London -- When Danny Meyer, one of New York’s most influential restaurateurs, calls time on tipping, people take notice.
In November, Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group decreed it would completely overhaul its service culture, increasing some menu prices, distributing the profits equally among front and back-of-house staff and dropping tipping.
The practice was introduced at the group’s fine-dining restaurant The Modern at the Museum of Modern Art.
Next week, Maialino, an Italian-inspired spot in the Gramercy Park Hotel, follows suit.
But ditching the time-honoured American practice will be a huge cultural shift.
For many holidaymakers, tipping continues to be confusing; no one wants to leave a restaurant thinking they have short-changed the waiter.
The Independent