You're taking your partner out for a date to your favorite restaurant. The lighting is dim, the wine is fine, and the chicken-fried steaks will satisfyingly rest in your gut for the rest of the evening until you go home to Netflix and snooze. The server, who has been on their feet all day, feigning interest and pleasantness, drops off the check. Right above where you scribble your signature is a dot matrix printed line, to the left of it the word: "TIP."
That's what the server (or bartender) relies on to pay their bills. Their hourly wage in Oklahoma is $2.13, which equals $17.04 during an 8 hour shift, and that's before taxes. The vast majority of bars and restaurants do not supply health insurance, and if you're sick and can't get your shift covered, well, pack up your apron and look for another job.
There's been a movement across the country to change the way that service industry people are paid, and it's come up in conversation locally often in the last few years. Cities like Seattle have pushed to remove the tipping system entirely, making sure that front of house (FOH) employees are paid a straight wage and tipping doesn't exist There are a few states that pay tipped employees over $10/hr, some that pay over the minimum required, but does that traditional tipped system really work for anyone?
Let's lay out some pros and cons:
Pros: