Why is hospitality still so hooked on tipping? I’ve noticed most industries have updated how they pay people, but restaurants and bars seem totally stuck on the tipping model. Is it just because profit margins are so thin, or is there something else going on that makes it impossible to switch to a normal flat wage?

It’s because we keep allowing it to be that way. As long as we are going to continue to pay their employees’ salaries, then they are going to continue doing it. 

Same question here

For the bar I just left, it was a profit margin thing. They pay us as little as possible because we work in a nightclub and the tips usually brought us up to $23-$26 an hour.

I think the restaurant business can be a coin toss. It depends on several factors.

You don’t make as much as servers cause they rely it on it then we do.

Nevada actually had to shut down the tip process several times due to some bad apples ruining for the rest of them. It used to be a conscious decision to reward people for their work efforts and thank them then it became a payoff for the work to be done appropriately. I know some people get paid minimum wage plus tips and they are grateful for any additional gratuity and others count on it for pay.

It needs to stop as restaurants are taking unfair advantage!

I continue to be amazed at how clueless so many people are about economics.

NO MATTER WHERE YOU DO BUSINESS, YOU ARE THE ONE PAYING THEIR EMPLOYEES.

It doesn't matter if it is by tipping or not. Ever penny a business spends is folded into their prices. Rent, utilities, inventory, insurance, taxes. And, yes. Payroll.

I'm a former server who, since the pandemic closed restaurants, now works for Amazon.

Today, as long as the boxes go where they should, I don't have to put them there with a smile on my face. That was quite the opposite when I served. It was my responsibility not just to get you the right food, but to do so while making you feel appreciated and entertained.

Then, unlike most places you have the freedom to decide if you got what you paid for. Try that at Walmart. Tell the cashier you asked an employee for help and he got an attitude and that you're deducting a couple bucks from your total.

See how that goes.

I don’t know about the profit on food but drinks they’re way to expensive for as many servings as they get out of the bottle.