There is another aspect of tipping that rarely gets discussed: they are a way to compensate for being a bad guest.<p>I have heard from many servers that they will happily put up with a "bad table" if they know they are going to be tipped well at the end.<p>So not to excuse bad behavior, but if you know you have been a difficult table, tipping process gives you a formal opportunity to atone.
I don't think so. Almost every time I have seen good service it is either a function of the person (actually cares about doing their job) or the culture of the establishment. I tip generously because in the US wait staff generally get way below minimum wage so you want to make them whole.<p>If you do frequent a place then I think consistently good tipping is a factor but your attitude is probably just as important. At the end of this year I got some extra $100 bills that I gave to bartenders and servers that I have seen many times over the year and wanted to show a little extra appreciation.<p>It's not about service it's about appreciating the people serving you.
> For all its drawbacks, Americans are keenest to retain the practice: in a survey 60% of them said they preferred tipping to a modest service charge.<p>I would imagine people working for tips make up the majority of this number, because they understand how much better tips are for them than the alternative which is paltry wages. It's people who don't work for tips (especially those who mistakenly believe people don't like working for tips) who would seek to abolish the tipped wage.
If tips do improve service why aren't they for example used with judges, police officers, immigration and toll, tax officers and so on? Should everyone be ready to give bit to this poor people so they can provide more personal and better service?
Just anecdotes, but I've lived in the US pretty much my entire life, and I don't think I've ever had truly bad service here. Maybe five times ever it's been subpar enough to tip 15% instead of my usual 20%, but certainly never worse than that.<p>Meanwhile, in the few months I've cumulatively spent in Europe, outside of Italy, almost all service was dramatically worse than this, and on quite a few occasions so bad I could probably make pretty good comedy sketches out of them. The only real exceptions have been family-run places and very expensive ones.<p>In Italy on the other hand service has been as good as or even better than back home.
The answer given to the headline question in the article is... "The evidence is mixed—and the practice varies widely across the world"<p>"Tipping also passes a chunk of risk from managers to servers, especially when between 20% and 60% of a waiter’s income may be in tips, as is often the case in America"<p>That number seems low, or at least in my outdated experience, it's low. I spent most of the 90s working in restaurants and tips were probably 150% of my income. I was paid very little per hour, and made quite a bit in tips. I then had to claim tips, which was always a smaller number than I actually made. I was paid $3 something an hour, made like $50 an hour in tips, and claimed like $20 in tips. Maybe that's not how it works now?
If tips are a social default then how can they make better service? For them to serve as an incentive, there has to be an expectation that the top percentage will vary.
My experience is that tips certainly make for better <i>repeat</i> service. "Oh hey it's that nice lady comes in every week or two and always tips" gets a little extra something pretty regularly.
Maybe a bit off-topic but, I feel like variable, merit-based compensation makes for a better service. I work in finance, although not in the US, end of the year bonuses more often than not effectively doubles your total comp, even for software engineers. Your bonus is, of course, very much tied to your performance reviews.<p>This has created a certain type of "carrot-chasing" culture. Granted, sometimes it can be toxic and is not for everyone, but most of my co-workers are extremely hard-working, focused and willing to go out of their way to help you
The cumulative effect of tipping shouldn't be ignored either. Individual tips may not incentivize a server to do a better job, but the cumulative effect of tipping makes restaurant server a fairly well-paying entry-level job that attracts a very wide talent pool.
> Perhaps they like to feel, as they step out for a meal, that they are in control.<p>TL;DR: Tips are a power-trip for the plebs. A subtle way to make you feel important, and perhaps suppress social dissent.