Tipping Essay

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A Tip For All of Us
“Tip or die” may very well be the motto of nearly all American restaurants. When we receive a lukewarm dinner accompanied with an unhelpful server, we tip, however meagerly, because we believe it’s the right thing to do. When we have exceptional service, not to mention delicious food, we feel good tipping a little bit more than usual because we believe it’s the right thing to do. If your server thinks you’re going to need a nudge, they’ll be sure to remind you on the check, etching their name in at the top followed by two O’s with a U underneath regardless of how it’s spelt.
Most say that tipping provides a reliable litmus test of the quality of service provided. The amount of tips a server makes can distinguish their service, although we would be remiss to overlook Hooters and the like. Psychological and economic evidence suggest that there is little to no link between the quality of service provided and the amount the server receives -- or earns, depending on your views. In fact, the restaurant industry would serve waiters and waitresses justice if they were paid a livable wage rather than relying on the generosity of restaurant goers.
Before we move on though, it’s important to understand how and why tipping came here to America. Originating in Europe, the practice was a means of establishing a pecking order; if one could afford to spare extra money on wage earners, then they could do so without giving much thought at all (although nowadays everyone thinks it’s a no-brainer). In The New Yorker, financial reporter James Surowiecki draws on the history of tipping in “Check, Please” to demonstrate how the practice has reached its peak popularity, noting that “[t]ipping didn’t take hold here until after the Ci...

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...Times did in 1899, when he concluded ‘there is no escape’ and half-jokingly recommended that ‘over every restaurant might be emblazoned: ‘Prepare to tip all ye who enter here.’” And that very well may be true, generally speaking. In reality, however, American dining etiquette is already being turned on it’s head.
Let’s take a look at the paragon of a restaurant without gratuity: the NYC sushi restaurant Sushi Yasuda. In an effort to import Japanese dining culture, owner Scott Rosenberg has eliminated tipping altogether while providing his employees with livable wages. And get this -- all tips left on the table are immediately returned to the diners by the staff. The check reads: “Following the custom in Japan, Sushi Yasuda’s service staff are fully compensated by their salary. Therefore gratuities are not accepted. Thank you.”
It’s about time the tables have turned.

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