This Restaurant Does Not Allow Tipping!

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I like it. When I was bartending, the waitrons got to keep all their tips, even though they were supposed to share them with the rest of the staff. We bar staff only got tips from the 8 or so stools up at the bar even though we made all the drinks for the dining room as well as the bar. And everybody had to declare tips on our taxes whether we got them or not.
 
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While I agree that tips should be shared, I still disagree with an enforced "Service Charge" the waiters/-esses are supposed to EARN their tips. Raise your prices, but don't tell me I have to pay extra to get good service, that should be a given in any service industry.
 
Trust me, anyone who works in the food service industry - and who is successful at it - definitely "earns" their money and 18% doesn't even begin to compensate for dealing with the general public on a regular basis. =)
 
Then you are very lucky in the waitrons you have encountered. I have waited tables, I have been waited on, I have also cooked for a restaurant full of the general public. Not all of them deserve their wages, let alone tips. I don't like that being taken out of my hands.
 
Then you are very lucky in the waitrons you have encountered. I have waited tables, I have been waited on, I have also cooked for a restaurant full of the general public. Not all of them deserve their wages, let alone tips. I don't like that being taken out of my hands.

It's not really taken out of your hands. It just changes how you let your displeasure known. You can't do it by withholding or reducing the tip. You would have to complain to management. That may be better because then you are sure that management knows and can deal with it.
 
Check out this article. No tipping allowed but an 18% service charge on every check. The service charge is shared among all the staff.

Tipless restaurants: The Linkery’s owner explains why abolishing tipping made service better. - Slate Magazine


I think it's a great idea. How about you?

Sorry, but I will not visit any restaurant that has a mandatory service charge (tip).:mad: I tip for good service...bottom line.
IMHO an establishment that has a service charge policy creates complacency amongst it's staff. Why work hard when you are going to get a tip anyway.
 
Sorry, but I will not visit any restaurant that has a mandatory service charge (tip).:mad: I tip for good service...bottom line.
IMHO an establishment that has a service charge policy creates complacency amongst it's staff. Why work hard when you are going to get a tip anyway.


You can simply communicate your displeasure to management. The waiter's poor performance is dealt with by management as it is in most jobs.

According to the article's author, sharing the service charge among all staff improved the performance of all involved.

Most of the time, when we eat out, the service is fine and we tip more than 18%. If I have a real issue with service, I believe the best way to deal with it is to talk to management. If I simply reduce or withhold a tip, management may never know there was an issue.

Frankly I think all tipping should be abolished and waitstaff, kitchen staff and bartenders, etc. should all be paid a living wage.
 
That sounds great on paper but unfortunately, it's the people that are flawed. In most restaurants good wait staff would become resentful for having to share their tips with other less productive staff, weather it is in back or front of the house. And there are always laggers and slackers in every place. What incentive would there be to work hard if you got the same tip money everybody else gets? Your good waiters/waitresses would eventually move on to another place with a different tip policy.

Like I said, it is a pie in the sky policy for most places. And, you are only as good as your weakest link.
 
That sounds great on paper but unfortunately, it's the people that are flawed. In most restaurants good wait staff would become resentful for having to share their tips with other less productive staff, weather it is in back or front of the house. And there are always laggers and slackers in every place. What incentive would there be to work hard if you got the same tip money everybody else gets? Your good waiters/waitresses would eventually move on to another place with a different tip policy.

Like I said, it is a pie in the sky policy for most places. And, you are only as good as your weakest link.

Restaurant management has to change the way they do business too. I guess the distribution of the service charge dollars could be weighted. As with most businesses, if you don't do your job, you risk getting fired.
 
You can simply communicate your displeasure to management. The waiter's poor performance is dealt with by management as it is in most jobs.

According to the article's author, sharing the service charge among all staff improved the performance of all involved.

Most of the time, when we eat out, the service is fine and we tip more than 18%. If I have a real issue with service, I believe the best way to deal with it is to talk to management. If I simply reduce or withhold a tip, management may never know there was an issue.

Frankly I think all tipping should be abolished and waitstaff, kitchen staff and bartenders, etc. should all be paid a living wage.

That I would agree to. They should all be making at the very least minimum wage if not more. I disagree with the 18% service charge...raise your prices and pay a living wage.
 
I like the idea. I understand the resto adding the service charge, so the food wouldn't seem more expensive than in other restos.

When I tended bar (back in the '80s), all the waitresses (we didn't have waiters, it was strip club) had to give the bartender a $5 tip per 8 hour shift. Some tried to get out of it. On rare occasion one would give me more.

I would prefer, as Andy wrote, that tipping be abolished and resto workers be paid a decent salary.
 
I agree with abolishing tipping and paying people what they are worth. There are plenty of people who serve the public who are not given gratuities, personally I have served the public in many positions and taken loads of abuse and in none of these positions were gratuities expected or proffered. While we are on the subject, why when I pay $45-50 for a haircut am I duty bound to give a tip??
 
I agree with abolishing tipping and paying people what they are worth. There are plenty of people who serve the public who are not given gratuities, personally I have served the public in many positions and taken loads of abuse and in none of these positions were gratuities expected or proffered. While we are on the subject, why when I pay $45-50 for a haircut am I duty bound to give a tip??

I agree, pay people a living wage with benefits and build it into the prices, no more tips or gratuities! In many cases the good servers are slighted by people who don't tip and the poor servers are rewarded by people who feel guilty if they don't tip well.
 
When we go out, which ain't too often here lately, I generally tip about 20% for good service, to the disgruntlement of Mrs Hoot.
It has been too long that food service employees have been paid a substandard wage because of tips. I am concerned that an establishment owner might be tempted to skim the automatic gratuity rather than disperse it amongst the staff.
Having said all that, I prefer to tip for good service and not so much for poor service.
Complaining to the management is ok when necessary but it seems to me it would only serve to exacerbate an already unpleasant experience.
Just my 2 cents, mind you.
 
I'm with Andy and Dawg ... I think it's a great idea. I bartended in college and found out quickly that if I was quick with the wait staff, I got my tips from them like I was supposed to.

The problem with the argument to "pay everyone what they are worth" or to "put everyone on minimum wage" is that good, small/start up businesses (most often service industries) wouldn't make it. Unfortunately, the costs to run a business are close the same regardless of small/start up or large and established. More importantly, there is a delicate balance in service prices and a definite tipping point where prices are to high and customer flow stops. It is incredibly difficult to get that flow to begin again if it is interrupted.

Service industries should be tip based but most importantly, those taking advantage of those services (food service, hair/massage, hotel, etc...) need to remember to tip. Good service has a minimum level, really good service deserves a higher level. If we don't receive service at a level that warrants a base tip, we need to communicate that to management. We as consumers have a choice of where to eat/drink. If we don't want to tip or be dependent upon servers who are then dependent on us for their income, we shouldn't go to those establishments.

Just my morning thoughts ...
 
I just remembered something. My mother was and my sister is a member of the Center Club in Costa Mesa, CA. They used to have a rule about no tipping. The wait staff absolutely would not accept tips. They were paid well. The service was exquisite.

On my last visit to CA, my sister took me to supper at the club. Tipping was now allowed. The service was not nearly as good. It also looked as though me and my sister were served slower than the men.
 
I'm with Andy and Dawg ... I think it's a great idea. I bartended in college and found out quickly that if I was quick with the wait staff, I got my tips from them like I was supposed to.

The problem with the argument to "pay everyone what they are worth" or to "put everyone on minimum wage" is that good, small/start up businesses (most often service industries) wouldn't make it. Unfortunately, the costs to run a business are close the same regardless of small/start up or large and established. More importantly, there is a delicate balance in service prices and a definite tipping point where prices are to high and customer flow stops. It is incredibly difficult to get that flow to begin again if it is interrupted.

Actually, larger businesses benefit from economies of scale. They make larger purchases and generally pay lower prices for them, just as consumers do when they shop at Costco or BJ's.

The writer of the article is trying to start a conversation about abolishing tipping altogether. If all restaurants, hair salons, etc., used a common service charge or just built a living wage into their prices, the "tipping point" problem would be solved.

Service industries should be tip based but most importantly, those taking advantage of those services (food service, hair/massage, hotel, etc...) need to remember to tip. Good service has a minimum level, really good service deserves a higher level. If we don't receive service at a level that warrants a base tip, we need to communicate that to management. We as consumers have a choice of where to eat/drink. If we don't want to tip or be dependent upon servers who are then dependent on us for their income, we shouldn't go to those establishments.

So, why don't we tip bank tellers or supermarket cashiers or department store sales staff? I don't see any good reason to single out a few service industries and pay those employees less, then rely on patrons to "remember" to make up the difference.

btw, Andy and Dawg both said they thought tipping should be abolished. You contradicted yourself, J :) Should service industries be tip-based, or not?
 
Ok, I reread the article ... I think the word "abolish" is misleading. They just renamed it and made it mandatory. They didn't abolish it, they didn't take it away or end it. They simply up'ed their prices but are calling it a service charge. My guess is that it is a taxing issue as well for their staff. You don't have to claim something that was paid as part of a larger bill, it's not a gratuity.

I guess my original point is simply that true service positions, not retail or customer service, should be tipped. If I get a really good massage, I'm going to tip the person more than just the run of the mill massage. If I get a good hair cut, I'm going to tip that person. When I was a good bartender, I got tipped better. If my bar had said, there is going to be a flat 18% put on every tab, I would have been fine with that and probably more empowered to help those servers that were struggling. The people I tip, I am dependent on them for good service. If I get a grouchy check out lady or a lazy bag boy, it doesn't impact me.

Sorry if I contradicted myself. I was agreeing with the article, as were they. Others started the conversation about actually not tipping, that's what I was speaking against. Make sense?

And as a teacher, I would love to be tipped ...
 
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