How to Be a Conscious Eater

THE TIPPING QUESTION

$2.13. That’s the federal minimum wage for an employee

who earns tips. Technically, employers are required to ensure

that tips add up to at least the minimum wage. In practice,

this doesn’t always happen. As a result, many tipped workers

live in poverty. They rely on food stamps and often can’t

cover their basic needs, much less afford to eat the food

they’re serving us.

Then there’s the deeply unsettling finding from a

Cornell University study that both black and white diners

tip black restaurant servers less than they tip white servers.

Between the wage disparities among restaurant staff, the

unpredictability of one’s income when relying on tips, and the

racial bias, some restaurateurs have done away with tipping

altogether. You may see a note on the menu or receipt saying

that, in lieu of expecting a tip from you, employees are paid

a livable salary and/or offered health insurance or other

benefits. This usually means a surcharge on your bill or higher

menu prices. Unfortunately, these restaurateurs often wind

up going back to tipping, because too many American diners

aren’t ready to embrace the new model. Perhaps they dislike

losing the power to reward or punish service quality, and/or

they bristle at what feels like higher costs. In reality, the

surcharge is usually well under 20 percent, so the total meal

costs the same as it would have with a tip—or even less.

Our psychological barrier to supporting a more equitable

compensation system for restaurant workers is troubling for

at least two reasons. First, the United States is an outlier in

putting the onus of ensuring a livable wage on customers.

The restaurateurs who try the “service included” model have

often been trying to help us catch up with the rest of the

world. Second, when restaurants get rid of tipping, sexual

harassment goes down. Because although it’s no excuse

for untoward behavior from diners, when a female server

no longer feels the need to wear revealing clothing or be

flirtatious just to ensure a roof over her head, the power

dynamic shifts.

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