It is internationally acknowledged that cooks everywhere are extremely disdainful of servers, except of course for the one that they happen to be sleeping with, if such a swindle could occur. This has been the arrangement since long before The Last Supper, and I really can’t see much reason to carry on this way any longer. The root of the issue lies in the disparity between the incomes of the two sides. It is here that jealousy has been known to thrive, and in order to quell such toxicity, we’ll have to do away with another kind: gratuity.
The concept of tipping was introduced to me early in life, and at the time it just seemed like my parents were buying fortune cookies. Further explanation revealed that the extra money on the table was for our server, who from what I could tell, was just doing their job. Other people who did their jobs were unable to tap into this cash stream, including those nice folks at the grocery store, the fellow at the gas station, or those kids covered with greasy freckles at the local Burger Zone. Apparently almost everyone had taken to this rule, and would leave somewhere between five and ten percent depending on a) their generous spirit , b) the level of service, c) quality of the food, or d) all of the above. Those who didn’t adopt the practice were tagged as cheap, or cheap because they were foreign (see: from a country that doesn’t tip), and neither was a desirable light to bask in. I still can’t decide which was more mysterious, tipping or fortune cookies.
In the years since, the concept has landed in hair salons and coffee shops, with more and more services being deemed “tipable”. During the same period, the standard for tipping has seen what I’m calling a WTF level of inflation. Let’s say for argument’s sake that in 1990, that people would leave 5% on the table, and they could walk away proud of their affluence, and the server would feel flattered and grateful. By the time Y2K exposed itself as nothing more than scare mongering, 10% was adequate. A decade later, and 15% has been passed by a panel of invisible but highly influential persons as the new bottom line, whereas the big spenders/industry folk tend to tip between 20-25%. Now THAT, my friends, is some shit. In the past 20 years, minimum wage has increased from $6 an hour to $8 (an increase of 25%). In that same time span, tipping has ballooned by about 300%, and also expanded its reach to previously untouched sectors. First of all, who in the hell planted this seed that grew up to be a hideous fucking tree with leaches for branches? Secondly, how did we let this happen? Lastly, why don’t we put an end to it once and for all?Trajectory predicts that this number can do nothing but increase, so you’re a fucking lunatic if you believe that in ten years you’ll still get to tip 15% and feel like P. Diddy. Or is it just Diddy? Who cares? I pity the fool who tips 20% on a hamburger.
Let’s back up the truck a little bit and examine why it is that we’re tipping in the first place. The way it was explained to me when I was younger was that servers don’t earn a very good wage, and that they depend on their tips to earn a decent living. My understanding of a business is that it provides goods and services in exchange for money, and that money is then used to cover the costs of operation, including wages. So why, my friends, why, is the onus on the customer, and not the employer, to compensate the employees fairly? While I propose an end to gratuity, I don’t wish for the money to disappear, but rather that it be included in the advertised prices. This would create a single traceable revenue stream, which would increase the dangerously slim profit margins of restaurant ownership. Between 5 and 10% of total sales are pocketed directly by servers. If that money were to be accounted for, the government would no longer have to rely on the honour system to determine the income of thousands of industry staffers (for appropriate taxation), and maybe, just maybe, the cooks could be rewarded as handsomely as the rest of the skilled labourers in our society. The benefits to the front of house would come in the form of a wage increase, financial stability, and realism. There’s no doubt that the servers would experience losses, but if referred to as “corrections”, the adjustment might seem more palatable. Besides, tipping has reached a point where most people do it whether or not the service/food was good anyway, so adding 10-15% to all prices wouldn’t even leave a mark. If by chance an experience is substandard, there’s always the possibility of items being removed from a bill, or people could always exercise their free will and never return to Restaurant Hell, which is the most potent message a customer could ever send.
This whole thing probably reads as a big ol’ fuck you letter to my front of house counterparts, and that isn’t the intention. I’d love for some balance between the front and back, and that’s something that I’ve yet to see. The way things are, the way that currently works out extremely well for the servers, just plain ain’t fair. I wouldn’t dare accuse them of being cunning enough to engineer such a dastardly scheme that would see them work half as much and earn twice as much, but that’s how it worked out, and I’m tired of sucking on that. Younger versions of myself had dreamt of one day owning a restaurant without traditional service staff, instead hiring more cooks and having everyone take a turn. I’ve loosened my grip on that idea, and now believe that service is an important piece of the puzzle. But that is exactly what I’ve been trying to say this whole time, that service is a piece, and not the whole. Any outcry of jacked up prices and the right to determine that extra expense can be poured into the ocean, because what I’m suggesting is as real as it gets: no surprises, properly compensated employees, and lesser helpings of both bitterness and greed.
Okay servers: you bring the torches and I’ll bring the marshmallows.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I think the crux of the issue is that your solution doesn’t address what economists call the principal-agent problem, while tipping does, to an extent.
The principal agent problem describes the dilemma in which employees who are paid a fixed wage are only motivated to fulfill the minimum requirements to receive that wage. Anything else and they are just giving away labor for free. Tipping encourages servers to work a little harder, and because their efforts are quite visible, it’s easy to tip commensurate with this effort.
So for those reasons, I think your plan wouldn’t work. But I’m not against tipping the kitchen staff, if some kind of mechanism was in place to allow that to happen.
Jason,
The kitchen does receive gratuities. Typically between 2-4% of total sales will find their way to the back of house to be divided appropriately across several staff members. Another small percentage will be divided amongst bussers/hosts/bartenders, and the rest is to be pocketed by the server. As I had previously mentioned, the system in place is imbalanced in terms of reward dispersal.
If the gratuities were to transform into a reasonable wage, one would hope that pride could enter the equation in place of greed. Money in large sums is more or less absent from a kitchen environment, so motivation is tied to craftsmanship. Perhaps similar expectations could find their way to the front of house? Separately, with all income being accounted for, a restaurant could likely afford more staff to provide better and more attentive service. Also, people who perform on a “bare minimum” level would almost certainly find themselves out of work, just like in other lines of work. Good performance could be tracked and duly rewarded with wage increases as well as promotions. I’m proposing a game change, not a minor adjustment.
Your counter does not take into consideration that tipping has become more or less irrelevant, as most people feel obliged to do so. A zero tip is a rare breed these days, and it would be foolish to believe that it is due to a unilateral high standard of service. Merit has less to do with it than ever before, and the practice’s prevalence is mostly influenced by social pressure.
Thanks for reading.
Jacob Galbraith
Jason, that is a typical argument about motivation, but I still don’t think that is the sole and overriding incentive for giving good service, in fact, I suggest it is much less important than most people think.
Consider that most careers don’t have tipping as part of the compensation package. What is their motivation?
I agree with Jake, most servers expect a tip regardless of the level of service. Good service should be part of the job description and compensated with a living wage, not an extra add-on. Bad service will lead to a new career, regardless.
with minimum wage a restaurant can have more servers on to make things run smoothly when they can reply on tips, but if you had to pay a server 20$/hr then you would have less servers on and service would be not as tuned in?
The other problem is people have no problem paying a carpenter 1000$ for a new table, yet doesnt want to pay more then 10$ for a meal. So Incorporating new server pays at lets say 20$ and having the same staff level would increase menu price that people wouldn’t eat out.
Jacob,
I think you misunderstood my point. By bare minimum, I meant that minimum that it takes to avoid losing one’s job. In other words, doing just enough to keep one’s job. So for instance, a typical example of the principal-agent problem would be the server working really hard when the principal (manager/owner) is looking, but shirking his or her duties otherwise. However, with customer tipping, the principal effectively turns this oversight duty over to the people who must deal with the server anyway. It’s rather efficient.
I agree that a zero tip is rare these days, but I certainly adjust my tipping for the level of service.
Paul, I think your point about most careers not involving tipping is rather weak. For one, many jobs involve some form of incentive, such as commissions with salesmen, which does seem to improve their performance (they sell more). And how would tipping isn’t exactly conducive to most desk, or even industrial jobs. A lot of people don’t even meet the person they are working for, or that they’ve been hired to work for.
it’s actually quite simple. become an owner.
cooks will always be slaves for a wage. cooking school doesn’t graduate chefs. it’s like driving school, they teach you how to pass the exam, not how to be a chef. cooking is tough, rigorous work, that is underpaid and unappreciated. but…it’s cooking. something that you are trained to do by the institutions which you “graduate” from…unlike running a business which an owner has some sovereign control over; and needless to say, takes a bit of brains.
the top grossing servers in this city make the equivalent of $110k a year by pre-tax standards, which they claim very little of. yes, it would be great if all tips were shared equally among everyone, but you need a hell of a revolution to change that.
cooks…you are a dime a dozen. listen, follow recipes, say yes and try to make nice with the chef…pray to keep your job…LEARN.
servers…get along with the front and the back. suck up to the owner/manager…you’ll make money.
discrepancy? yes.
not fair?
considering all the “douche-bags” that collect the grats, you as cooks need to become chefs..and that means getting your heads out of your asses. let’s face it – cooks have their brains embedded in the bedrock of their egos, which, for those new to the industry, means that every cook thinks that they are the cat’s ass, and that they are smarter than their “chef” (that’s chief for those who don’t have a french/english dictionary). It’s a cruel industry, and cooks don’t last, servers do.
jacob, you are quite the intelligent individual. i appreciate your writing, and wish you nothing but the best. you seem to have the brains to communicate…keep working your passions to keep the public content both with your culinary skill and your publishing voice. if you stay on your path, money will become a byproduct, and your servers and apprentices will copy your method.
There’s another way to achieve a fair level of compensation for great service and food/drink production. Split the tips equally between everyone, and I mean everyone. Servers, Chefs/cooks/dishwashers/bartenders/bussers/etc
This system is common place in many restaurants and other hospitality business in the UK, where I worked for 8 years and it works. The reason it works is because everyone has to work as a team towards the same goal and if that goal is accomplish the costumer will tip.
@tuga:
I lived, and worked as a server, in the UK (London and Brighton) for 7 1/2 years. Let’s examine the system that works so great (according to you). Let’s imagine that minimum wage is 4 pounds an hour. Restaurants would pay you, as a server, 2 pounds an hour. The remaining part of your wage came from the ‘tronc’. Tronc is collected by adding a discretionary 12.5% service charge to the diner’s bill. This money went directly to the house. We, as servers, never knew how much tronc was brought in on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. We were told it was not our business to know. We were constantly shocked by the management’s threats to take money from tronc for any small infaction eg. missing teaspoons, broken glassware, too much dirty linen etc. When payday came after a busy month such as December we were surprised to see no difference in our wages. It was exp;lained to us that they had decided to hold some tronc back for the leaner months ahead. Then came the leaner January and lo and behold our wages dropped significantly. Management told us of all the replacement costs for glassware etc, and that December hadn’t really been that busy. I have many friends in the UK who worked at different establishments, and my experience is the norm. I got to a point where I didn’t give a shit at all. I have always taken pride in the job I do. I’m not just in it for the cash (as hard as that might be to believe…after all I AM a server…and we’re ALL money-grubbing morons). Anyways…..consider yourself lucky…most of the UK doesn’t work like you described above. One last comment on your final point: “and if that goal is accomplish the costumer will tip.” This makes me seriously doubt that you were ever, in fact, in the UK…
I totally agree with Tuga. It’s the best policy in my opinion.
@Corey
Maybe next time look for a job you should ask questions first, I always made my employment choices according to different facts and tip poll was always one of them. That’s why I’ve always got my fair share from the tip jar. I’m sure that the food and service quality as well as the relation boss/employee on the places that you mention couldn’t be that good.
And keep in mind that if the boss was using the tips to top up minimum wages tax was paid, if the tips had been split by someone else they would have been tax except and no used to top your pay.
“tipping has ballooned by about 300%”
Where exactly were you working in 1990, anyways?
5% tips? Only 10% by 2000?
I was working back in those days, and we were making 20%. (Always made sure to provide cold beer to kitchen though.) From my perspective, I’ve seen the average remain consistent over the last 20 years to be between 15-20%.
Thomas keller instituted a tip pooling policy a number of years ago at his stable of restaurants http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/opinion/10shaw.html This model is akin to the policy of many european restaurants I have worked at, in most cases the policy worked because of the transparency & structure based on valid criteria (experience, position, etc….) difficult to argue with really.This dime can only hope as Yoda suggests that more cooks become owners & help institute a reign of decency in the compensation of BOH & bring respect to the profession. Perhaps those brave souls will be rewarded with genuine, thoughtful & passionate staff, the very backbone of any good restaurant