Business
Here’s a tip: eliminate US tipping culture and pay people a living wage | US small business
I’m here in Las Vegas for a conference where I just paid $7 for a cup of coffee and then was shamed into tipping another $1 to the server for pouring the coffee and handing it to me. Welcome to America. I feel like I’m tipping for everything, everywhere. And now it’s only going to get worse. And for that I blame President Trump.
Of course, our tipping culture was in place long before Trump took office. But now that his “no tax on tips” promise became law, our government is officially enabling it. That’s good news for tipped workers and for small-business owners who may feel less pressure to pay higher wages if their workers are getting enough gratuities. But at the same time, it’s bad news for the rest of us who will likely feel even more obligated than ever to tip.
What’s frustrating is that the tax benefits for tipped workers are not only over-hyped, they’re also temporary. Yes, workers can avoid getting taxed on their tips – but not all workers (see below) and not all their tips. If you’re eligible, you can deduct up to $25,000 of tip income each year and there are income limitations. Also, you won’t see that benefit until you file your year-end tax returns. You also still have to pay in to social security and Medicare taxes. And it’s estimated that as many as one-third of those employees eligible for this deduction will never use it because their income is so low they don’t pay any federal taxes anyway. Oh, and by the way, the deduction expires in 2028. So enjoy it while it lasts.
Also irritating is who’s eligible. The treasury department recently published a list of about 50 types of workers who can claim the tipped-wages deduction. Unfortunately, I wasn’t consulted. But if I were, then I would have been a little more particular.
For example, I would never include “digital content creators” as eligible tipped workers. Really? Now we’re tipping influencers? Like MrBeast needs more money? Given all the harm that social media has wrought on this world, it’s probably better not to encourage these people with tax incentives.
I was also surprised to see that electricians, plumbers and locksmiths who work in people’s homes are eligible for tips. These are licensed professionals performing a service. Many are independent contractors or freelancers who are quite capable of coming up with their own fees. And those who are employed aren’t cheap either. I’m not sure where the line is drawn. Should I also be tipping the staff of my accounting firm? My life insurance agent?
What exactly are “gambling and sports book writers and runners”? Who tips these people? I’m not a prude, but should we be enabling this industry in particular? Can the casinos not afford to pay these people enough?
I can’t imagine who would tip a private event planner, either. Event planners work for people who have enough money to pay for event planners. It seems silly to give these people a tax benefit for any tips on top of that.
Finally, why in the world would anyone want to encourage “self-enrichment teachers” with a tax-free tip? I would think the best way to enrich oneself is to pocket your extra money and not further enrich the self-enrichment teacher. What’s next, tipping the guy who mansplains how the infield fly rule works?
Now that I’ve listed some people who should be dropped from this benefit, it’s only fair to share a few who were unfairly left off. For example:
Postal workers. Every year we tip our postal worker. She provides a friendly, cheerful, daily service in rain, snow, sleet … well, you know the rest. Most of my friends do the same.
Flight attendants. They load bags. They carry babies. They walk around cabins during turbulence. They deal with jerks. And many don’t even start getting paid until the plane leaves the gate!
School teachers. I don’t understand why everyone wrings their hands over how to improve compensation for our teachers and yet there are no tax incentives for parents to tip them.
School bus drivers. Them, too.
Grocery store cashiers. All during Covid, while the rest of us stayed safely at home, watching Netflix and receiving our Amazon packages, the guy who ran the cash register at our local grocery store came in to work every day and did his job. His name is Emilio. Add him to the list, please.
If it were up to me, we’d be like the rest of the world and ban tips altogether. Instead of incentivizing people to tip, I’d tax tip income higher so employers would be forced to step up and just pay a fair wage. But that’s not reality in 21st-century America. So let’s just make this benefit permanent already instead of playing budgetary games and setting an expiration date near (surprise!) the next presidential election, so it can be a populist rallying point. Let’s also re-visit who is and isn’t eligible.
My final tip: when in Vegas, make your coffee in your room.
A London-based AI-native restaurant management system for hospitality businesses has raised £27 million in Series B funding, bringing total funding to £46m.
Kinnevik led the investment round for Nory, which has experienced a period of rapid growth amid the company doubling down on building AI assistants and global expansion.
The news comes just one year after the firm’s Series A, led by Accel, who also participated in this round alongside existing investors.
The business looks to help restaurants take control of their operations and profits through a comprehensive AI system covering business intelligence, inventory, workforce management and payroll.
Created by industry-insider and now-CEO Conor Sheridan, Nory is purpose-built to meet the evolving needs of the hospitality industry.
By using the platform, restaurants have been able to reduce operating costs by nearly 20% and increase core net profits by up to 50%, according to the firm.
It helps restaurant operators save over 100 hours of admin per restaurant each month by automating time-consuming back office tasks such as business analysis, digital guest engagement, rota planning, procurement, and finance.
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Working with customers ranging from independent brands to enterprise groups across the UK, Ireland and US, it has onboarded clients including Black Sheep Coffee, Jamie Oliver Group and Dave’s Hot Chicken.
The company says that the funding will fuel AI enhancements to its platform, facilitate the strategic hiring of world class data scientists, continue development of proprietary algorithms and deploy autonomous AI assistants.
It will also drive its US expansion.
“At a time when hospitality is under pressure, we are putting restaurants back in control of their profitability and their destiny,” said Sheridan.
“The future of hospitality isn’t robots or gimmicks. It’s AI that makes restaurants smarter, leaner and more profitable, with automation that frees teams up to focus on what matters: great food and even greater customer experiences.”
Jose Gaytan de Ayala, who led the investment for Kinnevik, added: “Nory is rewriting the hospitality playbook.
“As the sector faces rising costs and complexity, Nory stands apart as the only AI-native platform purpose built to help restaurants meet and overcome these headwinds.
“We were impressed by the strong customer feedback, which highlighted the quality of Nory’s platform and the meaningful ROI it delivers for customers.
“With our support, Nory will go even deeper on AI and bring the next wave of innovation to restaurant owners in the UK and beyond.”
Tampa, FL , Sept. 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ops+AI, a newly launched operations and automation company founded by entrepreneur and top-ranked podcast host Brian Lofrumento, today announced its official debut. The company introduces a streamlined approach to business growth by combining AI agents, Notion systems, Zapier automations, and custom GPTs into one cohesive infrastructure designed to serve as a “second brain” for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Ops+AI
As AI hype floods the market, entrepreneurs are piling up tools without building the operational backbone to support them. Ops+AI exists to fix that problem. Its mission is to transform operational noise into streamlined growth by blending Notion systems, Zapier automations, custom GPTs, and AI agents into an integrated “second brain for your business.”
Where Strategy Meets Automation
Ops+AI is guided by the idea that true scale happens at the intersection of strategy, systems, and speed.
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Strategy: designing businesses to grow intentionally, not reactively.
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Systems: replacing duct-taped tools with intelligent, interconnected infrastructure.
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Speed: enabling founders to move faster without sacrificing clarity.
“AI shouldn’t be loud or gimmicky,” said Ops+AI CEO and founder Brian Lofrumento. “It should be quiet power, embedded into systems that free entrepreneurs to focus on growth. That’s why we built Ops+AI.”
A Proven Foundation in a Top 1% Podcast
The company’s philosophy was born out of Lofrumento’s own journey of building the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Podcast, which has become one of the top 1% of shows worldwide with over 1,200 episodes and seven new releases each week.
Behind the scenes, a lean team has turned the show into a full-scale media company, managing pre-production, production, post-production, guest management, and a thriving entrepreneurial community hosting monthly Speakers Only events and network connections. Month after month, this operational backbone has delivered consistent growth in organic traffic and audience reach.
Ops+AI represents the codification of those same systems: precision-built infrastructure designed to help other entrepreneurs scale without chaos.
A Team Built With Intention
Ops+AI reflects more than Lofrumento’s vision. It is the product of a team deliberately assembled around clarity and design. The company’s team leverages talent from other ventures from within Lofrumento’s ecosystem, including:
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Laura Chaves, an operations strategist and key driver of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Podcast’s global growth, brings structure and discipline to every client engagement. She ensures systems aren’t just ideas on paper, but living frameworks that drive measurable results.
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Ken Parungao, brand strategist, crafted Ops+AI’s identity to mirror its philosophy: operations as continuity and flow, AI as quiet intelligence, and scale as the transformation from unfilled potential to optimized systems.
Press Release – Convergence
Mark Presnell, Managing Director at Convergence Ltd, which integrates eCommerce systems across New Zealand and Australia, says many online journeys today feel like walking into a retail store and finding no staff in sight.
AI answer engines are reshaping how customers engage with eCommerce sites, removing common barriers to conversion and creating new pressure points for digital businesses to adapt quickly.
Mark Presnell, Managing Director at Convergence Ltd, which integrates eCommerce systems across New Zealand and Australia, says many online journeys today feel like walking into a retail store and finding no staff in sight.
“Most customers don’t want to trawl through FAQs or search menus. Chatbots are often too limited to handle real buying questions. Concierge AI is different. It’s more like an informed salesperson who actually understands what you’re asking,” Presnell says.
Concierge-style AI uses retrieval augmented generation to generate accurate, brand-specific responses in natural language. It is gaining ground across both B2C and B2B environments. While B2C applications are becoming visible, the most immediate gains may lie in the B2B space. Buyers in this segment typically require complex, technical information and want quick confidence before progressing a purchase.
“B2B buyers are well informed. They come in expecting relevant, detailed answers and want them fast,” Presnell says. “An AI concierge can pull directly from a company’s own documents such as product specifications, support manuals, or contracts, and answer questions that would normally require a sales or support call.”
This matters in a landscape where buyers are increasingly anonymous, self-directed, and expect consumer-grade digital experiences even when making business decisions.
A recent Cognizant report notes that AI agents are evolving from basic automation into trusted intermediaries capable of shaping decisions and influencing revenue outcomes across customer touchpoints.
Three areas where AI concierge tools are making an impact
1. Reducing friction in complex B2B sales journeys
Presnell says AI concierge tools are particularly valuable in sectors with long buying cycles, technical products, or regulated content. When buyers cannot get quick clarity, the risk is not just delay but dropout. AI answers that are instant and precise can reduce time to confidence and support faster qualification of leads.
2. Closing the gap between marketing and sales
The questions customers ask AI agents can offer a direct lens into what content is missing, what messaging resonates, or what product details are unclear. “It is not just about answering questions. It is about learning from them,” Presnell says. “That feedback can inform marketing strategies or even product development.”
3. Scaling consistency without sacrificing control
AI concierge tools are trained on an organisation’s own content and can be moderated for tone, accuracy, and compliance. They are also configurable to avoid misinformation or unsupported responses. “We are seeing companies treat them like part of the sales team, with the same expectations around training and governance,” Presnell says.
Implementation and caution points
Integrating an AI concierge typically involves indexing approved company content, defining governance settings, and connecting with CRM and marketing platforms. Onboarding time can range from days to weeks, depending on complexity.
Presnell warns that not all systems are created equal. “You need confidence in how the AI is sourcing information, how hallucinations are prevented, and what oversight you have,” he says.
B2B firms in particular must ensure that customer data privacy, commercial sensitivity, and compliance requirements are rigorously met.
Leaders evaluating these tools should also consider whether their current site infrastructure can support real-time AI interactions and how success will be measured.
According to the World Economic Forum, the ability to operationalise AI within live customer experiences without losing brand trust will be a key differentiator in digital commerce.
Looking ahead
In Presnell’s view, AI concierge tools will become an expectation rather than a novelty.
“This is not about replacing people. It is about meeting buyers where they are,” he says. “Organisations that ignore these shifts risk becoming invisible at the very moment a customer is ready to engage.”
ABOUT
Based in Auckland but working with New Zealand companies nationwide, Convergence makes business in eCommerce simple. Experts in eCommerce integration, Convergence is responsible for creating the links between an eCommerce website and key business software systems in the cloud or on-premises. Convergence has developed its own cloud-based integration platform, CODI [Convergence Optimised Data Integration], which essentially acts as the hub between client systems and connects them.
Content Sourced from scoop.co.nz
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