'What you see is what you pay' - why some US restaurants are banning tips
Tips are central to US dining culture but some eateries think that they are unfair.
Some upscale restaurants in the United States are eliminating tipping policies and adopting fixed price menus to ensure fair wages for their employees. La Cigale in San Francisco charges $140 (£100) per person and pays its wine waiter, Caroline Kraetzer, $40 (£30) an hour, double the average salary for service staff in the city.
Chef Rachel Miller of Nightshade Noodle Bar in Lynn, Massachusetts, switched to a tip-free model five years ago, citing the disparity in earnings between front-of-house and back-of-house staff. Miller also increased prices to pay her team higher wages and found it unsettling to see tips disproportionately benefiting certain staff members based on gender, race, or sexuality.
However, not all restaurants that have eliminated tipping have found it successful, as some customers struggle with the higher menu prices. Professor William Michael Lynn of Cornell University notes that the challenge of a tip-free system is that customers may not grasp the math, leading to lower demand. Despite the difficulties, some restaurants, like Nightshade Noodle Bar, stand by their decision, as it has improved staff retention and guest satisfaction.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
