There is nothing that makes a lovely dining experience leave a sour taste in one’s mouth more than the tip drama! Is tipping an old-fashioned habit that should cease given that most waiters are full-time employed?
It appears that tipping is on the decline, in America at least, and the reasons may be the poor economic climate, the declining service levels, the fact that waitroning still is not a career, that restaurants increasingly are adding a service charge, or that restaurants have realised that tips may in fact spoil the whole dining experience. It is of course the most bizarre business practice for a patron to have to pay the ‘salary’ of the restaurant staff!
Recently my colleague and I were invited to try a restaurant in Hermanus. There were no Ts & Cs mentioned in the invitation, but on arrival an increasingly cocky waiter told us that desserts were extra. He neglected to tell us that one coffee and one glass of wine would be too. He was so loud and overbearing that I decided to not tip him. He took extreme offence, loudly and confrontationally asking if there was not a tip, and if not, was his service not up to scratch. I will not go back there in a hurry, even though the owners had been more than generous, for fear of getting another mouthful from the waiter. I have stayed away from my favourite restaurant in the city centre, due to the pertinent demand for tips from two of its servers, and very iffy service on subsequent visits, not matching the quality and stature of its Chef Owner.
An article on the Fine Dining Lovers website caught my eye, and commented about the progression of tipping: ‘ …what started as a way to ‘reward service quality and increase economic efficiency’ has quickly become an ‘obligation’ for diners and a ‘matter of survival’ for servers’. Americans leave $42 billion in tips per annum. The article asks if waitrons should not be paid a minimum wage, to alleviate the dependency on a tip, as waitrons are paid a ‘sub-minimum wage‘ in America.
Why would any patron or customer have to pay for the compensation of the staff of the supplier? Surely restaurants must build staff costs into their pricing. Patrons don’t tip the cleaners nor the chefs, so why should the waitrons benefit from an archaic system? Surely it is in the interest of restaurants to build a solid base of staff, including waitrons. Offering waitrons full-time employment with a fixed salary, as they do for their chefs and cleaners, would surely lead to lower staff turnover in restaurants, lessen the ‘begging’ for tips, and enhance the restaurant experience!
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: WhaleCottage
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I agree with you on the question of ” should the diners be paying the waitrons salaries” of course not, but the reality in South Africa is that good waiters are earning less than R20 an hour. In several restaurants not even that, as it is taken away ” for breakages ” whether there are any or not. My son is a student and although I pay his tuition fees and rent, he works as a waiter at a popular inner city restaurant to keep himself going. Thank God for the generosity of the diners, and the good tips he receives, without that he simply wouldn’t make ends meet
Thank you for sharing your son’s experience Di.
My son started off as a waiter too, and was very fortunate to be full-time employed and receive a fixed salary as a waiter, the minimum wage to begin with, plus a share of the tips. He was so determined to make money, that he worked extra shifts, and his eagerness was recognised and rewarded by his employers, after 18 months, with a promotion and first good salary. Thereafter he was promoted as Restaurant Manager, after two years of starting off.
So maybe the minimum wage plus tip is a good way to test one’s staff, to find those tough enough and fit to survive the trials and tribulations of being a waitron, and of passing the test of being reliable, loyal, and dedicated to the job. There is high staff turnover, and for many being a waitron is just an in-between stop.
Staff should stand up to employers deducting for breakages – the Sectoral Determination 14 for the Hospitality Industry has guidelines as to employment and part-time casual appointments, and only in summer months, which are against the labour law for the industry.