I’ve been reading up on the blog for a while now and it seems to me that the tipping system causes waiters more than one frustration. Is not just customers either, we have a whole series of managers trying to skimp waiters and even senior waiters giving the juniors the worst tables.

Many of the supporters of the current system says that if there would be no tips, the incentive to do a good job goes out of the window. To that I answer: waiters are NOT the only customer support work in the WORLD. I’ve been in technical support for years and I do not get tips, geez, how come I do my job good? Customers notices, my boss notice and I get a RAISE. (same for ALL other support serviceman out there not fueled by tips, that in the Old continent are about all, varying from country to country)

Or more benefits, or whatever else you can think of.

Think about it, what is the first and foremost impact a customer has with the restaurant? Is it the food? is it the chef? NO! it is the waiter. Waiters are the face of the restaurant to the customer. A bad waiter will do same money at start, but the customers will complain how bad he was, soon he will be relegated to worst job or fired. A good waiter is an asset, restaurant owners are business man and they are there for the money.

No customers = No money. Good waiters bring in customers equally or maybe even more than good food.

European restaurants do this all the time and the price of food here, while varying from country to country, is definitly not thrice the cost than in the US. I do not have an indepth knowledge of how waiters work here in Europe, but I have been out to eat and the waiters, especially in proper restaurants are NOT barely adult students, so they must be able to survive somehow.

In conclusion, I realize the tip system is not going to change and If I ever will head to the USA, I will tip accordingly, but the possibility of a non-tip based system being viable is right there in everyone’s face and you do not have to go to Europe to see it, just check the other service professions not covered by a tip and ask how they do it.

Let’s say that a new restuarant opens, one that pays it’s wait staff $25000 per year, including holidays and health benefits and lets it’s customers know that tipping is not required.
Would it get a massive influx of applicants for waiters? Or are American wait staff to brainwashed into thinking they need/deserve tips that they wouldn’t consider working in such a place?

If I wanted to be told to sit down and shut up and take whatever I was given, I’d go back to public school or ride the bus with Ms. Crabtree. I wouldn’t spend my hard earned money going out.

And 20% tip? Are you kidding me? When I was a kid, and I’m still young, 10% tip was very generous. And that’s a percentage for you that adjusts with inflation, unlike the revenue of those on a fixed income.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/state/tipped.htm#Indiana