Tipping

G'day!
Tips.  I had a discussion about tips the other day.  Why do American leave a 15 -20% gratuity in restaurants?  Because it's expected?  Because we want to?  Because if we don't, someone will come after us and ask us if there was something wrong with the service since a tip was not left?  Apparently most other nations don't require tipping.  It's optional.  Do you think it's optional in America? How many times have you not left a tip?  How many times have you not left a tip when the service was at least average?

Tips is an acronym for To Insure Proper Service.  I believe it originated when someone slipped a tip to the host to be seated at a good table.   I don't know how tipping evolved to what it is today.  Tips used to be bribes; now they are (expected) rewards.

Why are tips used to augment the wages of servers?  Some visitors to America think that restaurants should pay their employees enough and not have servers "pressure" their patrons for tips. "Pressure" could be in the form of the server introducing themselves or providing water or bread without being asked.  (Would laying out your napkin onto your lap be considered "coercion"?)

Perhaps raising menu prices by 15% across the board would be better.  Then patrons know how much their meal will cost when they order it.  (How about tax?  I think most countries charge tax in sit down restaurants.) And if patrons wanted to, they could leave a tip.  Or not.  In the long run, would it make a difference in our total restaurant expenditure?

What would service be like if tips were not incentive?  I can't imagine that it would be too different.  Some places are patronized solely because of the quality of food; service could be surly and there'd still be a wait.  Other places have a very high level of service with prices to match.  If the food wasn't good, the restaurant would have little repeat business and eventually fail.  I don't know how well these restaurant would do if they had to raise their already high prices to cover increased wages.  I'm sad to say that I either didn't notice or can't remember the level of restaurant service in other countries and I haven't sat in a restaurant in Australia yet.

Could restaurants attract good servers?  A lot of people wait tables because they make a lot of money.  Often, they make more money in tips than they do in wages; but sometimes, on a slow evening, they might not make much.  Hourly wages would be higher and employees would know the mininum they would make for the night.   And people might still tip.  I would imagine that restaurant owners/managers could make private incentive arrangements with their employees.

I don't know.  I waited tables for 2 weeks while I was in college.  It was hard work.  I can't imagine having to explain to foreigners about tipping if I were a restaurant manager.  And I would hate for the server to lose  because tipping is not standard in many other countries.

What do you think?
Cyn