Q&A: Tip
Tip
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I wanted to ask: I was at a restaurant and I really wasn’t happy with the food or the service.
When the bill was brought to me, the waiter who handed it over asked me whether I wanted to “leave a tip for the waitress.” He hadn’t served me; rather, two other waitresses had taken turns serving me. I told him no and didn’t leave one, I just paid for the food.
My question is whether that is permitted, since they ask whether I want to pay and don’t obligate me. (Especially since I really wasn’t satisfied at all with the food, and only somewhat with the service.) Or perhaps because it is the common practice in the country to pay, I am obligated?
Thanks in advance.
Answer
The issue of tips is a complicated one, even in the eyes of legal experts (see what is known as the “Tips Law,” which went into effect in January 2019). In my opinion there is no obligation whatsoever to pay a tip, especially if the service did not seem reasonable to you. All the more so after the “Tips Law,” according to which the tip is part of the waiter’s salary (and if it does not reach minimum wage, the employer makes up the difference, and sometimes deducts when it goes above minimum wage). The whole idea of a tip is not a decree of Scripture. Its purpose is to encourage good service, and if you pay in any case, then you’ve thrown the baby out with the bathwater.
With God’s help, 20 Elul 5780
Or should we say the opposite? After all, “As water reflects face to face, so the heart of one person to another.” A waiter who is treated as “invisible” gives service accordingly, with a sour face and in a “just getting through it” kind of way; but a waiter who gets a small tip, and even more importantly than that, a pleasant expression and a kind word, has a much better chance of improving his level of service.
Best regards, Stereo Tip