That's kinda my point. There's nothing special about servers that they alone require tipping while other employees like cooks and cashiers do their jobs without tipping.

My brother has been in the food industry for about 20 years now. He's mentioned multiple times that all tips go into a common shift pool and are shared between the servers, cooks, and cleaners. He's worked in many different mid to upper tier restaurants across two different states (one in the southeast, one in the midwest). So I assume this is a standard arrangement.

His first complaint with this particular approach has been that when he's gotten a good tip as a server, he has to share it (i.e. the customer gave "him" a large tip because of "his" service). The other is that when he's been a good cook or good cleaner, but there's a bad server, he's penalized because the server is given bad tips.

Ironically, we've never directly discussed whether he would prefer tips or a more traditional wage. Based on the conversations we have had, he would definitely like the ability to earn more while working in the industry (he loves cooking and he loves serving). He's hit pay ceilings in multiple restaurants, which has been a huge problem. It's such a big problem that he's transitioning to work in nurseries, because he can make more money with much less effort, and he hopes to save enough to open his own farm-to-table restaurant with some friends.

Mandating the pooling of tips is, as far as I know, illegal. I've heard of many lawsuits about it. You're free to volunteer to pool your tips, but it can't be policy.

But then shouldn't we tip 20% to the chef and not the person who brought the plate from the kitchen. I can see paying a flat fee for it for the server then.

Unfortunately, that's not the social norm. Yes, you can specify this money you left is for the back of house, but from what I've seen if you just leave money on the table/recipt the courts say you've implied that you left that for the "service" (the wait staff).

Tips that servers get are generally shared with the staff that don't interact directly with customers, but are part of providing the service that's being tipped.

In the case of fast food restaurants there were never any tips to begin with. That proves that it is possible to get rid of tipping altogether at low-end restaurants.

No, its proof that there is a distinct class of restaurants where tipping was never a convention; it doesn't say anything about the ease or difficulty of getting rid of it where it has been a convention.

Culture is path-dependent.

> No, its proof that there is a distinct class of restaurants where tipping was never a convention

The existence of such a class of (low end) restaurants without tipping proves that it is possible to get rid of tipping altogether at low-end restaurants. Which is exactly what I said.

> it doesn't say anything about the ease or difficulty of getting rid of it where it has been a convention.

This is besides the point. I didn't say anything about the ease or difficulty of getting rid of tipping.

> The existence of such a class of (low end) restaurants without tipping proves that it is possible to get rid of tipping altogether at low-end restaurants.

No, it proves that there is a class of low-end restaurants (and "fast food" is not coextensive with "low end" restaurants, its a subset of them) where there is no tipping to get rid of, not that it is possible to get rid of tipping in any of the places where it exists.

No, I said it is possible to get rid of tipping at low-end restaurants, i.e. it's possible to have low end restaurants without tipping. Do such low-end restaurants exists? Yes they do. Fast food restaurants are examples of such restaurants.

Carl's Jr. is a fast food restaurant, has (or had, last time I was in one instead of driving through) table service of the same style as fast-casual restaurants where tipping is common, and yet I've never seen anyone tip at Carl's Jr.

I think "one does not tip at a fast food restaurant" is a culturally-accepted rule that trumps "one tips one's server at a restaurant".

There's also a class of restaurant where you order at a counter, typically are given a flag with a number or whatever, and someone brings the food to your table when it's ready. In general, there isn't tipping in those situations either.

Not working at such a restaurant and given the prevalence of credit cards it's hard to be certain, and in any case it's anecdotal and not structured, but tipping seems that common (at least moreso than in fast food) in that type (fast casual) restaurant.

I suspect that, as well as the bills being smaller, the average tip percentage is smaller than at full-service restaurants.

I don't know if this is a nation-wide phenomenon, but I've observed in Austin over the past 10 years a growing trend towards having tip jars at establishments which don't have servers of any kind. I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

When picking up carry-out orders, I always leave a $3-4 tip when signing the card receipt for it. Is this considered a faux pas, then?

I've seen this debate hashed out on food sites for years. The argument against is "why?" and the argument for is "they're taking time out of their otherwise tipped workday". I realized that the division really seems to split on urban vs non-urban.

In the former category people are primarily doing carryout from places built around carryout in that there aren't servers waiting tables and bagging up orders. In the latter category people tend to more frequently do carryout from actual restaurants and in those cases they really are interacting with an otherwise typical server.

I'm sure that I'm doing it wrong somehow, but I typically tip 10% for carryout that involves "significant" effort in packaging. Sushi or Chinese food with sauces and rice boxed separately from the main dishes gets a tip. Pizza tossed into a box does not. I also tip 10% at a buffet restaurant since there is some service involved, but it's not quite "full" service. More typical restaurant service usually gets 20% from me.

I realize it's completely arbitrary, but so is tipping culture in general.

Certainly not a faux pas. Nothing wrong with giving some extra money to workers who aren't paid much. Probably not something that I would do though. If I pickup a pizza or sub, no I don't tip. And I don't think that's the normal expectation other than some extra pocket change--which increasingly doesn't exist.

I would suspect that you are just overpaying the business, at that point.

To be honest, unless I'm leaving cash, I have my doubts about whether the tip actually makes it to the server.

> To be honest, unless I'm leaving cash, I have my doubts about whether the tip actually makes it to the server.

I would be shocked to hear of any restaurants that do that. A warning sign would be the owner running the register.

And for one data point: the restaurant I worked at would convert all tips on credit cards to cash that the servers could take home that day at end of business.

A previous employer of mine was a hotel. All banquets had a builtin gratuity, and they took 50% off the top before it was even split up among the servers and porters.

The proper allocation of tips left with a credit card are trivially auditable by the IRS, and indeed is one of the Small Business Division's focus points when auditing restaurants.

It's not just a tax matter; if the audit uncovers fraud, they refer the case to the DOL and the DOJ.

Not a faux pas, it is rarely expected though.

I absolutely will leave a tip on takeout.