Name: Some DC restaurants ditching tips in favor of automatic charge - WTOP News
Brand: wtop.com
SKU: wtop-com-161
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Some DC restaurants ditching tips in favor of automatic charge - WTOP News

preview

|||{{headline}}Some restaurants are getting rid of tips and replacing them with a surcharge on the dining tab, including this D.C. restaurant.Some restaurants are getting rid of tips and replacing them with a surcharge on the dining tab.COVID-19’s financial bite has been especially hard on restaurants, forcing many to close. Others that are still operating are taking a fresh look at the way they do business.During the height of the pandemic, the industry estimates up to 90% of restaurant staff were knocked out of work.At , a full-service Burmese restaurant on H Street Northeast, co-owner Eric Wang saw servers’ income plummet as tips dried up when customers opted for carryout and delivery.Aiming to lift compensation for the staff, including promoting equity between the servers and the kitchen staff, Thamee has come up with a new pricing structure.“The program we’ve instituted is called Flat-30. What the 30 stands for is, essentially, we took the old model of costing out our goods and services and how much we charge people; and we just tacked on a 30% fee on top of it and eliminated tipping,” Wang said.Revenue from the 30% surcharge is being used to raise compensation for the entire staff, including providing health care and other benefits.“We’ve actually changed our entire compensation structure for everybody, not just the servers, but also for the back-of-the-house cooks and dishwashers, as well,” Wang said.The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington said restaurant owners have had to institute many changes since the pandemic began.“They’ve had to pivot and to reimagine concepts, new business models,” said Kathy Hollinger, of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.She said some restaurants have had to reduce staff by 80-90%.“So, what we are seeing is that they are doing anything and everything to think about what makes the most sense for their particular restaurant operation,” Hollinger said. “What is most important is that they are deciding what works for their business versus others suggesting what could work for their business,” she said.There’s no doubt the pandemic has helped spark the elimination of tipping at some area restaurants replaced by a surcharge, but at Thamee Restaurant the owners see the overhaul in compensation as a plan for the future.“I think there needs to be more equity in the restaurant industry,” Wang said. “We, as a society, have deemed these people essential; but when it comes to actually paying them a survivable wage, there’s a lot of push back on it. So we need to really rethink what it means to dine out, and treat it as something special and something essential.”Looking for more information? D.C., Maryland and Virginia are each releasing more data every day. Visit their official sites here: | ||||||||||||This content was republished with permission from .Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

|||{{headline}}Some restaurants are getting rid of tips and replacing them with a surcharge on the dining tab, including this D.C. restaurant.Some restaurants are getting rid of tips and replacing them with a surcharge on the dining tab.COVID-19’s financial bite has been especially hard on restaurants, forcing many to close. Others that are still operating are taking a fresh look at the way they do business.During the height of the pandemic, the industry estimates up to 90% of restaurant staff were knocked out of work.At , a full-service Burmese restaurant on H Street Northeast, co-owner...

public

Dick Uliano

News, traffic and weather: on-air, online, mobile

wtop.com

Credible

Speculation

Anecdotal Evidence

Generalization

Stacking the Deck

Appeal to Authority

Straw Man

Slippery Slope

Emotional Appeal

Red Herring

False Dilemma

Illogical

Moral Equivalency

Ad Hominem

Correlation w/o Causation

Semantics

Begging the Question

Faulty Analogy

Non Sequitur

Bandwagon

Dogmatism

Failing Occam's Razor

Biased

Pure Opinion

Hit Piece

Racial Bias

National Bias

Religious Bias

Financial Incentive

Political Agenda

Gender Bias

Misused Image/Video

Study Misinterpreted

Mistake

Misused Term

Science Misrepresented

Factual Error

Satire

Surface Level

Lack of Reliable Sources

Sensational

Not Credible

Investigative

Balanced

Well Sourced

Great Context

sports

entertainment

U.S.

international

business

technology

science

culture

politics

media

health

Some DC restaurants ditching tips in favor of automatic charge - WTOP News

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS