Tipping was once a novelty for service workers who deserved it, but now it seems employers have been implementing it everywhere.

Although tipping is not always mandatory, it has become so common and seems to be used repeatedly by employers that refuse to fairly compensate their workers.

We live in a country where the federal minimum wage has not been increased from $7.25 since 2009, so no doubt service workers are dependent on their tips.

“Services have to be incredibly bad for me to consider giving less than my usual tip because I know that money is essential to my service provider’s ability to pay their rent, buy food or put gas in their vehicle,” Michelle Abbott, professor of English, said.

In an already dwindling economy, employers may believe that implementing tipping for most services will better serve their employees.

“Customers being able to tip well in the current US economy or being kind enough to tip is an unreliable and inconsistent type of income,” Victoria Banks, professor of English, said.

Tipping may be viewed as a way to keep employees hardworking and polite if their tips reflect decent amounts. The current economy has no right to have anybody reliant on the generosity of customers to survive.

Being a service worker requires a lot of important skill sets and they should be compensated to reflect that. My encounter with a service worker is what persuades me to leave a tip or not. Now with tipping being so common, it makes me feel as though I am being forced to leave a tip.

Tipping should come from kindness and not an obligation from my already dwindling bank account.

To take out the guesswork of how much to tip, some establishments automatically add gratuity to the bill.

“Depending on what the mandatory tipping percentage would be to someone’s bill, the customers could have been willing to give a larger tip if they hadn’t already been charged for one,” Ashlyn Bates, laboratory manager, said.

Mandatory gratuity guarantees a wage for the server, but what about those that cannot afford the added cost?

People should not feel like they must pay more on top of their already expensive meal. Enjoying a night out should not be concerned with supporting a service worker’s paycheck.

It is understandable that we live in a world where basic wages for service workers are not livable, however, citizens should not be facing the brunt of this.