intuitive nature of economic study perfectly
The minimum wage is actually a very good illustration of this.
When someone hears that the minimum wage for waiters is just $2.13 (its actually a lot higher in most states, but regardless) I am not surprised to hear reactions like the one @Corvino had
Bloody hell, $2.13 minimum wage for tipped jobs? That's outrageous, and a far bigger issue in itself than tipping. How are waiters around the US not storming Capitol Hill in outrage?
The mean wage for a waiter in 2013 in the United States as a whole was $10.04. The median was $8.94.
Both figures are significantly higher than what one would make as a minimum wage employee: $7.25 (the national minimum wage, as most states have higher minimum wages)
"Oh, but Boo, that is an average and median, surely people on the lower end make below minimum wage"
When you hear that argument it strikes you as truth. It just sounds right. But... its not! The 10 percentile wage for waiters is actually 7.84, still a full 50 cents/hour over the minimum wage.
"But surely there must be a difference on the national level, since some states have higher minimum wages than others for waiters"
Again, that sounds right. But... it is actually not.
For example lets take two states: 1. Massachusetts where the minimum wage for tipped employees is a "measly" 2.63 2. Nevada where tipped employees have a minimum wage of 8.25... that is actually significantly higher than the national minimum wage for ALL labor
Surely there is a disparity in income between waiters in these two states, right?
Correct, there IS indeed a disparity... but not the one you would expect. The average waiter in Nevada makes 10.71 dollars an hour. In Massachusetts the mean is 12.88!
Not what you'd expect, right? Going by such disparities in outcomes, it is easy to see why economics is not a science. In my opinion, it being treated like a science has had many negative effects. You need look no further than the crash of 2008 to see why treating in economists as scientists is a Bad Idea. Science works well as a predictor. If something worked in the past, it will work again in the future as long as it is a similar situation. Force will always equal mass x velocity Water will always move toward a higher solute concentration gradient Will raising the minimum wage always increase income? No, but sometimes it will Will raising the minimum wage always decrease employment? No, but sometimes it will
Economics, like all "political sciences", are a product of narrative. It is more politics than science, and widely reported data is almost always mired in ideology.
My biggest concern with viewing economics as a science is that it can lead to treating individuals as a statistic. For example, @Isandir states that there are studies that show the effect of raising the minimum wage has on employment may be less than what would be expected, but that the least productive workers (usually those with highschool degrees or less) will be the first to lose their job. Well, the effect of the minimum wage on employment has been varied. The CBO predicts the proposed 10.10 wage would cost 500,000 jobs. Overall, someone might see that and think, as Isandir mentioned, that the increased spending money of workers who would see a wage hike would offset this for The Economy as a whole. I have a small issue with this way of thinking. First, what makes up The Economy? I'll tell you: us. What people produce and what they consume, be it products or labor. But what does it mean when there might be a slight net gain for The Economy in general for those who actually do lose their job? These are real people, not just numbers in an equations or a table that has a + sign in one column and a - sign in another. It is a very different story when you view people as the "units" in your economic equation. Extra spending money may add up to a small benefit in general, with the gains small but dispersed among many. Losing your job, however, can make the massive difference in living conditions that will scare some people. If someone were to starve you of food, would them saying "but there is little famine" be of much comfort?
Long story short: Economics is not always scientific, and in some ways is more complicated than astrophysics. Sometimes it is intuitive, some times it is counter-intuitive. It is not as reliable as most sciences. When you put your faith in a scientist's faulty models, a space shuttle can blow up. When a nation places its faith in an economists faulty models, the entire economy can blow up! Luckily, the market has several self-correcting mechanisms that can keep things flowing. It is possible to tweak it to your benefit, and learn from mistakes, but it is important to understand that there are almost no solutions. Only trade-offs that need to be carefully considered.
As far as tipping is concerned, I usually give as much as I can (usually around 20%).
From what I understand it is a cultural differences. Here in the States if you don't give you are considered a Bad Person. I would usually agree with this sentiment. It is expected, and if you don't your friends and colleagues might look down on you. I know that people in my groups of friends keep track of who is a good tipper and who isn't.
Yet when I go abroad, however, it is almost never expected. When I was in Oxford I tried to leave a tip and it was returned to me as change . When I left one in Paris the waiter seemed to be very surprised and quite happy/thankful. I have visited Greece a billion times yet have never left a tip. I guess its is just a different way of doing things.
I doubt the Europeans know about it, but has anyone else in the U.S. heard about Seattle's minimum wage increase? It all started when the workers at the Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) airport got their wages bumped up to 15 dollars an hour; now the rest of the city is following suit. And as far as I understand, it's for a lot of entry-level jobs, from retail workers to waiters to fast-food servers and more.
You can read more about it here, and about the lawsuit that's been filed against the city here.
I, for one, would like to see a minimum wage increase (I mean, who wouldn't, right?), but I do think that 15 dollars an hour is way too much. Still, it'll be interesting to see what happens, if it doesn't get shut down from the lawsuit. (I've heard no update about this suit, and it was filed over the summer. Stuff takes time, yatta yatta.)
I, personally, don't think it should be expected, or required, of the customer, to the extent that it is in the US. I certainly wouldn't want to ban it, but I don't like the idea that it's seen as an automatic thing, and that they expect it off you no matter what, either.
Ha, I must say it's quite odd to hear arguments that $15 an hour is too much. Mind you, I'm pretty sure that Australia has one of the most generous minimum wages in the world from what I've gathered. For an entry level waiter (adult) in a full time position, the minimum hourly wage is $17.35 or thereabouts, plus conditions such as sick leave, etc...for casual staff there's a loading of 25% which brings the minimum to over $21 an hour... Yeah our dollar is lower then the US $ but that's still a substantial increase on wages...which explains why tipping is largely non-existent here...sure most places have a tip jar, but it's by no means expected and sometimes actively discouraged by businesses. Mind you, the cost of eating out is far, far more expensive here that in most places as well. Plus, of course, Aussies are notorious impolite tightarses, so we don't tip! ;-)
@rufus_hobart It is not the best comparison between the United States and Australia simply on the grounds that your cost of living would be the subject of a horror movie in the States!
If I remember correctly, you consumer goods cost almost 25% more on average! The only place that would be comparable in the States is Hawaii
Heh, all very valid points Boo, and yes our cost of living expenses does leave a lot to be desired in comparison and cancels out our high wages... I think it's been mentioned somewhere before but we refer to it as the Australia Tax, a ridiculous markup on goods that are cheap as chips elsewhere, something that globalisation and free trade agreements were supposed to negate....but anyway, all that killer wildlife is what we pay a premium for, it's a privilege to be living in danger from exotic death, you know!
@booinyoureyes You mean F = ma not mv Generally F = d/dt P = d/dt (mv), which may be what you were thinking. (also, your description of diffusion is weird, but you probably mean the right thing)
As for economics, some aspects of it are hard science, but others aren't at all. It is indeed important to understand this.
tipping is a social norm. it's an integral part of what it means to go to an establishment and be served. wanting to be served and not being prepared to tip is basically cheating this code and it's rightly looked upon as disgraceful.
if you think the norm makes no sense, change it by opening yourself a restaurant or cafe that works on a different basis. other than that, you must follow the unwritten rules of civilized conduct if you don't want to be seen as a douche.
...and that's precisely what the word *should* means. if you don't care about the above, then the question "should i do this" (= "is this socially acceptable?") doesn't pertain. another, reasonable, question might be: "should i care about being a douche in this instance"
but if you want to both behave in a douchy way and believe you are doing what you *should* then you are in a contradiction.
Comments
Now, I am not against tipping completely, but rather the fact that tipping seems to be assumed. As in, you are expected to tip by default, and only if service is bad does that tip go away (and even then people might tip, just a lot smaller). I would rather have it that tipping be more or less reserved for rewarding exceptional service.
I still tip, but mostly because people label you as a cheap bastard if you don't. But I am a little bitter about it
The people who laugh st others behind their backs are obviously rude dicks, but it's what you can expects from some people. You aren't doing them any favours, and they basically see it as having tricked you.
But again, my experience in the field isn't the biggest. I haven't worked in it myself, just hung out with people who do.
I tip, usually. But only when they do not help ruin my mood further. Bad quality food/drink/service i can forgive, but never ugly manners.
The mentality that restaurant prices would go up if tips didn't exist just shows the uncertainty of tipping. It's taking a part of the money that the servers are owed and telling them that the customers are going to maybe supply that. If people are tipping appropriately then doing away with tipping doesn't actually increase the price of eating out, it just increases the price for those that currently don't tip while slightly decreasing it for those that currently do.
Some say that tipping encourages good performance, but this doesn't really hold up under scrutiny as workers are expected to perform well whether they are interacting with customers or not. If a server is performing poorly or treating customers poorly (as customer service is a primary function of their job), then the customer can complain and the server's job security is threatened, which is the case when anyone doesn't do their job properly. Adding in the layer of tipping just seems to me to be an unhealthy power dynamic wherein certain types of customers enjoy the power of holding that tip over their server's head as they know that the server relies on tips and that it's entirely at their discretion whether or not they'll provide it. Others just enjoy that it isn't mandatory as they can simply pay less by not tipping and nothing can really by done about it. Also, many places pool tips which makes them even more pointless.
There are laws that require employees to be paid a reasonable amount and to be treated reasonably by their employers, but a customer isn't required to pay a tip, so forcing someone's livelihood to be dependent upon the discretion of unregulated customers runs contrary to the spirit of all other types of employment. I think that the pay of tipped positions should be increased to what they ultimately make on average now, including tips. In the case of servers, the price to eat at a restaurant would be raised accordingly, but for a majority of people this would mean paying the same amount or slightly less, the servers would be earning the same amount (but it would feel more secure and be regulated), and the only real change would by the removal of an oddly exploitable system that seems to do more harm than good overall. I don't see this happening anytime soon, but it seems ideal to me.
Also, regarding the idea that tipping encourages good performance: I'm pretty sure there have been studies done that found that physical attractiveness (among other things) plays as large a role (or larger) than performance.
Also in Britain, tips can be collected by the company and kept by the company.
Giving tips in Blighty follow these rules.
1. Judge. Do they deserve it? Crud service = no tip. Maybe food was late, but they still kept you in the loop and the drinks flowing. Or entertained the little gnome... Indifference normally leads to no tip.
2. Ask if they get to keep there tips. You will get some interesting answers here. A tip box is actually quite common, where all the tips are collected and split to all staff, including minor kitchen staff. Another surprising one is "Oh. It's included in the bill" If you hear these words, they are obliged to remove it if you ask. And yes, they can do it, as long as it is clearly written on the bill. I always have them take it off, then tip. Charged tips go to the company in most cases.
3. Tip 10% Anymore is seen as extravagant. Any less quite pointless. Always tip in cash. Even if you have paid for the meal on the card. Tip using a card usually means the company gets the money and not the waiter person.
I actually teach kids to do this... If there is a reasonable step I have missed let me know.
And always tip in North America. Think of it as you paying for the service the person is providing. 5-10% for lousy service 12-15% for good service. 15-20% for great service. 25+ if they something extraordinary for you.
Some people might enjoy leaving a good tip; to me, it's an extra step that detracts from my dining experience. When my wife and I traveled in Italy for our honeymoon, tips weren't expected in the same way they are in the US. And eating at a restaurant was always much more pleasant as a result.
Hordes of respected economists would wholeheartedly disagree with this sentence. The Noble Prize in economics have gone to many people... many who entirely disagree on core issues.
In many sciences, you can prove and disprove a hypothesis and find the best way to apply certain principles. Economics is often the opposite of this. Some principles that work in Industry A do not work in Industry B.
Economics is often counter-intuitive. Science is to ("the world is flat or else all we'd fall off, right?") but economics takes it to a whole new level on many things. My economics professor from my college days actually wrote an entire REALLY INTERESTING book about this. The name sums the counter-intuitive nature of economic study perfectly
The minimum wage is actually a very good illustration of this.
When someone hears that the minimum wage for waiters is just $2.13 (its actually a lot higher in most states, but regardless) I am not surprised to hear reactions like the one @Corvino had However, closer analysis tells a different story. Let's look at the statistics:http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes353031.htm
The mean wage for a waiter in 2013 in the United States as a whole was $10.04. The median was $8.94.
Both figures are significantly higher than what one would make as a minimum wage employee: $7.25 (the national minimum wage, as most states have higher minimum wages)
"Oh, but Boo, that is an average and median, surely people on the lower end make below minimum wage"
When you hear that argument it strikes you as truth. It just sounds right. But... its not! The 10 percentile wage for waiters is actually 7.84, still a full 50 cents/hour over the minimum wage.
"But surely there must be a difference on the national level, since some states have higher minimum wages than others for waiters"
Again, that sounds right. But... it is actually not.
For example lets take two states:
1. Massachusetts where the minimum wage for tipped employees is a "measly" 2.63
2. Nevada where tipped employees have a minimum wage of 8.25... that is actually significantly higher than the national minimum wage for ALL labor
Surely there is a disparity in income between waiters in these two states, right?
Correct, there IS indeed a disparity... but not the one you would expect. The average waiter in Nevada makes 10.71 dollars an hour. In Massachusetts the mean is 12.88!
Not what you'd expect, right? Going by such disparities in outcomes, it is easy to see why economics is not a science. In my opinion, it being treated like a science has had many negative effects. You need look no further than the crash of 2008 to see why treating in economists as scientists is a Bad Idea. Science works well as a predictor. If something worked in the past, it will work again in the future as long as it is a similar situation.
Force will always equal mass x velocity
Water will always move toward a higher solute concentration gradient
Will raising the minimum wage always increase income? No, but sometimes it will
Will raising the minimum wage always decrease employment? No, but sometimes it will
Economics, like all "political sciences", are a product of narrative. It is more politics than science, and widely reported data is almost always mired in ideology.
My biggest concern with viewing economics as a science is that it can lead to treating individuals as a statistic. For example, @Isandir states that there are studies that show the effect of raising the minimum wage has on employment may be less than what would be expected, but that the least productive workers (usually those with highschool degrees or less) will be the first to lose their job.
Well, the effect of the minimum wage on employment has been varied. The CBO predicts the proposed 10.10 wage would cost 500,000 jobs. Overall, someone might see that and think, as Isandir mentioned, that the increased spending money of workers who would see a wage hike would offset this for The Economy as a whole.
I have a small issue with this way of thinking. First, what makes up The Economy? I'll tell you: us. What people produce and what they consume, be it products or labor. But what does it mean when there might be a slight net gain for The Economy in general for those who actually do lose their job? These are real people, not just numbers in an equations or a table that has a + sign in one column and a - sign in another. It is a very different story when you view people as the "units" in your economic equation. Extra spending money may add up to a small benefit in general, with the gains small but dispersed among many. Losing your job, however, can make the massive difference in living conditions that will scare some people.
If someone were to starve you of food, would them saying "but there is little famine" be of much comfort?
Long story short: Economics is not always scientific, and in some ways is more complicated than astrophysics. Sometimes it is intuitive, some times it is counter-intuitive. It is not as reliable as most sciences. When you put your faith in a scientist's faulty models, a space shuttle can blow up. When a nation places its faith in an economists faulty models, the entire economy can blow up!
Luckily, the market has several self-correcting mechanisms that can keep things flowing. It is possible to tweak it to your benefit, and learn from mistakes, but it is important to understand that there are almost no solutions. Only trade-offs that need to be carefully considered.
From what I understand it is a cultural differences. Here in the States if you don't give you are considered a Bad Person. I would usually agree with this sentiment. It is expected, and if you don't your friends and colleagues might look down on you. I know that people in my groups of friends keep track of who is a good tipper and who isn't.
Yet when I go abroad, however, it is almost never expected. When I was in Oxford I tried to leave a tip and it was returned to me as change
Also, Americans happen to also be the most generous apparently: http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12/11/which-is-the-worlds-most-generous-nation/
AMERICA.... f@$# yeah! :P
You can read more about it here, and about the lawsuit that's been filed against the city here.
I, for one, would like to see a minimum wage increase (I mean, who wouldn't, right?), but I do think that 15 dollars an hour is way too much. Still, it'll be interesting to see what happens, if it doesn't get shut down from the lawsuit. (I've heard no update about this suit, and it was filed over the summer. Stuff takes time, yatta yatta.)
If I remember correctly, you consumer goods cost almost 25% more on average! The only place that would be comparable in the States is Hawaii
edit: it seems the difference has gotten bigger since I graduated 0.o
You Aussies pay 28% more than us on average on consumer goods, and 32% more on rent
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=Australia&country2=United+States
You'd think it would be cheaper to live in a place that is a quarter desert and is full of crazy wildlife that is trying to kill you!
As for economics, some aspects of it are hard science, but others aren't at all. It is indeed important to understand this.
wanting to be served and not being prepared to tip is basically cheating this code and it's rightly looked upon as disgraceful.
if you think the norm makes no sense, change it by opening yourself a restaurant or cafe that works on a different basis. other than that, you must follow the unwritten rules of civilized conduct if you don't want to be seen as a douche.
...and that's precisely what the word *should* means. if you don't care about the above, then the question "should i do this" (= "is this socially acceptable?") doesn't pertain.
another, reasonable, question might be: "should i care about being a douche in this instance"
but if you want to both behave in a douchy way and believe you are doing what you *should* then you are in a contradiction.