See the title... are there really no other jobs available other than serving?

I ask because people often claim servers can't just "go look for another job" or customers should know the "job market sucks." Just seems like people point to these extreme scenarios to rationalize why servers "rely on" or "work for" tips.

Are all big chains now sneakily trying to increase the tip amounts? Went to Cheesecake Factory and Red Robin Burgers over the weekend, and both places displayed Suggested Gratuity calculated on Total after Taxes. I’ve usually just gone the easy route and tipped the Suggested Gratuity amount at restaurants, but after seeing posts on this behavior recently, I decided to pay attention. And sure enough, I catch it in action. This is such a sneaky way to increase the tip amount without making it seem like so. Now I’ll be watching for this everywhere I go.

I constantly see “it’s a minimum wage, easy job”, “they should be paid minimum wage because that’s what they’re worth”. I genuinely don’t believe anyone saying that has EVER been a server or bartender. Serving is the hardest, most stressful job I’ve ever had. And my last job was in the medical field seeing 70+ patients a day. I will absolutely be tipping them because I know how hard it is. Trying to manage 8 tables at one time is insane and takes a special kind of person to do accurately.

I got takeout from a local pizza restaurant I usually place orders at through an app but they don’t have the personal pizzas on the app so sometimes if I just want that I call in the order and pay there. The cashier asked me if I wanted a receipt and I said no. I remember noticing I didn’t get prompted for a tip which I thought was odd but at this place I can’t remember if you sign the tip or do it on the card reader since I do this so infrequently.

I paid on Apple Pay so I saw the transaction instantly and that it was about almost 2 dollars higher than what I normally pay so I glanced at the menu to see if they changed their prices and saw that wasn’t the case and then got the guts to confront the cashier. He claimed I tipped almost $2 which I know I didn’t because I was never prompted and didn’t sign a receipt. If I remember correctly I think the tip is done on the receipt and not the card reader at this place so I believe even if you didn’t want a receipt you’d have to sign anyway so that could have meant he was signing in my name which is scary.

I didn’t complain in the moment because it was such a low amount, I didn’t have a lot of time, and idk how I could prove it. but I was pissed enough to leave a Google review to warn people, because I can bet you I’m not the first person he’s done this to. I was quite stunned because I always thought this was incredibly rare and never happened. Has anyone else had something like this happen?

Edit: idk why people are jumping on me and trying to gaslight me. This absolutely did happen. I usually pay 8 something dollars and my charge jumped up to $10. Am very surprised at the absolute vitriol I’ve gotten simply for sharing my story.

Its just easier for everybody of they just tell me how much to tip. So I no longer have to think about what to tip. The restaurant simply decides for me. More restaurants should do this, I wouldn't even care if they had a flat fee for service either instead of a percentage.

Hello all! I’m totally on board with the no tipping at coffee shops, weed stores (I’m in CA) etc but I’m a bit confused on sit down restaurants and delivery. Now, I very rarely do either of these but tomorrow my partner and I are going to get apps during happy hour and I’m already wondering if we should be tipping? And on the off chance I get something delivered food wise, are we to tipping the drivers? Just want some clarification from people! Thanks.

Great food, bad service - the host / manager who took the order was curt, the servers who brought the food never cracked a smile or said a word - and did not even move the plates on the table to make space for new ones. We picked ‘no tip’ when we paid on the handheld device - the waiter exclaimed ‘no tip?’ - went to complain to the manager / host who came and asked ‘no tip? We said - yes, no tip. He goes on to say ‘ok, tip the next time’. When we left we saw our waiter screaming to another waiter and pointing at us. We are polite people who organize the empty plates and cutlery after our meal to help easy cleanup in restaurants and are always nice to the servers and staff. Truly bizarre experience.

Like when going to a cafe but they only serve sweets and you have dietary restrictions? I don't want them to deal with the cost of making up food I don't want, and tips are way higher margin for the employees than food which has ingredient costs. I'm okay with tipping in exchange for a space for a time, but there isn't a clear number since nothing is written down these days. (Obviously doing so when they aren't too busy and not leaving a mess. Just buying a coffee I don't want feels like a waste.)