U.S. restaurant chain launches 'no tipping' test, raises server wages instead

[Tom Joad]

I'm all for this.

Expecting workers to grovel for tips is demeaning IMO.

Plus restaurant managers exploit servers by requiring them to do "side work" where they can't earn tips at the pittance they pay. In addition they often assign more servers than they need causing the servers to make less in tips because they have less tables. The managers don't mind because they are paying the servers next to nothing.

In addition I resent having to put out 20% more than the advertised price for everything because the owners and managers are too damned cheap to pay a decent wage.

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015...y?detail=email

As various independently owned restaurants around the country successfully begin to do away with tipping in favor of higher flat rate wages for their employees, the nation’s first large-scale restaurant chain has decided to give it a try in a new test program:

In what may be the first significant trial of a no-tipping policy by a full-service chain, Joe’s Crab Shack has switched the servers at 18 units to a set wage and alerted customers they no longer are expected to tip.

Servers will be paid a wage starting at $14 an hour, though the exact amount will vary from server to server on the basis of their past performance, according to the chain’s parent company, Ignite Restaurant Group.

The chain is raising prices 12-15%, but Ignite execs note customers who typically tip around 20% may end up paying less. Ignite Restaurant group executives are hoping it the move will reduce employee turnover and improve customer service. Stay tuned!