Wednesday, October 14, 2015

This is starting to be a new trend.  Read the article and write your thoughts.  (items to write about:  agree/don't agree, Cost to the business, will the trend continue, why are businesses doing this, etc.

Danny Meyer bans tipping at his restaurants

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The acclaimed restaurateur said the move will allow for his group to compensate all of its employees “equitably." (AP)
Danny Meyer, the CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group and Shake Shack, announced plans on Wednesday to banish tipping at each of the group's 13 full-service New York City restaurants, Eater reports.
Instead the group will give workers a raise wages and the dining experience will get more expensive. Meyer will hike menu prices by 21-25 percent, and customers can expect to pay almost 10 percent more than they currently do for a full meal plus the tip, Forbes notes.
The acclaimed restaurateur said the move will allow for his group, which includes Union Square Hospitality Group restaurants, The Modern at the Museum of Modern Art and the high-end pizzeria Marta, to compensate all of its employees “equitably, competitively, and professionally” based on their work.
“We believe hospitality is a team sport, and that it takes an entire team to provide you with the experiences you have come to expect from us. Unfortunately, many of our colleagues — our cooks, reservationists, and dishwashers to name a few — aren’t able to share in our guests’ generosity, even though their contributions are just as vital to the outcome of your experience at one of our restaurants,” he said in a statement.
According to Eater, the rollout for this initiative will begin in November, and is expected to take a full year to implement.   Apparently, this was an idea he’d been contemplating for some time, considering what he wrote in a newsletter back in 1994:
 “Recently, our entire company has been engaged in a robust conversation about how we can provide even more meaningful career opportunities and advancement for our 1,800 employees. It has become increasingly clear to us that a major obstacle in this endeavor is the practice of tipping,” he said.
 More high-end restaurants are ditching tips.  Some have opted to add on a service fee to the bill, while others have raised the menu prices. In June, Pittsburgh’s Bar Marco implemented a no-tipping policy and has helped to triple the restaurant’s profits in just two months, Forbes reports.