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No tipping means better business

tastefulventures.com

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Re: No tipping means better business

#21

Post by stingraycharles »

ahoy wrote: post #3

Is the restaurant industry in need of saving, from a restaurant owner's or diner's perspective? I'm fully on the "tipping is terrible for everyone involved" side, but I wonder if the framing here is based on anything.

There's a great Freakonomics podcast about this subject: https://itunes.apple.com/nl/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354...

The bottom line is that from the perspective of the diner, it will not really matter (quality remains equal), but from the perspective of the restaurant, things will get a lot better.

Re: No tipping means better business

#22

Post by chipperyman573 »

shadowmint wrote: post #18

You might argue that this is stupid, because it's a catch 22; unless everyone does it, you lose as a business if you do it; nothing motivates people more than raw dollar value and you'll either lose your staff or have to put prices up to pay them more. ...but, you look at Uber, and there's no tipping there; and it's great for the consumer, and (astonishingly) drivers seem fine with it, despite objectively being explo…

Uber also pays drivers more than they charge users to begin with.

Re: No tipping means better business

#23

Post by alooPotato »

lefstathiou wrote: post #16

I've traveled the world and have come to the conclusion that diners are better off in a tipping environment. Realize this is purely anecdotal but time and time again we have come to the realization that incentives matter and incentivizing good service makes sense to me (and I shouldn't have to order a bottle of wine at lunch to get it). If all someone is going to do is play telephone from one side of the room to the…

I would kill to order off an iPad

Re: No tipping means better business

#24

Post by notimetorelax »

shadowmint wrote: post #18

You might argue that this is stupid, because it's a catch 22; unless everyone does it, you lose as a business if you do it; nothing motivates people more than raw dollar value and you'll either lose your staff or have to put prices up to pay them more. ...but, you look at Uber, and there's no tipping there; and it's great for the consumer, and (astonishingly) drivers seem fine with it, despite objectively being explo…

Uber might not be the best example as they are losing money like crazy to incentivise drivers and customers.

Re: No tipping means better business

#25

Post by grzm »

JackPoach wrote: post #5

This idea was suggested long time ago - it doesn't work.

Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group has a no tipping policy. I believe he's one of the most successful restauranteurs in the world.

"Year of Upheaval for Restaurants That Ended Tipping"

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/dining/restaurants-no-tipp...

It's taking some restructuring of how the restaurants are being run, which is to be expected. USHG is also in a good position to try this, as they have relatively deep pockets, but this, as well as how many other societies don't have tipping at restaurants belies the idea that "it doesn't work".

As an aside, I'm surprised that the article makes no mention of USHG.

Re: No tipping means better business

#26

Post by Symbiote »

lefstathiou wrote: post #16

I've traveled the world and have come to the conclusion that diners are better off in a tipping environment. Realize this is purely anecdotal but time and time again we have come to the realization that incentives matter and incentivizing good service makes sense to me (and I shouldn't have to order a bottle of wine at lunch to get it). If all someone is going to do is play telephone from one side of the room to the…

Which other services would you introduce tipping to?

Fast food?

Buying shoes?

Car wash?

Repairing plumbing?

Fixing a computer?

I don't see why eating in a restaurant should need extra incentives to the waiters, when we expect good service without tips elsewhere.

Re: No tipping means better business

#27

Post by shadowmint »

chipperyman573 wrote: post #22
shadowmint wrote: post #18

You might argue that this is stupid, because it's a catch 22; unless everyone does it, you lose as a business if you do it; nothing motivates people more than raw dollar value and you'll either lose your staff or have to put prices up to pay them more. ...but, you look at Uber, and there's no tipping there; and it's great for the consumer, and (astonishingly) drivers seem fine with it, despite objectively being explo…

Uber also pays drivers more than they charge users to begin with.

Sure, I'm just saying, it's clear you can make a business out of this sort of thing.

Whether it's profitable, that's another question, clearly.

Like I said, I can't imagine how it would work; but maybe there is some kind of like, 'you subscribe to a service, the service pays out 'tip equivalents', you don't have to tip' scheme that might make sense there somewhere.

Basically, it's not totally implausible there might actually be a business that solves the whole tipping thing somehow.

Re: No tipping means better business

#28

Post by surrealvortex »

legohead wrote: post #15

Went to a revolving sushi bar tonight. Everything was automated. They even had a touchpad where you can put in orders (like miso ramen soup), which get delivered by a belt. The only thing the servers did was sit us and bring us water. We asked them to replace a leaking soy sauce container and they never did. We tipped 0$ -- there was essentially no service. I kinda felt bad, but talking it over with my wife, I couldn…

I also don't understand tipping at food carts. Customers stand in a line to pay and get their food, and are also expected to tip (either via Square or through tip jars).

Edit: the expectation is generally implicit, and while standing in line, I can't help but notice that most customers hit the minimum tip percentage on Square, which is usually 15%

Re: No tipping means better business

#29

Post by joshontheweb »

lefstathiou wrote: post #16

I've traveled the world and have come to the conclusion that diners are better off in a tipping environment. Realize this is purely anecdotal but time and time again we have come to the realization that incentives matter and incentivizing good service makes sense to me (and I shouldn't have to order a bottle of wine at lunch to get it). If all someone is going to do is play telephone from one side of the room to the…

Agreed. Tipping culture gives more power to the customer and results in better service in my experience. Every time I come back to the US I experience a noticeable increase in attention and service. Also, when abroad, if they find out you are from the US many servers will put in extra work as they know there is a decent chance you will tip based on your home culture. I always tip even in countries where it isn't expected especially if I plan on frequenting the establishment regularly. Im happy to pay a bit more for more attentive service.
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