NPR: Covering White People Problems 24/7

Junk like this is why I didn't much care if the crazies de-funded them. A shallow article about a non-issue by someone who clearly knows nothing about the food service industry and didn't care to learn.

Somehow they manage to do a whole article on tips without addressing the reality that the 'gratuity' is subject to taxation in many (most? all?) jurisdictions. Not to mention the "special" sub-minimum wage many jurisdictions let businesses pay servers. Also 'the size of the tip has nothing to do with the quality of service' is a crock of shit, unless we're talking hit-and-run dining at random places. The entire wait staff at the Italian joint I worked at knew the tipping habits of every regular down to the penny and while everyone got good service we would go the extra mile for heavy tippers.

And the author saves their most asinine point for last:

And the servers don't like that idea either. Most of the servers I talked to say they like feeling like they have control over how much money they make. They like working for tips.

No, they don't.
What the like is earning a living wage, which waiting tables at a busy place lets you do.
Subsisting on tips is the OPPOSITE of having control- you're dependent on the random generosity of strangers. Happily most people who eat out and enjoy it will tip reasonably well. But a lot of people don't. Would you rather make $20 an hour or some variable amount between $10 and 30?

And lastly, waiting tables in a halfway busy joint is incredibly stressful. It's HARD WORK. Whatever haul we made in a busy night, half of it went to the bar down the street because everyone needed a few drinks after dinner service. And the rest of it had better go in the bank, because nobody was paying their bills with their gratuity-tax deduced, sub-minimum wage checks.