The Current Summer 20

informs them that tipping is not usually
motivated by a desire to reward good service.
Instead, the price of the bill and where the
tipping occurs is more important.
“When we ask people how much they
tipped and how they would rate the quality
of the service, less than four percent of the
differences in tips left by different dining
parties can be explained by their ratings
of service quality,” says Lynn.
Areas with more outgoing, extroverted
patrons are more inclined to tip, Lynn states.
Tress found herself noticing this in her own
serving as she receives less tips in Alabama
than when she served in Michigan. Lynn
is also quick to say that tipping culture
in the U.S. is not on its way out anytime
soon. Despite the controversial past and
the questionable wage instability, some
U.S. servers are quite happy with the tipping
system established in America, believing the
European way is not the best way.
14 SUMMER 2020
Yet, serving wages can vary even in the
United States. Wages dip and peak from state
to state. Dave, a server residing in Hawaii,
makes $9 an hour plus tips. This server has
over 10 years of experience, 15 in the food
industry, and wouldn’t change much about
the way servers are paid. When asked if he
would prefer a wage similar to servers across
the pond, he was unsure.
“[Receiving a] higher wage over tipping? I
don’t know. I’d say no. The benefit of tipping
is it motivates and drives. It’s fun knowing that
the energy you put in most often dictates the
tips coming back,” he says. “Tipping in the
U.S. is interesting. The restaurant pays a small
wage and the guest is left to cover the rest.
You’re somewhat renting [commercial] space
from the restaurant.”
Even when servers are on top of their game
and performing to the best of their abilities,
they aren’t guaranteed a 20 percent tip on
every bill. Instead, these servers’ livelihoods
are always endangered by a system that can
provide days of great rewards and slumps
of lacking customer compensation. This fact
holds true regardless of the callouses covering
the palms of servers’ hands or the blisters on
their feet.
How, then, can we ensure hardworking
individuals get the compensation they
deserve? For servers like Tress, there is no
straightforward answer.
“I think we just need to educate people on
how tipping gives servers an incentive to
provide excellent service so that everyone
follows that 20 percent suggestion,” she says.
“You could have restaurants put 20 percent
gratuity on a bill. I know some servers would
like a normal wage, but it’s hard to tell when
it’s based on performance.”
Despite all this, servers still endure the chaotic
multitasking, the long nights and the patrons
that leave 10 percent on an overly expensive
bill. With all the duties they partake in behind
the scenes, one can argue servers maintain
the shiny, smiling exterior restaurants portray
to their customers. So the next time you go out
to eat, make sure you leave the nice waiters
who endure the mishaps of the restaurant
industry at least 20 percent. Their lives are in
your pockets.
John Castro is a professional and public
writing senior with a tendency to write long
and melodramatic works of fiction he knows
no one but his mother will read. He plans
to apply his knowledge to social media
management, content strategy and the
candlelit hours that follow in which he finishes that inevitable
first novel. You can find him on Instagram posting trashy
poetry under the unnecessarily long username:
@johnisstillthebestusernameever.