Newport Restaurant Abolishes Tipping - Business Insider

 

"...management has forbidden tips in favor of standardizing its servers' take-home pay: At the end of the shift, they get either $10 an hour or 20% of their food sales, whichever is more.

 

...in contrast to the federal base rate of $2.13 for servers, his serving staff is earning an average of $15 an hour."

At a glance, seems like a great idea.

 

Anyone been there? How is the food, and how much does an average meal cost there? Any chance something like this can cross over to smaller restaurants or less expensive chain restaurants with any success?

Ate there a few weeks ago. Around $10 per person. Pretty good food.

Hoping to get there this weekend

Hoping to get there this weekend

 

Same here! Wife wanted to go last weekend, but schedule just didn't work out.

Not sure I like the idea that someone is forcing me to tip 20% when service may or may not be worth it. Fair to the employees, but maybe not to the consumer. Do they offer carry out? Is the food any cheaper?

That being said, I have not been there to see how good service is, or if the food is of value for what they are charging.

Not sure I like the idea that someone is forcing me to tip 20% when service may or may not be worth it. Fair to the employees, but maybe not to the consumer. Do they offer carry out? Is the food any cheaper?

That being said, I have not been there to see how good service is, or if the food is of value for what they are charging.

Not forcing you to tip. They are adjusting their food prices to meet their labor cost.

Not sure I like the idea that someone is forcing me to tip 20% when service may or may not be worth it. Fair to the employees, but maybe not to the consumer. Do they offer carry out? Is the food any cheaper?

That being said, I have not been there to see how good service is, or if the food is of value for what they are charging.

 

Nowhere in that article does it say anyone is being forced to tip 20 percent, or any percent. Just that the business owner will pay the server either a flat rate of $10 per hour at minimum.

Nowhere in that article does it say anyone is being forced to tip 20 percent, or any percent. Just that the business owner will pay the server either a flat rate of $10 per hour at minimum.

 

From the original article in the Enquirer.

"Conway, in fact, charges more for his meatballs than he would if his servers were paid by tips. In restaurants, prices are determined by multiplying the food cost of a dish by a certain factor to cover all the other costs of running the business and making a profit. So instead of multiplying by four, the common factor in his market segment, he has to multiply by five (rounded off to the nearest quarter). That means that an individual meatball, with a food cost of 60 cents, costs $3 instead of $2.40. To the diner, that's the same amount it would cost if they left a 20 percent tip.

 

Even when it takes the burden off the diner, a tipless system can be a hard sell. Chef Jean-Robert de Cavel tried a European-style service charge at his former restaurant Pigall's, Downtown. A 17 percent tip was calculated by the restaurant and added to the bill. "I think people liked it, but it was so hard to explain," he said. "They were very confused by it."

Not sure I like the idea that someone is forcing me to tip 20% when service may or may not be worth it. Fair to the employees, but maybe not to the consumer. Do they offer carry out? Is the food any cheaper?

That being said, I have not been there to see how good service is, or if the food is of value for what they are charging.

 

The whole issue with tipping is that many times, your service isn't completely dependent on your server. The server often takes the medicine for poor kitchen performance. And, some people are just jerks and think it's funny not to leave a tip or just don't care. Basically the whole practice of tipping is letting the customer pay your employee, and restaurants are often the biggest violators of labor laws. It will be interesting to see how this plays it out and if they will be successful.

I love this idea. No reason we should be subsiding the cost of someones labor. I tip well at restaurants only because I used to work in a job where I got tips so I understand. I just hate the idea.

From the original article in the Enquirer.

"Conway, in fact, charges more for his meatballs than he would if his servers were paid by tips. In restaurants, prices are determined by multiplying the food cost of a dish by a certain factor to cover all the other costs of running the business and making a profit. So instead of multiplying by four, the common factor in his market segment, he has to multiply by five (rounded off to the nearest quarter). That means that an individual meatball, with a food cost of 60 cents, costs $3 instead of $2.40. To the diner, that's the same amount it would cost if they left a 20 percent tip.

 

Even when it takes the burden off the diner, a tipless system can be a hard sell. Chef Jean-Robert de Cavel tried a European-style service charge at his former restaurant Pigall's, Downtown. A 17 percent tip was calculated by the restaurant and added to the bill. "I think people liked it, but it was so hard to explain," he said. "They were very confused by it."

 

Oh well, don't eat there if you don't like the policy.

 

For me, having worked in the restaurant industry for several years, and as someone who goes out to eat on occasion, I see enough clods out there who refuse or have no idea how to tip that it seems like a good thing to just count it into the price and be done with it.

Interesting concept, not sure how it's played out other places that have tried it. We just noticed it last night as we drove down Monmouth so we're going to give it a try and see how we like it.

I love this idea. No reason we should be subsiding the cost of someones labor. I tip well at restaurants only because I used to work in a job where I got tips so I understand. I just hate the idea.

 

You're doing that no matter what.

Oh well, don't eat there if you don't like the policy.

 

For me, having worked in the restaurant industry for several years, and as someone who goes out to eat on occasion, I see enough clods out there who refuse or have no idea how to tip that it seems like a good thing to just count it into the price and be done with it.

 

I agree and wish it would catch on. It would probably lead to more work on the managers as people would be talking to them rather than just reducing or eliminating a tip. However, I see that as a good thing as the management needs to be more involved when the service isn't up to par. It gives them a chance to correct a problem rather than lose a customer.