I read an interesting article on Monday from New York Magazine's food vertical, Grub Street. It was a call to arms, asking us to start tipping waiters 50%.
"So if you go eat at a restaurant – or order delivery or takeout for that matter! – then there are two things you should absolutely do. Wear a mask and tip at least 50 percent," writes Chris Crowley.
I read it again and decided to ask people on Twitter what they thought. I also started thinking if I would do it. The answer is an emphatic no.
No, not because I do not care about servers at restaurants and the people who deliver our take-away meals. It's no, because I don't think that it is fair on patrons to be responsible for the bulk income of waiters.
I am not planning on going to any restaurant at the moment. I am on a self-imposed Level 5 for personal safety. I have an underlying condition and there is no way I am going to risk my life just to get my favourite meal at my favourite restaurants. No sir.
But I do understand that restaurants hire a number of people in South Africa. They create employment and my heart breaks that so many have had to close shop due to the lockdown. I read with sadness, how institutions like The Kitchen in Woodstock and now The Stack in Gardens have had to close down.
I have also seen the despair of restaurateurs, desperate to open up again so that they can start making money and keep people employed. I have seen how some were quick to pivot – don't you hate this term now – to becoming delis and meal kit delivery places. It has kept some doors open.
There has been a suggestion that we tip waiters more than we already do.
PICTURE: Unsplash
However, as I read Crowley's very brief article, I wondered how waiters desperate to work had suddenly become the fault of patrons who now are urged to pay a 50% tip or more. I wondered – would this work in South Africa? I don't think so.
We already do not have a culture of tipping adequately. Ironically enough, waiters have told me many times how it's rare to get 15-20% tip from fellow Black people. It always bothers me, especially when we know how tough waiters actually have it.
We have all heard the horror stories of waiters saying they have to share their tips with their co-workers, how their employers do not pay them a living wage and the hell they go through when they didn't get enough tips.
Having also worked at a restaurant in my late teenage years, I know the work that waiters put in and have to deal with rude patrons and even more rude restaurant managers. But it is time that restaurants treat their employees well and start paying them a living wage.
And before you get upset about this whole article, if the shoe doesn't fit, then don't wear it. This is an opportunity for all parties involved to treat each other better.
There has been a suggestion that we tip waiters 50% and more of our bill. Are you willing to do that?
PICTURE: Unsplash
If you are one of the few South Africans who has been able to keep their income and are able to tip 50% and more, please go ahead and do so. I am certain the waiters will appreciate you.
I already tip from 15% onwards, depending on the service I get. Even when it's bad, I still tip, because you never know if the waiter has transport money to go home and come back to work the next day.
Would you guys, those brave enough to go to a restaurant right now, be willing to tip waiters 50% instead of the usual 10-20%?
— Buhle Mbonambi (@Buhlebonga) July 6, 2020
Here's what the people who answered my question on Twitter said: