Why do we tip? Why not just pay the wait staff more money.?

Question

I've read the Q&A about tipping. I would like to add to it by asking the question "why tip at all?" I'd be satisfied if the restuarants just paid the staff a living wage and raised the prices of food across the board. Have we just assumed that restuarants cannot operate this way?

I enjoy eating out frequently and I do tip but I'd be happier if the custom were abolished. I think it creates a perverse incentive in many cases. Wait staff assume they are entitled to a tip under most circumstances? Is that justified? Some of my friends have held these jobs and they told me how they go about their business of serving customers and the prejudices they use to determine the level of service they provide in an individual case. For example, Europeans don't tip, blacks don't tip, rich don't tip, ugly people don't tip. These people have to prove themselves to the wait staff just to get decent service because it is automatically assumed that they will not tip. This is backwards.

Answer 1

Restaurants have many expenses, and the profit margin is rather low in most establishments. The practise of appeasing customers by comping meals cuts into the loss ratio as well as

1 Loss by food spoilage
2 Manager Salaries
3 High Turnover, one of the highest in any field, not everyone can take the verbal abuse and high stress of dealing with people of different temperments.
4 Theft, many restaurants have food theives
5 Insurance and Liscenses

In theory, you could raise the cost of food to give servers a wage. It would be difficult to decide how much they should get. I would say a nice full service should pay from 10-15 an hour. But part of the "weeding out" process of poor servers, is they get poor tips and quit the industry. Good servers can make as much or more than 200 dollars in one shift. A bad server could find themselves making barly minimum wage.

Also, if you paid every server 10 bucks an hour and still had high turnover the loss would be enormous.

I think that the solution would be a revamping of hiring practices and high hourly rates for servers with a merit based increase. $15 an hour would ensure high quality applicants.

The question is, would you mind paying an extra $10 for each entree? Would people stop eating out entirely? Would excellent servers cease to exist, knowing they were ensured a wage regardless? A fine dining would probably have prices nearly doubled.

Answer 2

It would require a complete overhaul of the system as is, and a complete reworking of the books. I'm not saying that it shouldn't be changed, just saying that the old phrase "if it's not broke don't fix it" comes into play here. Also, do you think that some of those servers who make $100-$200 in a night would want to be forced to make the same $12/hr like the slacker server? Would people like seeing that extra 20% on their menu prices? And do we know that service would go up? Or would people fall to the lowest common denominator when there is no incentive to go that extra step for the consumer. It's just a hard hurdle to jump over when people like the status-quo.

It should be changed to paying servers a decent wage, and tips in EXTRAORDINARY circumstances, like most other service industries. However, I doubt it will happen any time soon.

Answer 3

There was a restaurant chain several years ago (I believe it was Copeland's) that started including 15% gratuity to everyone's bill and I personally wouldn't work or eat in a place like that. I liked that fact that as I improved my expertise and gained a following, I improved my income. It's also my experience that those who don't care or aren't good are either more work for the other staff (and therefore affect their service to their customers and their tips), poor reflection on the restaurant (and driving away customers and potential "word of mouth" customers), and when not making what they expect, will quickly find another job in another field.

And although I'm a very generous tipper, I don't like being dictated what to tip. A server who doesn't care knows they'll still get 15% across the board and I think the restaurant suffers.

Answer 4

Think of it this way as well. How many servers would actually work for 5.25 to 10.00 dollars an hour and deal with peoples attitude all day long. I agree that the price of food should not go up do you really want to pay $20 for a burger, $30 for steak and eggs, $40 for a simple sirloin steak. Come on folks it is not going to happen and you can't tell me you would pay these prices and you think you get bad service now think of what it would be like from someone making minum wage....On the average most people going out to eat expect to be served and 5 out of 10 times they are rude to the person serving them.
I have been in the industry for 17 years and dealt with people from all race, creed, sexual orientation, etc...

I enjoy my job, meeting new people all the time and making new friends at the same time. I have met some of the best people ever as a server however I have met some of the worst at the same time. I treat my customers the same no matter what they look like, where they come from, what color they are, or how they dress. I have met people from all of these that are bad and good tippers.

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Answer 5

Contrary to popular belief Tips is NOT an acronym. it is just that, a tip, or bonus to what we are paid hourly. this is an old custom, a tradition. This is the way our industry has run for 100 years. i must agree that it is archaic and backward, stupid even. But it is they way we do things. You must simply learn to live with this situation or stop eating out. this practice is not the case in Europe, hence that is why we Waiters (when i say waiters I do not exclude my sister waitresses but do so in the interest of brevity.) despise waiting on the people from across the pond. I make $3.09 and hour. I work roughly 35-40 hours a week. do the math this is not a living wage. The restaurant business has always played fast and loose, with a wink and a nod from the government. I have never worked in a restaurant that didn't employ illegal workers and assist it's waitstaff in defrauding the IRS.
To be Honest, i really hate this system. Read George Orwell's "To shoot an Elephant" to get how I feel.

Answer 6

It used to be that when you went out to eat it was a celebration, a special occasion, people were happy servers were able to conversate with and engage their guests. People would gladly tip because they enjoyed themselves. Society changed people cooked at home less.
Now I serve everyone the same. I will even run after and thank and re thank a good tipper. I will remember them go that extra mile without the tip just because they were nice , respectful, friendly. I have received many a hug from people I served. Would $12 be adequate? no I make way more than that but I do a mean cardio session while I'm there remembering orders, special requests helping the whole resturant. Would my employer be able to pay $20 an hour? Because that would be adequate pay. Think of the college student you help pay for books, the food that you help put on my table the rent you help pay. YOU directly do that for us. We want to give good service.

Answer 7

I totally agree, but I don't know about the tipping levels of the groups you describe. When I delivered newspapers as a teenager, I remember the Indians (from India) gave no tip or a very minimal tip.

I would rather live in a society where people are paid a fair wage for what they do. If this could happen, I think most people would have pride in their work and that is why they would do a good job, and no would need to tip.

Answer 8

first of all, considering i am a manager of a fairly busy restaraunt in a decently sized town, i can honestly say that this business cannot accomidate the public at fair prices, if they paid servers what they were owed. i still wait tables several shifts out of the week to make up for what i cannot make on my salary. if the common person took one look at the cost to run a restaraunt, small or large, they'd know that their $7 plate of spaghetti would be about $25 if the servers were paid minimum wage or better.

on that same note, paying a server minimum wage or better would only make their drive to provide better service go down. you would have those few servers (like other businesses) that would still work hard, but mostly you'd have poor pathetic service. so i will say this...

you pick. higher dinner bills, with the same old crap service, or the choice to tip (which you should)?

just keep in mind, not everyone tips, so that 10 or 15% tip that you think is soooooo good, may have only brought their nightly tip range up to the average 10%. so how would you feel to go home after a hard days work with only 20 to 50 bucks? you cant count on that paycheck, maybe only for one burger and fries, considering it'll only be about $10 bucks.

just think about it.

Answer 9

Tips started along time ago and it was an acronym. T.I.P.S To Insure Prompt Service. Now it seems that management of the service industry feel that its a way to pay people minimun wage and keep costs down. Also waiters/waitress seem to feel that they are entitled to a tip regardless of service. I have been to a restaurant where a tip was automatically added to a bill.(never been back to that one) Personally, I will tip if I feel that the service deserves it, if not I leave 2 pennies (just giving them my 2 cents). I have had a server actually yell at me and then got mad because she didn't get a tip. Go figure.
I have been in the service industry for many years and like receiving a tip, who wouldn't, but I never expect it and never judge my customers.

Answer 10

I have worked in the industry for 10 years. I would be pissed if I went to an hourly wage. I try not to discriminate. The only people I hate to serve are people who complain about the price, when they are properly charged or start complain before they even sit down. That has nothing to do with tip, becuase a great deal of those complainers still tip it is just a pain. In all my years, I have always worked hard for my tips and my company is not that big so I dont make very much but they could never comsensate me enough to be abused like many people do.