What if no one tipped?

B

bknshape

Cathlete
Just think if no one tipped. How do you think service would be? If a server had absolutely no reason to do a better job then the next person or place? Imagine if service never had a smile or a suggestion on what to eat or drink? Imagine paying three times as much for your meal and receiving basic service everywhere you went. The wait staff is not only there to serve but they are sales people. They are the real reason you stay longer and order more. Many are the reason you come back. Competition is the American way and when someone(a server)is competing for your money everyone wins.

Dianne
 
Huh. Sounds like the people I work with now. Unions--when you know you're gonna get the same raise every year as the person sitting next to you there's no incentive to work hard. I swear the work in this building could be done with half the staff if everyone did their jobs instead of posting on fitness message boards.

Oooops, did I say that? :eek:
 
Well *if* everyone in America would agree to stop tipping, things don't change overnight. I enjoy going out to eat and getting my hair styled. I can just imagine how much less enjoyable it would be if everyone stopped tipping and their wages were not adjusted. It wouldn't be very enjoyable for anyone except maybe those who normally don't tip.

I can understand how someone from another country might be annoyed/confused/not agree with tipping. OTOH, I wouldn't try going to another country where the tip is included in the bill and tell someone that I was going to take a certain % off my bill due to poor service.

Just my less than 20% cents. ;-)
 
I would certainly hope that there are still some people out there who take pride in a job well done. When I was a server, I made 2.85 per hour and got stressed out if nobody tipped. If I knew I was making 12.00 or so per hour regardless, I probably would have been a much happier person. Of course, I HATED waitressing, so that may have had something to do with it.:)
 
I think I said enough about this yesterday and should probably just let this go....but I'm not.:) I agree with everything you are saying but I think it is important to look at the flip side of it. If what you are saying is to be accepted as true...that those in tipping industries do a good job because of the tip, that if there was no tip then no incentve to do a good job and that, in turn, trickles down to everyone, etc. then what are we, as a society, saying when we tip bad--to lousy--to downright horrible service? Aren't we reinforcing this behaviour? I can tell you that on many occasions at mid-range chain style restaurants I have "basic service" and I leave a nice tip. My argument would be that I don't think many people are "competing for my money" They just assume that I will leave a tip and I would be looked at as the bad guy and/or cheap if I didn't.

Alright..I'm shutting up about this now.:)
 
There are many jobs where employees aren't tipped and still do a good job because they take pride in their work and they want their company to do well. I would hope that would be the same case if servers worked only on salary and didn't receive tips. It would be just the same as any other job - you'd have some outstanding employees and some bad ones and many in-between.

Erica
 
Isn't it the policy at a lot of restaurents that the people actually waiting the tables have to share their tips with the busboys who don't wait on folks. So what is the busboys incentive to do well?

I tip, I don't mind tipping, but there are service positions that people don't get tipped in. The Walmart/Target service thread comes to mind. Those folks get a wage, and don't get tipped, and see what you get? When I worked at Target, I worked hard to provide a good service, because that was what Target paid me for. Same with when I worked at a bank as a teller. But not all my co-workers did. My reward was, people preferred me to many others, and when it came time for raises and promotions, I was looked at first.
 
Busboys do not make minimum wage either. They usually make more than the waitstaff but only about $1.00 more per hour. They receive "tips" from the servers tips (the server has to tip the busboy and the bartener) from the money they made that day. What is their insentive ... quite honestly it's not to P.O. the server(just like the servers job is to not P.O. the customer). The sooner a table in cleared and set the sooner a paying customer sits and spends money table after table after table. If the busboy helps with coffee and water then the server can spend more time at other tables, creating more revenue. If you have five extra tables a night, the more money everyone makes.

Dianne
 
When i lived in London England i learned that most people there do not tip (or not as much as we do in America). Well we tipped high anyways and got amazing sevice at the places we went to often. I found that the service in England for the most part was terrible (mind you i am from NYC where good service is a make or break for a buisness). There was no incentive for them to give good service as they are not working for tips. We also have a house in the Spanish Balearic Islands.. on the side of the island we are on it is mosly simple pheaseant people and seeing how our tips improve the quality of their life and the smiles on their faces is enough for me. We treat them with respect and we get it back.. that is what tipping is respect!!
 
>There are many jobs where employees aren't tipped and still
>do a good job because they take pride in their work and they
>want their company to do well.

Unfortunately, that kind of work ethic isn't as strong as it used to be.

Ideally, everyone, no matter what their job is, would take pride in a job well done (whether that's painting a house, cleaning a toilet, or selling stocks and bonds), but there seem to be so many people (or maybe just the ones I seem to find to do work on my house!) who no longer care about doing an excellent job.
 
Kathryn - wouldn't teaching be a perfect example of this issue? Teachers aren't tipped (unless you count Christmas/end of the year gifts) and some do an amazing job and are so dedicated to their students while others do the bare minimum. I just see such a wide range of job performances no matter what the profession and tip situation.

Erica
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top