UPDATE: Small Victories Hospitality recently updated its tipping model. WRTV has edited this article to explain their recent changes.
INDIANAPOLIS — It's a worker's economy right now, and it has been for the greater part of a year. As employers struggle to fill positions, some area businesses are reshaping their business models and introducing no-tipping policies to provide more stability for their employees.
Take, for instance, coffee shops like Top Out Cafe and Amberson Coffee & Grocer opened with the non-tipping ideology. Top Out Cafe states the following on its website about its no-tipping policy: "We believe that the employer should be responsible for our employee’s wages, not the whim of the customer. Our employees deserve a wage that they can count on; that’s why we start all our staff at a fair and livable wage."
WRTV spoke with Amberson Coffee & Grocer in May last year, when the owner, Hugo Cano, told us: "People have been very supportive, and they don't mind the slightly higher prices for more genuine service because tips aren't included."
In July, Small Victories Hospitality, the parent company of Provider, Coat Check Coffee, Landlocked Baking Co., and Certain Feelings changed their policy to no longer accepting tips and switched to "hospitality-included pricing." The hospitality group tells WRTV it went OK, but there were some difficulties with the system.
Small Victories said with a tipping model, there's built-in incentive to work at busier times, which is typically the weekends. It became hard for the group to staff during the weekends if their employees could make the same amount of money on a Monday, with less tickets coming through, as they do on a Saturday with way more work. Additionally, patrons continued to insist on tipping despite the policy and higher prices.
They've recently switched their policy back to being a tipping establishment, but the higher prices remain to give their employees who work during slower periods average pay and to counter inflation and supply chain disruptions. "As a result, our workers are guaranteed to make the same or more as they were with the flat rate. We've also introduced career benefits to our staff including full healthcare and paid time off."
MORE: How one Fletcher Place business is thriving due to their policies
"I believe companies should pay fair wages and be able to provide benefits," Phil Austrom, a local artist and server at Bar One Fourteen, told WRTV.
At Bar One Fourteen tipping is not expected, as the luxury micro-bar provides more on the hour. Most front-of-house servers make a couple of bucks an hour, receive little to no benefits, and earn a paycheck solely on tips.
"My experience at Bar One Fourteen has been good so far. The higher wage means I get less frustrated when someone "stiffs" me or doesn't tip," Austrom said. However, he shares that most patrons of the Meridian-Kessler establishment still usually leave a tip because they're either "confused" or "just like to be generous."
Austrom has worked in the service industry for eight years in the U.S. and Canada. He says a hybrid of both the no-tipping and tipping models would be the most realistic way forward for the industry. "In Vancouver, for example, the minimum wage is $15 an hour, and customers still tend to tip 5-15%."
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Cody Miley, 31, is a dancer and bartender at FortyFive Degrees on Mass Ave. He's worked in the service industry for about 14 years now at places like Palomino, Marco's and Chef Joseph's at The Connoisseur Room.
"I love this industry; this is an industry that I plan on staying in after I'm done dancing," Miley said.
He's been at the popular sushi spot for about two and a half years now and says he prefers to receive tips as opposed to none on an hourly wage.
"Tipping is preferred because, yes, there are chances that you might get stiffed, but the chances of you not are higher," Miley explained. "It's always about your service, OK, if you're going to give mediocre service, you're going to get a mediocre tip. If you give fantastic service, on average, you're going to get a fantastic tip."
Melissa Rice has worked as a server at several different points in her life since college. Rice says she prefers the tipping model, even more so now that she's a patron who frequently travels for work.
"Since I have been a server, I often watch servers as they work," Melissa Rice, 62, said in an interview with WRTV. "And usually, I would say the average is they have about six tables. And the tables would turn every maybe 90 minutes. So, do the math. That's really good. That's much better than any restaurant that I think would pay."
In some European countries, where Rice has been several times, tipping is not custom. Rice says this shows in the service. "They pay the higher wage, and the service is just; it's just not good," she said.
Although they all have their opinions, Austrom, Miley and Rice say it all truly depends on the person and what they want out of their workweek.
"I'm just a big believer in really great service, and people respecting that and honoring that," Miley said.
As long as tipping remains the dominant business model for dining at a restaurant, it's agreed that if you dine out, remember to tip.
"I have always said if you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to go out to eat," Rice said.
MORE: Bloomington Brewery ditches tips, creates better work environment for employees
WRTV Digital Reporter Shakkira Harris can be reached at shakkira.harris@wrtv.com. You can follow her on Twitter, @shakkirasays.
