[fowlerpower]

Having worked in the restaurant industry for over 12 years, started as a bus boy at 15 years old, then waiter, then bartender and finally moved to General Manager of the whole place. I can tell you that tipping is absolutely necessary.

I can say that the article is dead wrong about this. Tipping is the best thing that's ever happened to the US Restourant business. Especially at great establishments with repeat customers.

Here are a few reasons:

1) As an owner of a place there is only one of you, impossible for you to cook and go greet the guests and do everything to make them feel special. Your staff, the waiters the bus boys will feel like owners through tipping. If they do a shitty job they don't get paid, it doesn't get more capitalistic than that. It's the the same thing that motivates employees of startups that have equity.

2) For customers Tipping is not required if they do a shit job you don't have to tip 20%. Leave 10% or less, that's the whole point. You as a consumer have the power. Not the owner or the staff.

3) The math is a bit annoying but most places will put the math in your receipt.

4) The best establishments with repeat customers benefit from tipping the most. The waiters and staff have to treat your guests very well and it is in their best interest to keep high paying, high tipping customers happy and coming back. The waiters will complain and fight with the chef when they do a bad job that's how much they care about things going well. Their livelihood is at steak.

5) Now compare waiters in good establishments that get good tips to folks working at McDonalds. There is no comparison, the waiters are motivated the McDonalds worker gets paid no matter what and makes no tip. No extra effort necessary. For that matter compare them to any worker hat dosent make a tip and doesn't have to hustle.

Anyway, I am a bit too passionate about this but the author is very wrong on this one.

Tipping creates a common goal among the owner and all the staff it is crazy to ever think of getting rid of something that makes your employees work harder and better and is a carrot and a stick that gives the consumer all the power.

[piva00]

I seriously got very annoyed at most places I went to eat during my trip to the US last year.

Having good service is not coming every 5 minutes ask if I'm all right, if I need something, if this or that. Leave me alone, I want to eat and enjoy, not have to reply a waiter eager for a tip.

Also the whole vibe is very "fake", I never felt really "welcomed" in any of the places I went to, the greetings, the whole attitude looked like a sham, I went to upscale places and just normal diners and it was all the same.

I'm sorry but I don't think this is healthy as a society, I prefer the level of service I had in São Paulo or here in Stockholm, waiters are genuinely nice or just get out of your way and let you enjoy the experience or just your food.

Tipping culture looks like whoring: if you pay enough anyone can be nice to you, I'm sorry but I don't like to know that the niceness is artificial and that I'm paying for it.

[ohstopitu]

I agree with you - there's a fine line between being genuinely helpful and nice to doing it just because they want tips and most places cross it.

[gnufied]

But in US - restaurants is not the only place you tip. A 20% tip on $40 bill amount to $8, which is okayish. 10% would be perhaps okay for most people.

But recently I moved home and paid $850 to movers for 6 hours of work(4 guys and a truck), the 20% of that would be $170. I paid $40 in tips and yet I felt guilty and I thought I heard some grumbling between movers. Similar thing happened when I took a cab from Denver to Boulder and paid nearly $120 and driver explicitly asked for tips and the only option in app was 20%.

I don't know about other people here but paying $170 tips on a service seems like a ripoff and is not practical unless you are already rolling in dough.

Personally for me - tipping is slippery slope. As a personal not born in US, I am always unsure how much I should tip. Heck there is a expected tip in TO-GO orders.

[nommm-nommm]

>As a personal not born in US, I am always unsure how much I should tip.

Honestly, as an American, I think everyone has different ideas, even those born here. You can see it right here in these comments! That contributes to the anxiety people have around here about tipping. There's even a joke about it on Seinfeld - "How much do you tip a chamber maid?" It was a long back and forth about how much is customary to tip a hotel chambermaid and nobody could agree on it. The person who suggested the most ended up being a criminal who the local news described him as a "generous tipper." Later on George realizes he forgot to tip her entirely.

When I was growing up (poor, lower class) I was taught that 10% was a customary tip. When I got to be an adult and I started my job as a software engineer I've noticed people seem to tip 20% so I moved to 20%. I don't know if its just my family who tips 10% or its just the upper class who tips 20%? Who knows? Someone here even suggested 10% and got downvoted for it.

I wouldn't think to tip movers. We had some people come with a truck and haul away some stuff, were we supposed to tip them? Were we supposed to tip the furniture delivery people? :/ I am sorry if I accidentally stiffed them.

[mgkimsal]

> Your staff, the waiters the bus boys will feel like owners through tipping. If they do a shitty job they don't get paid, it doesn't get more capitalistic than that. It's the the same thing that motivates employees of startups that have equity.

So... why not have startup devs get tips?

Or... wait... why not do actual profit-sharing at restaurants? Give monthly or quarterly bonuses based on profit-sharing calculations.

I sometimes get amazing service at mcdonalds/fastfood places. Had a few phenomenal experiences at a local wendy's last year. The service level has far more to do with the actual people involved vs whether they're tipped or not.

[nommm-nommm]

I worked in fast food and our service was exceptional! It was because the place was run like a well oiled machine.

It had to do with the owners, who were very process oriented and educated people. Plus they really cared. Management was, in turn, very good. All the managers there when I was there had been there over a decade so they probably were paid well. The managers, of course, managed their staff well. It really was a nice place to work.

[ohstopitu]

I have to completely disagree with you on almost all points. I grew up in a culture where tipping was not mandatory but something that you did just because you wanted to/ felt like/were a regular (and tipping in this case is not limited to restaurants, it applies to delivery people, mail etc.)

1) "feel like owners" is just an excuse, because at this point, I'm forced to tip, if I don't, I know fully well that the server won't be making minimum wage (I know the restaurant has to pay them by law, but no server would want to loose their job over this)

2) tipping is not required but social pressures in groups general dictates that you tip. Also if I do get bad service, why should I tip 10%? (why not 0%?) - and that's exactly what I mean - I should NEVER be tipping anyone, the restaurant has to pay it's employees. If I feel like the service was exceptional, I don't mind tipping, but just in general - no tips should be necessary.

3) I don't generally mind the math (especially if you are paying electronically) as the machine can let you choose how much % you'd like to pay (that said, it generally does not tell you if it's applied before/after tax and is another thing to consider over the price of the food itself)

4) This once again should not be the concern of the customer - if at all, its' very easy to deal with this the same way tech companies do - with equity or bonuses.

5) I'm not too sure, but if I pay electronically, I can tip at McDonalds too. (obviously it's not forced, and I can if I want and have a great service, and I love this method).