At a time when we continue to hear more about creating an equitable hospitality industry, isn’t it time to put an end to the archaic practise of tipping and instead create a fair and sustainable system that serves all sides of the equation — the employee, the customer and, yes, even the owners.
The tipping debate fuels passionate discourse and depending on which side of the debate you’re on, emotions can run high, but increasingly the practise has come under intense scrutiny in recent years. There are varied reasons for this. First, tipping harkens back to an era where the practise engendered servitude while also fostering racial inequality.
While some may argue that tipping promotes stellar service and fuels customers to reward outstanding experiences, others claim it does the exact opposite —promoting sub-standard service where servers have the expectation they’ll receive a tip, even in cases where the service leaves a great deal to be desired.
Tipping also creates wage disparity among associates. That’s because countries often promote a lower minimum wage for tipped workers, assuming they’ll make up for lower wages in tips. But why should workers have to rely on customers to help provide them with a living wage. Additionally, tipping creates a great divide between front- and back-of-the-house employees. By eliminating the practise, the industry would be forced to pay employees fairly and consistently while putting all departments on a level playing field.
At a time when we continue to hear more about discrimination, tipping tends to perpetuate it. Studies show tipping is influenced by factors such as race, gender, and physical appearance. And, whether it’s unconscious bias or not, it leads to differential treatment and unequal wages for workers from marginalized communities.
While customers have been more than willing to tip generously during and post pandemic as a way to support a beleaguered industry, increasng menu prices and inflation across the board are now causing further challenges. Interestingly, several restaurants that had abolished tipping have since returned to the tipping model, probably as a way to compete for, and, attract employees. But would that be a different reality if all restaurants were mandated to abolish tipping and create a better and more equitable system?
Understandably, some operators might claim they wouldn’t be able to sustain a business without tipping as they’d be forced to deal with the high cost of salaries. But isn’t it time to move past that argument given other retail operators don’t have the similar benefit of subsidizing their employee’s salaries through this mechanism? At the very least, why can’t operators pay staff higher wages by increasing their menu prices, and/or lowering other costs, by creating a service fee as they do in Europe or by changing the business model entirely?
As the hospitality industry struggles to deal with labour shortages, dwindling customer counts and calls for a more professional industry, operators need to take responsibility for paying fair wages and treating employees with the respect they deserve. Only then can the industry work towards building a more sustainable and equitable business model and industry that truly values and respects its employees.
