TGIF: Let’s Ban Tipping!!!

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How do we justify tipping the restaurant clerk but not the grocery store clerk??  Why do we tip a cab driver but not a bus driver??  We’re all so afraid of what others will think of us that we’ve bought into the oddity known as tipping hook, line and sinker.  But why?  How did this all start?

In previous decades, tipping was once considered an unnecessary and almost insulting act.  Service workers were paid their fair share and tipping was banned.  However, restaurant owners realized that they could get away with paying their workers less money (while pocketing more profit for themselves) just by convincing patrons to “overpay” their bill in order to subsidize the salaries of the restaurant staff.  And so, tipping began.

So, what if restaurants simply raised their rates a bit, paid their workers fairly and completely ended the unwritten rule of tipping?  What if the bill we got was the bill we paid, with no more figuring out how to add an additional 18% for the waiter who was merely doing their job?  The Girard Brasserie and Bruncherie in Philadelphia has decided to completely outlaw tipping, so why won’t others follow suit?

Even if someone does their job above and beyond; why should we expect the consumer to then provide additional money? If I do my job exceptionally well, it’s up to my employer to identify that and compensate me appropriately; not the end customer. My good service is helping his business. If I get good service from a bank teller, I don’t leave him/her 20% on top of my deposit; instead I remember that service and am more likely to continue to use that bank and recommend it to my friends.

The whole idea of tipping is backasswards. And it’s getting worse. It used to be 15%, then 15-20%. I have friends that are bartenders/waitresses and now I hear them complain when they don’t get at least 20%. Businesses should charge the correct amount for the service they provide, evaluate their own employees and compensate them accordingly.

Check out the video below and see why some are pushing for tipping to be banned for good.