Have I Got a Tip For You.

Below is the U.S. Department of Labor's regulation on employers of  tipping establishments, as taken from their website, www.dol.gov.

              Employers of “tipped employees” must pay a cash wage of at least $2.13 per hour if
              they claim a tip credit against their minimum wage obligation. If an employee's tips
              combined with the employer's cash wage of at least $2.13 per hour do not equal the
              minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference. 


I think it's safe to say many restaurants restrict their server wages to this limit.
So here's a scenario:  A friend and I eat dinner at the OG.  We order two drinks.  She orders a pomodoro pasta and I an eggplant parmesan.  If I round to the nearest dollar, here are the prices, approximately:
Two drinks @ $3 each= $6
Pomodoro pasta= $10
Eggplant parmesan= $14

Above is a problem I have.  It's not that I don't want to reward my waitress for keeping us fat and happy.  It's that the big-wig restaurant corporation pays the waitress almost 1/3 less than I pay for one measly soda.  And then they expect you and me to pay their own employees' wages through tips.

I was told once that if restaurants paid their servers at a higher rate, then they would have to increase the price of our meals dramatically;  considering I get charged three dollars for a soda and ten dollars for some pasta and tomatoes, I think they would survive.  Yet, I'm sure they would raise the prices.  And you know what?  That's okay with me.  I'd rather pay a dollar or two more than worry about whether or not the server will have enough money to survive with my five dollar tip.

Our society feels an obligation to leave tips. People feel it's rude to not tip, but I believe this is only because tipping is all they've ever known.  We also feel as if our obligation of leaving a gratuity is guarantee that our server will be extra attentive.  But how many times have you had bad or so-so service and still left the customary 15-20%?  If you've ever been to Japan, you know what it's like to be treated with exceptional customer service.  Yet, there, it is considered disrespectful to leave "a little something extra" for anyone rendering services.

Here's a great article from the New York Times about a man who adds a service charge to his restaurant's bills, and allows no gratuities to be given to his servers.  The entirety of it is very informational, including some history of tipping in America and how Americans feel about the subject.

I don't expect the country to change our ways regarding tips overnight, or even within thirty years.  What I want is for people to take a closer look at this institution. Do we really need to pay our waiters salaries because their employers refuse?  Does it really benefit either patron or server?  Does it encourage selfishness, as it did in the above article?

I want people, and corporations, to be respectful of everyone  and to do their jobs to the best of their abilities regardless of what's in it for them.  I don't think that's too much for us.