Isn't America like the Only Nation On Earth that waitstaff subsist on tips???
How do the eateries make a go of it?
Just like every other business, they pay their employees a wage and charge enough to cover the costs & make a profit.
I travel overseas for a living and no other place does the crazy tipping thing like the US. In most of Asia you don’t tip at all, it’s considered insulting. In Europe it’s just leave the change usually, more than 5% would be excessive. The touristy places who see a lot of Americans get hooked on the 20% plus thing though.
The US system is an outgrowth of our Harvard MBA greed at any cost mentality. Businesses figured out years ago they could shift the labor cost of their employees onto the customers and shame the customer into paying it by painting them as cheapskates if they didn’t go along. It worked and now it’s become a badge of honor to try to outdo the neighbor on how much you can tip. Meanwhile the business owner is laughing all the way to the bank because he got a bunch of suckers to take over the cost of paying his labor.
