CMV: Tipping culture is a stupid system that doesn't reward really good service.

I hate tipping culture. I really do. The fact that we have to tip people for simply doing their job is a little ridiculous in my opinion.<br><br>You go to a restaurant. You get good service. The server is very nice and friendly. He's attentive. He makes sure everyone gets the food that they ordered. He refills water glasses promptly. When you ask for something, he gets it really quickly, and he seems like he's really trying hard to put a smile on your face. When you put in a complaint about something, he listens and he tries to make it right as quickly as possible. He checks in with you every few minutes to make sure that really everything is OK, and if you bring up an issue, he makes sure it gets fixed immediately.<br><br>So you leave a big tip. Great. Now let's say you go to a restaurant. You get bad service. The server doesn't seem like he wants to be there. He acts like he's doing *you* a favor by waiting on you instead of being like he's doing a job. He takes forever to take your order. He messes up the orders. You ask for something and he takes his time getting it to you, or worse, completely forgets and makes you remind him. It's like you have to guilt him into any kind of quality service.<br><br>You leave a smaller tip. Like 5% or something.<br><br>Now let's say you go to a restaurant. You get good service. The server is very nice and friendly. He's attentive. He makes sure everyone gets the food that they ordered. He refills water glasses promptly. When you ask for something, he gets it really quickly, and he seems like he's really trying hard to put a smile on your face. When you put in a complaint about something, he listens and he tries to make it right as quickly as possible. He checks in with you every few minutes to make sure that really everything is OK, and if you bring up an issue, he makes sure it gets fixed immediately.<br><br>You leave a big tip. Great. Now let's say you go to a restaurant. You get bad service. The server doesn't seem like he wants to be there. He acts like he's doing *you* a favor by waiting on you instead of being like he's doing a job. He takes forever to take your order. He messes up the orders. You ask for something and he takes his time getting it to you, or worse, completely forgets and makes you remind him. It's like you have to guilt him into any kind of quality service.<br><br>You leave a smaller tip. Like 5% or something.<br><br>Do you see what I mean? You can get the same server twice and have totally different experiences. It's not like quality of service is like IQ, or anything like that. Someone with a high IQ is generally going to have a high IQ all the time. Someone who gives good service will give bad service another time.<br><br>Thus, the tip system is flawed. You can't base the quality of a server off of one experience. Restaurants should just pay their servers higher wages and eliminate tipping altogether.<br><br>Also, minimum wage for tipped employees is like $2.35 an hour. If I tipped 0% every time and the server had 30 customers every day of the month, that would be $14.10 * 30 * 30. Or $12705 a year, or $12.70 an hour before tax. Let's say it's about $8.50 an hour after tax. If the server makes $2.35 an hour, that's $10.85 an hour before tax or something, or about $7 an hour after tax.<br><br>That's more than double a minimum wage worker would make. That's definitely fair. However, what if the server just had a bad day, like everyone has bad days once in a while. Even if he only *had* 5 customers on that day, that would still be $42.60 in tips after tax. Tack on the hourly wage and that would be $53.60. Almost $54 for what was a bad day for the server.<br><br>I think the tipped wage should be the same as minimum wage ($7.25 an hour), but tips should be mandatory and go straight to the employee. So if you want to ensure that your server makes $15 an hour, you can give them a 100% tip. This way, the server is paid a base wage that reflects their quality of service, and gets tips based on *your* quality of service, not their quality of service.<br><br>Or we can just go to the European system and abolish tipping altogether. Almost everyone I know has been a server at some point in their life.<br><br>I'd also be interested to hear any server's point of view on this. Almost everyone I know has been a server at some point in their life.<br><br>EDIT: I am interested in hearing server's POV.<br><br>EDIT NO. 2: I'm not saying we should abolish the concept of tips. I understand what tips are for and how they are useful to ensure that servers are motivated to provide quality service. What I am saying is that tips are not an accurate system. A server *can* give quality service one time and not another time. There's nothing to really point to that suggests that a server who gives bad service one time has a pattern of bad service and deserves a lower base wage.<br><br>EDIT NO. 3: I *do not* believe that the customer should pay the server's wage. I was just pointing out to those who say that "tipping culture sucks but servers wouldn't make very much without tips" that servers actually do make a lot of money with tips. Also, tips are not to ensure that the server gets a livable wage. *That is the employer's job.* They should pay their employees a fair wage. This is not communism or anything like that. It is basic human dignity.<br><br>EDIT NO. 4: *I think the server should be able to decide whether or not to accept a tip.* We know that we can't abolish tips, as tips have been part of human culture for literally thousands of years. So we can't abolish tips, but we can use tips in a more logical system. Say that servers are paid $15 an hour (or whatever the livable wage is), however, the employer can award his employees extra money for certain behaviors that he likes. That money would be tips. That money is not for the server's *survival,* but rather for things like promotions or recognition. For example, the employer or manager of the restaurant can give out "tip cards" or "bonus cards" or whatever he calls them and the server can redeem them for cash, extra vacation time, even promotions. So if a customer gives a big tip, the server can take that tip as a bonus card, and he gets extra vacation time or something. *Then the employer has the ability to give a bonus to his employee to encourage certain behaviour, but he still has to pay him a fair wage.*