It is a sound to sadden the hearts of waiters across New York as they greet each new table of diners: somebody speaking with a French or German accent.
Danny Meyer, a prominent restaurateur, recalls seeing his staff “crying because somebody from Europe, where they don’t have a tipping culture, would walk out without leaving a tip”.
Now Mr Meyer is at the centre of a revolution in New York dining that could end the heartache caused by tight-fisted tourists: he is getting rid of tips altogether.
The Modern, his Michelin-starred establishment at the Museum of Modern Art, will introduce the change next month. “You will no longer find a tip line on your check, and there will be no need to leave additional cash at the table, the coat check or the bar,” he wrote in a letter to customers this week.
American waiters earn a flat rate that is below the minimum wage, but which rises above it thanks to tips. The New York Eater website estimates that a Manhattan waiter might earn a flat rate of $10,000 a year, but $40,000 with tips — the equivalent of $20 an hour.
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In the absence of tips, Mr Meyer has promised to raise wages and allow waiters to join a profit-sharing scheme. This will be reflected in an increase in menu prices, but he argues that customers would pay roughly the same price overall.
Gradually, the tip-free zone would be broadened to Mr Meyer’s 12 other restaurants in the New York area.
In a city where the tipping culture has hardened into an iron-clad obligation, the declaration seems earth-shattering. Some have already used the word “socialism”, suggesting that a restaurant in which every waiter is paid the same, regardless of the quality of service, is not serving up the American dream.
“I like working for tips,” said Darron Cardosa, 48, author of The Bitchy Waiter, a book about his experiences. “I feel like I have more control over my destiny.”
However, he acknowledged that his take-home pay varied wildly according to the weather, and whether he was working on a quiet Monday evening or a hot Saturday night. He also acknowledged a glaring disparity between the people who served the food and the kitchen staff. “On a busy night, they are just as busy as you but they don’t get paid any more,” he said. By law, restaurants are not allowed to share waiters’ tips with the chefs and dishwashers.
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This is the larger problem Mr Meyer hopes to solve by dispensing with tipping. “I hate those Saturday nights where the whole dining room is high-fiving because they just set a record, and they’re counting their shekels — and the kitchen just says, ‘Well boy, did we sweat tonight’,” he said.
Cooks might earn $12 an hour in a respectable establishment. New York state aims to bring the minimum wage up to $15 an hour — meaning that chefs trained at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America would be better off working at McDonald’s.