book discussion #2

Gratuityincluded.pdf

Gratuity included Geyer, Allison.Isthmus; Madison, Wis. [Madison, Wis]28 June 2018: 31.

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Headnote

Team behind new cafe and music venue considering tip-free business model

In Wisconsin, the minimum wage for restaurant servers is just $2.33 per hour. Tips are supposed to

bring the wage up to the legally required $7.25 per hour - and oftentimes much more than that - but

servers' incomes * are essentially at the mercy of fate.

"It's so hit or miss," Tori Vancil says of tipping. "One night you take home $300, and you're like 'Heck

yeah, I can pay my rent,' and other times you take home $50 and it's like, 'Why did I even come in?"'

Vancil is part of the team behind a project to bring a new music venue and cafe to the old Sons of

Norway Lodge on Winnebago Street. Tentatively called the Winnebago Arts Cafe, the space is

intended to be a hub for local musicians, artists and creatives as well as a locavore cafe serving

breakfast, lunch and dinner. In keeping with the progressive mission of the project, the founders are

considering the idea of paying servers a higher wage and instituting a no-tipping policy.

"It's a really open conversation right now, but it's definitely something that we all feel passionately

about," says Vancil, who will serve as cafe manager. "We want to make the best work environment

for everybody."

The idea came from co-owner John DeHaven, a musician who has spent time abroad and observed

service industry and tipping culture in other countries. Others in the U.S. have proposed raising

server wages and abolishing tipping - most notably New York restaurateur Danny Meyer, founder of

the Union Square Hospitality Group - but the idea remains somewhat controversial. This would likely

be the first example of a Madison restaurant adopting a no-tipping policy, but there's at least one

place in Wisconsin that does this: the Delta Diner, a classic roadside spot near Ashland.

Vancil anticipates phasing in the notipping policy over time to help customers get used to the idea. "It

definitely seems scary. It's something different than what everyone is used to," Vancil says. It would

be a major shift for servers, too. "Servers are used to taking home cash at the end of the night -

that's just part of the industry."

But the biggest benefit of a no-tipping policy is consistency. "It's about letting servers know that

they're going to get paid for their work, even when it's slow," Vancil says. During downtime, servers

often do other tasks like cleaning and organizing. "It doesn't feel good at work when you're doing all

this sidework and getting paid less than $3 per hour." *

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