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I want to see an end to tipping in America. I also want to see servers paid at least a living wage, and the excellent ones to earn more (perhaps by having to mo

I want to see an end to tipping in America. I also want to see servers paid at least a living wage, and the excellent ones to earn more (perhaps by having to move upscale where wages ought to be higher reflecting more skill and effort) Is there a viable path forward? Is there some way I can support it happening?

vsareto 3y ago
Probably not. Prices for just decent places are already ridiculous since the pandemic, and they would use salaries as an excuse to raise prices further or to fight it. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the revenue goes to the owners but they still whine about tight margins though.
- idiotsecant 3y ago
  This is already tested. There are state minimum wages well above the average that don't see wild price spikes. It turns out owners can in fact pay a higher minimum wage without substantially increasing prices, they just prefer not to.
  - maerF0x0 3y ago
    Any chance of a source. If true this is great information!
idiotsecant 3y ago
Yes, raise the minimum wage to something that a person can live on.
- maerF0x0 3y ago
  I could get behind that with a carveout for inexperienced folks and qualified businesses which essentially are very small businesses that are provably low profit (ie the owners/share holders are not seeing massive return). Really roughly the idea being: Minimum wage is now = ((Median 1bed room monthly Rent in zipcode)*.3333) / 160 and will be updated annually. (.3333 of income must pay for a 1 bedroom house) If you're under 18 and have less than 1 year's experience you can accept earning 50% of minimum wage to get the experience. If your business has less than $500k of revenue, and no one is paid more than 2x anyone else. Then you can pay as low as 50% of minimum wage. I'm curious to hear from others how such a system would break?
lastofthemojito 3y ago
> Is there a viable path forward? That's the tough part. The places that I'm familiar with that experimented with no-tipping ended up reverting back to the standard model. With tipping, good waiters at good restaurants can make solid money - probably more than they'd be paid in a no-tipping model. So they quit and get a different job with tips, and the back of the house makes a bit more money, but then overall business declines due to the less-experienced/lower-quality waitstaff. I think we're stuck with the tipping model we have in the US until some tech really disrupts the dining experience - robot waiters or some such.
- SoftTalker 3y ago
  The day a robot brings my food to the table is the day I stop eating at restaurants.
  - maerF0x0 3y ago
    Can you tell us why? Does convenience, common meeting space, or the food taste/quality not draw you as well?
    - SoftTalker 3y ago
      I like interacting with people, not machines, in that sort of environment. Most of the experience I enjoy at a restaurant is the service. I can make better food at home, in most cases.
ed25519FUUU 3y ago
It’s interesting we single out servers as the ones who must be paid a “living wage” in America. Why them in particular? It’s not like restaurants are providing some crucial service to America. I’m fine allowing restaurants to figure out their compensation and pricing without offloading it onto me.
- maerF0x0 3y ago
  It was a single case being addressed. Yes, I also want everyone to earn a living wage. Servers + Tips are just a tightly coupled idea in Americans minds.
- hotpotamus 3y ago
  Servers are singled out in wage laws.
SoftTalker 3y ago
You can seek out and patronize the few places that do operate this way. There are some.

vsareto 3y ago

Probably not. Prices for just decent places are already ridiculous since the pandemic, and they would use salaries as an excuse to raise prices further or to fight it. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the revenue goes to the owners but they still whine about tight margins though.

idiotsecant 3y ago
This is already tested. There are state minimum wages well above the average that don't see wild price spikes. It turns out owners can in fact pay a higher minimum wage without substantially increasing prices, they just prefer not to.
- maerF0x0 3y ago
  Any chance of a source. If true this is great information!

idiotsecant 3y ago

Yes, raise the minimum wage to something that a person can live on.

maerF0x0 3y ago
I could get behind that with a carveout for inexperienced folks and qualified businesses which essentially are very small businesses that are provably low profit (ie the owners/share holders are not seeing massive return). Really roughly the idea being: Minimum wage is now = ((Median 1bed room monthly Rent in zipcode)*.3333) / 160 and will be updated annually. (.3333 of income must pay for a 1 bedroom house) If you're under 18 and have less than 1 year's experience you can accept earning 50% of minimum wage to get the experience. If your business has less than $500k of revenue, and no one is paid more than 2x anyone else. Then you can pay as low as 50% of minimum wage. I'm curious to hear from others how such a system would break?

lastofthemojito 3y ago

> Is there a viable path forward? That's the tough part. The places that I'm familiar with that experimented with no-tipping ended up reverting back to the standard model. With tipping, good waiters at good restaurants can make solid money - probably more than they'd be paid in a no-tipping model. So they quit and get a different job with tips, and the back of the house makes a bit more money, but then overall business declines due to the less-experienced/lower-quality waitstaff. I think we're stuck with the tipping model we have in the US until some tech really disrupts the dining experience - robot waiters or some such.

SoftTalker 3y ago
The day a robot brings my food to the table is the day I stop eating at restaurants.
- maerF0x0 3y ago
  Can you tell us why? Does convenience, common meeting space, or the food taste/quality not draw you as well?
  - SoftTalker 3y ago
    I like interacting with people, not machines, in that sort of environment. Most of the experience I enjoy at a restaurant is the service. I can make better food at home, in most cases.

ed25519FUUU 3y ago

It’s interesting we single out servers as the ones who must be paid a “living wage” in America. Why them in particular? It’s not like restaurants are providing some crucial service to America. I’m fine allowing restaurants to figure out their compensation and pricing without offloading it onto me.

maerF0x0 3y ago
It was a single case being addressed. Yes, I also want everyone to earn a living wage. Servers + Tips are just a tightly coupled idea in Americans minds.
hotpotamus 3y ago
Servers are singled out in wage laws.

SoftTalker 3y ago

You can seek out and patronize the few places that do operate this way. There are some.