Tips it is (non-tip experiment failed)

I understand that a lot of people feel here in the US that we should forego tipping, so Joe's Crab Shack tried it out. It failed.

The casual seafood chain raised its menu prices at the test sites and said it gave higher, fixed wages to its staff. At the time, Ray Blanchette, then the chief executive of its parent company, Ignite Restaurant Group, called tipping “an antiquated model.”

Company research had found that 60 percent of the restaurants’ customers disliked the change in tipping, Mr. Merritt said. They wanted to inspire good service with their tips and they didn’t trust management to pass on the money to its employees, he said.

The number of customers at the no-tip locations dropped 8 percent to 10 percent on average, he said.

But it does seem some other restaurants have tried it - and levels of success have varied.

Union Square Hospitality Group, owned by Danny Meyer, announced plans last year to eliminate tips at its 13 restaurants, which employ 1,800 workers.

The company rolled out the policy at three New York locations. Mr. Meyer has indicated that the change has been an initial success. The past December was the most profitable month the Modern has had. He said some of that result might be because of media coverage of the no-tipping policy, but he was confident it would extend to the other locations.

For full article -
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/business/joes-crab-shack-tried-getting-rid-of-tips-it-didnt-last-long.html?_r=0