Imagine that a Nice Restaurant Asked Patrons to Give Their Credit Card at the beginning of the meal and that the credit card country allowed the restaurant to download what the historic tipping percentage had been on at other meals. This way waiters could get a sense of whether you were an unreasonably low tipper or not.
There is a lot of concern that some servers may give poorer service to some minority customers because they expect a poor tip. But this system could protect minorities and other people who give good tips to credibly communicate that fact.
A step in this direction has already been taken by BitterWaitresswhich posts the name of bad tippers in part as a warning to future servers.
One might even imagine a blue tooth system in which the cab driver pulling up to the curb can see your tipping history instead of just your race.
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I base the tip on the service I receive, not on the quality of service I received at that last ten restaurants at which I dined. I guess my history would be an indicator of possible tip percentage though.
Though I know they work mostly for tips, I like to think I'm rewarding waitstaff for being competent and conscientious in general, not just to me. Somehow it would reduce my respect for the waitstaff to know that they were treating Mr. 16% at the next table better than me just because I only tip 15%.
Should a patron also expect a lower quality of service if they tip at a decent average percentage but order a low priced meal?
On that bitterwaitress.com reference. I wonder how that helps. The waitstaff generally does not know my name until they see my credit card; at the end of the meal.
I can see the merits of such a system, but can't give a "for" vote.
This process wouldn't work at all for people who pay with cash or check or who charge their meals but leave a cash tip for the server.
If I go into a restaurant and the waitress can see that I've consistently tipped 18-20% on each of my last ten visits, doesn't that just prove to her that she can count on my tip regardless of whether she gives good service or not? How does that help me?
I'm always amused by the assumption that when a bad tip is given, it must indicate some problem with the tipper. Couldn't it be that the tipper was doing his job by rewarding the level of service he got appropriately?
The word "Tip" literally means "To insure performance". If we used it as intended, it would mean we tip BEFORE we ordered our food or anything else of a service nature that we normally tip afterwards for.
Does the credit card company even know how much the tip was, or do they just know the total charge? I don't think that they are separated on my bill.
Tipping is bribery and is morally wrong.
I pay the posted menu price for food including service. You don't expect to buy a car, pay the money and then to be shown a pile of parts and told "the price doesn't include assembly".
Tipping is just an excuse for a restaurant not to pay sufficient wages.
What about people who pay cash?