'What you see is what you pay' - why some US restaurants are banning tips

Some upscale restaurants in the United States are eliminating tipping systems and adopting higher, fixed menu prices to ensure fair wages for their service staff. Wine waiter Caroline Kraetzer at La Cigale in San Francisco earns $40 per hour, even though most service staff in the city make less. La Cigale charges a flat $140 per person and does not accept tips, stating that customers' kind words and return visits will suffice.

Rachel Miller, owner of Nightshade Noodle Bar in Lynn, Massachusetts, switched to a tip-free model five years ago when the restaurant reopened after Covid-19. Miller aimed to make the kitchen staff's income more equitable, noting that kitchen workers often earn a fraction of what front-of-house staff receive in tips for the same hours worked. To achieve this, Miller increased menu prices, with tasting menus starting at $102 for seven courses.

However, not all restaurants that have adopted a tipless model have succeeded. Talulla in Cambridge, Massachusetts, tried a tipless system in 2020 but reverted to tipping in September of the following year due to difficulties in sustaining higher prices. Professor William Michael Lynn from Cornell University explains that customers often struggle with the math of higher menu prices, leading to lower demand.

Dirt Candy, a vegetarian restaurant in New York, was one of the first to ban tipping in 2015. Chef and owner Amanda Cohen pays her staff about $30 an hour and has found that many customers are pleasantly surprised when they realize they don't need to tip. Film-maker Cassidy Van der Kamp, who worked at a tip-free restaurant in Oakland, California, has also noticed the benefits of this model, including stability in her job and fairer income for staff.

Despite some challenges, such as attracting and retaining staff accustomed to tips, Lynn suggests that the growth of "tipping fatigue" may lead to more restaurants adopting tipless systems in the future.