> I also live in Europe and tip, specially if I know that the salary of the staff heavily depends on tips.

> If I ever find the system too unfair for the workers, then I won’t go to those restaurants anymore.

Sounds like you only tip once at each restaurant then? Not paying a reasonable salary to employees and assuming they'll beg customers for extra money to make up the difference seems unfair to me.

I can't say if it's unfair or not. I would prefer every worker to get a decent salary, but no idea how they feel in countries where tipping is widespread like the US. But, if I go to a restaurant in the US, or, Argentina (where tipping is also a thing), then I'll tip, and consider the price of the food to be 10, 15 or 20% more expensive. Otherwise, I won't go, because then I am complicit with the exploitation of the workers.

The only reason they don't get a full salary is because people keep paying the difference with tips.

No, it's because of crappy labor laws

Those laws are downstream from tipping culture.

Could be, but the way to fix it is with labor laws.

Incorrect, the reason they don't get a full salary is because tipping is allowed.

If you don't tip, the worker does not magically get a salary. How would they? No, they actually make less money.

This whole "well if you think about not tipping is actually giving them more money" thing is the purest and most refined form of cope I've ever seen. It obviously doesn't work like that. Maybe if everyone did it. But you just doing it does nothing.

You're 100% allowed to not tip. What you're NOT allowed to do is not tip and then somehow try to claim you're helping the worker. You're not. Like, objectively, you're not. That's just literally not true.

Is that you, Mr. Pink?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utksPm6KgjU [NSFW]

Then give your excess money to a homeless person or donate it to Amnesty. We don't want or need the "pressured to tip" culture here.

No, homeless people should not live from tips, they should be helped by the government. I live in Belgium and tip because I'm used to (I'm from Argentina) and I know the staff is happy when I do it.

And restaurant workers should be paid by their employers. If the goal is to spread happiness then, again, the homeless person trumps the employee.

And they are in Europe, thanks to strong labour laws!