10 years ago
5
Why People Love Tipping Waiters
When the Linkery, a small San Diego restaurant, shuttered its doors this summer, it ended a fascinating social experiment. The Linkery had instituted a standard 18 percent service charge in lieu of tips, and had refused to accept anything on top of that. Meanwhile, its sister restaurant down the street, El Take It Easy, operated under a traditional tipping model.
Continue Reading
http://www.popsci.com
Join the Discussion
"Certain small number of very vocal men (and it was always men) resented that we were not letting them try to exercise additional control over our team members. This was true even though compelling research has shown that servers do not adjust quality of service as a result of tips; instead the idea that the restaurant was not offering our servers up as objects of control, was heresy. For these people, the primary service they wanted from the restaurant was the opportunity to pay for favors from the server — much like the patron at a strip club pays the club for the opportunity to dangle bills in front a dancer for individual attention."
Although I do agree that certain people may feel this way, my beef with an 18% mandatory service charge is that its no longer an option for the customer. If the service sucks, the waiter never comes around, ignores your calling, etc with a tip you have an option not to add additional funds on top of the price you paid. If your waiter was exceptional, the food tasty and your experience pleasant, then it should be the customer's choice to not only choose how much they wish to tip, but if to tip at all. Most people in my experience will tip, but they tip because they can and not because they are forced to.
I do the same. The service needs to be good or else I will not tip or round up to the next dollar.
I tip 10% if the service was good and 15-20% if the service was amazing. If someone ignores me, doesnt come and ask my how my first few bites are or generally doesnt give a shit I will opt to tip very little or nothing at all. I dont bend to social pressure.
A buddy of mine never tips, hes like Mr. Pink from Reservoir Dogs. Sometimes it pisses me off that hes like that because he constantly dilutes our tips.
Next time you go out with this friend of yours, tell him to run his own tab. Then he can deal with that shit himself and wont include the rest of your party.