Hi Mark,

Thanks for your thorough response. I appreciate your passion for the topic, although I feel compelled to point out that you do exactly what I point out is fruitless: you're mixing the concept of tipping as a form of wage supplement with other economic equity issues (benefits, bonuses, 401(k), etc.). This creates a strawman argument that sidesteps the entire point of my article: Even if I wanted to get rid of tipping, it's financially impossible for me to do so, and primarily because of tax policy, not business fundamentals. Pounding the table harder doesn't change the math, and you cannot wave away this economic reality by saying we just need to charge a $1 or $2 more.

I'll also point out that there is nothing about tipping that conflicts with offering the other forms of compensation you mention (benefits, 401(k), sick leave, etc.). Again, I feel you've created a strawman and ad hominem argument using my background in tech where, yes, I did receive all of those. (And personally, I believe the tech industry is grossly overpaid for the general value it provides, but that's a different discussion). Health benefits are ridiculously expensive in the US (another unique US phenomenon) and while I wish I could offer it to all my staff the finances make it impossible. We do offer paid sick leave (mandated by Seattle), and we're looking into other benefits we can offer. All of these have nothing to do with tipping, however, and so I feel you're muddying the waters about social-economic justice with my point that going tipless is not as simple as many people think it is (thanks for helping me emphasize that point).

I am not trying to be a proponent of tipping as a means of earning wages. You highlight my exact point: Almost everywhere else in the world restaurant staff are paid steady wages, but the USA is different and my point was simply that the decision to go tipless is more than just the economics of replacing lost wages: our entire tax system needs to adjust and that's beyond my means as an independent business owner.

You don't need to lecture me about how hard my team works and the general abuse they receive in the service industry, I live it first hand. Nowhere in my article do I advocate that tipping somehow improves service or reduces costs (neither are generally true).

And finally, to address your implied point in your 2nd paragraph: I do wait tables. And bus tables. And do dishes. And clean. And many other tasks my team does as well. The title "owner" does not place me above doing the work my business requires. My background in tech is predated by my childhood working in my family's restaurant, where I've done just about every job there is (and still do today, other than preparing food, solely because I'm not qualified). I'd appreciate it if you could avoid implying that I am somehow unable to appreciate the efforts my staff put in to help making my business successful. No one is more aware of that than I am. It's why I wrote this article in the first place, because many people prefer espousing solutions without having the adequate knowledge to create informed opinions.