Posted on 08/01/2015 2:28:48 AM PDT by CharlesOConnell
"Why Restaurants Are Eliminating Tipping", proclaims a news article headline. The claims include the ideas, that it promotes bad service, it's an obsolete concept, and is unnecessary because of the living wage movement.
Restaurant owners are certainly entitled to their point of view, but they are probably poorly served by latching onto "living wage". But workers have a right to their own direct relationship with customers. Their independent legitimacy as professionals doesn't have to be dependent upon permission from restaurant owners.
Early twentieth century Britain saw the rise of a national movement, growing out of Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum (New Things), called distributism. This was based on the idea that gigantic business and gigantic government were colluding to restrict the freedom of the common people. The archtypical common man, Jones, could only have economic security if he owned his own property and, even if he had to work for another, more powerful person, his ultimate goal needed to be, self-employment. (Coincidentally, the age of cottage industries has been criticized for nothing more than inefficiency, which was "relieved" by the rise of centralized factories during the industrial revolution.)
My chief criticism of "living wage" is that it has the potential to unnecessarily intrude a class of regulators into the economic life of professional service workers. Progressives feel that government is intrinsically enlightened, and must regulate small business and, coincidentally, small workers.
Whether or not this plays out in the long run, uncritical calls for "living wage" ignore the fact that the first obstacle is the heightening of a conflict of interests between small business owners and workers.
I religiously practice tipping because I believe that tips are the property of the workers. I'm not doing them a favor, I owe them the tip for work that they perform. If I didn't pay my fair tip, I would be defrauding workers of their wages, "a crime, the blood of which calls out of the ground for vengeance."
Workers at L & L Hawaiian Bar-B-Que were somewhat bemused to see me bringing in a small tip without ordering anything. I didn't have cash during a previous visit, and I was only paying what I owed.
If I can't afford to tip, I shouldn't be patronizing a restaurant. I should be going to the store, taking my own food home and preparing it for myself. Visiting a restaurant is a luxury; if it's one that I can't afford, I should refrain from it.
I'm not doing any justice by omitting my tip. But I certainly don't need Progressives taking away my freedom by raising prices. The principle of charity, which is only a form of love, isn't something that survives governmentalization.
My Dr is a professional.
A blog artist with a pant full of samples at the click.
Skip the tip! Good to see a shift away from tipping after years of more and more tipping. No one is owed a tip. If they want more income, they can talk to their employer or get a better paying job.
Uhm...what the fricken hell? If I have 20 bucks and want to go have some hot wings and a couple beers at hooters I will do so..thank you very much.....if I have a few bucks left over I will leave it for a tip.
I have had waitstaff that were surly, miserable and not deserving of any further compensation.
On the other hand, I have had waitstaff that were engaging, personable and a delight to interact with.
I have always expressed my satisfaction in my tips, sometimes less than the usual 20%, but sometimes, for a particularly delightful waitperson, up to 100% of the meal, since they are the ones that made the experience so pleasurable. Surly begets surly, and pleasant begets pleasant. I enjoy interacting with waitstaff, as they are new people to me and I love interacting with new people.
To legislate a particular wage for people-oriented staff, destroys the motivation to be a particularly pleasant person. Just as a stand-up comedian depends on their people skills, so do waiters and waitresses. It’s a people business and should be treated as such, rather than an entitlement for someone to make my dining experience miserable.
Those who can’t write worth a damn......blog.
With a fiat based currency there is no living wage as no set value can ever keep up with the vicious tax of inflation. ~ Milton Freedmon.
The three (3) learned professions from feudal times have been the law, medicine and the clergy.
In 2015 it takes a professional to say, "Do you want fries with that?" How America has fallen!
I tip for good service.
Anything displayed by any means, as demonstrated on Mystery Diners, gets no tip.
If they do a good job, waiters should be tipped because they receive far below minmum wage base pay. Its used to only be $2.39 an hour plus tips at most restaurants. I don’t know what it is now but probably not that much more. Its obvious why the feds don’t want them to get tips (becaue there’s no way to track their real earnings). In Europe they generallly don’t recieve tips per my experience. Of course you may wait an hour and a half for your food to be delivered too. This latest development is probably just another one of those pushes to make us more like the European model to standardize us for the NWO that’s coming behinning in September if they have their way.
“In 2015 it takes a professional to say, “Do you want fries with that?” “
Afterall...they do probably have a college degree...maybe two.
;-)
I think I got da AIDS just reading the first paragraph.
If you stiff someone you are stealing from that person and have richly earned all the torments of Hell for eternity
My general rule is "never stiff a poor man".
OTOH, reducing a tip for poor service is not stiffing a waiter. It is educational, especially if I say why I am not satisfied. Lately my family has had a a few experiences with items which were never brought to the table, meals where one entree is served much later than the others, some entrees served cold, etc. This is not good service, and a full tip does nothing but guarantee that it will continue.
There are two sides to the tipping equation and both must keep their side clean. And, don't even start to say that the waitperson has little control over the kitchen staff. Tips are meant to be shared by the entire staff. If the waitress has a lower salary and lives mostly on tips, she does not have to share 50-50, but if she stiffs the kitchen staff, they will give her poor service.
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