Why People Love Tipping Waiters
Mazzini's By Peggy Bacon Smithsonian Institution As an economic phenomenon, tipping is really weird. As a psychological phenomenon, it's something else entirely. When the Linkery, a small San Diego restaurant, shuttered its doors this summer, it ended a fascinating social experiment. The Linkery had instituted a standard 18 percent service charge in lieu of tips, and had refused to accept anything on top of that. Meanwhile, its sister restaurant down the street, El Take It Easy, operated under a traditional tipping model. The upshot, as owner Jay Porter points out in a series on his blog called "Observations From A Tipless Restaurant": people totally resented the Linkery for taking away the power to tip. ("You, sir are a douche," read an email from one unhappy patron.) It's a phenomenon academic research has borne out. But why? Why do we love tipping waiters? First, the argument for banishing tips: Many...