AP Centerpiece: Waiters' Tip Fight Grows

Yakup Ulutas, general manager of Cafe Intermezzo in Dunwoody, Ga., and the founder of Fairtip.org, shows off some of the signature deserts at the cafe Monday, Sept. 6, 2006. To help level the playing field of compensation for restaurant servers Ulutas, a 36-year-old former waiter, founded a nonprofit organization, Fairtip.org, which is calling for restaurants to add an automatic 20 percent service fee to every check. (AP Photo/Ric Feld) (Ric Feld - AP)

Per Se, a pricey New York restaurant started by star chef Thomas Keller, caused a public outcry when it implemented a 20 percent service fee last year. All prix fixe menus at Per Se cost $210, according to the restaurant's web site, so assuming customers spend about $100 for wine, a tip is likely to total around $60. Still, the restaurant said no patrons have refused to pay the service fee, and some guests actually tip above the required amount.

It may sound like a lucrative arrangement, but some waiters would rather take their chances and brave the risk of not making money.

"For as much disappointment as there is in waiting tables, regulating tips might detract from the sense that if you do your job well, you'll be rewarded," says Melissa Klein, a 25 year-old waitress at Lodge restaurant in Brooklyn, N.Y.

It's a common belief _ that tips are based on service _ but Lynn argues it's all wrong. Research has shown that tips are rarely based on the quality of service, and are usually determined arbitrarily.

"Servers think there's a relationship between tips and service, but there isn't. How sunny it is outside literally has as big of an impact on a tip as the service," Lynn says.

One study showed that when waitresses wore flowers in their hair they earned 17 percent more than when they didn't. Another study suggests that waiters who squat beside tables receive an average tip of 18 percent, versus a 15 percent tip received by waiters who stand next to their tables.

Some waiters concede that tipping behavior has very little to do with service. Theresa Burkhart, a 31 year-old waitress and actress in Manhattan, says overtippers tend to overtip regardless of service, and undertippers tend to undertip; Canadians and Brits often tip 10 percent, while Japanese customers tip around 20 percent.

Burkhart herself says she tips a minimum of 20 percent across the board.

"I find it unacceptable for people not to know that the tipping rate is 20 percent," Burkhart said.

The sentiment is widely shared on the Internet; a database started on one Web site _ bitterwaitress.com _ allows servers across the country to submit the names of customers who tipped less than 17 percent. Actress Sandra Bernhard is listed in the database for having skipped out on a tip after eating a $120 comped dinner at a Rochester, N.Y. club where she performed.

Cheapskates can stretch servers to the limit _ in one 1989 incident, a waiter attacked two diners with a knife, inflicting minor injuries, over a $2 to $3 tip on a $50 check.

While public humiliation may be a low blow, it's still preferable to stabbing stingy tippers.

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On the Net:

http://www.fairtip.org

Per Se: http://www.frenchlaundry.com/perse/perse.htm

http://www.WaiterRant.Net

http://www.BitterWaitress.com