I agree that this is the most interesting topic the author touches upon. I bet if you compared wages to the cost of living, you'd find that it is less about honor, and more about survival. That said, in China, wait staff get paid shit even in nice restaurants and they don't get tipped at all. I also doubt that economists are scratching their heads over it. I delivered pizza for a couple of years and tips were what I lived off of. Well, tips and shitty pizza. It's pretty clear that the guy driving his beater car around the suburbs needs what extra you are willing to give. That's why people do. There's only one way to deliver a pizza, and there is no special table. Oddly, pizza doesn't have a clear 20% rule. A lot of folk give $1-2 no matter how many pies you deliver.It seems that the more honourable that restaurant work is in a society, the less that staff are tipped.
China's a strange beast, though - that's a feudal economy with a market economy poorly welded on managed by a command economy and balanced out by a criminal economy. "Tipping" in that universe is a whole 'nuther custom. I'll bet you could learn a lot by studying "tipping" in China but you'd have to study things you wouldn't normally associate with the service sector. Delivery works like that. Consider: 1) I sit down at your table. The person that seated me gets a small part of your tips. That's contact (1). 2) The server comes by and brings menus and takes a drink order. That's contact (2). 3) The server returns with drinks and recites specials while also asking about appetizers. That's contact (3). 4) The server returns for a food order and may have to return again with a drink refill or if the customers need more time. That's contacts (4-6). 5) The server brings food and checks drinks. That's contacts (7-8). 6) The server checks at least once to see how the meal is. That's contact (9), maybe (10) if there are more drinks. 7) The server clears the table and asks about dessert. Contact (11-13) if there are desserts, coffee, drink refills. 8) Server clears the table again and brings the check. (14) 9) Server collects card. (15) 10) Server returns receipt. (16). That's up to 16 customer contacts. If the server is 25 feet from the kitchen, she's walking more than 100 yards carrying stuff exclusively for your use and she's doing it in livery with a smile on her face. Compare and contrast: you show up in your clothes, listening to your music, carrying a pizza. On the flip side, tipping gets stupid with wine. Why, exactly, is the sommelier entitled to $30 for selling me a $70 bottle of wine for $150? That said, in China, wait staff get paid shit even in nice restaurants and they don't get tipped at all.
Oddly, pizza doesn't have a clear 20% rule. A lot of folk give $1-2 no matter how many pies you deliver.
I read this while belly up to a bar at a sushi restaurant in Wilmington NC, I shared the potential origin story of the "vail" described as if it were left in Downton Abby England with the waitstaff. They all gathered around to hear my wisdom. -okay, that's a lie, but it definitely was a good topic to bring up. Dammit, now I need to leave an exorbitant vail.lot of folk give $1-2 no matter how many pies you deliver.
-I used to deliver pizzas too. I was horrible at it. I would get the pie there quickly and take FOREVER to get back. Major slacker. Even though I was a driver, I still struggle w giving 20% on a large order. Recently, I threw a party and hire babysitters downstairs for my friends with kids. It was a shit load of kids. I ordered roughly $100 worth of pizza for everyone. I gave him $10. I would NEVER give a server a 10% tip. But really, how much harder was his job than if I ordered $20 worth of pizza? It was still just one trip from his car.