I bring to you an article discussing wage inequalities, struggles, and a broken system based on merit. TLTR, this article focuses on the fact that although min wage increased to $7.25, the food industry lobbyed to cap that to approx $2.3.
I have never been a fan of tipping (though i do) for i see the burden should be placed on the owner as opposed to the client. If services are exceptional, then yes you should have that option to reward said server but for the most part, today’s tips have become mandatory.
There are important points to discuss. For example, if the food industry (or other’s such as valet) switches over to fixed costs, how will this impact the owners profit? Will this be a detriment to service?
I like tipping because it incentives my server to be nice, helpful, and make my meal a better experience. Look at what happens when you have people that deal with customers regularly where no tipping is involved…Retail anyone? In general, people that work retail make my shopping experience worse. Granted, they have to deal with a-holes like me all the time, but this doesn’t happen at restaurants. Why? Tipping, that’s why.
I think the main issue is in the U.S., waitstaff is certain states is compensated at the sub-minimum wage or federal tipped minimum wage, which is that ~$2.30/hour number you referred to (varies depending on state). Restaurants that pay above this will clearly state as such, namely that workers are fairly compensated and gratuity is not necessary (e.g. Sushi Yasuda and Per Se).
While I agree that it should be the owner that fairly compensates its workers, this is a systematic change that you are advocating in the U.S. and as such, wage policies are unlikely to change overnight or anytime soon.
For me, I am generally sympathetic to waitstaff earning minimum cash wage. For average service I tend to tip around 15%. Good service gets 18%. Then there are certain restaurants where the quality of meal to me is so much higher than the price, such as certain pockets of New York with neighborhood Italian or Chinese food. It would not be uncommon for me to leave 25-30% tip in these cases.
At the end of the day, it’s not on me to advocate a change in food industry compensation, but as I am sympathetic to hard-wroking people in that industry, and particularly in that industry where staff gets categorically underpaid in my view, it’s just my personal decision to tip adequately.
But shouldn’t that be the minimum in ANY restaurant? Even if there is no tip, the incentive for servers to be nice is repeat customers.
I don’t like tipping but I do anyways, usually 10%. I don’t see a reason to pay an extra “tax”. North America should just follow Europe’s way. Include the cost of tips in the food, so if I see burger and fries for $10, it really is $10 and not $12.
EDIT: What do you guys deem exceptional service? To me, it’s all the same. Take you to your seat, order drinks, order food, ask you how the meal is once, ask for cheque. Granted, I don’t have the money to visit high-end restaurants so maybe that would be different.
But let’s say you are at a high-end restaurant. You would be paying more tip dollar-wise if you were to order a $10 salad vs a $40 steak, even though the service you get would be the same.
I do not like the tipping system and wish the tip was built in to the price I pay for things. I hate always having to carry cash to tip this guy for carrying my bags and that guy for opening the door. I understand the argument that tipping is supposed to incentivize good service, but I do not really see that in my day to day life. I am sympathetic to waitstaff and always tip 15% to 20% regardless of the level of service (15% for really bad service but almost always the standard 20%). Are you supposed to tip 2% for bad serice, 0%?, 15%? I don’t know and I find the whole system a bit silly.
Tipping is only an effective incentive if a tip is perceived as something to be earned rather than an expectation. These days, it’s almost always expected.
According to this article, wait staff are in fact guaranteed minimum wage:
“Industry groups have argued that the $2.13 base wage is a misnomer. Every tipped worker is guaranteed at least the minimum wage of their state, after all. And it’s the employer’s legal responsibility to make up the difference between the tipped minimum cash wage and the regular minimum wage, if a server’s tips fall short.”
So, in theory, eliminating tips and enforcing minimum wage should not increase wages. The article does mention that some restaurants violate the rule above, but if they violate this rule, why wouldn’t they just violate minimum wage rules also?
But aside from that, I favor some sort of tipping system, since this incentivizes good service. From my experience, service in countries without tipping is worse. However, the mid point of tips should be recalibrated. An expectation of 15-20% for regular service is too much. Restaurants should pay servers a little bit more, and tips should be adjusted downward to center at zero.
In total, I can see why restaurants favor tipping. If tipping was eliminated and wages increased, presumably restaurants would charge more for food, thus increasing “sticker shock”. You will pay more for food if the headline price is $10, with some implicit tip, compared to if it was just $12 up front.
The original article may have some inaccuracies. The following article does a good job explaining the discrepancy between tipped wages and minimum wages:
Well there’s your problem. The difference between a $40 steak at Capital and an $18 steak at Outback is the service. Sure, Capital does have better meat and they dry-age it, blah blah…but what you’re really paying for is the service. Great service makes the experience. There’s a reason waiters at high-end restaurants make six-figures and those at Outback don’t. You’re expected to know every single one of the couple hundred wines they offer and how to pair them. Every detail about every meal offered. Gladly customize any order or even make something “off-menu” without batting an eye.
Then when your $750 bill comes you don’t even hesitate to drop (at least) $150 for the waiter. (Also, meals at nicer restaurants tend to take longer. The lower turnover means fewer tables and tips for your server so you have to pay more. It’s just the cost of fine dining.)
I waited tables for five years so I am a little biased. I was painting houses my first year of school because that paid $15/hr and I couldn’t imagine a better wage. Then I heard you could make $200/night waiting tables so I started washing dishes at a restaurant and eventually became a server.
because of my experience, I always tip. Also, in WA we get full min wage which is like $9 something. The last restaurant I worked at was pretty high end, and I usually walked out with $150-$240 a night. Not bad for 7 hours of work.
I always try to give good, honest service. I get really uncomfortable with sales, so I tried to make it a personal connection kind of thing. And if I saw someone sticking out like a sore thumb, like a young couple who were clearly clueless and couldn’t afford to eat there, have plastic smiles and order one salad and say they’re really full, I usually told them (nicely) I could recommend a better place. I don’t want to waste my time, and they’re taking up valuable table space too. I don’t know, I think that’s part of good service too, but I wasn’t necessarily getting paid for that.
I was mean to anyone that treated me like garbage though. Never spat in food, but gave check really early or ignored them. I don’t care if they didn’t pay. People who treat waitstaff badly are the worst.
It was fun though. I really liked waiting tables. But I would never have done it if it didn’t pay so well. Of course, it really depends on where you worked. I worked at a place where I made less than $100 a day, I lasted a few weeks there and got out. Now, I’m not saying I’m the best waitstaff ever, but I’m pretty good. If I knew I would only make $9 something an hour doing the same job where I was making the equivalent of $30/hour, I would never do that job. The people willing to take those jobs will be giving you subway/gas station service with your steak. And then all the cheap asses are going to complain about the lack of service.
$750!? How often do you go to restaurants like these? NYC I’m assuming?
She’s not the first one either. There was another girl who took advantage of guys but I remembered it was funny because one guy that took her out knew what she was up to and actually dashed, leaving her with the bill.
this. When my man Luigi at West Hollywood’s Cecconis sees my face in the crowd, he clears the bar of hipsters by telling them the seat is reserved and fixes my negroni without me even ordering. He can expect 20%+ anytime