The Modern, one of Daniel Meyer’s thirteen restaurants in New York (Figure 1)
Daniel Meyer, the Chief Executive Officer of Union Square Hospitality Group, has come out with a long overdue plan. His thirteen restaurants in New York have introduced a “no-tipping” policy and will see a slight price increase in menu items to compensate for the change. The rational for this idea is that a guest’s restaurant experience is a team effort, but under the current system only the front-of-house staff is compensated for their effort. With this new method of billing, workers are compensated far more evenly for their work, rather than the lion’s share of money going to servers.
The new system is beneficial for all parties involved. Owners are able to find experienced line cooks and head chefs that are attracted by the higher wages offered to back-of-house staff. The dining experience is increased through higher quality food and most importantly eliminates the awkward exchange that many dread; calculating an appropriate tip to leave when the cheque comes at the end of the meal. Servers also no longer need to fear a cheap guest in their section because the server will be making a living wage no matter what.
Unfortunately for British Columbia, we are not ready for this change. David Jones tried to implement this policy at his Vancouver Island restaurant in 2014 but was forced to reintroduce tipping after three months due to customer backlash. As someone who has worked in the service industry I can attest, it is time we do away with tipping.
Media Reference
Figure 1: http://www.newyork-guide.net/the-modern-restaurant-new-york.html