GoKawiilSome US restaurants scrap tipping to pay staff flat hourly wages instead
A growing number of US restaurants are eliminating tipping and replacing it with fixed hourly pay or built-in service charges. Workers say tips only cover the hours spent serving customers, leaving unpaid or minimum-wage time for prep and closing duties before and after service.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Tipping culture has long left US restaurant wages unpredictable and tied to customer generosity rather than actual hours worked. Moving to flat wages could offer staff more financial stability, but it also challenges a deeply embedded American dining norm and may reshape pricing and staff income expectations industry-wide.
- Some restaurants are ending tipping in favor of flat hourly wages
- Staff say tips don't cover non-service hours like setup and closing
- The shift could change wage stability and dining costs across the industry
Square Reader for contactless and chip — If you run a restaurant or cafe rethinking tipping and service charges, Square's card reader lets you set up your own checkout flow, including whether tip prompts appear at all. It's a compact, widely used point-of-sale tool for small food businesses.
See Square Reader for contactless and chip on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: bbc.com — Suzanne Bearne, 2026-08-25
Published there as: “Why some US restaurants are banning tips”
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