Because we're in a Nash equilibrium where it isn't rational for any individual actor to change.
Restaurants that incorporate the service fee into prices sell less food and particularly booze, leaving them with less money to pay the staff, leading to lower wages for front of house.
Given this experience, tipped workers are generally against any legislation that might change the system.
Restaurants in Seattle that are raising the minimum wage aren't telling me not to tip for the most part except Tom douglas. I'm capable of doing math... I'm tipping so I already am. Tho I realize most peipyare just straight confused by tipping ratios. And I as the patron shouldn't be figuring out your staff's w2.
But also I know bartenders at a decent tipping bar (any with a good weekend business) make a lot more than $15-20 minimum wage.
A
Worked as a bouncer at one of the best bars in STL for tipping (high end late hours) and they'd make 95k+. Wasn't a job you could keep much past 40 unless you just didn't drink tho.
As an aside Was one of my better non co-op college gigs, I worked security and valet, so I made 100-200$ tips a night and 10/hr (1995) as a valet bouncer and it was a 12 hour shift (4pm-4am).
To be fair, “Tom Douglas” is like sixteen different restaurants around Seattle. A bunch of bars (Optimism) and non-restaurant food stores (Molly Moon’s) have gone tipless as well. I’m actually optimistic that Seattle is slowly but surely beating back the scourge of tipping.
I think tipping is a bit more interesting than that. It’s an equilibrium for the businesses and possibly for the workers, but often not for the customers. One of the strange things about tipping is they people usually still do it even when there’s no need to. It’s rational to tip at a neighborhood restaurant where they might remember you the next time around, but it’s conpletely irrational to tip for a one-off meal in a strange city or at an airport restaurant or whatever. Most of us tip anyway in those situations.
As someone who tends to tip well, I really don’t mind it. It’s a way to tangibly say “thank you” and “I appreciated your work.” (That said, tips should be above and beyond. Not required, and not included in minimum wages.)
Do you actually tip all the people you're thankful to? Or even half of them? I definitely don't; most of them would look at me weirdly if I tried to tip them. So I think that's a tempting story of benevolence people tell themselves but it isn't actually the main reason for tipping.
If they want a thank you note they can go volunteer in their free time IMO. I think employers should be paying their employee's wages, not relying on the public to directly pay their salary.
Restaurants that incorporate the service fee into prices sell less food and particularly booze, leaving them with less money to pay the staff, leading to lower wages for front of house.
Given this experience, tipped workers are generally against any legislation that might change the system.