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Michael Bauer, the restaurant critic for the SF Chronicle, brought up the subject of service charges at restaurants on his blog. Tipping, whether you like it or not, is still the standard in the US and diners are used to it. Up until recently, the only time that a service charge was included on the bill in lieu of a tip was when you had a very large party out for dinner. Some restaurants, notably higher-end places like Chez Panisse and Per Se, have flat-rate service charged tacked on to the bill regardless of how many diners are in your party, streamlining the process for those footing the bill and giving the restaurant staff an ample enough fee that some of that charge can be diverted to "tip" the back of the house staff.
More recently, in a strange hybrid between the two styles of gratuity payment, at least one restaurant has begun to add on a service charge to cover the back of the house, while expecting customers to tip the waitstaff. Incanto, in San Francisco, is the example that Bauer pointed to. He noticed that they added a 5% service charge to his bill with no explanation. When he asked his waiter, he was told that it was supposed to be in addition to the normal tip, although some customers deducted it from what they would usually leave. Clearly, having both additional fees wasn't working out well for the front of the house staff even if it did benefit those in the kitchen.
As Bauer points out, it sounds like we may be reaching a turning point in this country when it comes to tipping. He says he is "beginning to edge closer to the opinion that maybe an automatic service charge should be applied, or that prices of the menu should fully compensate the staff." It certainly sounds like a reasonable solution.
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12-07-2006 @10:53AM TC said... I'm an Aussie and was in the States last year and find the concept of tipping to be absolutely rubbish. As i understand it, tipping is necessary to pay the waiters etc who don't get a base wage or a very low one, is that correct? If that is the case, then food should've been way cheaper because owners don't have to cover or fully cover staff wages, therefore can afford to charge lower for their dishes.
But when prices are still unbelieveably high, what is the point of tipping?
I'm so glad that tipping in Australia is a novelty and not the rule because waiters and waitresses are paid full wage, and tips (if any) are a bonus.
And what is with your tax system. Why can't you guys just include the tax on the price tag instead of having it calculated at the counter. Damn annoying and its not like you don't have to pay it.
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12-07-2006 @11:26AM Brian said... I love hearing the Australian perspective on things!
Personally, I hate tipping, I've been a server before and didn't do it for very long because of the wages. I'm a fan of raising the wages for restaurant staff and if that causes prices to go up for foodstuffs, so be it. Maybe people will learn to cook more, or restaurants will start charging a more fair price for their entrees. Plus the concept of tipping is very flawed, some people tip automatically without regard to the service while others hedge their bets and instead of speaking to their server or the manager about their experience, they tip cheaply (or not at all) and assume that it speaks for them.
I was recently out at a somewhat well-known DC family-run Chinese place and when the bill came, we paid cash and everyone around added in what they thought was the fair tip. The server collected it and I suppose totalled it up in her head. She then turned around and in unfortunately broken English tried to explain that she didn't think we had tipped her enough! It was a pretty embarrassing situation that I think would have been avoided if there were either a standard service charge applied to the bill, or tipping became obsolete due to paying fair wages.
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12-08-2006 @1:15PM Rob Brooks-Bilson said... I'm currently traveling in the Philippines, where it seems more and more restaurants are automatically adding a 10% service charge to the bill. It wasn't this way a year ago (although a few places did it), so I think it's definitely a trend here.
Back in the US, I have mixed feelings about tipping and service charges. I tend to be a 20% tipper for good service, so when I'm out with a large party, and the restaurant automatically adds on an 18% tip, I tend to leave it at that and don't add in the extra 2%, which is a shame for the waitstaff, but I do that because when I have crappy service, I'm still obligated to pay 18% for it!
I really do wish that the price for a meal was the price for a meal, service included. At my job, I'm paid a salary. Any bonus I earn isn't based on my level of service to the company, but to the overall profitability. I think if restaurants ran like most other businesses, we would all be a lot happier.
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12-07-2006 @11:52AM Alex said... Another Aussie perspective ... when I was in the States I encountered some absolutely atrocious service and people still expected a tip!!! If the tip is an important part of your income, then perhaps you should actually work for it! At one restaurant in New York (where all the waitress had done was scribble down four lots of the same thing and dump said items on the table - I don't think she even managed to smile) we did not tip generously and the waitress looked at our tip and said "Is that it?"!!! Can you believe it?! We only wished we'd had the presence of mind to take the tip back!!!!
Why not pay your staff well and make the provision of good service a part of their terms of employment?
Services charges are an abomination - if the service is good, people will tip. Forcing customers to tip is just acknowledging that the service is below par and they wouldn't tip if left to their own devices!
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12-07-2006 @11:58AM PghEats said... I am a great tipper, and because we have a few restaurants we patronize regularly, I like to give the usual waiters a nice large tip.
I've given poor tips, but generally in the case where the problems were egregious. That was punishing the bad, but I am glad that there's a way to reward excellence.
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12-07-2006 @11:59AM Gary B said... I hope to one day open my own restaurant here in Oklahoma, and I totally agree with the idea to either bring up the wages or adding the service tip into the price. I also thought about using the commission idea from most retail stores. I'm pretty sure some restaurants are allready using this idea, but I have yet to see it locally.
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12-07-2006 @12:02PM Alex said... As an American who has traveled to the South Pacific, where tipping is not customary, I can tell you that often the service is seriously lacking. When you get paid the same amount regardless of how good a job you do, where is the incentive to greet your customers with a smile and keep the glasses full? I'm sure there are many servers in countries that do not tip who provide excellent service, but there are a lot that don't. In the U.S., with our expectation of instant gratification, waiting ten minutes for someone to take your drink order would never fly.
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12-07-2006 @12:04PM Jason said... I'm generally a big tipper, but if someone adds a tip onto the bill automatically, that's what they're getting. I went to a restaurant with my girlfriend and they added a 15% tip on automatically. It's a shame, the service was excellent - I was planning on tipping closer to 25%. Oh well.
Tipping is a stupid game, I agree, but I think that's because many people don't do it right. If I get lousy service I have no problem leaving a lousy tip. If I get excellent service I have no problem leaving an excellent tip. There are too many people worried about "not tipping enough" even when they get bad service, and people who don't tip very much, which punishes good servers.
Those are my disconnected thoughts on tipping. Generally I also tip more at places I frequent, like my favorite bar, since that tip gets you a very real benefit. I can walk into that place when it's shoulder to shoulder and get immediate service, no flaggin down the bartender or waving my arms.
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12-07-2006 @1:54PM mel said... "Why not pay your staff well and make the provision of good service a part of their terms of employment?"
Exactly.
"1. I'm an Aussie and was in the States last year and find the concept of tipping to be absolutely rubbish. As i understand it, tipping is necessary to pay the waiters etc who don't get a base wage or a very low one, is that correct?"
That's correct. Waiters get paid only a couple of bucks an hour here, the lawmakers' argument being that because they get paid tips they're not subject to minimum wage. It's a self-enforcing circle.
As for everything being cheaper, that is the case if you compare it to Europe, where tipping is NOT standard. I'm not sure how much of that relates to the staff being paid regular wages and how much of it is just higher cost of living, though.
Either way, it's a crock, because it means that to be paid "standard" wages (to even REACH minimum wage for everyone else), waitstaff HAS to receive a minimum tip level from each customer (which, believe me, they don't...some people don't tip at all).
In my opinion, they should be paid standard wages and tipping should be an optional gesture from the clients as thanks for excellent service (a monetary incentive for them to provide excellent service, not just to show up to work).
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12-07-2006 @3:51PM bdw said... Tipping has worked here in America because we have been used to it. My first wife worked in food service for a while, and because of her intelligence, personality, and hard work (and her looks didn't exactly hurt) she was able to garner exceptionally good money, expecially as a bartender. I worked as a golf caddy for tips before I was old enough to get a real job. Without being in any way nationalistic or anti-foreigner, the system, like any other, breaks down when new people come in that don't understand how it works and abuse or don't want to use it. It definitely works best if you are a regular customer at a restaurant or bar. In Mexican tourist areas, less so in rural Mexico, the staff understands the system and will scramble to help Americans, less so people from countries unaccustomed to tipping. I am regularly placed at the head of the line or given special treatment because the workers expect Americans to tip. Gas station attendents in tourist areas make sure my windows are clean, and little boys ask to carry my groceries; when my back was out, they did and they got a tip. It is a simple, personal exchange, done in a professional, friendly manner. Some people see it as degrading, and I am sure it can be, however I have always seen it as an agreement between two equals to smooth the path of business. It works if you want it to. There can be a dark side to it, but mean or evil people can alway find a dark side to anything. Free people of good intent will use the system as it is intended, to enhance business.
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12-07-2006 @4:59PM Bob said... Interesting, one of my favorite restaurants in town just recently went tip-free. There is a couple of posts about it here:
http://thelinkery.com/blog/?p=304
It seems to be working out for them.
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12-07-2006 @5:23PM Steve said... In Europe it really depends on the country whether tipping is the norm or not. In some countries tips are expected and in others they would embarrass the waiter.
In my country tips are expected and usually about 10%; they are never, ever added to your bill automatically. Tips are a bonus here, they don't have anything to do with the waiter's salary (you can't legally pay anyone less than minimum wage).
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12-07-2006 @8:43PM no name given said... too many people feel obligated to leave a tip, even if the service is horrible. I have friends that proclaim that tipping below 20% is stingy and greedy, and that good service demands 25%-50%.
I once had service that was so, so bad (no water, cold food, never checking up on us, bringing the check after we'd sat with empty plates over 20 minutes) that I tipped $.02. I wanted the server to know that I didn't forget to tip, but that I put some thought into it and decided it was worth $.02. Something tells me he probably just thought I was a stupid itch and took it out on his next customer.
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12-08-2006 @1:51AM Une Cusinière said... I agree that servers should be paid more. Some may question whether not depending on tips will stop good service, but right now they DO rely on tips and there is an over-abundance of terrible servers. I was out with two of my friends one night at a fairly upscale restaurant for drinks. When we first arrived, we were greeted and served quickly. AS the night went on, our service gor slower and when it came time to leave, we ended up waiting almost half an hour for our tab. (There were only a handful of people at the bar) After this, my friend and I left only a few dollars for a tip. We are usually over-the-top tippers, as I and many of our friends work in the food service industry. I know they depend on tips, but I work for it, so should they. I think people would work just as hard without tips, since there is always someone waiting to take your place. Especially in the food service industry
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12-08-2006 @5:25PM Ima Wurdibitsch said... I tip appropriately. If the service is good, I give 20%. If it's fantastic, I'll tip much more. Especially at restaurants or bars that I visit frequently, I get excellent service.
I also tip appropriately if the service is horrible. There's only been one instance where I tipped nothing.
Since I always pay with a credit or debit card, I also write an explanation or note of appreciation on the signature slip. Then, the server and the manager doing the receipts later have no doubt as to why the tip was less than stellar or over the top.
It would be wonderful if our servers were paid at least minimum wage. Since they're not and this is no secret to them, I'd think they'd work to make the service good and, hopefully, make up the difference in tips.
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