I do not ever force gratuity. It's always optional and I think that's how it should be. Tips encourage service workers to increase their service level. If we eliminate the tipping at restaurants and adjust the hourly wages, you'll drive up the costs and lower service levels to "just good enough to not get fired ."
I currently pay my hourly workers between $16/ hr for the lowest paid dishwasher to $29/hr for the highest paid kitchen lead. We have a tip pool that is shared evenly across the pool that adds about $10/hr to everyone's pay.
I have a competitor in town that does not accept tips. They pay their employees a little more hourly and charge customers more. Everyone is worse off for it.
- The customers lose the option to pay the minimum or considerably more based on their experience.
- The business pays more carry on the increased wages.
- Employees are not encouraged to show up to work on busy nights. So on Friday nights they're understaffed because nobody wants to work the busy nights for the same pay. So they get horrible service reviews. Locals don't even bother anymore.
Tips are a version of performance pay that works in the restaurant world. With that in mind, I also wish factory workers, teachers, and everyone else were paid based on performance.