The current system misrepresents the true costs of a meal and service.
Servers are pressured by need and by restaurant management to
underreport their tips which makes them (and society!) miss out on
social security benefits, etc.

Steven Shaw of the New York Times does a good job of explaining why a
service charge makes sense and is more honest and fair. His idea is a
sort of halfway point between the current system and how most other
businesses run, which build in service, raw materials, etc. in their
total costs to the customer. Why the restaurant business is so
different, I do not understand, but plenty of restaurants who have
dumped the unfair tipping system for service charges do succeed (and
seem to have better service). Shaw's idea should not hurt the costs
to a restaurant too much and would protect the servers.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...7/ai_n15326945

Some say service would go down if the server did not have the threat
of getting no tip, but if mamagement did an appropriate job of hiring,
training, and disciplining, I think service would improve and the
serving profession would gain more respect. The industry would also
have less resentment which leads to a high amount of theft and
revenge. I'd like to see a commission added for servers who sold
higher amounts. This would also drive up restaurant profits.

Why should often-ignorant customers get to choose how much a server is
paid for each transaction? I don't get to choose the pay of the Wawa
clerks who rings up my coffee if I don't feel she smiled enough at me.
Food servers are different than salespeople who work on commission,
and they are not independent contractors who get to choose how to run
their stations. They should be compensated fairly.

Nellie Paris