The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs is cracking down on restaurants that are violating the city's consumer protection laws by imposing mandatory tipping on groups less than eight, demanding higher tipping percentages or other unsavory practices.
I think the City should be protecting consumers from unethical and illegal practices, but the law should be rewritten to allow restaurants the ability to institute fixed prices for gratuities at their discretion so long as they explicitly state as much on their menus and billing.
I sympathize with those waiters and waitresses who rely on tipping to make a living only to find that folks aren't tipping, but I am reminded also of the scene from Reservoir Dogs (language warning) where no one is forcing these folks to work in restaurants in the first place. That's why I think it should be left up to the restaurants to decide for themselves how to deal with their customers, but that the policy must be clearly stated. Some restaurants that cater to foreign crowds might benefit from the fixed gratuity pricing, while others might find that business drops as customers go elsewhere. They might also find that the waitstaff becomes more professionalized as in Europe since the tipping is more regularlized. That benefits everyone as well.
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