Starting in November, diners at some of New York's most popular restaurants may notice an increase in prices across the board. Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, which owns restaurants such as Gramercy Tavern, has decided to eliminate tipping at the group's 13 restaurants across the city, NPR reports. Meyer says the long-time tradition of tipping is actually "a big problem for his industry", and will be axed in favor of higher fixed prices.

Meyer says that the typical idea of tipping, where good service equates to a large tip and vis-a-versa, isn't working because most American's leave the same tip regardless of service. The other major issue is that those tips are not easily shared with other staff members, such as cooks and dishwashers. Meyer observes that, in the last 30 years, "waiters' income in a fine-dining restaurant has gone up well over 200 percent" while back of the house workers have seen their wage increase only "22 to 25 percent". Part of that is because menu prices have risen, and also because the average tip on each bill has increased. (Keep in mind, Meyer is referring to fine-dining restaurants.) Meyer says it also affects servers who want to transition into management positions, a move that typically equates to a drop in pay due to the lack of tips.

Meyer's goal is to have customer's end costs be the same as if they paid for items and tips separately, the real change is how the money is handled. While paying a living wage is certainly a good thing, some servers may be upset, as the change means all wages will be reported to the IRS, no more unreported cash tips. The good news for the hospitality group's restaurants is decreased turnover, as back of house staff receiving the increased wages will be less likely to be swayed by other offers. Hopefully these types of changes occurring across restaurant brands can help offset the current chef shortage.

Eliminating tipping has been a hot topic in the restaurant industry for a few years now. With a major restaurant group now stepping up and making the change, it's likely that others will follow soon.

Has your restaurant eliminated tipping, or have you considered eliminating the practice? Let us know what you think via Facebook, Google+ and Twitter!

Source: NPR News