Comment by larrys | Hacker News Reader

Comment by larrys | Hacker News Reader

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"Just set the price higher to cover the wages!"

For a few reasons.

First the amounts won't end up nice and round at particular hot button price points. ($5 drinks all day!) [1]

Second, the price will have to be displayed higher and in theory this will make it less likely for someone to get a particular dish. If the restaurant could get more money for the same disk in theory they would already be doing that.

Bottom line is the same way that autos are sold (or airline tickets where you now pay separately for baggage) advertising a lower price and having add on's sometimes (but not always) works in your favor in generating sales. Because you are able to price below magic numbers floating around in people's head.

[1] In the same way pricing an item at $4.99 will in general generate more sales than $5.25. (Example not restaurant pricing but to prove a point).

I think the counter argument is that in other places where tipping isn't mandatory or even common, reataurants are still able to do fine.

However, based on my own personal and rather unscientific experience, going out to dinner is less common in much of Europe and restaurants employ fewer front of house staff. So while the restaurants that exist might do fine (or as 'fine' as any restaurant does), there are quite probably less of them and they certainly employ less people.

Which I guess is the real problem. Removing tipping will increase unemployment.

That hasn't been my experience at all--I see tons of restaurants filled with plenty of people in most European cities, and they seem to have adequate numbers of efficient waitstaff.

>First the amounts won't end up nice and round at particular hot button price points

Why? The price is designed to end up that way, if people will have to add 15% on every item they will modify their cost structure.

>airline tickets yes if I want to add a service I pay, but in a restaurant I don't have the option to be served without the waiter, so it's not fair to the consumer that has the right to know how much he has to pay when he orders something.

When a book a ticket the full price is displayed before I make the purchase, not after I used the service.

Also for the waiter lobster and champagne require the same effort of soup and tap water, so it's not like adding a language of 15 or 20 kg.

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