Joe's Crab Shack Drops Tipping [UPDATE: Policy now abandoned]
 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...b045bf3decfb76

FINALLY! :D ^^^^

Down with tipping!!!

Hate chain restaurants and would never have considered JCS as an option, unless drug by a group where I had no say. I will now patronize them in support of their no tipping policy.

I'm guessing that menu prices in those 18 restaurants will go up to accommodate for the higher wages?

If so, that will be the interesting part of this.

Food snob or not, this is where it has to start at a chain restaurant for the movement to get any traction

would it be better at a larger chain, yes, but this is a decent start in my opinion

The only one near me closed down a few years ago. It had a children's playground next to the outdoor patio. My kids dislike seafood, so we would feed them dinner at home, then go to JCS to have dinner while the kids played.

I read yes, about 12-15%. The sticker shock / behavior change aspect is what will be interesting to gauge

JC Penney tried to do away with coupons to disastrous results. People like coupons, people are used to lower price and tip.

If the Omaha store is one of the 18, I'd give it a try. Since I usually tip more than 18%, it could be a win.

I still won't eat out often though...

It's a start. The tipping culture instead of a living wage has to go.

I don't mind tipping. I wish Charlotte still had a JCS so I could check it out.

It would be more impactful if Applebees/Chilis et al would try this too, but they compete on price so much. Applebees did ban smoking nationwide before that was cool so maybe they'll tackle this too. Then the mom and pop places can try.

It will be interesting to see if they will actively refuse tips from those who will still feel the (compulsive) need to tip.

One could argue that this is "forced tipping" since one will have no choice but to pay 12%-15% more regardless of the quality of service. In addition, the servers will have no incentive to provide good service.

Not sure why the anti-tippers are happy about this.

Do you really think tipping has any positive effect on service? I've been in the industry as a bartender, manager and now as an owner for nearly 20 years and can tell you it does not. being a regular at a place or an area and being a bad tipper will get you bad service, but that is it.

The phrase that everyone in the bar industry knows is "tits for tips". An ugly troll of a man providing excellent service will receive lower tips then a beautiful young woman with big boobs providing bad service. Tipping long ago stopped connecting to service standards and moved onto some odd zone of randomness based mostly on factors that are completely out of staff's hands.

As ROCAT has said, I almost never vary my tip based on the quality of service. Sometime in the last year, when our service was truly terrible, I left a very small tip and a long note about the issues we experienced. Usually, though, the service is fine or good and I tip in the 18 - 20% range. It's a bigger issue at places like coffee shops and food trucks, but to me our current tipping culture is just a way for two customers to pay different prices for the same thing.

Joe's Crab Shack Becomes First Major Chain To Drop Tipping
 

As I noted in the other thread, servers in Australia are generally not tipped, and yet I have few to no complaints about the service I've received at any number of restaurants I've patronized there. They seemed quite motivated to provide good service without me needing to slip them some extra at the end.

Oh, you mean like in all these other countries where they routinely spit in your food and bang the plates on the table? You know, the countries (most of the rest of the world) where tipping is not expected and in places even frowned upon? :rolleyes:

What would be their incentive? Same one I have (I am a consultant) - it's called employment. They will not be around for long if they provide substandard service, tips or no tips.