I usually tip 20%. Having grown up in the restaurant business, I am possibly more aware of the need for tipping than many may be.If the service by the waiter/waitress is outstanding, I may tip more, and I'll be sure to mention it to whoever is the boss. Obviously, if the wait service is poor, I will tip less. But, if $15 per hour comes to my neck of the woods, the service will have to be world class before I tip at all.

I think it goes ways further than just the end of tipping or goodwill--it goes to the end of a really large small business sector in the US. How many still remember the service station attendant that pumped your gas, checked your oil, and wiped your windshields? We're talking a lot about the McD's and other fast foods, but how about the Mom and Pop cafe in the neighborhood, Hooters, the guy mowing your lawns, the dry cleaners, house cleaners, home healthcare workers, the coffee shops, the donut place, the two or three person shop keeper, the Quick Trip clerk, any service type job.

we gave a waitress a 52 percent tip while on vacation,
last week. . we were the last table of her night, and she had done
a majestic job of personalizing our meal, scrounging more of
our favorite stuff, making us feel like a king and queen -- and she
probably has to pay them to let her work there (very fine restaurant:::
Sea Captain's House in Myrtle Beach).

this intrusion by the govt screws everything up. -- j
.

Yes.

Jesus! Give me a heart attack why don't ya! Goodwill...sigh.

I use tipping widely. Typically I tip very well, and it pays off when I repeat as a customer.

This would readily turn me into a non-tipper, and leave a note. Maybe I should consider the calculation for what it means to the price, and simply deduct it from the tip. (e.g. 20% -> 10%).

It is interesting that the Dutch generally don't tip. Those in the service industry consider that their job that it is an insult to imply they need tips to supplement their income (or that you are superior because you tip). I kind of like this in some ways. It makes life easier than carrying change around for cabs etc. and people take their cab/waiter/etc jobs seriously.

Tipping today is not about goodwill any more. The choices now are to avoid sit down restaurants where tipping is "expected" because they are just too expensive, or just not tip and leave the management of the employees to the managers of the restaurants.

I live in Las Vegas, and I ONLY tip out of embarrassment in front of people who believe its some sort of duty. I never tip at buffets where I have to get my own food and often my drinks too. If I tip, its never more than 10% and only in places I want to go back to and who have the same employees every time. I have always thought its up to management to pay the employees what they are worth to give the level of service that is set by the establishment. Frankly I would rather be "served" by a robot system that doesnt interrupt my conversation, is always available, and has no "expectations'. Not to mention it would be cheaper. My experience is with my friends, NOT the server

I never eat at fast food restaurants and since I am retired and no longer travel on business, I do not eat out too frequently. When my wife and I go to a restaurant, we go for the experience as well as the food. The décor, maitre d , waiter, sommelier, bus boys, etc. are an important part of that experience. Given anything close to good service, I tip 20% and sometimes more. In Europe this is a problem since the tipping custom is for much less, We just got back from two weeks in Italy and if I was the ugly American, I don't care. Italy means good food to me and is a major reason I like to go there. In most cases the service was fantastic but reviews I read on several places we ate contained complaints.
People in other industries need experience in serving the public face to face and a restaurant is a great place to get it. When experience first hand that your job and your income comes directly from your customers/clients it is a lesson that will last a lifetime. I think the greatest benefit of the fast food industry is that it provides this experience for young people seeking income to supplement their school/living experiences. I have no sympathy whatsoever for those that complain that they can't support a family on those wages. The business model for fast food is cheap and fast. Bums that do not appreciate the "part-time" job and give slow, expensive and lackadaisical service need not apply.

KH

In response to the title....

Divisive politics putting every group at someone elses' throat appears to have already destroyed goodwill.

Along with manners, respect for others, property rights, and simple pleasures.

Robots are an alternative, but for many small businesses there's a better one -- reorganize as a partnership and have your family be the workers and owners, thus no employees.

Then again, my theory is that this is really all about destroying the fast food industry, or forcing it to unionize.

what about higher skilled workers making $15 an hour now, are they going to get $22 or more? I bet they think they should.

"What do you get when you cross worker resentment with restaurant patron resentment?"
Answer:...No more restaurants, no more eating out.
Maybe a surge in Cooking class students, Hotel rooms with mini kitchens, OR...will we get a new Restaurant/service paradigm...standardized service and only those that set the bar the highest will be patronized.
Either way you look at it, something we all cherished and found valuable will be gone or at least reduced to a rarity.

I remember learning the hard way that In Australia, at least with taxi drivers, you are not supposed to tip. They receive some other kind of compensation in lieu of the practice.

But so what, along comes these two yank seppos in Cairns and they engage a taxi service. The driver places me in the front passenger seat and my companion in the back seat. Already, this is weird, in the US you never ride up front with the driver in a taxi - security I suppose.

The driver is incredibly talkative and funny and having a blast with the seppos. But, I ask him how come I can ride up front? He looks at me with a straight face and says "What's the matter, mate, afraid I'll break wind?"

I tipped the guy despite all objections and just said the comedy was worth it alone!

What, I was surprised to see the article was about Seattle. Not really, I’m just pulling your leg, so to speak. Seattle is becoming the most liberal city on earth. Not only the officials’ but also the people they vote into the City Council and other governmental positions. One of their favorites now seems to be Kshama Sawant, a woman born in India. She is an activist who’s bringing her ideas to fruition in Seattle. Since the minimum wage I no longer go to Seattle to eat, we’ve got other good restaurant choices on the Eastside where we can determine the tip ourselves (usually in the 20-25-30% category at the top places). In fact, now I don’t go into Seattle, period, unless I absolutely have to, like when I have an appointment at the Seattle VA Hospital. And that ain’t (I finally added that word to my dictionary) no fun either, I’m sure you’ve read about it.

“If you thought Seattle activists were passionate in their successful push for the $15 an hour minimum wage, just wait until you see their fervor for rent control. It was on display Thursday night at City Hall when City Councilmembers Nick Licata and Kshama Sawant hosted a town hall meeting that drew an overflow crowd. People seethed about the skyrocketing rents, and vowed to do something about it in spite of the political sway that landlords and real estate developers hold. To this group one speaker, Flora Ybarra, said this: "We are going to show you we are the people with the power." The crowd roared its approval.”

Beside the minimum wage, the Seattle City Council is now pushing the new and improved Rent Control. There being a shortage of apartments in Seattle (and so the prices are going up) so they have convinced the people if they impose rent control there will be more affordable apartments available. That makes a lot of sense to an investor. Just put your money out there to build a bunch of low income apartments that the government will be controlling the rent on. I can’t even calculate just out how many investors will actually jump into this plan to correct the shortages of low income apartments. The council won’t listen to other cities that have actually solved their rental availability problems by building low income units and letting the market determine the rent. More apartments available, lower rent. What a unique concept, huh?

In 1960 the minimum wage was 1.25, EXCEPT at restaurants where it was 0.90 because of tips. If all restaurant workers are paid the 'regular' minimum wage, there would be no reason to tip because the minimum wage difference mentioned above would no longer exist.

FYI, I worked at McDonald's for 0.90 per hour and NO tips. Different times.

I did not realize that Seattle had done this. even those establishments that will now have to pay this wage will find that the people they employ will not stay on the job any longer than they would have at 8 or 10 bucks an hour. the bottom line is that the government hand outs are still greater than the pay and they are not taxed over and above the fact that the recipients don't have to do any work for the bucks.

I wonder what will happen to franchise owners. When they have to increase salaries by as much as 50% yet don't have the latitude to raise prices at will, there will eventually be only one thing left to do: sell out and look for other opportunities. And take it to the bank, they'll be looking for opportunities that don't involve employees.

The restaurant industry (and especially in US) is known for generally very good service, and this is mainly due to servers who rely on tips. Moving from tip-based to wage-based servers will slowly reduce the need to make as much effort.

Seattle has Boeing, Starbucks and Microsoft - along with a lot of natural beauty. So, everybody is expected to be fleeced. I used to live there. Love the place. But, here in California it's the same phenomenon. What the left doesn't realize is how this destroys areas for the lower-middle class working folks.

You won't see a $15 minimum wage in Sioux City or Tulsa (not that those aren't nice places).

Well we are running the same route that the EU is on, just a few decades behind. Tips are no longer given or expected there, its just part of the wage.

My daughter makes about $20 to $22 an hour waiting tables while in high school. She does an excellent job and gets very generous tips.

We have all ready had the discussion around what will happen if she gets a base of $15.00 per hour, the tips will largely go away and the prices on the menu will have to go up accordingly. The end result she will get $15.00 an hour and her co worker that covers about 60% as many tables and still gets complaints log against her and makes about $11.00 an hour will also make $15.00 per hour.

It is yet again another way to average things out between producer and non-producing people.

I think economist Peter Schiff best highlighted how the rising costs that result from raising the minimum wage do kill good will in consumers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLr5o...

The more goods and services cost, the smaller the purchasing power of the consumer, meaning they have a lot less to donate to charities and causes, too. That's a negative no one ever talks about in relation to the economic impact of minimum wage hikes.

The idiots pushing the $15 minimum wage understand nothing about economics and the free market. Oklahoma City has no municipal or state minimum wage, but the minimums being paid are above $10/hr, with some above $15/hr. That's being driven by labor demand, not government edict. I suspect the municipalities that are busy instituting high minimum wage are in for a rude awakening.

j_IR1776 is right on the money. I believe automation is suppressing wages of existing jobs. Instead of people learning how to use the automation to solve problems, i.e. "create new jobs", we make bad decisions like this trying to bring back the market value of old jobs. A $15 min wage isn't the end of the world, but it's one little bad decision of many. Too many bad decisions, too many band-aids trying to stop creative destruction, will have enormous costs.