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Will “No-Tipping” Save the Restaurant Industry?

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Will “No-Tipping” Save the Restaurant Industry?

SXSW,

5 min read
5 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

Tipping is an unjust, unsustainable practice. Restaurateur Danny Meyer suggests a sweeping change.

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, has disrupted the restaurant industry by rolling out a “no-tipping” policy across all his eateries. Tipping is an American institution, so his idea has met much resistance. While food critic Adam Rapoport offers an unsavory masterclass in how not to conduct an interview by continually interrupting his guest during their hour-long conversation, patient viewers will be served with a rich taste of Meyer’s rationale. getAbstract suggests Meyer’s appetizing report to leaders, employees and patrons of the dining industry.

Summary

In the 1800s, tipping was a European phenomenon whereby wealthy patrons bestowed workers with small gratuities as gestures of appreciation for good service. Tips didn’t substitute salaries. After the abolition of slavery in the United States, the restaurant and the Pullman railcar industries introduced tipping as a “work-around to having to pay their service help,” shifting the onus for compensating staffers to customers. Since the end of the US Civil War, the adjusted minimum wage for tipped employees has increased from $0 to $2.13 per hour in 40 states ($7.50 in New York). Meanwhile, fast-food workers are pushing for a minimum ...

About the Speakers

Danny Meyer is CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group. Adam Rapoport is the editor of Bon Appétit magazine.


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