Is No Tipping in our Future?

[mickeyd]

We occasionally have threads about tipping here. Here's one about a trend to do away with this antiquated bribery system.

What if more restaurants end the practice of tipping? The idea is not as far-fetched as many budget travelers might think.

Most of Europe follows a different system. Staff is paid a higher wage, and that added cost is built into the prices on the menu. Diners are free to round up the check total to the next Euro or Pound, but they don't usually leave a larger amount unless the service was absolutely exceptional.
This model puts the onus on management to pay a responsible wage, and it makes the staff far less reliant on diner generosity. It also takes away a diner's opportunity to express appreciation or disdain.

Some diners contend this approach tends to decrease the incentive for servers to excel. But the other side of that argument focuses on the benefits of a uniform payroll.

Are Budget Travelers Ready for No-Tipping Restaurants?

 

[brett]

Depends on where you go. We find that some restaurants in Europe routinely add a ten percent service charge to the bill. You have to look for it. Others simply say that service is included in the price.

In S/E Asia tipping by locals is not the norm. Perhaps a little in restaurants or a rounding up for taxis/tuk tuks but certainly nothing substantive. We found the same in Australia and New Zealand.

 

[Senator]

The idea of "slipping in a few dollars" for better service (or other favors) will never go away. Want a table faster in a restaurant? Tip the host for a faster table. Want better maid service, tip the room cleaner. Want a better massage, tip the masseuse. Want a faster
hair appointment, a tip is in order. Want a permit approved, donate to a campaign.

Tipping may be be 'outlawed' with a sign, but will never go away.

 

[gayl]

Tip free zones are already in SF -- Love it. But then staff is paid $14 an hour so they're not losing out

 

[FiveDriver]

We live in a town with a fantastic Restaurant Scene, and the Food & Beverage staff work hard for their money. My Dear Daughter is part of the Hospitality Profession in Florida -- I know how hard these folks work.

We tip 20% on meals without giving it a second thought. The difference is only a few bucks to us (and our CC gives us 5% back on Dining Charges). The best of the wait staff tends to remember that the next time we eat at that restaurant.
At the bar, we always put some folding money out there -- it typically leads to a generous pour or a free round from the Barkeep.

 

[Car-Guy]

Tip free zones are already in SF -- Love it. But then staff is paid $14 an hour so they're not losing out

Must have changed "a lot" since I've been there. (Or maybe I don't know where the zones are.) One of my worst experiences in a restaurant was in SF. The waiter was noticeably PO when I only tip him 15%, which in my opinion was more than the service and food was worth.

 

[exnavynuke]

In my dream world tipping would be considered something that was not expected and rarely happened for most of the professions that currently "demand" it here.

 

[RobbieB]

I plan to continue to tip lavishly, I find that it's worth it.

 

[ls99]

I am in favor of employers paying their employees and cut out the tipping. Especially restaurant employees. I'd much prefer professional waiters and waitresses who choose it as career.

As for my favorite rant. I am sick of many places putting tip jars next to the cash register. Example is $tarbuck$. They already overcharge for the suff they hand you over the counter. They have long been on my avoid list.

Heck the other day I picked up a pizza after telephone ordering it. They had a damn tip jar next to the register. That was the last pizza the sold us.

 

[exnavynuke]

I am in favor of employers paying their employees and cut out the tipping. Especially restaurant employees. I'd much prefer professional waiters and waitresses who choose it as career.

As for my favorite rant. I am sick of many places putting tip jars next to the cash register. Example is $tarbuck$. They already overcharge for the suff they hand you over the counter. They have long been on my avoid list.

Heck the other day I picked up a pizza after telephone ordering it. They had a damn tip jar next to the register. That was the last pizza the sold us.

There's a Mediterranean restaurant we go to for lunch sometime where you order at the counter, they hand you food there, then you go to the cashier and pay (and get your empty cup to serve yourself a drink with from the soda machine on the other side of the restaurant). They have a tip jar at the register and the older man who I believe is the owner once appeared upset and let me know how "cheap" the previous customer was for not tipping him (the previous customer being a friend and coworker). I finished paying and then informed him people tend to tip for service, not being handed food and serving themselves. If you give me the same level of "service" I'd get at McDonald's, don't expect a tip...

 

[braumeister]

I finished paying and then informed him people tend to tip for service, not being handed food and serving themselves.

OTOH, I would expect that in a little, privately owned place like that the employees aren't getting much more than minimum wage. Taking that into account, I would probably put in a small tip just on general principles.

But I do understand your beef.

 

[RobbieB]

I always toss dough in the tip jar, it makes them smile at me.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I just gave the uber driver a $7 cash tip

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

I'm in the camp that hopes tipping goes away from a perspective of relying on it to ensure staff get a decent living wage. Instead discretionary tipping, I hope we go towards built in pricing and/or a service charge the business sets.

But if one wants to procure special or unique service with a tip/bribe, that's fine by me as long as it's not with a public official.

 

[Beldar]

As for my favorite rant. I am sick of many places putting tip jars next to the cash register. Example is $tarbuck$. They already overcharge for the suff they hand you over the counter. They have long been on my avoid list.

Heck the other day I picked up a pizza after telephone ordering it. They had a damn tip jar next to the register. That was the last pizza the sold us.

DW & I ALWAYS carry some loose foreign change (Mexican or Phillipino pesos, Taiwanese, etc). I also carry a few of those fake $3 bills from the 90's. These end up in those tip jars or in the hands of nuisance panhandlers.

I prefer to pass a gratuity directly to the person earning it (hair stylist today for example got a few bucks, even though the haircut was free (Veteran's Day)).

Minimum wage increase passed here so maybe tipping will become less expected.

_B

 

[Mdlerth]

I think it is reasonable to expect timely, competent, friendly service from any business. In return, I think it is incumbent on me to be a good customer, which includes cheerfully tipping the server. In cash, even when paying the tab with a card.

 

[niven]

In my dream world tipping would be considered something that was not expected and rarely happened for most of the professions that currently "demand" it here.

First off, I hate to say it, but man, that is one boring dream world you have.
I may be a sucker, but I find that tipping well in the places I frequent doesn't really cost me much but results in better and friendlier service - of course, those are usually places where you kind of get to know the waitstaff.

 

[travelover]

Didn't we already have this discussion a few months ago?

 

[RobbieB]

My favorite "tip jar" places are Taquerias, we have a lot of them here and they are all small mom & pop shops and the food just rocks!

My fav is a shredded chicken and it is loaded. The things are 3/4 full of meat with a little cheese, pico, sour cream and guac on top and the lettuce is on the side. Two of them fill me up and they are like 2 dollars each.

Amazing. So I'm happy to express my thanks with some dough in their jar -

 

[Montecfo]

Didn't we already have this discussion a few months ago?

I think we did.

But on the tip jars, they do not bother me. I ignore them.

I tip generously for good service. But i do not tip for someone doing me the favor of handing me a sandwich or a cup of coffee.

And tipping has nothing to do with what people make. It is based on two things: tradition and personal service.

M

 

[DrRoy]

In Norway recently, we only tipped when the service was deserving.

 

[rodi]

Here in San Diego there is a trend for some of the foodie oriented restaurants to be tip-free... The first one I noticed was The Linkery in North Park... the owner has moved on to the Bay Area - not sure if he took his no-tipping policy along. (Though I've heard he took his farm-to-table philosophy with him.)

I have a friend who has 3 bar/restaurants in Northeast Philly. I've talked to him about the no-tip thing and he says it wouldn't fly in the neighborhoods he serves. The clientele wouldn't put up with the higher prices... but do put up with tipping.

 

[donheff]

I just gave the uber driver a $7 cash tip

Uber pisses me off. I drove a cab for a while 46 years ago and know how much tips count. Uber fares are way lower than taxis here in DC so there is no way they are raking in the dough. When I signed up for Uber the app asked if I would like to add a default tip for Uber Taxis - I selected 20% and assumed I was tipping Uber drivers. Later I found out that selection only applies when you use Uber "taxi" to hail a regular licensed cab. It doesn't apply to Uberx and the other Uber flavors. Most of the millennials told me you don't need to add a tip in Uber because it is factored into the rate. But that is self deluding BS. Uber should modify their app so you can add a tip. It defeats the advantages of the whole Uber cashless experience if you have to remember to carry a few bucks around to tip.

 

[Just_Steve]

At the bar, we always put some folding money out there -- it typically leads to a generous pour or a free round from the Barkeep.

You do know that unless the "Barkeep" is the owner when they give you a free round or a generous pour they are most often stealing from their employer.

 

[FiveDriver]

What I DO know is that since the dawn of the Public Houses in Britain there have been generous pours for favored guests. Shall we go back to Anglo-Saxon times and re-write the rules

Based on what the owner pays for that case of Bourbon, the extra splash the Barkeep puts in my glass costs less that the water it's mixed with.