Where my daughter works (franchise of a nationwide chain), newly hired servers tend to get the lousiest shifts, while those that have more time under their belts work the busier ones. The latter group can make decent money, but the new hires working Tuesday lunch might only have 2-3 tables (ordering $6 lunch specials and no drinks) during a shift. On a given shift at least, it can happen that they don't make minimum wage. Since they rarely full under the minimum for a pay period, the restaurant doesn't fill in the difference.

Is it really common for restaurants to withhold CC tips like this? Where my daughter works, they are paid cash at the end of the shift for CC tips.

Servers certainly appreciate cash tips as they tend to not get reported on W-2s, but I don't think they really care if you give them a tenner vs. breaking it up into smaller bills. Cash tips aren't reported for each transaction, they are (under)reported at the end of the shift.

On a related topic, it's worth noting too that many or most restaurants keep their servers part time to avoid having to give bennies.

Slightly off topic but still on tipping. What about shuttle bus drivers to & from the airport(off airport parking) ? The driver is friendly helps with your luggage or offers. What about this person, do you tip & if so how much ?

My general guideline is tip per number of bags- 2$ for 1 bag, 1$ more for each additional. If no bags, at least tip 1-2$

Thanks for the reply. That sounds good. For those who don't know I'm retired from the airlines in Aug after approx. 34 years & I'm now driving one of these vans 3 days a week. I've never before worked in an industry that involved tipping. Honestly it's a fun job for me that I enjoy. I'm just finding that most people don't tip no matter what I do. And then once in a while I get those that are to generous

I drove a car rental shuttle for a few months back in my college days. My experience is that most people don't tip, the ones that did were usually the ones who needed help with luggage, but many of those didn't either. My feeling was that I didn't really expect tips, but was grateful when I got them. Some of the other guys were more aggressive almost standing there with their hands out.

I found people tended to tip better when the bus wasn't crowded, and especially if no other riders were around to see them tip.

That,s exactly how it,s working with me. I never like taking more than two. I,m working hard on getting myself to feel the way you did about tips and I,m never going to try to force any one to tip.

Perhaps it's changed; all I know is what was shared with me. *shrugs* Or perhaps it was peculiar to that particular restaurant brand (not just that restaurant, but the overseeing company, like Darden over Red Lobster et al).

I always split the tip so part is held back and part is reported - because the manager definitely has a general idea of how much should be circulating out there. So if I can assist in their underreporting at the end of the shift so be it - if the service was overly stellar.

And to the other poster: the IRS is as corrupt as Congress and I shall despise them as such.

The last time I was at LAX the car rental shuttle driver pulled up, door closed, got out of seat, down the two steps, opened the door with the emergency release, and had their hands on the baggage before you could realise what was going on. On to next terminal and repeat. By the time we were past the final terminal, United, we had been overtaken by just about every other company's shuttles. What a pain - and all to drive up the tip dish, no doubt.

Yes, I've brought this bag 5,000 miles today through all sorts of transport and facilities. Why do you feel I can't manage the three steps from bus door to rack ?

Hello, OP here. Thanks for all the responses, everybody.

I'm surprised there is a consensus that you should not modify tips according to state law. This type of consensus is very rare on Flyertalk! Here is the reasoning that led me to ask this question:

First things first, I hate the custom of tipping and I wish it would go away. But I realize that it is reality. In most cases, states assume that certain workers will receive a certain amount of tips, and modify their labor laws accordingly for those workers. Therefore, despite my dislike of the system, if I don't tip then I am cheating these workers of their wages.

However, in states that do not have a lower minimum wage for tipped employees, this logic no longer holds. Servers are entitled to the same wages and benefits as untipped workers. If a cashier can get by on this salary, it should be "enough" for this type of work. Therefore, by not tipping, I am not cheating anyone of their wages. Tips for these workers are a bonus, as they should be.

Based on this logic, over the last year or so I have started tipping less (around 10-15%) when traveling in the states I listed in the OP, and more (20-25%) in the rest of the country. When the minimum wage for restaurant workers ranges all the way from $2.13 to over $9, I think this is fair.