Originally Posted by
LTBoston
If restaurant had no tipping and simply paid servers what they'd make with tips, it would be factored into the cost of the meal and you'd end up spending the same amount of money anyway.
To a first order approximation, yes. I would vastly prefer such a system (which is not unlike the system where I live).
Originally Posted by
hedur
My main objection is the people who deem tipping necessary to be considered a "good" person but then can't explain why it's morally necessary to tip the waiter who makes at least minimum wage but not the person who bags your groceries who makes the same.
People seem very selective in deciding who are worthy recipients of charity. Substantially more than 10,000 people die of starvation every day - how about if I take the money I would pay in restaurant tips, and donate it to charities that feed this people? How do the people in this thread feel about that? Or is not really about helping the poor and downtrodden?