Tipping Banned At One Nyc Restaurant

[CrossCuT]

I never understood why the tip is supposed to be a % of your bill?  What the difference of waiter serving you a $8 chopped steak vs $35 filet mignon?

Yeah!

Why does one waiter/waitress get tipped less for doing the exact same thing? Just because the dish they are carrying is more expensive? In all reality is the same type of work. Take orders, understand menu, deliver food, check on customers etc.

 

I think its great that the restaurant is taking more care of their employees and not leaving it up to the customers in the sense that the waiter/waitress might NOT get tipped.

[Papist]

Yeah!

Why does one waiter/waitress get tipped less for doing the exact same thing? Just because the dish they are carrying is more expensive? In all reality is the same type of work. Take orders, understand menu, deliver food, check on customers etc.

 

I think its great that the restaurant is taking more care of their employees and not leaving it up to the customers in the sense that the waiter/waitress might NOT get tipped.

 

Also, the waiter serving chopped steak my deserve a better tip than his coworker serving the filet at the next table...yet gets a smaller tip only b/c people at his table didn't buy expensive meal.

[CrossCuT]

When I first read the thread title I thought it said "Tripping Banned" and I was like .... well thats interesting.

[Aloysius]

given my cynical nature, I'm going to say right here that I very much doubt that the entire 15% increase will go to server wages... otherwise they'd make it a 15% automatic gratuity tipped out to the whole wait staff evenly.  sounds to me like a tricky way for the restaurant itself to get a bit of the money that used to go to the wait staff.  I could be wrong, but if you think about it it would seem that increasing prices by 15% and then disconnecting what servers get paid from what the sales are is going to result in the restaurant ending up with more of the money out of what is being paid by the customer than they used to get compared to how much servers used to get.  whatever, I'm sure there are pros and cons.

 

I don't really understand the problem people have with the tipping obligation as part of servers' wages, is it really that big of a deal for you to take on that responsibility when you choose to utilize the luxury of going out and getting cooked for and served?  but whatever, I guess if a restaurant wants to do it that way instead then that's their choice... I presume voluntarily adding an extra gratitude exceptionally on top is still possible.  I do like not having to tip in bars in Europe, I guess, but tipping in restaurants seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to consider when you're receiving food service, how are people so troubled by it?

[KnightofChrist]

given my cynical nature, I'm going to say right here that I very much doubt that the entire 15% increase will go to server wages... otherwise they'd make it a 15% automatic gratuity tipped out to the whole wait staff evenly.  sounds to me like a tricky way for the restaurant itself to get a bit of the money that used to go to the wait staff.  I could be wrong, but if you think about it it would seem that increasing prices by 15% and then disconnecting what servers get paid from what the sales are is going to result in the restaurant ending up with more of the money out of what is being paid by the customer than they used to get compared to how much servers used to get.  whatever, I'm sure there are pros and cons.

I thought about the same thing. That not all of the 15% would go directly to paying the servers. But rather a percentage of the increase would go to cover the cost of bumping the servers up (likely) the min. wage in NYC. The rest would go to profit or other costs. Maybe not though, but likely in a cynical kind of way.

[Winchester]

Removing the incentive to go above and beyond. Probably a former bureaucrat running the place.

[CatholicCid]

I'm confused with disagreement about this. If he's removed the ability to tip, does not that mean that he is now paying the wait staff minimum wage?

 

From the article:

 

The starting pay for most New York waiters is a rate of $2.25 per hour, with the assumption that the waiter will make an additional wage via tips. The minimum wage for restaurant workers who are not assumed to receive gratuity is $7.25 per hour.

The pay model at Sushi Yasuda replaces voluntary tipping with a set 15 percent service charge on all purchased items. The owner, Scott Rosenberg, says it will simplify the dining experience.

 

 

This technique seems to simply be stating that the staff is now receiving a set wage. This set wage necessitates a bump in prices. The staff no longer has to worry about being 'stiffed' tips or not covering minimum wage. They seem to now be guaranteed it.

 

Given the cynicism, I'm just wondering if one could simply state (yes or no) that the owner is not paying the staff a legal, minimum wage? The article seems to imply that, yes, he is.

Edited June 12, 2013 by CatholicCid

[Aloysius]

of course he is, so there's nothing wrong with it per se.  however, it's pretty likely that this means that the serving staff will make less than previously and it's likely IMO that the 15% will not go fully to the wage increase, meaning that if you think about that extra 15% extra as the same money that would've otherwise been going to tips, some money that would've been paid to the serving staff will now be going to the restaurant.  of course, that's just my own cynical conjecture, but it seems pretty likely that's how it'll work out.

 

there's pros and cons to both systems, ultimately I think this is unnecessary and that we should maintain a tipping structure for waiters, I fail to see the problem with it.  people that stiff their waiters under the tipping system are scumbags, of course, but the tipping system still usually works pretty well for servers most of the time.

[vee]

I like this. It's approaching the problem head on, which is an underpaid wait staff. The customer should not be expected to ensure that the wait staff is given a just wage via tipping. The restaurant should be paying a just wage to begin with. It seems this restaurant is attempting to do that. Good job!

 

This.  A hundred times this.  A tip is a reward for service that goes above and beyond, not for someone doing what is supposed to be their job. 

[Gabriela]

If this restaurant is providing service staff with vacation and healthcare, then I cannot imagine that they are stiffing them on wages. Almost no servers in the US get vacation and healthcare. That is flooping luxurious for a server. God bless this restaurant.