Originally Posted by
kipper
Generally, no. I'd figure that the employees had no incentive to go above the minimum at a restaurant that doesn't allow tipping, but rather, paid everyone a living wage.
I'd guess that at restaurant #1 in our scenario, good servers would want to work there, knowing that if they did really well, they'd earn more in tips. I'd guess that so-so servers, who didn't want to go above the minimum effort, would want to work at restaurant #2, where they knew they'd make a certain amount of money each night.
My general experience has been that many servers who are very good at what they do earn a lot in tips, and therefore, wouldn't want to switch to a non-tipping system.
For me, part of it is the service. If I want to fetch food and drinks myself, I'll either go somewhere that is fast food or buffet style, or will stay home and cook.
No-tip Restaurant, with their higher wages, will get more applicants for server positions than Tip Restaurant. No-tip Restaurant can then select the best employees, and if they aren't up to par, they can be easily replaced.
Tip Restaurant, on the other hand, will always have a mix of good and not-so-good employees, and the customers "select" the best employees by paying them more. Unfortunately for the customers, they might get stuck with a not-so-good employee, and the saving grace for them is that the meal is cheaper.
Personally, I would much rather go to No-Tip Restaurant, even if it costs 20% more (not 30%, that's a rip-off), because I find tipping to be outdated, stressful, stupid, and it contributes to income tax fraud.