Page 245 - How to Be a Conscious Eater - Making Food Choices That Are Good for You

THE TIPPING QUESTION
$2.13. That’s the federal minimum wage for an employee
who earns tips. Technically, employers are required to ensure
that tips add up to at least the minimum wage. In practice,
this doesn’t always happen. As a result, many tipped workers
live in poverty. They rely on food stamps and often can’t
cover their basic needs, much less afford to eat the food
they’re serving us.
Then there’s the deeply unsettling finding from a
Cornell University study that both black and white diners
tip black restaurant servers less than they tip white servers.
Between the wage disparities among restaurant staff, the
unpredictability of one’s income when relying on tips, and the
racial bias, some restaurateurs have done away with tipping
altogether. You may see a note on the menu or receipt saying
that, in lieu of expecting a tip from you, employees are paid
a livable salary and/or offered health insurance or other
benefits. This usually means a surcharge on your bill or higher
menu prices. Unfortunately, these restaurateurs often wind
up going back to tipping, because too many American diners
aren’t ready to embrace the new model. Perhaps they dislike
losing the power to reward or punish service quality, and/or
they bristle at what feels like higher costs. In reality, the
surcharge is usually well under 20 percent, so the total meal
costs the same as it would have with a tip—or even less.
Our psychological barrier to supporting a more equitable
compensation system for restaurant workers is troubling for
at least two reasons. First, the United States is an outlier in
putting the onus of ensuring a livable wage on customers.
The restaurateurs who try the “service included” model have
often been trying to help us catch up with the rest of the
world. Second, when restaurants get rid of tipping, sexual
harassment goes down. Because although it’s no excuse
for untoward behavior from diners, when a female server
no longer feels the need to wear revealing clothing or be
flirtatious just to ensure a roof over her head, the power
dynamic shifts.

234 how to be a Conscious Eater

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