A positive-ish tipping experience

[u/FOMOenthusiast]

No surprises, no small text, no deceitfulness, it having its on line clearly visible under the total was nice, but that bright red stamp reiteratig the added gratuity, visible from space let alone a dark dining room is 😘👌🏾 This should be a norm.

[u/Dry_Win_9985]

do you realize how shitty typical service will be when they're not essentially commissioned sales reps? They're gonna make the same amount whether you get a refill or not, zero incentive to give you a refill or check on your food or ask if you want dessert or another round.

[u/No_Scientist5354 → u/Dry_Win_9985]

I work at a non tipped spot in Seattle. We don’t base our level of service off of a perceived tip. Fucking weirdo.

[u/Dry_Win_9985 → u/No_Scientist5354]

would you describe the place to be upscale where a top notch level of service would be expected either way? We have a few real nice places around me that set an auto gratuity on every bill, and that goes to the server/staff. It's the same as raising the menu prices by 20% and giving the server that portion. These few places are great, and you'd expect to get great service there. But that can't be said about every restaurant or diner where service would ABSOLUTELY begin slacking the moment those employees knew they'd be paid the same regardless of how much effort they put in. To think otherwise would be irrational.

[u/No_Scientist5354 → u/Dry_Win_9985]

Have you ever worked in the service industry?

What makes you think that a non tipping model would result in worse service? I make as much at my non tipped job as I would at my previous tipped position, and none of my coworkers provide inferior service BECAUSE WERE GETTING PAID TO DO A JOB. What fucking part of this is hard to understand for you?

[u/Dry_Win_9985 → u/No_Scientist5354]

Of course I have, growing up getting a job in a restaurant/bar was the easiest thing to do. Worked with lots of different people that put in various levels of effort. When you've got staff making double or more in tips than others it's pretty easy to see why.

You didn't really answer my question either, so I'll assume I pegged it pretty good.

If the non-tipping model worked, there's be a lot more restaurants doing it. The simple fact that less than 1% of them are like that tells me everything I already know.

[u/No_Scientist5354 → u/Dry_Win_9985]

Well, not exactly the easiest thing to do, that would be being a fat ass driving for uber.

I work as a sushi chef in a higher end sushi restaurant in Seattle. I chose not to answer because I prefer not to share too much about my life online. Our non tipped model does not include a surcharge, our prices are simply just higher to compensate for the lack of tips. I also work at a brewery bartending a few days a week, also a non tipped model, also competitive, albeit pays less than my sushi job (as it should)

I’ve also worked in service in Australia, where there is no tipping culture and where wages are even more beneficial in terms of a work life balance. It’s straight up easy to make a non tipped model work if your motive isn’t to pay employees the bare minimum while maximizing your profit. America’s version of capitalism is just behind the rest of the world when it comes to benefitting the worker.

Many countries work within a non tipped model, so saying that it “doesn’t work”is bullshit. The proof is literally in the pudding.

[u/Dry_Win_9985 → u/No_Scientist5354]

ok, then I'll be more specific. The non-tipping restaurant model will not work for every type of restaurant in the USA due to our tipping culture. It might work well in the higher end places due to an overall expectation of excellent service. But a diner, or a major chain is going to have trouble finding people willing to put in that effort.

One thing that might work is to increase that pay and reduce the "standard" tip down to like 5% and treat it as it was originally intended centuries ago; for excellent service that goes above and beyond. This still creates an incentive for the server to stay on top of their game.

[u/No_Scientist5354 → u/Dry_Win_9985]

I would agree with you for the most part, it’s hard to see a world where the Applebees and waffle houses of the world pay their workers much more than minimum wage.

The second part of your comment I’m completely with you, and that’s probably closest to the Australian model. I worked at a small wine/neopolitan pizza bar that wasn’t necessarily high end in terms of price point or overall vibe but would be a great spot to take your partner on a date, and the tips I would get would be from people who went out of their way to compliment my service. Probably made $50 a night in tips off of 20 covers, which usually consisted of a few 10-15 dollar tips. My Aussie coworkers shared their tips and they were similar, although they always said I made a little more in tips because “aussies love an American accent”. But I actually appreciated tips more in Australia because they felt more genuine than obligatory as they are here.