I'm not sure the comparison to other industries is apt- servers serve you, and the majority of the quality of their output comes directly from their personal interactions with you. Contrast this to, say, a programmer, where the majority of the quality of their output comes from their product- if the software they write is good, their interactions with the customer (if any) are not very important.
Tips in serving and other interaction-heavy professions (doormen, barbers, delivery people) allow a much more immediate feedback loop for poor service than the traditional "If you suck, you'll get fired in a month or two" system.
The reason there's a standard tip amount is because that gives people something to deduct from for particularly bad service. If the default were no tip, customers would have to fall back on the traditional feedback mechanisms (that are both slow and considerably more effort) like complaining the the manager.
Personally, I'd say the biggest argument against tipping is that it tends to reflect many things that are largely outside the server's control: food quality, food preparation time, atmosphere, general dining experience.
Personally, I'd say the biggest argument against tipping is that it tends to reflect many things that are largely outside the server's control: food quality, food preparation time, atmosphere, general dining experience.
This is tangent to your argument, but to this end, good servers have sense enough to leave bad restaurants. Servers are also the gatekeepers for feedback. If they aren't telling the cooks "this isn't coming out fast enough, my tables are getting hungry" or the manager "the silverware is filthy, who'd eat with this?", then they aren't doing their job. I'm not saying they should necessarily be penalized for poor cooking or management, I'm saying they are smart enough to take their services elsewhere, because good servers might be harder to find than you think.
Turnover among restaurant service staff is a huge industry issue; you'll find journal articles about it (there are, in fact, hospitality industry journals).
> I'm not sure the comparison to other industries is apt- servers serve you, and the majority of the quality of their output comes directly from their personal interactions with you.
So it is for your doctor or your cab driver.
> Tips in serving and other interaction-heavy professions (doormen, barbers, delivery people)
Are either reserved for beyond flawless service or are basically bribes.
For my doctor, the primary measure of his quality is how good he is at medicine– that is, whether I get better or not. I'd prefer that he's nice and friendly, but curing my bronchitis is the more important aspect of our interaction.
For a server, the interaction is the primary thing I care about.
> For a server, the interaction is the primary thing I care about.
Really? Why would you do that? My primary measure of a server's quality is how fast he brings my food and how absent he is when I have no need for him. So the primary thing I care about would really be how close he is to the minimum amount of interaction necessary for service.
Not interfering at bad times is part of the quality of interaction that you can tip on. Furthermore, how fast he brings the food out is far more dependent on the kitchen staff than him, so penalizing him for it doesn't make any sense.
one could also say that a good server would come by and inform you that the your meal is taking a little longer then usual to cook because of some reason. If I am told that, I know that the server is at least trying. If the server is just absent for 30 minutes, then we have a problem.
Tips in serving and other interaction-heavy professions (doormen, barbers, delivery people) allow a much more immediate feedback loop for poor service than the traditional "If you suck, you'll get fired in a month or two" system.
The reason there's a standard tip amount is because that gives people something to deduct from for particularly bad service. If the default were no tip, customers would have to fall back on the traditional feedback mechanisms (that are both slow and considerably more effort) like complaining the the manager.
Personally, I'd say the biggest argument against tipping is that it tends to reflect many things that are largely outside the server's control: food quality, food preparation time, atmosphere, general dining experience.