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The end of restaurant tipping?
MarketWatch
Charles Passy, Reporter & Angela Moore, Personal finance editor
10/16/2015
Excerpt:
Is the no-tip movement at restaurants reaching, well, a tipping point?
Danny Meyer, who runs the Union Square Hospitality Group, announced this week he’s going to phase out tipping at his restaurants and instead, raise prices so employees working across the restaurants will earn a higher wage.
Meyer’s restaurant empire includes high-end eateries like Blue Smoke, Gramercy Tavern, North End Grill, Union Square Cafe and Maialino. The first restaurant to participate will be The Modern, in late November. The rest of the group’s New York restaurants will transition over the next year.
The move comes on the heels of a pledge from New York state to raise the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $15 an hour, echoing a call across the country for a higher minimum wage.
Diners shouldn’t feel squeezed, Meyer says, and the change will be an improvement for those working at all levels of the restaurant. For example, some positions, such as cooks and dishwashers, weren’t eligible for tips, even though their efforts contribute to the overall enjoyment of a meal, Meyer says. His aim is that this will allow workers to be more fairly compensated.
“Once these changes are implemented, the total cost you pay to dine with us won’t differ much from what you pay now. But for our teams, the change will be significant,” Meyer’s letter says. “We will now have the ability to compensate all of our employees equitably, competitively, and professionally.”
Meyer isn’t alone. In recent years, such renowned restaurants as Thomas Keller’s Per Se in New York and French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., Alice Waters’s Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., and Grant Achatz’s Alinea in Chicago have put no-tip policies in place. So did the now-closed Linkery restaurant in San Diego.
Perhaps the policies at these establishments shouldn’t come as a surprise, since restaurant patrons are increasingly saying they don’t like to play the tipping game. A solid majority of Americans — 75% — say they tip less than the customary 20% when dining out, according to a survey by vouchercloud.net, which researches consumer spending habits. Additionally, the website reports that 46% of Americans say they are tipping less in general than they did five years ago.
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View the complete article, including images, at:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the...ing-2015-10-15
MarketWatch
Charles Passy, Reporter & Angela Moore, Personal finance editor
10/16/2015
Excerpt:
Is the no-tip movement at restaurants reaching, well, a tipping point?
Danny Meyer, who runs the Union Square Hospitality Group, announced this week he’s going to phase out tipping at his restaurants and instead, raise prices so employees working across the restaurants will earn a higher wage.
Meyer’s restaurant empire includes high-end eateries like Blue Smoke, Gramercy Tavern, North End Grill, Union Square Cafe and Maialino. The first restaurant to participate will be The Modern, in late November. The rest of the group’s New York restaurants will transition over the next year.
The move comes on the heels of a pledge from New York state to raise the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $15 an hour, echoing a call across the country for a higher minimum wage.
Diners shouldn’t feel squeezed, Meyer says, and the change will be an improvement for those working at all levels of the restaurant. For example, some positions, such as cooks and dishwashers, weren’t eligible for tips, even though their efforts contribute to the overall enjoyment of a meal, Meyer says. His aim is that this will allow workers to be more fairly compensated.
“Once these changes are implemented, the total cost you pay to dine with us won’t differ much from what you pay now. But for our teams, the change will be significant,” Meyer’s letter says. “We will now have the ability to compensate all of our employees equitably, competitively, and professionally.”
Meyer isn’t alone. In recent years, such renowned restaurants as Thomas Keller’s Per Se in New York and French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., Alice Waters’s Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., and Grant Achatz’s Alinea in Chicago have put no-tip policies in place. So did the now-closed Linkery restaurant in San Diego.
Perhaps the policies at these establishments shouldn’t come as a surprise, since restaurant patrons are increasingly saying they don’t like to play the tipping game. A solid majority of Americans — 75% — say they tip less than the customary 20% when dining out, according to a survey by vouchercloud.net, which researches consumer spending habits. Additionally, the website reports that 46% of Americans say they are tipping less in general than they did five years ago.
............................................
View the complete article, including images, at:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the...ing-2015-10-15