1. Finance, Banking, Trade and Tax Structure
Imagine being able to go out to dinner without the stress of configuring your server's tip at the end of the meal. Citizens of Japan are granted this privilege. Tipping is very uncommon there and can even be seen as an insult. This is a polar opposite view compared to how Americans treat gratuity. In the United States the tip percentage given reflects how well you believe the waiter or waitress has performed, the quality of the food, and your dining experience overall. The difference with these two systems is, restaurants that don't encourage tipping have a service charge included with the meal price, so that there is still money being made and everyone pays the same price for each meal. In most American restaurants where tipping is expected, meal prices are lower and tipping is optional. This leaves the amount of money servers make up to the generosity of their customers. .
This controversial topic effects me personally because both jobs I have worked since the age of sixteen have been in restaurants. The hourly rate for a waitress at my current job is around five dollars an hour with unpredictable shifts that could last between 2-7 hours depending on how busy the restaurant is. In my opinion this unstable wage is unfair to employees. There are many factors that determine when a dinner or lunch service will be busy, such as events going on in that area, season, weather, day of the week, etc. At my age I am fortunate enough to not have the burdens that many of my coworkers do such as providing food and a home for their children and paying numerous bills every month. With those types of responsibilities employees deserve to get a trusted income each paycheck rather then one week having extra money to spend and another not knowing how to make ends meet. I personally, have experienced scenarios where customers have left without tipping at all affecting my tip out greatly at the end of my shift.