Isabel Tenpas
Mr. Reuter
Economics
26 October 2015
Is Tipping a Thing of the Past?
Is restaurant tipping a behavior of the past? Will all restaurants begin implementing a “no tipping policy”? Danny Meyer’s Universal Hospitality Group has started utilizing this policy. Instead of requiring customers to tip, the overall price of the menu was increased allowing the company to keep a steady revenue flow. The main purpose of removing tips is to advertise wage balance between employees. Waiters are usually the only employees in a restaurant to get tipped, therefore, creating a larger gap between their paycheck and that of the kitchen staff. The outcome of this change, while having negatives, will most likely end up being more beneficial to companies and customers. (Drew)
To compensate for not receiving tips, companies are raising the prices of their food. When people see the high prices, it scares them. These people may look for possible substitutes including, fast food restaurants where they don’t have to tip or eating more homemade meals. These consumer decisions could really hurt the restaurant business. The question remains: will the opportunity cost of diminishing tipping be beneficial for the company in the long run?(Jones)
While it seems there are many negatives of banning tipping, there is an outweighing amount of positives. With the balancing of wages, employees will overall be more happy. Consumers will not stop demanding restaurant made food. Once, people catch on to the idea that in reality they are not paying more for their food/service, they will most likely take a liking to the new ways. Danny Meyer said, “You don’t tip your doctor if they do a good job. You don’t tip the airline pilot if the plane lands…. “ Meyer addresses a very true point. The restaurant business if one of the few places where we use gratuity as a recognition for good service.
Thinking about it, tipping really is becoming a thing of the past. It is inconvenient and an added stressor when eating out. Having gratuity built in to meal costs, will not only balance wages and make employees happier, it will allow the customer to enjoy their meal without having to worry about how much they are going to tip.
Jones, Charisse. "Danny Meyer Says There Will Soon Be No Need to Tip at His New York Eateries." USA Today. Gannett, 15 Oct. 2015. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.
"Is This a Tipping Point for Tipping?" CNBC. 16 Oct. 2015. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.
I really like your topic! Although I disagree, tips will give the workers an incentive to work harder.If the employees are given an incentive, that will increase the companies productivity. I know if I didn't get tipped I wouldn't be as excited about going to work. When I get tips it gives me reassurance that I am doing a good job. If tips were banned and prices increase, as you mentioned people might find a substitute. That's why it is almost crucial to keep the luxury of tips because otherwise less consumers will buy your product and demand will ultimately decease.
ReplyDeleteI was not aware that this change may be occurring. It has always been interesting to me that servers had a lower minimum wage and received tips to compensate. It does make sense that this pushes for servers to want to work harder on making the experience of the costumer the best but getting a big enough tip is never guaranteed. I am curious to know, however, what the average percent change in wage will be for servers. Predicting this information accurately would be a key tool in finding the reaction servers would have to this change.
ReplyDeleteI was not aware of this change. I personally disagree with the change. It incentives servers to do the best job they can do as well as give consumers the opportunity to thank them for doing a nice job. I wonder if this will cause a decrease in the number of people willing to work jobs as waiters. If so the wages might increase more and with that possibly food costs too.
ReplyDeleteI think the change is a dumb idea because it could throw off this whole thing going called society. Why make the change? The costs will be the same when the change is made so why not just stay the same? Why fix something if it isn't broken? Maybe I'm just old school but keep it the same.
ReplyDeleteI only knew that some restaurants had a no tipping policy, but I had no idea that many more restaurants are considering it. I don't think that they should get rid of tipping. As said countless times before, it acts as an incentive for waiters(tresses) and makes up for their low pay, so unless everyone is on board with increasing the salary of waiters(tresses), I highly doubt many people will agree with it.
ReplyDeleteI think that it would be a good thing they got rid of tipping. I would be perfectly fine paying extra at a restaurant if I knew I didn't have to tip. It would also be good for the waiters because then they can't get screwed over if someone is a bad tipper, and will make the pay in restaurants more equal. I think people in general would welcome this change because it would probably end up being pretty equal in price if the tip was included in the price of the food. There are substitutes like fast food but I don't think that this would cause people to eat more fast food, I think they would still continue to eat at restaurants like you said.
ReplyDeleteI was not aware that this was happening. I think it is a good idea to take tips out because not all people in the service industry receive tips. However, some waiters might be able to make more money working with tips than with a higher wage per hour due to built in tips. Also, companies that do so may not give all the allotted tip money to the waiter or waitress and then they are just making a higher profit on the meals. Good topic!
ReplyDeleteI personally don't like this change because like Isabel said, the customers see the price increased and that would make them not want to eat there anymore. The waiters/waitresses are the ones who do most of the work, so they should be awarded with a tip.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting topic. Personally, I am apposed to the change. Yes this might help with wages, but tips are used as compliments to the waiter/waitress. Normally if the waiter/waitress is terrible you leave a small tip, or vice versa. This makes me wonder if now the waiters/waitresses will do a terrible job overall since they will not be receiving large tips. Therefore, if the tips cease the efforts of serves may as well.
ReplyDeleteI was not aware that this was happening. I think it is a good idea to take tips out because not all people in the service industry receive tips. However, some waiters might be able to make more money working with tips than with a higher wage per hour due to built in tips. Also, companies that do so may not give all the allotted tip money to the waiter or waitress and then they are just making a higher profit on the meals. Good topic!
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting to me because I was not aware of this change happening. I feel that if I was a waiter and wasn't being tipped, I wouldn't have the motivation or incentive to do my best work. When waiters don't do their best work, the company as a whole becomes effected from it. I think that the demand for waiters will rise as many of them might not be satisfied with their income, so minimum wage for waiters may be raised as a result.
ReplyDeleteI actually hope that this does become a thing. My reasons why are because not only is tipping considered rude in some countries, like China and Japan, but it also makes it hard to figure out how much you actually owe before getting the bill. My only concern is that waiters might just say "screw this" and not be so nice since they aren't being tipped for being polite.
ReplyDeleteI actually just heard something about this and I don't know if I agree with it! I think waiters/waitresses won't like that they don't get tipped anymore and also customers are not going to like the higher priced food. Personally, I feel this change is unnecessary and could harm a restaurants profit in the end.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the banning of tips. Although it creates a difference in wages between kitchen staff and waiters/waitresses, it gives an incentive for the waiters to act nice and be as precise with orders as possible. It makes the waiters/waitresses feel thanked for their service. If these tips were removed, the waiters/waitresses may feel less inclined to go above and beyond to ensure the customer the best service possible.
ReplyDeletePersonally I like going to restaurants that use a tipping system for the waiters and waitresses. The evidence provided of a wage gap between kitchen cooks and servers is in fact true, but is compensated by the extremely low hourly pay made by servers. A friend of mine used to be a waitress and would receive somewhere around $2-2.50 an hour plus tips, so this can be compared to sales where the salesman (in this case the server) receives commission off of their sales, and can receive a higher amount into their pocket based off of how well their service is as well as how much the buyer purchases from them. While from a customer stand point, a generous tip can be provided to servers who are extremely kind and conversational, giving a higher amount to the person who worked to earn such. Tipping more also gives the costumer satisfaction and makes them feel like a good person as well. The non-tipping idea for restaurants is an interesting idea and is easy to see the motivation behind it, but personally I believe a tipping system works out for the best.
ReplyDeleteMy dad usually has the news on in the morning while I'm getting ready for school so I recognized your topic right away. This has been a highly disputed topic and I think both sides present valid points. I really like the comparison you made between tipping at a restaurant and tipping for other services such as going to the doctor's office. If we don't tip the doctor or even a person working the cash register at a store, why tip a waiter or waitress? That being said, there is something to be said for rewarding someone for good service. When this topic was being discussed on the news morning show one of the guest speakers who worked as a waitress in college said that tips were definitely an incentive while working. They drive a waiter or waitress to work as hard as they can and be as friendly as possible because they know they will make more if they do. Going along with that, as a customer it doesn't feel right that the hard-working waitress who is generally kind is making as much as the waitress who treats her customers rudely. There are definitely strong arguments for both sides and I believe this will continue to be a debated issue.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't aware of this change, and working at a restaurant gives me a good idea on how everything will go. Yes pay will be more even but the want for servers WILL die off. Being A server is a very stressful job and the only way to compensate for it is knowing you will walk out with a couple hundreds dollars in your pocket after a long stressful night. This pay change will change their pay to paychecks which is not the style which servers like to be paid. This may sound like a good idea at first but in the long run it will turn restaurants into fast food style places due to nobody wanting to serve anymore.
ReplyDeleteI never knew about this; it's very thought provoking and interesting. Food service is really one of the only aspects that get extra tips for doing a good job. I feel like getting rid of tips will not benefit those waiters that do go above and beyond for their money, and reward those waiters that are below average because now they would have the same income. Initially, I'm sure that there would be outrage that the prices have gone up, and it would take the consumers a while to become used to this new way, because tipping has been common for quite some time. I believe that the opportunity cost of keeping the tipping would maintain workers incentive in their job and by getting rid of that extra revenue, customer service could decrease rapidly. Maybe getting rid of tipping could just be and individual company thing as desired, and not present in all restaurants.
ReplyDeleteI never knew about this; it's very thought provoking and interesting. Food service is really one of the only aspects that get extra tips for doing a good job. I feel like getting rid of tips will not benefit those waiters that do go above and beyond for their money, and reward those waiters that are below average because now they would have the same income. Initially, I'm sure that there would be outrage that the prices have gone up, and it would take the consumers a while to become used to this new way, because tipping has been common for quite some time. I believe that the opportunity cost of keeping the tipping would maintain workers incentive in their job and by getting rid of that extra revenue, customer service could decrease rapidly. Maybe getting rid of tipping could just be and individual company thing as desired, and not present in all restaurants.
ReplyDeleteI never knew there was such thing as a no tipping policy. I thought tipping was just out of generosity for the waiters and waitresses. I don't think that getting rid of tipping should be a choice because in some cases tipping is how many people get paid. I don't many people would agree with it because if they drop tipping then how is anyone that gets paid through tips going to get paid that's right they wont and there's a possibility that those businesses will either run out of employees willing to work with them or run out of employees and lose the business.
ReplyDeleteThis topic caught my attention because I was unaware that restaurants were considering or already have a no tipping policy. As many people have already said, tipping helps make up for the waiter/waitresses low pay. I don't think that many people will agree with this unless they agree to increase a waiter/waitress pay. Tipping lets the waiter know that they did a good/okay/bad job with their customers.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the banning of tips. Although it creates a difference in wages between kitchen staff and waiters/waitresses, it gives an incentive for the waiters to act nice and be as precise with orders as possible. It makes the waiters/waitresses feel thanked for their service. If these tips were removed, the waiters/waitresses may feel less inclined to go above and beyond to ensure the customer the best service possible.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that if I was a waitress that I would want to get a tip otherwise I would have no motivation to do my work since waiters/waitresses don't always get paid the best. People will probably not want to pay for higher priced food and would rather give a tip and pay less for their food. Waiters and waitresses work for their tips and when trying to get a good impression by the customers they also make the company look good. If they were not getting tipped they wouldn't care as much as to how they served their customers or how they treated them since they would not have to worry about what they think about them.
ReplyDeleteHonestly If you are making a good wage per hour you really don't need tips. I make $8.50 an hour without tips and I'm perfectly happy. Compared to people who make tips tend to get a wage of around $5.00, so honestly there is no point for tips in my eyes. I think if a restaurant is paying you well you would be fine living off of that compared to relying on tips. I think it would be good overall if they got rid of tips overall.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of this idea before and thought it was really interesting! I agree that it is stressful at the end of a meal trying to figure out what the tip is and who should pay what. The no tipping policy would be a great solution! I wonder how many restaurants have already started this policy and what the effectiveness is. This could be something of the future, however, it might discourage waiters to work as hard because they would be getting the same pay regardless of how good they are. Great article!
ReplyDeleteI never thought how we tip mostly for food services and not doctors and other services where they are helping us a lot more. But, I don't think that tipping will just stop since people are already just so used to tipping their waiters when they go out to eat. And they might just feel guilty if they just up and left without leaving anything behind. Even though the no tipping policy would save a lot of trouble, it might be a bit difficult for the consumers to adjust to this new policy since they are so used to tipping when they go out to eat.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like the start of the "No tipping" is companies advertising how well they treat their employees. It makes it easier for customers to pay and leave than think about how well their waiter/ress was. No tipping would be beneficial for the customer and for the server.
ReplyDeleteTipping is not a thing of the past, every time I go out to eat I always tip no matter the bill. It is a consumer expectation to tip you waiter or waitress. At a restaurant you pay for the food, not the people that serve you. There fore I believe that even if they include tipping into food prices I will always tip.
ReplyDeleteI hope the "No Tipping" policy isn't instituted at my work. Without tips there is no differential earnings for a worker who is kind and helpful to a worker who slacks of and doesn't care. The reason tipping was ever started was to compliment workers on there quality of work. Thank you for the piece, and tip on.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that by removing tipping you decrease that pay gap between employees, though as it has already been stated in the writing, in doing so it will cause cost to rise in order to pay everyone equally. I personally don't think tipping should stop. It's the consumer's own personal choice to tip, they don't have to if they don't want to, but they do anyways. It's a simple choice, let the tipping be and all will stay the same, take it away and more negative changes then positive ones will occur.
ReplyDeleteIf tipping is not going to happen anymore, than it would be much harder to find waitresses to work for the restaurant. Being a waitress, I know that the tips are the only thing keeping me at my job. I also feel like with the waitress knowing they wont get a tip, they won't be as nice because it's not easy dealing with people. If the price of the food raises, the demand for them will go down because no one wants to pay more than $15 for chicken tenders or $10 just for fries. Without tipping, less people would be willing to be a waiter.
ReplyDeleteI never realized that we don't tip the people that are really beneficial to us. I'm very used to the drag of paying the extra money to tip a waiter, which is sometime a hassle if the food itself was expensive. I don't think the trend of not tipping them will catch because that's how they recieve their income, mostly from tips. That's how some people need to create a living off waiting on others. Though it makes sense to tip less, I'd feel bad for the people getting an income from that specific job.
ReplyDeleteI never realized that we don't tip the people that are really beneficial to us. I'm very used to the drag of paying the extra money to tip a waiter, which is sometime a hassle if the food itself was expensive. I don't think the trend of not tipping them will catch because that's how they recieve their income, mostly from tips. That's how some people need to create a living off waiting on others. Though it makes sense to tip less, I'd feel bad for the people getting an income from that specific job.
ReplyDeleteI think that no tipping would be a bad idea. Waiters/waitresses wouldn't put as much work in to get a good tip. I think the only way it would work is if the United States does what Europe does and include the tip in the total bill price.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that removing tips could do is lower the quality of service from the waitstaff. Personally I don't have a problem with tipping. Even though there is a difference between the wages, the waitstaff does have to deal with the client much more than the kitchen. I think that that makes them more deserving of tips. Overall this is a new trend that could change the way we dine.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that removing tips could do is lower the quality of service from the waitstaff. Personally I don't have a problem with tipping. Even though there is a difference between the wages, the waitstaff does have to deal with the client much more than the kitchen. I think that that makes them more deserving of tips. Overall this is a new trend that could change the way we dine.
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ReplyDeleteI would like to see tipping continue at many restaurants in order to keep the food prices lower. Tipping continues to serve as a way to keep servers in line because money is the ultimate motivator and we remove waiters incentive to be courteous it may result in the decline of revenue for restaurants. This could happen as customers may eat out less if service overall tends to decrease. I think this was very interesting and has both benefits and disadvantages both ways.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very exciting story to read and think about. I work at applebee's in pewaukee and looking over this very surprises me, considering the fact that I just started serving. I hear a lot of servers who only get tip with only $2.00! They made sure everything was okay, got what they requested, and treated them like royalty and with only two or three people it comes up as a minimum of that amount. Like it was mentioned in the article about gratuity, the check is mentioned on there some people are just cheapskates. I do agree that at certain places you don't need to tip, but after they did hard work to make sure your trip or evening is perfect they you should pay a decent penny. It is very tough being a server, that is basically your minimum wage and with people hardly tipping it is going to end up bad for the server and the company. If we all pitch in and tip our waiter or someone who is helping you it will you end up feeling amazing in the end.
ReplyDelete-Mike Schall (A3)
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ReplyDeleteI would like to see tipping disappear. For me, the waiter is simply doing their job, and don't exactly deserve an extra reward, but at the same time they are relying on those tips and it makes customers feel obligated. If they were paid according to wage laws they wouldn't need a tip, unless maybe they do a spectacular job. The change would be a little hard to adjust to, but its one change I'm willing to make.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see tipping disappear. For me, the waiter is simply doing their job, and don't exactly deserve an extra reward, but at the same time they are relying on those tips and it makes customers feel obligated. If they were paid according to wage laws they wouldn't need a tip, unless maybe they do a spectacular job. The change would be a little hard to adjust to, but its one change I'm willing to make.
ReplyDeleteI agree that tipping is a thing of the past. What I don't agree with is that instead of tipping, the food itself has a raise in price. This raise in price could make the company more of a profit. This profit could then go back to the workers who make very little salary. Overall the topic was relatable, and interesting. I agree, and disagree with what was said.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is very interesting as both sides have valid points. Tipping is some sort of reward, it drives waiters/waitresses to be overly nice and friendly to the costumers. However, the comparison you made between tipping at a restaurant vs. tipping other services like medical offices really made me ponder, "why should we tip waitresses if we don't tip the doctor or other workers doing things for us at other businesses?". Waiters/waitresses do make a decent wage and tipping in my opinion doesn't have to be a necessary thing. However, if I were a waitress I would probably like tipping because it is some extra cash; but from a costumer point of view, I see tipping as a pain when I pay for my own meal because it is just taking cash out of my wallet. It will be interesting to see if tipping becomes something in the past or if this long term trend will continue.
ReplyDeleteTipping is actually a relatively new thing, servers depend on tipping to make a living and you are considered a bad person if you do not tip. Why would it be our responsibility to pay the waiters when that should be the restaurants job. Tipping is random even depending on the type of service.
ReplyDeleteI found this a very interesting topic to consider. Tipping is a thing that I have always done subconsciously at sit-down restaurants, it's just something I do. I believe it is rude to not tip at all but most of the time, it isn't the waiter's fault. The question is, however, will waiters do their job less efficiently if they aren't getting tipped? I believe they will because it has always been the norm to tip good waitresses. Another question comes up about the wages of servers. Usually these servers don't make very much because they rely on tips. If a restaurant makes a "no tipping" policy, will the wages of these serves increase? I believe it would be right if it did.
ReplyDeleteI feel that taking away the tips and just increasing the price of food would be more beneficial for the customers as well as the employees. Since I work at Applebee's I am aware of how much the servers make and get tipped on a bill. It can ruin their night. However, if removing the tips, servers will not be do their best which could lead people to complain.However, there was a good point made that other companies/businesses don't require a tip, so why would restaurants? I think that restaurants do need that because is just makes the staff more alert and prepared to take a table. So overall I don't think the opportunity cost of removing tips is worth it because it could lose a lot of customers due to misunderstanding.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting topic. The United States is the only country that still uses tipping as a form of payment towards a server. However if tipping becomes obsolete it may lead to higher prices of food higher in order to pay the servers a higher wage making the quantity of demand decrease because of the expense. Which may cause consumers to seek out substitutes, for instance cooking at home. Also the quality of serves may go down. As a server myself I know that I try to act more pleasant and accommodating in hopes of a larger tip, however if I knew that I wasn't going to get a tip and may wage is the same if I am pleasant or not then I would probably not be as friendly and do what I have to do to get the job done and not go above and beyond what is expected of me. So I feel that tips are a good motivator, but I could see how people may say otherwise.
ReplyDeleteIf prices of food will increase because of the elimination of tipping, and this scares customers, wouldn't this discourage them from returning, or paying as much as they usually would? If so, this would probably reduce demand, and total revenue of the business, overall not benefiting the business, but also, if the situation becomes bad enough, lowering the wages of the workers. Tips provide an incentive for the waiters to do a outstanding job, which would in turn please the customers. If the customers are pleased, then they will want to return again, not just for the food but for the service as well. If customers are returning and happy with their service, then they will spend more money, and increase total revenue of the restaurant.
ReplyDeleteI agree that tipping is an outdated practice, and that how it's expected in most restaurants makes me believe that the price of food is in reality 15% more what is printed on the menu. I believe that companies should be up front about their prices, and distribute the extra profit earned from the price increase more equally throughout the restaurant staff. I don't think that this price hike would alter the consumer's demand to eat out, because the price that they pay would not change.
ReplyDeleteI agree that some people don't always know the correct amount to tip their server, although I think that the waiters and waitresses would lose out if this new method was put in action. My sister was a waitress and made most of her profit from the tips that she was given after waiting on tables. If tips were included in the cost for meals, then it would rise discussions about how to divide the cost among the hostess, waiters, waitresses, cooks and of course the restaurant as a whole. If the employees all received the same profit, it would cause a debate of workers asking for raises. Although, it is a unique idea that could be beneficial if the restaurant could find a way to distribute according to each employee's rank and importance of their job.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though the elimination of the "tip" will most likely benefit its employees. Although there are those lucky days when you get a table with a twenty dollar tip there's also those days that are slow and a bunch of teenagers tip three dollars. This new movement will even out the pay to prevent from days where you hardly pull any money. But those days where rich people come in and tip enormously will be missed. The kitchen staff will probably also be more content with their wage as they'll make close to the same it's kind of sad when these people worked hard to make good meal and then the customer tips the waitress fifty dollars and the chef makes thirteen dollars an hour.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, the restaurant staff may feel a bigger presence of aplomb as they have more equal wages. As the restaurant formulates a no tip policy and then enacts it so customers understand the rise in price. Hopefully the customers respond well to the stress reliving of the tipping procedure so the restaurant doesn't have to extract their law. As well as the big tips from the rich may be missed this policy will get rid of the intermittent wages.
DeleteWhile eliminating tips will even out the wages of restaurant workers I feel as though instead of the cooks and other staff that don't receive tips we will see that waitress and waiters may become restless over the loss of their income. Tipping is something that I think will be around for a while as it is not only used for when you eat out. I do however feel as though consumers would enjoy not having to worry about a tip whenever they go out to eat, and this practice of raising prices to eliminate tips could soon become a common practice.
ReplyDeleteThe problem of eliminating tipping and instead “building in” the gratuity into the menu could be very problematic and bordering on political. After all, if a waiter or waitress is not going to be getting their tip directly based off of their job performance, instead having it spread amongst other employees, it would eliminate the incentive to work hard, provide helpful service, and be friendly and charismatic to the customers. At my job, I certainly work harder in the positions where I know there is a possibility for me to earn a tip. And I must be honest with myself in saying that I probably wouldn’t work as hard to “wow” the customers if there was a no tipping policy. In my opinion, this policy proposed by Meyer is not worth the trade-off. It would create unmotivated servers in order to solve a rather non-existent problem. Additionally, I think that people would at times still feel obligated to give that one exceptional waiter a tip, and become frustrated with this policy and that there was no way for them to convey their gratitude to the server.
ReplyDeleteWhen ever my family and I go out to eat, they always would tell me tip your waiter because it is the right thing to do. They bring you your food that you order off of the menu and they have a lower wage than the cooks do. Tipping is something that you can do to show your thanks and brighten their day. You don't have to do it but people feel the need to tip showing their appreciation and the waitresses don't have a problem with that, to them it is free money. This is a very interesting topic because it is a big debate that is always tumbling around in peoples heads around the globe so this is not just here in the states. I think that it should stay the same like it always has, but if it were to come own to it increase the pay just a little bit of the waitresses and then all the tips that are given should be put in a jar and dispersed amongst everybody cooks and waitresses withing that restaurant so then everybody is happy.
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