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Don't understand this attitude at all. Tips are nothing but a demeaning way to tell low-status workers that the value of their time is arbitrary and their live

by venus 13y ago

Don't understand this attitude at all. Tips are nothing but a demeaning way to tell low-status workers that the value of their time is arbitrary and their livelihood is always subject to whim. Do you tip your doctor? Do you tip anyone with a high-status job? Of course not. Tipping should just be abolished. Set a price and charge it. Pay people fairly and consistently so they can feel secure and plan for the future. Anything else is just sneaky.

brianmcconnell 13y ago
I guess you don't get out much, or haven't run a service business. The concept is variable cost of labor. If you're a bartender working a busy shift, you can pocket several hundred dollars off dollar a tip drinks. What do you think would happen if tips were abolished? The owner would increase their wage a tiny bit. Who do you think will be working that job then?
- jbjohns 13y ago
  What an ignorant statement. Europe doesn't have this ridiculous tipping culture (parts do tip, but usually $1-$2 max) and yet we fill those positions. Surprisingly enough, if you pay someone a living wage for doing a job they tend to do it well.
  - brooks8970 13y ago
    He was making the point in the context of an american business making the decision not to accept tips. No server in their right mind would work for minimum wage and no tips when they could receive $1/hr + tips at a busy restaurant down the street. My guess is that most service industry jobs in European countries attract people with lower financial needs relative to their fellow citizens.
    - vacri 13y ago
      From my travels across the US, it was abundantly clear that not all restaurants and bars were busy, even in prime time. It's pretty easy to see whether or not service is a well-paid job: do high-status people do it, and do people make a career of it (in general). And the answer is no. people do it when they're young and can't do anything else, and it burns them out. Few people stay in service. Yes, you can cherry-pick some good jobs out of service, but in general, people do it because they can't do something else... or do it while doing something else (like study).
- venus 13y ago
  So what? On my salaried job I sometimes have busy days, sometimes have quiet days. And? I imagine that if you abolished tips, then the service sector would be like all those other sectors without tips, or like all those service sectors in all those other countries without tips, i.e. just another job and completely normal. But a lot fairer.
- chilldream 13y ago
  Here's a restaurant owner that agrees with grandparent: http://jayporter.com/dispatches/observations-from-a-tipless-restaurant-part-1-overview/ http://jayporter.com/dispatches/observations-from-a-tipless-...

by venus 13y ago

brianmcconnell 13y ago

I guess you don't get out much, or haven't run a service business. The concept is variable cost of labor. If you're a bartender working a busy shift, you can pocket several hundred dollars off dollar a tip drinks. What do you think would happen if tips were abolished? The owner would increase their wage a tiny bit. Who do you think will be working that job then?

jbjohns 13y ago
What an ignorant statement. Europe doesn't have this ridiculous tipping culture (parts do tip, but usually $1-$2 max) and yet we fill those positions. Surprisingly enough, if you pay someone a living wage for doing a job they tend to do it well.
- brooks8970 13y ago
  He was making the point in the context of an american business making the decision not to accept tips. No server in their right mind would work for minimum wage and no tips when they could receive $1/hr + tips at a busy restaurant down the street. My guess is that most service industry jobs in European countries attract people with lower financial needs relative to their fellow citizens.
  - vacri 13y ago
    From my travels across the US, it was abundantly clear that not all restaurants and bars were busy, even in prime time. It's pretty easy to see whether or not service is a well-paid job: do high-status people do it, and do people make a career of it (in general). And the answer is no. people do it when they're young and can't do anything else, and it burns them out. Few people stay in service. Yes, you can cherry-pick some good jobs out of service, but in general, people do it because they can't do something else... or do it while doing something else (like study).
venus 13y ago
So what? On my salaried job I sometimes have busy days, sometimes have quiet days. And? I imagine that if you abolished tips, then the service sector would be like all those other sectors without tips, or like all those service sectors in all those other countries without tips, i.e. just another job and completely normal. But a lot fairer.
chilldream 13y ago
Here's a restaurant owner that agrees with grandparent: http://jayporter.com/dispatches/observations-from-a-tipless-restaurant-part-1-overview/ http://jayporter.com/dispatches/observations-from-a-tipless-...