Should Tipping be Banned?

[Falvlun]

5 Reasons we should ban tipping

From the experts in the podcast, here are five reasons the U.S. should ban tipping:

It's discriminatory. This is Lynn's No. 1 reason for outlawing tipping. In his research, he's found that the people who get the most tips are slender white women in their 30s with large breasts. What a surprise.

He's also found that minorities get fewer tips in general. When you have an aspect of employment that hurts a broad class of people, whether it's intentional or not, that's absolutely discriminatory. This is a class-action lawsuit just waiting to be filed.

It may lead to corruption. Another expert interviewed in the podcast, Magnus Torfason from Harvard Business School, said he has found that countries with more tipping have more corruption.

It's really uncomfortable. For the tipper, that is, and possibly for the tippee as well. That's because people don't know what they're supposed to tip and for what service. How much is enough? And do I have the right bill on me? I can't really ask this person to break a $20 bill, can I? Help!

It's essentially subsidizing businesses. Lynn has estimated that about $40 billion a year is given in tips in the United States. Dubner pointed out that NASA's annual budget is less than $20 billion. So we could build two NASAs with all the money being tipped. That's money that businesses don't have to pay to their waitresses and other service employees.

It shifts work away from the employee. Tipping can actually create so much unease that some customers end up doing the work instead of the employee. For example, people carry their own luggage to their hotel rooms even though there are workers hired to perform that specific service. People park their own cars farther away, even though there's a valet right there at the door. As a result, some service workers end up with nothing to do, which is inefficient and wastes a company's resources.

What do you guys think? I don't like tipping simply because I feel really awkward doing it, and I never know what percentage I should be tipping for non-restaurant jobs. But that's probably not a good enough reason to abolish the practice of something.

 

[Awoon]

Yep ban tipping. We went to Australia in 1997, went to dinner left a tip they didn't know why. The owner of the restaurant and the server told us everyone gets minimum wage in Australia and no tipping is done.

 

[Willamena]

Is it bad that my first thought was for the cows?
Tipping

 

[Willamena]

What do you guys think? I don't like tipping simply because I feel really awkward doing it, and I never know what percentage I should be tipping for non-restaurant jobs. But that's probably not a good enough reason to abolish the practice of something.

I'm in favour of abandoning tipping, but not for any reasons of principle, just to save my wallet a few bucks.

 

[Iti oj]

I'm in favour of abandoning tipping, but not for any reasons of principle, just to save my wallet a few bucks.

You say that not till you see the price of a plate of food go up. By more then your average tip. Also the food sevice industry would no longer be viable as a job.

 

[Me Myself]

I dont believe in tipping. They have a salary. Why on Earth should I give more?

If we gonna give charity lets call it that.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Not sure about it.

I was used to waiting tables as a way to get some cash in my pocket that night so I could eat. Other jobs where I needed money right then and there, I needed to wait until the next pay cycle before I could eat, and that would be 2-3 weeks.

I wasn't as good as I wanted to be, if memory serves. I mean I came to work hard, but I seemed to mess up a lotwhen I had more than 10 tables to serve. It affected my tips, and people would be unhappy with the service. Can't say I blamed them, but it was a job that never gave breaks, either, no matter how long you might be on your feet or how fast you needed to turn tables, pre-bus the food, refill drinks, get orders out, answer customer questions, or set the tables.

If we were to change the entire model from tipping for good service to no-tipping regardless of service, one positive I can see is that a person trying to get by with a job to survive won't have to bust their ***es for 10 hours a day without a break for less than minimum wage. Fatigue, back problems, knee problems, foot problems, etc., but the restaurant will have to change it's industry to accomodate for training and for break times with cook staff, bartending, and servers/hosts.

I'd like to see how other countries handle the industry. My understanding has been that the establishment is open from breakfast to late dinners, and that we should be on our feet ready to serve when they arrive and prepared to cater to their needs. Hence, we are compensated according to the level of satisfaction the customer feels. Not by an industry-wide standard of accomodation.

I think people are scared that servers will naturally be lazy if they didn't have something to work for: tips. I'm not sure about that. I just knew it was a survival thing for me that I needed cash on any given day, and my reputation wasn't ready to handle dancing in the strip club or turning tricks or anything since I was working in professional dance, too.

My long post is done. I'm sure I will sit back and think about this and come up with an actual opinion on the matter.

 

[Vinayaka]

I tip well. If you've ever worked in the service industry, or have kids who did, you will know why. If the government doesn't do something about wealth distribution, then we can.

 

[Willamena]

Also the food sevice industry would no longer be viable as a job.

They make it viable in Australia. Why should Canada be any different?

 

[Me Myself]

I dont believe in tipping. They have a salary. Why on Earth should I give more?

If we gonna give charity lets call it that.

I juat read my post.

Do we have a Scrooge award?

 

[MysticSang'ha]

I dont believe in tipping. They have a salary. Why on Earth should I give more?

If we gonna give charity lets call it that.

My "salary" when I was a server was $2.08 an hour. Back then, minimum wage was $4.25 an hour. So, we were being paid well below minimum wage, and my understanding is that the model continues through today.

Also, servers are taxed 8% of all revenue of food they sell. And are expected to give 1% of revenue to bartenders and 1% to bussers. Therefore, when a table tips 10% (thinking it's adequate), the server actually winds up making nothing. Or, worse, if a table is unhappy with the food the chef makes, but decides not to tip to show the restaurant a message, it's the servers who get screwed. Because they still have to pay tax on the food they serve, give to bartenders and to bussers, and sometimes actually PAY to work.

There have been times where I worked an 8 hour shift. Turned tables well. Happy customers for the most part. And then wind up walking away with less than $20 in my pocket. I looked at that and would shrug my shoulders and say that at least I could eat tonight. But obviously, anybody who thinks that servers have some cushy job and are showered with dollar bills night after night ought to try it for a week and then get back to me.

 

[Me Myself]

My "salary" when I was a server was $2.08 an hour. Back then, minimum wage was $4.25 an hour. So, we were being paid well below minimum wage, and my understanding is that the model continues through today.

Also, servers are taxed 8% of all revenue of food they sell. And are expected to give 1% of revenue to bartenders and 1% to bussers. Therefore, when a table tips 10% (thinking it's adequate), the server actually winds up making nothing. Or, worse, if a table is unhappy with the food the chef makes, but decides not to tip to show the restaurant a message, it's the servers who get screwed. Because they still have to pay tax on the food they serve, give to bartenders and to bussers, and sometimes actually PAY to work.

There have been times where I worked an 8 hour shift. Turned tables well. Happy customers for the most part. And then wind up walking away with less than $20 in my pocket. I looked at that and would shrug my shoulders and say that at least I could eat tonight. But obviously, anybody who thinks that servers have some cushy job and are showered with dollar bills night after night ought to try it for a week and then get back to me.

Then the salary should be fixed. They are leaving it to the customer to pay the employees and it doesnt work that way. Least not in that way that way

As I said, if it is charity, let's call it that, but it's not, its employers not paying as much as they lawfully should (if I understand you correctly)

 

[Revoltingest]

Tipping is a system we live with not because it's the best, but because it's the standard. Sure, sure, it's awkward at times, but it's how waiters (uni-sex term) are paid. Stiff them on the tip, & you're essentially stealing their labor. We live with worse systems, eg, the IRS, electoral college, real estate brokerage fees, Obamacare.

 

[Willamena]

My "salary" when I was a server was $2.08 an hour. Back then, minimum wage was $4.25 an hour. So, we were being paid well below minimum wage, and my understanding is that the model continues through today.

Um, that's legal in the States? What's the point of having a "minimum wage" then?
Edit: Nevermind. I did some research, and it's because of tips that they can get paid less than minimum wage. So doing away with tips can only improve their situation.

 

[dust1n]

Um, that's legal in the States? What's the point of having a "minimum wage" then?
Edit: Nevermind. I did some research, and it's because of tips that they can get paid less than minimum wage. So doing away with tips can only improve their situation.

You got it... if the tips do not add with a tipped minimum wage, then the establishment is obliged to make up any difference if the tips allocated do not equal the actual minimum wage. I'm not sure how well this is understood or enforced.

 

[Sunstone]

When you work in a restaurant for tips, you can, if circumstances are favorable, make a living wage off of tips.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I'm against automatic minimum tipping when the service sucks. I tend to tip extremely well when the service is excellent (25% or more), 15-20% when the service is adequate, and 10% or less when the service is awful. I'd like to be able to not tip at all when the service is bad, but it goes too much against my grain to completely stiff somebody.

 

[ChristineES]

We always tip when we eat out. I know that waiters and waitresses get paid less than they should be. I just don't see a problem with it.

 

[Me Myself]

We always tip when we eat out. I know that waiters and waitresses get paid less than they should be. I just don't see a problem with it.

The problem is that e employers should pay em as much as they should pay them, and apparently they are not doing it.

 

[Sunstone]

Um, that's legal in the States? What's the point of having a "minimum wage" then?
Edit: Nevermind. I did some research, and it's because of tips that they can get paid less than minimum wage. So doing away with tips can only improve their situation.

If you're any good as a waiter or waitress, you can make well above minimum wage (About $8/hr) in tips. I used to average somewhere around $22 or $23 an hour in tips at a mid-scale restaurant. If they had done away with tips, I would not have agreed to the job.