2008.10.11
Oh, waiter, can we have more bread?
Now for something completely different.
The New York Times Magazine has a piece on tipping that focuses on a California restaurateur who banned it in favor of adding an 18 percent service charge for dine-in customers. (If that sounds steep -- and it shouldn't -- you'll be surprised to read that the wait staff actually earns less, though, in part, because they cut the kitchen staff in on the take. Makes for a more congenial workplace, apparently.)
The story cites a Zagat survey that showed 80 percent of Americans preferred tipping to paying a service fee (other surveys found much less enthusiasm for the practice). Those who like it say it offers an incentive for good service, but studies also show there's very little correlation between the quality of service and the size of the tip.
So I ask, do you approve of tipping? You should know that most waiters and waitresses around here make an hourly wage of a whopping $2.13. (In California, the minimum is $8.) So the question is not just do you like tipping, but do you prefer it to a set service charge (meaning no one can stiff the waiter) or to paying more for your meals so the restaurant can pay the wait staff a living wage?
RSS feed 
Here's one take on it. (Warning: Mature language and content.)
Comment by c. trejbal — October 12, 2008 @ 8:06 am
Union anyone?
Comment by Blue John — October 12, 2008 @ 9:22 am
It would be nice if the hopes for a tip were incentive to get good service, but often times that's simply not the case anymore. The wait-staff culture today seems to think that 20% is part of their guaranteed paycheck, and an additional tip should be given on top of that if they are actually cheerful.
So I don't know if keeping the tipping system versus adding a service fee really works as an incentive to get good service. In my experiences eating out in the Roanoke Valley, getting good service is kind of a haphazard deal. Sometimes the service will be great, sometimes it's lousy, and I tip accordingly. But I doubt the bad waiters or waitresses even understand that. I'm sure they think I'm just a cheapskate who stiffed them, and would never consider their own crappy attitude being to blame.
Comment by Rob Miles — October 12, 2008 @ 10:01 am
If restaurants went to an embedded fee system, I would stop eating there. I like having the discretion of tipping well for good service, and tipping low or not at all if the service stinks. I don't fault wait staff if the food is bad since that is a kitchen issue, but how they deal with it will affect the tip. If a waiter is friendly, keeps my drink glass full, checks in to see how the food is, and quickly corrects anything that is wrong, I'll tip very well, usually to the tune of 25% or so. However, there have been times when my waiter has been short, unattentive, and only appeared when we needed to order, when our food was ready, and when we needed the check. For those times, I don't tip, because the waiter did not earn one. There have even been times when my wife and I have gotten into friendly conversations with people and not only given higher tips, but we will request them every time we dine out. We reward good service and service that goes beyond what we expect...and we also don't reward poor service. At restaurants where we've consistently gotten poor service, we stop going.
Comment by Other John — October 13, 2008 @ 10:13 am