COMMENTARY: Tipping, an outdated practice in need of a resolution
Tipping is loosely defined as the act of giving a certain amount of money to someone who has provided a service, especially in a hotel or restaurant. This practice originated in medieval times as a custom in which a servant would receive extra money for having performed said task exceptionally well.
Unfortunately, this practice has simply spiraled into a baseless justification to pay servers and certain restaurant employees a lower wage. Ultimately, the practice of tipping is definitely one that should have been ended.
A lot of people argue that tipping should continue to be because it is an incentive for servers and restaurant employees to work harder. As discussed in a 2001 article by Michael Lynn of Cornell University titled “Restaurant Tipping and Service Quality: A Tenuous Relationship,” this notion proves to simply not be the case. Research shows that using tips to benchmark a server’s performance, or as a means to encourage hard work, is ineffective at best. Furthermore, this research shows there is little to no correlation between tips and a worker’s performance.
The idea that tipping serves as an incentive for good service is a flawed one. Most servers and restaurant workers do the best they can with each and every customer, who tend to top in the same 15-20% range. The vast majority of individuals do not really change the way they tip based on service, unless it was poor service.
The reality of the situation is these restaurant workers are legally paid a lower wage on the basis of gratuity benefits. Unfortunately, it is hard to make up the wage difference from tips when this is left up to the customer.
Many people resent the practice of tipping because they are not actually sure where their tip is going to go. This train of thought is spread when people hear how companies have begun to manipulate in-app tip systems. DoorDash, a popular food delivery company, has been known to manipulate the tipping system to benefit them, and disregard the actual employee delivering food.
DoorDash offers every delivery driver a guaranteed minimum wage for each job before they accept it. For example, say a delivery driver’s guaranteed minimum is $7.25. If a customer tipped an additional $4.25, the delivery driver would still only receive $7.25. This is because instead of tipping the driver, the customer is actually tipping DoorDash.
If the customer tipped $0, then DoorDash would have paid the delivery driver the $7.25 minimum. If the customer tipped $4.25, then DoorDash would only pay $3. This blatant deception rightfully outraged many people.
Nobody wants to hear that they have been tipping a multibillion-dollar venture-backed startup instead of their delivery driver. This just goes to emphasize the idea that the practice of tipping has shifted from what was once a bonus incentive for a job well done, to what it is now a means for corporations to legally pay their employees lower wages.
Realistically, it would be a significant undertaking if the practice of tipping were to be abolished in America. Companies would have to reassess their budget plans in order to make up the wage deficit, and many servers would get laid off as a result.
Although the practice of tipping is not something that could feasibly end quickly, it definitely is a practice that needs to be ended. The practice is ultimately an old, outdated one that was used more as a way for the wealthy aristocrats to show off, rather than show gratitude. By eliminating the practice of tipping, the responsibility to ensure that an employee is getting a fair wage is no longer on the inconsistent consumer, it is on the company.
