This article is clearly not written by anyone with service industry experience.
1) Tips are unrelated to good service...good tips are mostly good luck
False, I could rely on 25%+ tip average, and as a server/bar trainer I trained my staff to receive the same, by giving excellent service. Being able to rely on tips for income (as most of the industry does) is by definition not luck.
2) It's un-American
Tipping is a direct way for the consumer to reward and punish a worker or market based on perceived value. If being capitalist is an American trait, tipping is very American.
3) Economists don't get it
Where is the source cited for this? I know plenty of people who work in finance, and tip very well. Professors however, seem to value service workers differently...
4) It’s borderline racist
Because more minorities receive tips? The service industry gives countless minorities and other disadvantaged groups (criminals, drifters, youth) opportunities for employment and advancement not found in any other industry. Most people who work in the kitchen do so by choice, anyone who desires and has people/sales skills can just as easily get a front-of-house job. As a service worker I was generally hired by and reporting to a minority.
4b) "it's usually illegal to redistribute tips among the staff."
False, tip pooling is extremely common between service workers and even back-of-house (kitchen). Only tip sharing with managers is not practiced, because they have higher guaranteed pay and it would be a conflict of interest for all involved.
5) We don’t tip doctors, flight attendants, and any number of occupations where service is important.
This is a personal anecdote of the writer. I tip flight attendants anywhere they still take cash. And a surprising number of occupations are happy to accept tips if you try. Tips don't have to be monetary, they can be free tickets to a show or food or a vice (i.e. cigarettes or alcohol). Doctors don't get tips because of the high pay of their job, but many industries have bonuses provided by the buyer in exchange for a job performed beyond expectations.
5b) [Workers practice tip-sharing] according to a culture called “tipout.” But as this is not obligatory, it is inefficient and can foster cheating, resentment, or worse.
False, and this clearly shows the writer does not have service industry experience. Anywhere tipout is practiced, it is required as a percentage minimum of sales. However, often workers "tipout" above and beyond the required percentage, to anyone and everyone who earned it. In many service jobs your co-workers are like family and you all take care of one another.
Priceonomics usually writes great articles, but this one should be taken with a grain of salt.
And anyone who is an experienced server is so accustomed to the concept that their compensation is nearly 100% tip-based and can no longer discern reality from the tipping model. Nearly all my server friends will consistently tell me about how they game the system, and how little their actual personality comes into play during their experience. In the name of tips, they routinely abandon their principles to earn more. Your replies sound defensive and biased, and, while I understand your motive, they don't really address the underlying issues surrounding tips. If I owned a restaurant, I would certainly not allow them, especially after learning of Porter's results.
Can you provide any detail or evidence to support your third-person personal anecdote? It's a very simple system of good service in, tips out -- there is hardly room for 'gaming' or 'abandoning principles', whatever that is supposed to mean.
I have read both studies. Neither suggest "abandoning principles." Both suggest common techniques for good sales (i.e. calling customers by name, upselling, being personable). This is no more a game than sales in any other situation.
how about "this man makes me feel very uncomfortable and constantly makes rude comments at me, but if I keep flirting with him he'll leave enough of a tip that I don't lose money when I tip out the cooks"
No different than "selling out" in any industry. If someone wants to abandon principles for monetary gain that is their choice. In any decent restaurant or bar, if a server feels uncomfortable they can give the table to another server or have them served by the manager. Rude customers are a reality but "we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone."
The thing I take issue with it is when you build a certain amount of abandoning principals into a job that could be done well without abandoning principals. I don't want my server to flirt with me, I want them to be civil, prompt, and helpful with the menu. There are plenty of people who will withhold tips from servers who are civil, prompt, and helpful with the menu because they didn't flirt with them. The tipping system puts power into those people's hands.
With regards to (4) not sure if there is an argument for tipping being racist, but I know there is a strong one for it being quite sexist. I have a few female friends who work as servers, and a large portion of their job involves flirting with customers.
With regards to (5) a bottle of wine or scotch isn't really the same thing as restaurant tips. You aren't expected to give them every time, and they aren't a part of how they make their living.
With regards to (5b) "tipout" policies seem to be a source of lots of abuse among the places my friends have worked. They are inconsistent, often mean low tipping tables _cost_ them money, and can be a way for upper management to siphon money away from servers and into their own pockets.
4) I think many commenters forget that service is sales. Flirting is common to make a sale and you will see it across all industries.
5) Strawman. This is about tips in all industries as suggested by the writer. People in sales rely on perks in any form, it is definitely factored into whether they take one sales job over another.
5b) I think is a misconception, as stated management does not participate in tipout for this reason.
4) I guess I'd prefer restaurants where the servers were incentivized to be servers not sales people. Certainly that is the way most places try to present their service staff to the customers. When you have to flirt to keep your job, or to keep your job financially viable, that seems... exploitive. Sure, if you want to use flirtation to make a little bit more than your peers, that's on you.
5) the servers I know make a LARGE portion of their money via tips (off the top of my head I'd guess 60-70%). I would be shocked if any sales position had perks that rivalled that ratio.
5b) It's possible you are right. I'm vague on the details, but I know my server friends have lots of complaints related to the fairness of tipouts. I suspect the inconsistent way that tipouts are done means some places _will_ tipout management or other non-server/host/cook positions.
Service is not like sales at all. I'm an electrical engineer, I deal with salespeople ("business development managers") from my employer's suppliers every day. They are professionals, selling complex products to other professionals for substantial salaries + commission. I assure you that people do not flirt while describing the properties of the $1 million STATCOM they are selling.
In most manufacturing or construction industries, salespeople send gifts (on their employer's dollar, not their own) to their regular customers, not the other way around. And that's a professional courtesy, not a way to make a living. I'm talking about sending a box of chocolates to the purchasing manager who does seven figures of business with you annually.
In many restaurants (i.e. family restaurants, chains) the server will absolutely not flirt with you. However, in many restaurants that is part of the expected atmosphere. It is even possible to get a steak at a strip club. Someone has a want and someone else chooses to provide the service. This is the free market.
Almost every restaurant/service runs a "comp tab", servers/bartenders/managers expect to give away a certain amount of goods to regulars and other good customers. Many sales jobs are 100% commission, which is priced into the sale. Tipping just exposes that commission to the customer. In any sale, sometimes commission has to be sacrificed for a difficult customer. The service industry is no different.
In addition to the studies and guides as linked above, the best service tip I can give is to be predictive of the customer's needs.
Listening and reading their body language and providing them refills, extra sauces or napkins, suggestions on obscure wine, recommendations on local activities, the most recent sports scores, or a free item -- before they have to ask for it.
In the case of regular customers this means being stocked with their favorite item or getting their order or preferred table ready as soon as they walk in the door. People's time is valuable and if you can save them time and effort, and make them look good (lots of business deals are done over food or drink), it can be worth 50%-100% or more in tip percentage. There is far more to provide than just food service, good tippers go for the experience. If you know how to provide this experience, the few low tippers are no problem at all.
If you give them a free item just to increase your tip, isn't this ethically the same as stealing from the company? You're converting an asset of the company into dollars in your pocket.
I used to work with a sales guy who would make sales that cost the company more than the final sale brought in. Spend $12k to make a $10k sale? Made sense to him... because he got a commission on it.
As I state above, practically all restaurants run a "comp[limentary] tab", giving free items is extremely standard. All items are marked on the comp tab. Senior servers/bartenders can run their own comp tab, but most staff has to ask management. This is factored into all costs and is used to encourage repeat customers. A repeat customer and good word of mouth is worth far more than a free dessert.
There are many misconceptions about the industry from outsiders. It seems to be making people mad, but this is how the industry works.
1) Tips are unrelated to good service...good tips are mostly good luck
False, I could rely on 25%+ tip average, and as a server/bar trainer I trained my staff to receive the same, by giving excellent service. Being able to rely on tips for income (as most of the industry does) is by definition not luck.
2) It's un-American
Tipping is a direct way for the consumer to reward and punish a worker or market based on perceived value. If being capitalist is an American trait, tipping is very American.
3) Economists don't get it
Where is the source cited for this? I know plenty of people who work in finance, and tip very well. Professors however, seem to value service workers differently...
4) It’s borderline racist
Because more minorities receive tips? The service industry gives countless minorities and other disadvantaged groups (criminals, drifters, youth) opportunities for employment and advancement not found in any other industry. Most people who work in the kitchen do so by choice, anyone who desires and has people/sales skills can just as easily get a front-of-house job. As a service worker I was generally hired by and reporting to a minority.
4b) "it's usually illegal to redistribute tips among the staff."
False, tip pooling is extremely common between service workers and even back-of-house (kitchen). Only tip sharing with managers is not practiced, because they have higher guaranteed pay and it would be a conflict of interest for all involved.
5) We don’t tip doctors, flight attendants, and any number of occupations where service is important.
This is a personal anecdote of the writer. I tip flight attendants anywhere they still take cash. And a surprising number of occupations are happy to accept tips if you try. Tips don't have to be monetary, they can be free tickets to a show or food or a vice (i.e. cigarettes or alcohol). Doctors don't get tips because of the high pay of their job, but many industries have bonuses provided by the buyer in exchange for a job performed beyond expectations.
5b) [Workers practice tip-sharing] according to a culture called “tipout.” But as this is not obligatory, it is inefficient and can foster cheating, resentment, or worse.
False, and this clearly shows the writer does not have service industry experience. Anywhere tipout is practiced, it is required as a percentage minimum of sales. However, often workers "tipout" above and beyond the required percentage, to anyone and everyone who earned it. In many service jobs your co-workers are like family and you all take care of one another.
Priceonomics usually writes great articles, but this one should be taken with a grain of salt.