By most Seattleites' standards, I am a cheap tipper. I grew up learning that 15% was a perfectly reasonable tip, and that's what I stick to today, even with great service (sometimes a little bit more, maybe). However, I usually don't tip below 15% unless the service is really poor, so in my mind it evens out. But there's more to it than that...
It seems that the older I get, the more expensive it is to go out. Yeah, yeah, I know, inflation, but even that being considered, it is quite expensive to hit the town, especially in urban areas where sales tax is usually high. I always get a sinking feeling in my gut when I see the bill and an even sinkier feeling when I calculate what the prescribed 20% tip would be. Nevermind principles, it's simply not affordable for a poor graduate student like myself to tip 20% on an already expensive meal. (And side note: Even though the tip is supposed to be calculated based on the pre-tax cost, most restaurants only print the post-tax total, prompting us to tip on that instead.) It's starting to feel like we're being punished for enjoying a night out.
Now, I've had many conversations about this with friends who work in the restaurant industry, and I realize that servers usually must split their tips between all the other restaurant staff. I also realize that sometimes food service workers don't even get paid minimum wage without factoring in tips. My response to this dilemma is: That sucks, but why treat the symptom instead of the cause? As consumers, we are merely feeding into the inequitable pay configuration in the industry by absorbing the financial burden, instead of questioning why things are the way they are.
I know that servers and other food service staff work really hard, and I appreciate that. I know that hair stylists, massage therapists, and [insert occupation that gets tipped] work hard for their money, and I appreciate that too. But look, so do I, and I don't get no stinkin' tips! Granted, I get paid more than minimum wage these days, but even when I worked in retail and got paid minimum wage for years, I never got tipped for slaving my you-know-what off every shift.
My point here is that tipping has become expected only in certain industries, as if employees in those positions work harder than others. Furthermore, because tipping has become so expected--20% to be exact--it has lost its original intent, which is to reward those who go the extra mile to provide great customer service. Would you tip a cashier, a life guard, or a receptionist for doing a job well done? If not, why not? I assume because it's not expected and might even be considered tacky. And yet, how would you feel about not tipping your bartender the next time you order drinks? Like a total cheap skate, right? There's something wrong with that picture.
If certain occupations are truly deserving of better pay, than they should receive better pay, regardless of tips. Tipping should return to its inherent purpose, and no one should feel obligated to break the bank to reward people for simply doing their jobs. Eventually, employers will need to suck it up and pay their personnel fairly, instead of relying on misguided charity from customers. But the paradox is, they won't do so until we, as consumers, influence the system with our dollars and advocacy for change.
In fact, my boyfriend tells me that in Korea, tipping is not expected or even customary because workers in the food service industry are fairly compensated for their labor, making tips unnecessary. Now, this may mean that the food and drink they serve is more expensive than it is here. But perhaps not, and either way, I contend that the tipping system in the U.S. is broken.
So am I turning tipping into a political issue? You bet your bippy I am! As my feminist sisters and brothers would say, the personal is political, and this is one personal beef I need to get off my chest. I'm not trying to rail against people in the service industry who unfortunately depend on tips to make a living wage. And, I know it's much easier said than done to just stop or reduce tipping for these folks. Perhaps your mission may just be to challenge those who think tipping below 20% is skimpy. But if anything I've said in this here blog resonates with you, then you should consider what you could do to alter our current tipping system. At this point, it's pretty passe...
Very good comments! It's baffling when providers constantly use inflation, or rising costs, as a reason for rising prices and yes, tipping, when there has been no reciprocity for the paying consumer in the way of rising pay, which should have been the main reason for the provider's rising costs! Does anybody remember the last time you or someone you know even got a raise, let alone one that matched inflation? This scenario truly is broken, an inures to the "profit centers"...what a shock!
ReplyDeleteThe other interesting point is that tipping is one example of custom and culture being willfully, if not forcefully maintained by the provider, if it provides more revenue. Other examples: why is it that the price one pays for a house or a car (two of the largest purchases one makes) a couple of the very few transactions in the U.S. where the price has to be negotiated? By having to "haggle" on the price, and guessing as to what is or should be a fair price, do we assume that it is the provider or the consumer that is in danger of "leaving money on the table" (no tipping pun intended, or maybe it is)!
Thanks for posting this, L. It got my noggin' pumping.
ReplyDeleteAs someone that has worked in multiple restaurant positions within multiple restaurant concepts over the past ten years, I concur with a majority of what you wrote. Eating out can certainly be very expensive and sometimes downright unaffordable. I also think that 15% gratuity is sufficient, especially when the patron is broke.
However, I feel the need to clear the air on a few points that you made. First and foremost, I do not think anyone should be rewarded nor tipped for poor performance. If a person is being rewarded the same whether they perform well or not, they probably will continue to do the minimum. Although some server positions require tipping out other employees, the server always gets the highest overall percentage. Tipping out other employees is a beautiful thing, it's an incentive, not to mention peer pressure, to maintain good performance. Most people do not like their potential income being impeded. If the server continues to be tipped poorly, I'm willing to bet that his fellow employees will grippe about said server until he/she either quits or gets fired. A standard tipping method is unfair to both good employees and patrons alike and it should always be based on a job well done.
I agree with abolishing the tipping culture and paying every worker an hourly wage. This model works with established, successful, mostly-corporate restaurants. But, what is fair pay? Minimum wage is a joke and nobody can afford to live in or around the city without a little help from community (welfare) or family. And what about the the little guy, the I watched way to much Food Network and this shit looks like fun girl? Starting a restaurant is costly and a huge gamble. If someone gave me some money to open a restaurant, I would take the dough and buy scratch tickets, it's a smarter investment. Living in Seattle, we see this first hand with noticeable amount of grub hubs closing up shop within a year of opening. I once heard that a start up can expect to not become profitable until exceeding one year of age. Then an owner can expect a profit of one penny on the dollar. True? Meh, just take a peak over here: http://www.restaurantowner.com/public/811.cfm
The order of whom performs the hardest physical labor in a restaurant is: dishwasher; cook; some chefs; busser; runner; server; bartender; restaurant manger. Yet the pay scale is nearly completely backwards with the exception of bartender vs. restaurant manger; the bartender almost always makes more cash. I have always thought this was unfair, hence why I quit cooking and became a server. I cannot wait until the bartender quits, so I can slide right in there and make some real money! But, isn't this how a capitalist society works?
Whoever said serving is a really hard job: they either have never worked really hard, have an asshole boss or they're delusional. What makes serving somewhat hard is the fact that a good paying shift takes place when most of society is enjoying leisurely time, leaving some disconnected from loved ones. Daily, one must smile all day, literally run around in circles and multitask with speed. On bad days: a server must pretend they like every patron, serve ungrateful people food, listen to patrons' petty problems, get yelled at by strangers, and not have time to use the restroom.
In closing I'd like to say, I can't wait to get a real job and hang up my apron once in for all. I'm getting too old for this shit.
Oh gosh, I'm a blogspot newbie and didn't realize that one cannot edit after posting. Another point I failed to mention: I have heard the retail/restaurant comparison quite a bit. It's a little, OK a lot, like comparing peas to cardboard. With a restaurant, the entire business is based on perishable products. It either sells, or gets thrown away and possible profit is lost forever. In retail, even if the product does not sell, it has some sort of value and is put on clearance or sold to a third party company. Most of the time a retailer makes a little profit or breaks even. When is the last time you walked into a restaurant and read a sign such as this: Clearance Sale! Last Years Cabbage 50% Off! With the exception of jarred kimchi, hopefully you never will.
DeleteHey Merkle, thanks for offering your inside perspective, I do appreciate it. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know what it's like to run a business, especially a small restaurant business, which I'm sure isn't easy. However, as you mentioned, the restaurant market, especially in places like Seattle, is super saturated, and it's ultimately up to business owners to be prudent about their investments and good at sustaining them. It sucks for people who don't make it, but what can you do? Find a market that is more in demand and profitable, I guess.
DeleteI agree with your point about not using standard tipping but instead adjusting tip amounts based on service quality. Ever since we had that conversation a while ago, I've been more mindful of that. Nevertheless, I still think tipping more than 15% is a lot to ask for, even for very good service.
Don't even get me started on the inequitable distribution of pay--not just in food service, but in almost every industry. I think some occupations/positions are highly overvalued and others severely undervalued, and it has almost everything to do with the interests of those with power and privilege.
As for the retail/restaurant comparison, I agree that it is a different ball game for the owners and managers, given the point you made about perishable items (although grocery stores sell perishable items, too, but at least they have other non-perishable products to sell). However, I don't think it's all that different in terms of whose laborers work harder. And when it comes to small businesses, I'm sure it's equally difficult for small retailers to make a profit. Therefore, the tipping expectation within the restaurant industry and not within the retail industry still doesn't make much sense to me.
I think your job IS a "real job." I think you deserve to claim your labor as being just as valuable as anyone else's--and I think issues related to pay and prestige are what make people think their jobs aren't "real jobs." However, I also support you in finding something that is more fulfilling and sustainable for you. ;) Thanks for reading and commenting!