I'm definitely not against tips. But to force someone to work for them — that I am against. I'd prefer that my server was getting a decent wage to begin with. Then if I liked the service, I'd give them a tip. In Japan, it's considered gauche to tip a restaurant server. Admittedly, the prices of meals there might be somewhat higher than in the West, but no longer by much. And I've tipped servers there anyway; you kind of have to force it upon them, but they hardly ever refuse, assuming it's just between you and them and not in front of a table full of customers.
I was reading a blog from my erstwhile "hometown" of San Francisco that led to a blog by the local critic (scroll down and you'll see a discussion of what various restaurant employees get paid) that led to an article about tipping being abolished by one of America's most famous chefs and it raised anew my wonder at this tipping practice in North America.
I think a server who doesn't have to worry about tips will be a happy server. He knows that even if you, as a fickle member of the public who is known within your circle of friends as "famously cheap" — and I have known quite a few folks like that — withhold his tip for some imagined slight, he won't get totally stiffed on the 5-course dinner he has just served you. He may have done his best but you just didn't like the food — which of course was Chef's fault, but Chef gets paid his regular salary anyway. So I think a regular, living wage plus whatever the public wants to give in tips is a good idea all around.
Actually, if I had my way, I'd tip in advance. That way, you'd be SURE to get better service.
Not to name-drop or anything, but that certain chef of whom you speak includes a gratuity in the bill at his resto in California.
ReplyDeleteWhen the milliner and I ate there a couple years back, it was one less thing to worry about at the end of the meal; tell me how much I owe, and that's what I'll pay. There are all these "rules" about how much to tip for alcohol as opposed to food, several waiters, etc., that I appreciated just being told what to pay.
Yes, it's almost a weird feeling receiving the bill and knowing that's all you have to pay, like it is in Japan. And no more agonising if you have to give a tip, say, if you're just coming in to pick up a takeout order. And if you didn't have to pay the pizza delivery guy a tip, knowing that instead he was getting a decent living wage, wouldn't that be a gas? No tipping? The bellboy? The taxi driver?
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it all be so much nicer for everyone.