American tipping culture: a look at the American psyche

[tielan]

observations from a tipless restaurant (part 1)

A certain small number of very vocal men (and it was always men who were vocal about it) resented that we were not letting them try to exercise additional control over our team members. This was true even though compelling research has shown that servers do not adjust quality of service as a result of tips; instead the idea that the restaurant was not offering our servers up as objects of control, was heresy. For these people, the primary service they wanted from the restaurant was the opportunity to pay for favors from the server — much like the patron at a strip club pays the club for the opportunity to dangle bills in front a dancer for individual attention. The idea that a restaurant could legitimately want to be in a different business than a strip club, was not an idea these guests could countenance.

You should read through all the parts and the postscript, because it's really an insight into the American psyche as well as an exploration of the illogicity of tipping.

Now I want a study about tipping in Australia vs. tipping in America, what it means and how it operates in comparison to the things that he looked at in his article...

Comments

[tielan]

It's not just, no. There are lots of complexities in tipping and Why People Tip, as well as how servers serve, but I think it may help to go in looking at tipping culture overall, rather than with the attitude of 'that's not how I do it'.

[scribblemyname]

I was? I literally said I don't know about the guys, it was eye-opening because I was entirely wrong about the dynamic between serving and kitchen staff, but also knew there's another cultural dynamic at play as well. I don't consider the save the waitress element any less harmful than seduce her.

I am trying to look at tipping culture overall, the stuff he mentioned and the additional widespread myths around it I never even realized were myth, not truth. Being American, examining my participation in that culture seems a good response to the new information.