(Funny, I recently had this same thought, and was thinking of starting pretty much the same poll thread.)
What if there were comment cards, and the servers would receive whatever their fixed wage is, with bonuses based on their customer satisfaction rating? That would also provide more feedback as to what aspects the customers liked and disliked. Go ahead and include food quality, and put the kitchen staff on a bonus system, as well.
Just have a no-tipping policy where it’s made clear that staff cannot receive any tips, and any tips left behind will be donated to charity, instead.
I like the idea. I hate trying to figure out how much the tip should be anyway. And if the server isn’t any good, I’ll let the manager or owner know and if they don’t fix the problem, they’ll lose my business.
This would be my qualifier too. Tipping or not tipping with higher prices would not even be something I would consider a factor in choosing a restaurant.
I think there are a few specific situations in Australia where tipping is, if not expected, at least traditional, like valet car service or Hotel bellboys*, but I’ve never been involved in those.
*That doesn’t seem like the right modern term for them.
I chose the “other” option, because I don’t like the idea of a restaurant not allowing tips. But I’m all in favoring of them paying decent wages and raising prices to make that happen.
I would go … and leave a tip if I got really good service. Why does anyone even give tipping a second thought? 15% for blah service, 20 or 25% for excellent service, it’s all part of our culture of not being cheapskate tightwads.
It’s not about the wage, it’s about the service. Eat out, you tip; order a pizza, tip; get a haircut, tip; play a few hands of Blackjack, get your car towed, have a cocktail, whatever. Why does anyone even question this? Only a “scrooge” doesn’t cheerfully tip for good service in a country where it’s part of the culture.
It’s optional. Restaurant staff are paid a reasonable wage. Almost exactly the scenario described in the OP, and we seem to manage without culinary civilization collapsing.
Most of the people who complain about tipping don’t understand anything about the economics and probably would avoid going to a place that charged real prices. So I don’t think it would work out or make much difference. They would probably being even more offended by this as it’s a God-given Murrican right to determine exactly how much more than $2.13/hr a server should earn and damn them for trying to leech off cheap bastards.
Unless you happen to own a restaurant. In which case, it seems entirely acceptable to be a cheapskate tightwad who pays your staff peanuts in the expectation your customers will make up the difference.
I hate the idea of mandatory tipping. I’m completely on the side of Mr. Pink on this issue. It hasn’t happened to me, but I have heard that staff will actually chase after customers, demanding a tip. To which I say “Good luck.”
I give tipping a second thought because there’s no reason I should give money to someone who isn’t my employee. I don’t get extra money from our customers, which include some serious spendthrifts such as the US military. Nor do I expect it.
Eh, I think I’d (marginally) prefer it. Its always seemed to me kinda weird that in restaurants we’re asked to figure out on our own how much someone else’s employees should be paid. Especially since eating out is supposed to free us from some of the hassle of preparing our own meals, its kinda silly to then have to deal with the extra hassle of trying to figure out how much some random person we briefly interact with should get paid that night.
And only one of the employees (though I guess some places split tips with the rest of the staff). When I go to a restaurant, “service” is usually the least important thing to me, after quality of food, setting and convenience. I only really notice the service when its particularly bad, and even then, I suspect much of the time that isn’t really the waiters fault but rather the kitchen being slow, or the manager not having enough staff working for a given crowd. Reducing the waiters paycheck because of issues that are outside their control (and that are probably a PITA for them as well) seems pointless and mean.
I tip anyways, since I realize that as the system is set up, waitstaff depend on it for their pay. But if I was designing the system from the ground up, I’d certainly do away with it.
…I think it would be more correct to say there is “no tipping culture” in New Zealand. Plenty of tipping takes place: from tip jars at the bar to hotel restaurants. I tend to tip quite well as a reward for good service. Its not expected: and wait staff in NZ at least make minimum wage and tips aren’t part of their income. But it does happen.
There are at least two kinds of tipping … tipping before the fact: give the maitre d’ a $20 for a good restaurant or showroom seat, for instance, and then there’s tipping after the fact, like a waiter. I guess there’s sort of a third kind: tipping a bartender for each round if you’re not running a tab, or tipping a dancer at the topless joint. That’s sort of a tip-as-you-go method. Casino dealers call tips “tokes”.
The reason I shared this is because tipping is a way to involve yourself with the service you’re receiving. It’s not about making up the difference between low wages and living wages … it’s about rewarding positive behavior. In most restaurants, the waiter doesn’t know if you’re “george” (a good tipper) unless you’ve been in before. If he/she does a great job, is friendly and attentive, and makes you feel good, the tip is an act of kindness and gratitude, for service above and beyond the call of duty. Customers who don’t understand kindness and gratitude are the ones who tip poorly and complain about it. We wish they’d stick with the drive-thru.
I don’t work in a tip-earning capacity, but I surely see it wherever I travel and it’s a pretty reliable method of character judgement for me to watch how folks tip … says a lot about what kind of people they are … thoughtless cheapskates or salt-of-the-earth.
