mhendo
August 10, 2010, 10:42pm
269
levdrakon:
Well, the IRS doesn’t care about collective customs when it takes taxes, and the reason for tipping creep is because restaurants try really hard to keep the cost of a plate down. A 15% tip on a $10 burger in 1980 went further than a 15% tip on an $10.95 burger in 2010. Even in places where meal prices have shot up with inflation, it’s usually in areas where the cost of gas, rent, utilities, insurance, tuition etc. have shot up right past inflation.
Food for thought.
Yep.
About 5 years ago, former Doper and Mod manhattan , who worked in the financial sector and followed these sorts of stats, addressed this issue. I made an observation about the problems of tipping creep, and he noted:
Ah. But over the last several years, food inflation has been less than inflation generally and the food-away-from-home index has been growing more slowly still – the result of enormous competition in the industry. So some percentage creep on the tip has been necessary to keep real server wages constant. We’re starting to see some indications that the restaurant cost index is now moving up more quickly than general inflation, primarlily as some of the quick serve and casual-dining chains finally give in and try to pass through higher protein costs. It’ll be interesting to see if the trend continues and what, if anything, will be the public’s reaction as regards a “standard” tip.