Tipping 'trick' video shared by CNBC criticised as unfair to servers

Tipping is a customary part of eating out in the US, with the accepted average typically ranging from 15 to 20 per cent.

But, according to a video from CNBC, you can save money when dining out by tipping servers less - advice that has sparked backlash on social media.

The “tipping trick,” which was first published in 2018 but shared again on Sunday, shows correspondent Zack Guzman explain how the trick could save you “over $400 a year”.

According to Guzman, who acknowledges that it is customary to tip 15 to 20 per cent, you can save money by tipping on the pre-tax amount of the bill.

Posing the question of whether you should tip on the pre-tax or post-tax amount, Guzman said his advice is a “game-changer” - as he recommends simply doubling the tax to find out the tip.

In the example he shows, doubling the tax comes out to roughly 18 per cent on his bill of $100, which would save him $4 when compared to moving the decimal point over from the total and doubling it - which would result in a 20 per cent tip.

On social media, the advice was slammed as “cheap,” with many people pointing out that servers are often underpaid and rely on tips - and that tax changes state by state.

“This… was not well thought out,” one person wrote.

Another said: “Nice! Also pushing down old ladies and stealing the change in their wallets could earn you up to $385/year! Gotta be on the lookout for these important tips on how to be the f**king worst.”

“If you’re worried about $400, maybe a better place to start is not spending $12,000 a year at restaurants,” someone else wrote.

In response to the backlash, Guzman tweeted a Twitter thread in which he defended his advice.

“It’s easy to say ‘go out less’. But people will, and 10 per cent of millennials don’t even tip,” he wrote. “Calling out a hardworking person for tipping less than 20 per cent is just as unfair as a server ‘getting screwed over’ for the services he or she provided.”

According to Guzman, what people should focus on instead is “why are working-class people being asked to subsidise a company paying its servers below minimum wage”.

He concluded his response by reminding people that “at no point do I argue not tipping a server” nor did he recommend tipping less than 15 per cent.

“Quite frankly, I was just interested in the fact that some people double the tax to arrive at a tip while others move the decimal to calculate 20 percent like me,” he wrote.