Prometheus Wouldn't Tip . . .
So . . . I’m not tipping anymore -at least not all the time, only after exceptional circumstances. I’m not cheap. I’m not a miser. No, it’s not because I’m cheap. And no, it’s not because of the economy. Hear me out.
Restaurants are food retail, part of the service industry. Waiters, waitresses, bar backs, busboys, bartenders, etc. are the employees of the restaurant. As restaurant employees their salaries should be paid by their employers – the Restaurant. For our purposes Restaurants shall refer to any establishment that is in the retails food/beverage industry, i.e. Restaurants, Bars, etc. and Waiters shall refer to their employees, whose salaries consist primarily of tips.
I.
I’m not tipping anymore because I can no longer justify subsidizing the salaries of the Restaurants. I refuse to directly pay those salaries. The most common rebuttal that I have gotten when I have shared this with others: Waiters only get paid $3, plus tips. My immediate response, simply, WHY? Most people have never thought about it and simply tell me that that’s just the way it is. I then ask, how much do you tip – responses range from “the standard 10%,” “standard 15%” to a smug “20%, I’m a good tipper.” You of course know what my next question is, Why? Why do you tip at that level? Who decided that the standard should be 10%, or as I have been corrected – that the new standard is 15%?
Businesses figure their cost of overhead/operations – (cost of rent/lease, supplies, energy, etc, and importantly, salaries) and then use that to determine the price of their services. Somewhere, someone smarter than the rest of us decided, hey, I think I can pass on the salaries of my employees directly to the consumer rather than indirectly through price. And man, have they done such a fantastic job with it. We have come to feel that it is our responsibility to pay those salaries directly, while these Restaurant owners sit back counting their profits. And we are kept in check by Social Convention – not be thought of as a cheapskate for not tipping well or not tipping at all. We are expected to tip because that’s what we are supposed to do. Because that’s the way things are.
Let’s take a look at another retail service experience. As I walk into Express I am greeted by a spritely young lady who asks me if am looking for anything g in particular or need some assistance. I reply that I am looking around to see what’s on sale, some t-shirts, jeans, and maybe a little bit of browsing. She says ok; just give her a shout when I’m ready. After a few minutes I ask her to open up the dressing room so I can try on some of the stuff I’ve picked out. After having her run back and forth exchanging sizes, hearing her commentary current styles, and enjoying compliments on how good the outfits look on me (-that somebody as good looking as I am should be on TV – just kidding), and suggestions for accoutrements to my wardrobe selection, we head to the cash register. Afterwards I thank her for the help and leave knowing that I have done my part to stimulate the economy. What I didn’t do: look at my bill and think about her good her service was in order to calculate leaving 10, 15 or 20% gratuity.
Well, she receives a commission, you say. But not all retail establishments do. Besides, is that the best you can do to justify the overpriced jeans, t-shirts, or whatever else goods that are being sold? The markup from manufacturer to wholesaler and retailer accounts for that. Also, the clothing retail service associate actually has to try and sell most of the time.
When I go to a restaurant I’m pretty sure that I’m going to get something to eat. I don’t go in and say, “I’m just browsing, thank you.” It’s pretty much a sure thing. A waiter may talk me into getting dessert, but that’s about it. Whether I get only the $7.99 appetizer or the $25 steak, the waiter’s contribution to my decision is minor at best.
Give me my menu, take my drink order,
comeback in a few minutes and take my order,
keep my drink at a satisfactory level,
leave me alone to eat in peace without asking every 3 min if the food is good,
and bring me my check when I’m almost finished.
I will tip on some occasions, when the waiter has added value to my experience. For example, at a restaurant Euro Café, Lucas the waiter explained to me the difference in the different sauces used to prepare the meals. He explained that the white wine sauce was creamy, with a smooth and mildly sweet taste. And the red sauce was made with a reduction and had a zesty, somewhat tangy taste. He went in quite a bit more detail. But the point is that he was able to provide a great deal of value, something that the menu could not do alone, and influenced my menu choice. Additionally, he was able to make suggestion of menu items based on my tastes. I gave him a good tip!
II.
What about the poor waiter who will be affected by this? What about him? He is not a poor, helpless waiter. We tend to stereotype waiters as students working part-time or folks working second jobs to supplement their incomes, or the single mom breaking her back to make ends meet. That’s the case for some, but not for all. The money that I use at the restaurant to pay for the food and pay the tip is my after tax-income. I would like to have my salary tax free! Why do I have to pay a tax on my income and they don’t? Am I now working just as hard? So now he will have to declare his income and be taxed on all of it, just like I am.
III.
But won’t a change mean that the price of goods will go up? Yea, probably. But they shouldn’t go up that much. The Restaurant owners run the risk of sticker shock and losing customers if they raise their prices too high. People will start to look for alternatives and will not consume as much. Remember how perspective started to change as the price of gasoline went up? Or think of Southwest Airlines versus the rest – American, Delta, and United. Southwest provides a great service at a great value without charging all those ridiculous fees.
For the sake of brevity, I’ll stop here.
So, I say, NO to TIPPING!
Let me know your thoughts.
