As progressive American municipalities roll out a $15 hourly minimum wage, one result has been a renewed debate over the practice of tipping service workers. Some restaurants are experimenting with compulsory service charges as well as other systems that they hope will ensure all employees earn more, while rewarding high-performers and still allowing the customer some say.
As customers, what’s behind our burning desire to decide how servers are compensated, despite our inability to objectively judge their performance?
Studies have shown that subconscious biases (race, age, gender) play a significant role in deciding the extent of our generosity. The American restaurant-goer is a fickle beast, sensitive yet demanding. There is something primal about getting food and drink delivered, especially by somebody charming and attractive.
We buy into the fantasy: the attractive hostess, the handsome bartender, the happy bustle of a crowded spot.
But, as a former server at an organic pizza parlor explained, this fantasy can easily erode. “Lots of things can affect your tip that are out of your control: the timing of the kitchen, the cleanliness of the restaurant, the wait to get seated, etc. It can be frustrating if you feel like you did your best but your table still had a bad experience and they take it out on you, on your tip.”
Four main positions seem typical of any argument about tipping in the US. One: any increase to the hourly wage is another lock-step towards socialism. Two: when I go out to eat I tip very well. Three: as a former tipped employee I always did well because I am a hard worker, which the current system rewards. Four: some variation on Mr Pink’s argument in Reservoir Dogs:
I don’t tip because society says I have to. All right, I mean I’ll tip if somebody really deserves a tip. If they put forth the effort, I’ll give them something extra. But I mean, this tipping automatically, it’s for the birds. As far as I’m concerned they’re just doing their job.
Unlike Mr Pink, most customers who decline to tip probably consider it something of a teachable moment, and if a gratuity was truly “extra”, a bonus not meant to comprise the bulk of the worker’s income (as it is in other countries), then there might be more leeway.
Unfortunately the current system in the US is used by restaurant owners and industry groups to justify sub-minimum wage rates and transfer significant labor costs to the public.
This psychological and financial strain has given rise to the “viral tip shaming” phenomenon, in which servers (often at “casual dining” chains, with higher turn-over and lower prices) post pictures of receipts with paltry tips, sometimes accompanied by a note (the old “here’s a tip…” joke) on social media, as well as popular blogs dedicated to boorish restaurant customers.
But not all industry workers are in favor of getting rid of the tipping culture, especially those at higher-end establishments. “If the hourly rate was going to come in at just about even with what I make now I prefer to have my destiny in my own hands, so to speak, knowing I can make more money by selling more, and providing stellar service,” said one New York City waiter who requested anonymity.
