WTF ? A simple rant.

[eddiememphis]

I think it will eventually wither away.

If you think about it, there are three "stake holders" in a restaurant business: The business owner, the employee, and the customer.

The "tip" system benefits two of those stake holders: The business, which gets to get away with paying sub-standard wages to employees in the expectation that the customer will make up the difference in tips, and a small percentage of employees who make more in tips than they would likely make in a wage-based employment setup. Those are the two groups that are going to be most resistant to the end of the tipping culture.

I think what it's going to take is for a few high profile restaurants to decide that instead of tipping, they'll pay their employees a reasonable wage, raise prices to accommodate that wage, and then tell customers that they need not tip. As soon as one or two big players do that, and it works (which I think it will because for every waiter/waitress who makes good money on tips, there are probably at least two that barely scrape by) the practice will catch on.

Tipping will likely continue in bar/nightclub settings were sexual titillation can lead to higher tips for good looking waitresses/bartenders. But speaking as a customer, I would gladly patronize a "no tipping" restaurant where I know exactly what the price will be up front without having to calculate a tip.

I was in the restaurant business for 14 years. Started as dishwasher and went as far as part owner.

The margins are very slim. If an owner is required to pay service staff minimum wage or more, the menu prices you pay will increase around 20% to cover the addition payroll costs.

I would like you define "substandard wages" since less than minimum wage is the standard and despite your assertion, most front of house employees take home more than if they were waged.

[Martinjmpr]

I was in the restaurant business for 14 years. Started as dishwasher and went as far as part owner.

The margins are very slim. If an owner is required to pay service staff minimum wage or more, the menu prices you pay will increase around 20% to cover the addition payroll costs.

Given that the "standard" these days seems to be 20% tip, that would be about right, wouldn't it? From my viewpoint as the customer, I'm going to pay the same whether it's $40 + $8 tip = $48 or $48 + $0 tip = $48.

It benefits me because I know exactly how much my meal is going to cost and it benefits the server because he doesn't have to wonder if I'm going to be generous and give him a nice tip, give him a "normal" 20% tip, or stiff him.

Really, what is the difference between getting a meal in a restaurant and getting literally any other good or service? I don't tip the Wal-Mart cashier when I check out. I don't tip the guy at Home Depot who helps me load lumber into my truck. I don't tip the nurse at the doctor's office who takes my blood pressure. I don't tip the guy who rotates my tires. I sure as hell don't tip the LGS owner when I buy a Glock or a box of ammo. Why should food service be any different?

As I said above, there are countries that are similar to ours in terms of culture but they don't do tipping and find the concept to be bizarre. So it's not like there's something inherently different about food service that justifies the tipping custom. We just do it because that's the way it's been.