Tipping: The “No-Tip” Restaurant
Photo by Cubbie n VegasThe New York Times Magazine featured an article this weekend called “The Food Issue – Why Tip?”, in which Paul Wachter chronicles the story of The Linkery, a San Diego restaurant that in 2006 eliminated tipping as a way of building unity amongst the staff and decreasing internal conflict. Don’t get too excited, though — while The Linkery does not accept tips, they do include a mandatory service charge of 18% on all of their checks.
The story largely focuses on the internal perspective of the restaurant with regards to the no-tipping policy, but the piece raises some interesting questions from a consumer standpoint, too.
The Linkery’s Plan
The Linkery’s idea was simple: the issue of tipping was dividing the staff — with waiters angling towards better tables, cooks feeling lefts out, etc. — so why not eliminate the tip entirely? Raising prices was not feasible due to competition, so The Linkery settled on adding an 18% service charge that was pooled and shared. While there are certainly restaurants that add mandatory service charges, The Linkery takes it a step further by banning any additional tipping.
One waitress was quoted in the article as saying, “for the first time, I get to concentrate on the job, and I’m looking at the guests without seeing dollar signs or worried about what anyone else is making.” Sounds great from a consumer perspective — your wait staff feel more involved in the restaurant, and are less likely to aggressively seek tips.
Americans Don’t Like Service Charges
The problem, apparently, is that Americans don’t like service charges. The article mentioned a statistic from the Zagat Survey concerning a preference by patrons for tipping as opposed to a service fee. I tried to find out more information on that claim, but the best I was able to find was a New York Times article from 2005, “What, No Tip? Service Charge Faces Struggle at Restaurants“. That article provided the following statistics from Tim Zagat:
- About 80 percent of people surveyed preferred to decide themselves how much to tip
- Americans like to reserve the discretion to give no tip (or a punitive tip), but rarely exercised that right
- The average amount left (in 2005) was about 18.5 percent
Apparently, Americans like the comfort of knowing that they can punish or reward for service, but rarely choose to deviate from the normal tipping etiquette.
It is even more interesting when you consider that tipping really doesn’t make much sense from a logical perspective. As the article points out, the tip comes after the service, so unless you’re planning on building a future relationship with a waiter, you have nothing to lose by skipping out. The waiter or waitress simply has to count on the fact that you are going to come through with a tip — falling back on psychological factors.
Way of the Future?
I’ll admit — my gut instinct is that I fall into that eighty percent of Americans who prefer tipping over a service charge. I never penalize a waiter or waitress using the tip — I don’t think it is ever really appropriate (if I have a problem, I would talk to the manager). I suppose my attachment to the tip comes from the sort of inherent satisfaction that comes from rewarding (thanking?) someone for their work. It seems to me that simply paying the service charge doesn’t adequately thank the server for their work. Do they even need to be thanked? I suppose that is a fair question — it is their job — but it still seems like it is appropriate to make some kind of explicit action of gratitude.
But the arguments of The Linkery seem sound. I can definitely see how tipping can cause strife within a restaurant’s staff, and if Americans are going to on average leave around 18 percent tip, why not assess a service charge in that amount that fairly distributes it around the employees? After all, if you really have a problem with your service, a manager will almost always make it right. So I don’t know — perhaps it is not a bad system all things considered.
What are you thoughts on the idea of a mandatory service charge and no-tip? Yea? Nea?
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I hate tipping.
Just pay a fair salary and fire them if there are complaints about their service.
I always leave ~20% and having it added automatically is not really a solution, although it saves me triple checking my arithmetic after a couple microbrews.
Thanks, Joe
I actually do not mind tipping. The fact that I get to judge the service on my experience I feel is genuine. I am a good tipper. If someone does a good job they will know it and if they do a bad job, agani, they will know it! Thats the name of the game is it not?
I agree with Joe. Why can’t restaurants just pay their employees a fair wage like everywhere except restaurants?
@ Joe, Slinky — I can sympathize with both sides — tipping does seem like a silly practice in some ways. It would be nice if everyone were paid a fair salary, but as the article points out, but what is nice in theory is hard in practice. The article points out that The Linkery thought about doing just that, but that they were afraid they would lose too many customers if their prices appeared higher than their competitors. It seems like the entire industry would need to change at once.
@ Doctor S – I freely admit I get some satisfaction out of tipping… but at the same time, the lack of a consistent standard makes it somewhat unfair for a waiter or waitress — the same service may get a wildly different tip from two different people.
Thanks everybody!
Alot of different ideas on tipping, I don’t feel I have to tip because the server is making a sub-standard wage, I tip because I received adequate, good or exceptional service. And yes if service is really poor, I leave nothing.
And on the other side of the coin, I have been a server for many years as well, and if someone tipped me well, I would certainly remember them next time and ensure their experience was extra special the next time I served them.
Maybe people need to remember that as well.
The really good tippers got the extra’s, (extra buns, food fresh of the hotline, drinks replenished frequently….)
And I did remember the “poor” tippers and while they got adequate service, I did not go out of my way.
I’ve waited tables for over 30 years. I’s not a fill-in job until something better comes along; it’s what I do. I could have chosen kitchen work but I want my money in my hand every day, my tips. Sharing with the kitchen staff would not sit well with me. They chose kitchen, I chose out front.