🌊 To Socialism or Not?

I’ve been a bartender for 22 years. I’ve worked in big cities and beach party towns. Industry standard of what I expect is 20% and has always been in those 20 years. I love the restaurant industry, but it’s tough.  No sick leave, no paid time off, hell if I physically hurt myself, I can’t work, I have no safety net. But it gives me a lot of freedom, and I love people, most of the time. I have no problem going into a bakery and not tipping, or a coffee shop. The difference is, if you don’t tip your bartenders and servers, they don’t get paid. That’s not the case at those other jobs. I think in my state I make $2.25 an hour. I’m not sure if people truly understand that part. Also, if you are having a bad day or the kitchen melts down or something goes wrong during service, people will tip less, even if it’s not your fault. It’s one of the only jobs that it’s costs you money if you have a bad day. You really learn how to smile through break ups, break downs and even death.

I loved your article on tipping. From a hotel and hospitality perspective one of the absolute biggest shames that has occurred in the past 15 years is the decline of tipping housekeepers. While of course restaurant and other food related services has increased the opposite end of the people literally cleaning your shit rarely see a tip anymore. Throughout the guest journey of a hotel stay from the bellman to breakfast to cocktails in the evening there are tons of opportunities for great service to be rewarded and I’m grateful for that. However when I see the housekeeping department a part of me is always hurt that the lowest paying job in the hotel and by far the hardest one sees the least reward. Tips used to be a reason why housekeeping was paid lower because at one point they were the only ones getting hefty cash tips left on the dresser or nightstand as a guest checked out. Of course this has shifted to higher pay and better hours over time but the practice of tipping is gone. I’m trying to implement QR code mobile tipping in each room to allow a sense of connection between guest and the person stewarding your stay. 

I would love to see tipping completely go away. Charge me, the customer, what’s necessary to pay employees. It takes out the variability of the equation for owners. There is nothing worse then the guilt of being asked to tip at a place you should not be tipping at (grocery store, smoothie shack etc) only to be given the three high tip options like your bar experience. I love the European standard of no tipping. 

Thanks for the great read. As a restaurant owner of three restaurants in Virginia Beach, Virginia — and a former line cook, server, bartender, and dishwasher — I have some insight on your article. The statistic you mentioned, that 90% of restaurant employees in NYC do not want the system changed, is a telltale sign of how those of us in the hospitality trenches feel about government intervention in our businesses and in our relationships with our employees.

Yes, I agree that tipping has gotten out of hand, and with the advent of fill-in-the-blank tip amounts on handheld POS systems, it has gotten even more ridiculous. However, the one-wage lobby has it completely wrong when it comes to full-service restaurants.

The best servers and bartenders in our current system eat what they kill. The employees with the best menu knowledge, personality, and hustle are the ones who receive the most tips. This is America — and this is the way it’s supposed to work. If every server and bartender gets paid the same amount, the motivation disappears for any employee to learn, improve, and perform at a higher level.

Good restaurant bartenders and servers are part of the fabric of neighborhoods and communities. The “Fair Wage” lobby has no idea what actually goes on in the restaurant industry. Like most entrepreneurs, we simply want the government and academic theorists to get out of our way and let us run our businesses.

If a restaurant owner does not treat their employees fairly, they will not have employees — period. There are tens of thousands of unfilled restaurant jobs in every state. Employers who treat their people well will attract and keep the best talent. Those who don’t will go out of business.

Don’t fix what isn’t broken.