Have you ever received a bill at a restaurant and questioned how much you should tip the server? I know I have a number of times, and I am not alone. In fact, Consumer Reports (CR) says, “In a recent CR nationally representative survey of more than 1,000 adult Americans, 27% of respondents said that there are more situations today where they were expected to tip than there were a mere two years ago.”
Although I dislike tipping because it can be complicated and confusing, there is a deeper underlying reason as to why it should be eliminated. In lieu of tipping, companies should directly pay their employees a livable wage.
The main reason tipping should be eliminated is because it supports racial and economic inequality. However, I also believe it should be eliminated because of its subjective nature – two people with the same qualities, doing the same work are often tipped differently.
Tipping has been an American tradition since the 1860s. At first, it was controversial; However, it soon became the accepted norm during the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War. For many freed slaves, the only options for work were ones of servitude: restaurant workers, barbers, and railroad porters. Because of tips, these workers were hired for a $0 wage. They would only earn what they were tipped. What was intended to be a reward for good work, turned into an avenue for continued slavery.
Today, tipping further pushes separation between races. As written in the article “Is It Time to Rethink the Rules of Tipping?” by Lorraine Glennon, “Servers of color fare the worst: They’re much more likely to work at lower-end restaurants (and thus earn smaller tips), and their tips are substantially lower than those given to white servers at the same establishments.”
Tipping, however, is not limited to racial discrimination. It is also a factor in class economics. Today, many workers who receive tips are in poverty. They find themselves reliant on a busy night at work in order to make ends meet.
Instead of having a predictable source of income to pay their bills and provide food and shelter, workers hope customers tip them enough that they can make it by. Their livelihood is left up to the discretion of a customer.
Individuals who live off tips have been opposed to eliminating tips, though. They fear they will not be able to support themselves if they aren’t able to bring in a large amount of money in tips from one night’s work.
However, it has been proven that eliminating tipping and creating a steady predictable source of income for individuals can help them to get out of poverty. According to a study, more workers in states following the federal tipping minimum wage found themselves in poverty compared to workers in states that had no discrepancy between minimum wage for tip earners and other workers. For example, the poverty rate among restaurant workers is 7% in states that pay a base minimum wage compared to an 18% poverty rate in states that pay a lower base tipping minimum wage.
Another reason tipping should be eliminated is because it is subject to the opinions of customers. The principle of tipping is that workers who do a good job are shown gratitude through a monetary bonus. However, people use different guidelines to judge a worker’s service; thus, the amount of money workers are tipped differs.
Additionally, especially in food service, customers can prevent workers from earning more tips because of the amount of the worker’s time they use. For example, a family visiting in a restaurant after finishing their meal prevents another group from sitting at that table, which prevents the server from earning more tips.
Upserve did a study to demonstrate this idea. They compared the duration of time customers spent at a table with the average tip left. According to Upserve, “At the 40-to-50-minute mark, gratuities hit a tipping point. At 110 minutes, the average tip is only $3 more than it was at 50. A server working that table may wish they had worked more tables at half the time by then.”
As you can see, there are multiple reasons to move away from a system of tipping. But what would no tipping look like? With no tipping, the amount of money a business charges for their services will increase. This is essentially because the “tip” is already being included in the cost. However, workers will also be ensured a livable wage paid by the organization compared to pay contingent on generosity of customers.
Tipping comes from a dark history and continues to promote discrimination based on race and economic stature. Eliminating tipping will take time to implement, but it will ultimately lead to a greater state of equality.
