It's interesting that this opinion is shared by pretty much zero servers.
Servers (I was one) love tipping because, generally speaking, though there may be ups and downs, you are making tremendously more money than you would be otherwise (in the kitchen, for example) and often tax-free.
A lot of complaints about the "awkwardness" of it pop up in threads like this, which just makes me wonder if the increasingly transactional nature of society makes people less socially developed. Otherwise, many of the comments are about "helping" the servers, who, I assure you, do not want this "help."
> Otherwise, many of the comments are about "helping" the servers, who, I assure you, do not want this "help."
I would imagine you are right, in that the servers don't imagine they would earn as much without tips. But what if the choice was between earning as much as they do now (after tax), but predictably every month and without having to suck up to anyone?
Maybe some servers think trying to get extra tips are part of the fun of the job, but I don't see that this is a widespread opinion.
> But what if the choice was between earning as much as they do now (after tax), but predictably every month and without having to suck up to anyone?
This is such a weird way of framing it, I don't really know what to say. As a server, I never "sucked up". I just tried to be personable and helpful, because I like helping people. Now that I'm a programmer am I "sucking up" because I am being personable and helpful with the customers here? Am I "sucking up" to my boss when I show up for work on time or stay late to help the team? It's hard for me not to see in this mentality some kind of aversion to normal social interaction or maybe some kind of pride. Unless you are already self-sufficiently wealthy, you're "sucking up" to someone. If anything, I could be (and sometimes was!) much ruder to a customer than I would have ever been to someone responsible for a multi-million dollar software contract or my direct supervisor.
And yeah, sure, if you could somehow guarantee me that I would make the same amount of money, except consistently on a daily basis, I don't see any problem with that...but why would servers deserves drastically higher wage than kitchen staff or management? Or are we going to mandate a massive hike in the minimum wage and simply suck it up now that going out costs much more, because now the cost of non-server labor dramatically increased? I'm all for a hike, but we're talking about a massive hike.
Servers (I was one) love tipping because, generally speaking, though there may be ups and downs, you are making tremendously more money than you would be otherwise (in the kitchen, for example) and often tax-free.
A lot of complaints about the "awkwardness" of it pop up in threads like this, which just makes me wonder if the increasingly transactional nature of society makes people less socially developed. Otherwise, many of the comments are about "helping" the servers, who, I assure you, do not want this "help."