this post was submitted on 03 Dec 2023
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ELI5

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Explain it to me like I am 5. Everybody should know what this is about.

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Tipping your landlord? (self.ELI5)
submitted 1 year ago by YashaB to c/[email protected]
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I've seen some posts about tipping landlords. I don't understand, is that really a thing? And if yes, how is it justified?

Thank you in advance.

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[–] Potatos_are_not_friends 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It's a joke on two things:

  1. In the US, tipping culture is getting excessive. We are seeing tip options everywhere, like take out orders and in food delivery apps. Some even see it in places like vending machines.

Tipping was originally seen as giving someone a little extra for going out of the way. But it's hitting a point where tipping is socially expected. So the idea of tipping a vending machine is idiotic, since it didn't do anything extra/go out of their way for anything.

  1. Landlords don't really do much besides own property and grow their investment. Often landlords are pretty well off already. And the humor is to tip them for doing literally nothing.
[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Tipping was originally seen as giving someone a little extra for going out of the way.

It was also created as a way of paying former slaves less:

After the Constitution was amended in the wake of the Civil War, slavery was ended as an institution but those who were freed from bondage were still limited in their choices. Many who did not end up sharecropping worked in menial positions, such as servants, waiters, barbers and railroad porters. These were pretty much the only occupations available to them. For restaurant workers and railroad porters, there was a catch: many employers would not actually pay these workers, under the condition that guests would offer a small tip instead.

“These industries demanded the right to basically continue slavery with a $0 wage and tip,” Jayaraman says.

[–] YashaB 1 points 1 year ago

Thank you for clearing that up. I knew tipping culture is out of hand in the states, so I thought it might be really a thing. As ridiculous as it sounds.