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Who knew huh?
Despite the justification for tipping, which is that it motivates servers to provide higher quality service, a customer’s perception of service accounts for just a percentage point or so in the variation between tips. Tipping also perpetuates racism and sexism. As Elizabeth Gunnison Dunn writes at Esquire, sexy women make bigger tips than less attractive ones, while white servers make more than their black coworkers.
Jay Porter, the founder of Linkery (previously of San Diego but currently closed to move to San Francisco), eliminated tipping in the restaurant’s second year, instead applying an automatic 18 percent charge for service to all dine-in checks. Writing in Quartz, he explains that the move brought in more money. “Our service improved, our revenue went up, and both our business and our employees made more money,” he says.