I am not sure of the distinction between which employees should be tipped and which should not be tipped.
Currently, the minimum wage in Florida is $13.00 an hour, and the required minimum wage for tipped employees is $9.98. If the tipped employee does not make $3.02 and hour in tips, then the employer must make up the difference so that everyone makes at least $13.00 an hour.
What is the Minimum Wage for Tipped Employees in Florida? (2025)
It appears that $13 an hour is either a living wage or it is not a living wage.
If they all get at least $13 an hour - whether they work at Publix, Aldi, McDonald's, or serving tables at a small cafe in the Villages or in Wildwood or Leesburg or mowing your lawn or operating the gates in the Villages - why do people believe that those serving tables in a restaurant or small cafe deserve to be tipped and the others don't? Are the tipped employees working harder than the other workers?
I was at McDonald's recently and I was impressed at how hard the person at the front counter worked. It was a busy morning and she was taking orders, serving the food, making some coffee drinks, etc. She seemed to be really busy. I really think that she was working harder than some person serving tables at a Country Club in the Villages.
So why don't we tip these people?