Thoughts on Tipping?

[ChicosBailBonds]

I cannot think of an industry that is less dominated by corporations than bars and restaurants.

Agree, most are mom and pop joints.  The corp ones tend to be fast food, where tipping isn't done.  Obviously exceptions with chain, sit down places.

I'm all for eliminating tips and taxing these people the way everyone else is taxed.  In fact, I'm shocked that the revenue grabbers in the gov't haven't made this law so they can get more $$$$

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Resevoir Dogs clip should be in here

That's a buck a piece.

[warriorchick]

I cannot think of an industry that is less dominated by corporations than bars and restaurants.

And I have worked for all sorts of organizations, and I can tell you that privately-held businesses, as a general rule, tend to be far less ethical and are more likely to rip off employees than publicly-held corporations.  This is especially true if the company is owned by one person or family. 

[keefe]

And I have worked for all sorts of organizations, and I can tell you that privately-held businesses, as a general rule, tend to be far less ethical and are more likely to rip off employees than publicly-held corporations.  This is especially true if the company is owned by one person or family.

[real chili 83]

I have a neighbor that has been a server her whole life.  She works the breakfast and lunch shift, m-f.  She makes great tips and a very respectable living and is very happy in what she does.  Taking away tips would be a huge reduction in her income.

Getting rid of tips is a very short sided, union driven issue.  Unions can't take credit for the tips you make.  They can take credit for the base wages they negotiate for you.  This is not a pro or anti union comment....just a fact.

[keefe]

I have a neighbor that has been a server her whole life.  She works the breakfast and lunch shift, m-f.  She makes great tips and a very respectable living and is very happy in what she does.  Taking away tips would be a huge reduction in her income.

Getting rid of tips is a very short sided, union driven issue.  Unions can't take credit for the tips you make.  They can take credit for the base wages they negotiate for you.  This is not a pro or anti union comment....just a fact.

Did she used to work the evening shift at the Nook?

[warriorchick]

I would be totally behind a movement to eliminate the Tip Jar and counter-service restaurants.

As Jerry Seinfeld said once, "What?  Am I supposed to the guy a tip for just turning around?"

[MU82]

You father-in-law stories are priceless!

He's something else. I should be writing all this stuff down. Would probably make a good book.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I guess I like the tipping model better because it give me more control. Also if you frequent Crain places regularly, tipping well can pay off in how you are treated.

This. My dad and I are treated like kings at our local Buffalo Wild Wings. My dad is a notoriously good tipper a trait he got from his father and I go from the both of them. Most of our beers at B dubs aren't even charged to us anymore. Plus you never know what kind of day the server is having.

[Coleman]

I don't like the idea of "banning" tipping. It is a free country and I should be allowed to tip if I feel the service warranted it.

What do I like is companies paying their workers enough to survive on, with or without a tip.

I was in Europe about 2 years ago, and I prefer the model they have there. Bartenders and waiters are paid enough to live on. Tipping is not expected, but common when the service provided deserves it. When I had good service, I gave an extra 2 or 3 euros, and it was genuinely appreciated, not just expected as part of the bill.

I'd gladly take a 15-20% increase in restaurant prices (I always tip 20% anyway), and make tipping purely optional.

You could still tip $5 or $10 and get treated like "kings."

[Pakuni]

I have a neighbor that has been a server her whole life.  She works the breakfast and lunch shift, m-f.  She makes great tips and a very respectable living and is very happy in what she does.  Taking away tips would be a huge reduction in her income.

Getting rid of tips is a very short sided, union driven issue.  Unions can't take credit for the tips you make.  They can take credit for the base wages they negotiate for you.  This is not a pro or anti union comment....just a fact.

The great majority of servers don't belong to unions.

[jesmu84]

I don't like the idea of "banning" tipping. It is a free country and I should be allowed to tip if I feel the service warranted it.

What do I like is companies paying their workers enough to survive on, with or without a tip.

I was in Europe about 2 years ago, and I prefer the model they have there. Bartenders and waiters are paid enough to live on. Tipping is not expected, but common when the service provided deserves it. When I had good service, I gave an extra 2 or 3 euros, and it was genuinely appreciated, not just expected as part of the bill.

I'd gladly take a 15-20% increase in restaurant prices (I always tip 20% anyway), and make tipping purely optional.

You could still tip $5 or $10 and get treated like "kings."

This. The problem here is tips are expected. It shouldn't be that way. Pay your staff enough and I'll tip if the service is good.

[warriorchick]

The great majority of servers don't belong to unions.

Not yet.     But wait until tipping goes away.

[ChicosBailBonds]

This. The problem here is tips are expected. It shouldn't be that way. Pay your staff enough and I'll tip if the service is good.

Coming with that means higher prices for the food, etc, and less business......


Not so easy

[jesmu84]

Coming with that means higher prices for the food, etc, and less business......


Not so easy

It is easy. Do it that way. Higher food prices, etc. People will pay if the price is right. Free market, as I see said here a lot.

[Coleman]

Coming with that means higher prices for the food, etc, and less business......


Not so easy

Higher prices + no (or less) tipping = its a wash for the customer.

[Coleman]

I will admit bartenders are a slightly different animal. They generally make at the least the normal minimum wage and get tips (at least I did when I tended bar - think I was making over $8 an hour when minimum wage was under $7 in Wisconsin - plus healthy tips).

I think the real issue is wait staff who is still being paid $2 an hour and completely relies on tips, all because of a carve-out that allows their employers to not follow the minimum wage everyone else has to follow. That needs to be done away with.

[StillAWarrior]

I think that most tipped servers would quit on the spot if their boss told them, "Hey, good news!  We're raising you to the non-tipped minimum wage!  But, we'll no longer accept tips at this restaurant."  If you're waiting tables at a restaurant and you're not making well above minimum wage, you should be looking for a new restaurant (or working a different shift).  When I last waited tables I was probably making at least $7-$10/hr in tips (and minimum wage was $3.35 at the time).  I worked short shifts (4 or 5 hours) and usually made $30-$40 in tips -- occasionally much more.

Granted, I'm sure they'd love minimum wage and tips.  But for those who argue that we should shift the cost from the customers to the employers, that almost certainly would result in a significant reduction in servers' compensation.  The customer is going to pay it one way or the other, but at least with the tipping system you can be more sure it's going into the server's pocket.

[StillAWarrior]

Oops -- accidental double-post.

[jesmu84]

I think that most tipped servers would quit on the spot if their boss told them, "Hey, good news!  We're raising you to the non-tipped minimum wage!  But, we'll no longer accept tips at this restaurant."  If you're waiting tables at a restaurant and you're not making well above minimum wage, you should be looking for a new restaurant (or working a different shift).  When I last waited tables I was probably making at least $7-$10/hr in tips (and minimum wage was $3.35 at the time).  I worked short shifts (4 or 5 hours) and usually made $30-$40 in tips -- occasionally much more.

Granted, I'm sure they'd love minimum wage and tips.  But for those who argue that we should shift the cost from the customers to the employers, that almost certainly would result in a significant reduction in servers' compensation.  The customer is going to pay it one way or the other, but at least with the tipping system you can be more sure it's going into the server's pocket.

Why would a restaurant say no to allowing tips if they went minimum wage?

[warriorchick]

Why would a restaurant say no to allowing tips if they went minimum wage?

It would probably depend on whether the restaurant owner made the decision or the government made the decision for them.

[Coleman]

I think that most tipped servers would quit on the spot if their boss told them, "Hey, good news!  We're raising you to the non-tipped minimum wage!  But, we'll no longer accept tips at this restaurant."  If you're waiting tables at a restaurant and you're not making well above minimum wage, you should be looking for a new restaurant (or working a different shift).  When I last waited tables I was probably making at least $7-$10/hr in tips (and minimum wage was $3.35 at the time).  I worked short shifts (4 or 5 hours) and usually made $30-$40 in tips -- occasionally much more.

Granted, I'm sure they'd love minimum wage and tips.  But for those who argue that we should shift the cost from the customers to the employers, that almost certainly would result in a significant reduction in servers' compensation.  The customer is going to pay it one way or the other, but at least with the tipping system you can be more sure it's going into the server's pocket.

I wasn't suggesting they only get paid minimum wage with no tips.

If tips are gong to be truly optional, they need to be paid a living wage.

The minimum wage should be a living wage, but I digress...

[mu03eng]

Why would a restaurant say no to allowing tips if they went minimum wage?

Whether they say it or not, it would be the same effect.  If the customer knows that the wait staff is getting paid by the employer what was previously covered by tip...I think few people would tip on top of the increased pricing.

[mu03eng]

The minimum wage should be a living wage, but I digress...

Why?

[Coleman]

Why?

There are two different arguments, a moral argument and an economic argument. I believe it would be good for the economy. Many others believe so as well. Some people of good faith may disagree with this, and that's fine, economics is a social science, and different conclusions can be arrived at in social sciences.

However, I see no legitimate moral argument for a company paying its full-time workers less than needed for basic food and shelter, which are human rights and the minimum requirements for ensuring basic human dignity. This moral argument is also enshrined in Catholic social teaching (Rerum Novarum).

"Let the working man and the employer make free agreements, and in particular let them agree freely as to the wages; nevertheless, there underlies a dictate of natural justice more imperious and ancient than any bargain between man and man, namely, that wages ought not to be insufficient to support a frugal and well-behaved wage-earner. If through necessity or fear of a worse evil the workman accept harder conditions because an employer or contractor will afford him no better, he is made the victim of force and injustice."