Here's a Tip, Don't-- An Argument Against Tipping in America

Abstract

It is this research's belief that, while tipping has beneficial qualities that servers, customers, and employers alike find appealing, servers should simply be paid suitable, livable wages instead. This would lift a major population of workers out of poverty who typically have to bend over backwards for customers that may or may not tip at the end of the meal, regardless of the quality of service. Servers would no longer need to worry about whether or not they will make ends meet and could instead focus on working more efficiently without the need to show preferential treatment to select customers just because they are willing to shell out higher tips. Other countries have long survived without a tipping system and have either utilized fair wages or service charges added to the bill to provide for their workers, rather than relying on the generosity of customers. The agency tips provide servers is valuable and important within the current system, but it operates as a form of control for servers in a system where they otherwise have none and is utilized as a means of making additional money. If instead, servers were given the wages they need to sustain themselves there would be no need for customers to pay that additional money that could be utilized elsewhere. As for now however, tipping remains the supreme system used in restaurants in this country and shows very little signs of wavering, save for the occasional restaurants that attempt to break the norm with varying levels of success. As long as tipping appears to the public consciousness as beneficial for all parties involved, it will likely remain the dominant system, which is why research into it is integral for a future where the restaurant industry is not greatly underpaying their workers.