WASHINGTON 鈥� The end of a meal is often the most stressful part.
As soon as the聽dishes are cleared, the pens and calculators come out 鈥� long before the taste of creme brulee has a chance to聽leave your mouth.
You might find yourself asking, “Was the soup hot enough? Was the wine selection what I expected? And did the service live up to my expectations?” — all before scribbling a number on the bottom line of the check and closing the black book.
But it doesn’t have to be聽that complicated. A handful of restaurant owners are doing聽away with tipping.
In October, Danny Meyer announced plans to change the way he pays his employees. The chief executive officer of , which oversees 13 high-end restaurants in New York, is eliminating tipping.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an experiment that I think a lot of people in the business are watching and really pulling for,鈥� says journalist Corby Kummer, who wrote about the topic in a in New Republic.
Meyer, who is also the founder of the popular burger chain Shake Shack, attempted to do away with tipping 20 years ago, but received too much pushback from the wait staff to make the change work, Kummer says. However, with minimum wage on the rise in many states, including New York, he鈥檚 trying again, and he鈥檚 hoping it will solve a number of issues present in the industry.
When the minimum wage goes up, chefs and restaurateurs have to pass the cost burden along to the customer in the form of higher menu prices. And when diners add an additional 20 percent for service on those bigger bills, the only ones who benefit are the wait staff.
Kummer explains that even if tips are pooled among staff (a common practice in many restaurants), it鈥檚 illegal in several states to distribute those profits to non-service employees 鈥� such as the chef, the dishwasher聽and even the sommelier.
This creates a noticeable disparity between the front-of-the-house staff, and those behind the scenes.
鈥淐ooks sweating in the back of the house can鈥檛 get any money at the end of the night and have nothing to show for a busy Saturday night, while the waiters are high-fiving each other,鈥� Kummer says.聽鈥淚t鈥檚 just a dead, antiquated system and I think it鈥檚 time to go.鈥�
In with NPR鈥檚 Kelly McEvers, Meyer says in the last 30 years, he鈥檚 seen a 200 percent increase in income among wait staff. Those in the back of the house have only seen wages increase 22 to 25 percent.
鈥淩estaurant owners know they鈥檝e got to do something to even out this disparity,鈥� Kummer says.
This no-tipping thing 鈥� how鈥檚 it going to work? 聽
Meyer鈥檚 plan is to and pay all of his employees a fair amount, not the standard minimum wage for tipped employees. (There is a difference between minimum wage and minimum wage for tipped employees. In 43 states, the minimum wage for tipped employees is .)
The extra profit made from the food will be divided evenly among staff. Since it isn鈥檛 technically a service charge, no law prohibits Meyer from excluding non-service聽employees.
Aphra Adkins, co-owner of the D.C. restaurant , doesn鈥檛 accept tips at her H Street eatery, and hasn鈥檛 since day one.
鈥淲e wanted to try to give everyone who worked here the best opportunity possible,鈥� Adkins says.
Unlike Meyer, the cost is not passed down to the customer in menu prices. The restaurant includes an automatic 18 percent charge on every check. Staff start out making D.C.鈥檚 minimum wage ($10.50 an hour), and the extra profit is split evenly.
鈥淓veryone from the dishwasher to the bartender gets an equal amount of that,鈥� Adkins explains. 鈥淥ne of the things that we really wanted to do was just bring everyone who worked here together toward the same goals and kind of working toward the same thing and not feeling divided by a difference in pay structure.鈥�
Kummer says a no-tip model, such as those put in place by Meyer and Adkins, will help attract and retain culinary talent. In high-rent cities, it鈥檚 not uncommon to have culinary graduates working in the front of the house to make ends meet, instead of fulfilling their dreams to be a chef.
The new approach will also help add some stability to an otherwise unpredictable industry. Kummer cites stories of waiters bursting into tears after serving a large group of European diners who didn鈥檛 leave a tip because they are accustomed to it being included, or slow nights that yield an empty dining room, and thus, empty pockets.
A common fear among service staff is that they will make less once no-tipping policies are instituted. To address this concern, at least during the transition, Meyer has promised to match the average wage by the same position last year, .
Adkins says she thinks, moneywise, it all shakes out in the end. Plus, an even wage gives more options to those who can鈥檛 leave their income to circumstance.
鈥淪ome people鈥檚 lifestyles are conducive to waiting for those really big nights where you know it鈥檚 going to be super busy, you鈥檙e going to make a bunch of money,鈥� she says. 鈥淥ther people鈥檚 lifestyles are a little more conducive to knowing, 鈥楾his is exactly how much I鈥檓 going to make this week, and I can set that aside for my kid鈥檚 doctor鈥檚 bills or whatever it may be.鈥欌��
Kummer predicts that customers may initially balk at the change, but says the idea of not having to turn into a human calculator at the end of a meal will likely help them swallow the cost of a $13 hamburger.
鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be sticker shock and owners are going to be worried about it,鈥� Kummer says. 鈥淏ut when the check comes, there鈥檚 one total and there鈥檚 no line for an additional gratuity 鈥� that鈥檚 it.鈥�
Adkins says since opening this summer, customer feedback on the no-tipping policy at Sally鈥檚 Middle Name has varied, but overall 鈥渋t鈥檚 been pretty well received.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 been pretty widely publicized so when people come in, they know to expect that. And I think the people who are unhappy with it, or who are uncomfortable with it choose not to come in. And that鈥檚 fine; it is different and we can鈥檛 expect everybody to like everything all the time,鈥� she says.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not trying to say this is better or this is the way that everyone should do it. This is a different way to do it and it works for us.鈥�
Tom Colicchio of Bravo鈥檚 鈥淭op Chef鈥� fame also during lunch service at his New York restaurant Craft, but Kummer says all eyes are on Meyer to see if the new standard works across a larger pool of restaurants.
鈥淚 think everybody in the business is watching Danny Meyer and crossing his fingers, hoping the waiters don鈥檛 all go away, that it isn鈥檛 a failure and that customers don鈥檛 desert the restaurant,鈥� Kummer says.
Adkins says even if the model works, she鈥檚 not sure all restaurants will be able to switch to a no-tipping system, but she鈥檚 happy it鈥檚 becoming part of the conversation.
鈥淚 think more and more people who are opening restaurants, or who have established restaurants, are realizing that there鈥檚 not only one way to do it, and that there can be a conversation about changing different aspects of it or changing the whole process. I think that鈥檚 really great, just people realizing that there鈥檚 flexibility and that you can adjust things to be based on the business model that you have in mind. It doesn鈥檛 have to be set in stone.鈥�
