Coffee shop bans tipping and gives workers huge pay raise instead
As the debate over tipping etiquette in the States drones on, one Utah business owner has taken matters into his own hands.
In fact, Nick Price - boss of Three Pines Coffee in Salt Lake City - has made the controversial decision to eradicate tipping altogether.
"Because we get busy in the summer, tips are pretty good," he explained.
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"Then we get slower in the winter, and tips are pretty bad. I didn't think it was right for my employees to make less money in those slower months."
Instead, the hospitality frontman is putting a stronger emphasis on giving his employees a better living wage, believing that having option to pay your server a tad extra cash is an outdated means of gratitude.
With that in mind, he has thrown the rule book out of the window all together and has raised his staff's hourly rate from $8 to $18.
But how is Nick able to offer his workers a 125 percent increase in their wages without seeing the business he so adores go under?
It turns out that, by simply adding $1 onto the price of every single one of his coffee bar's items he can keep his already-successful business afloat and his staff happy.
Not all of his employees were initially pleased with his decision to abolish tipping, however.
One of Three Pines Coffee's lead baristas, Everett Hamby, confessed to KUTV following the announcement that he was afraid he'd be bringing in a lot less money if the option to tip was taken out of customers' hands.
Within a matter of days, however, he realised he could earn a significantly higher living with his new hourly rate.
"I know how much I'm going to bring home," Everett explained. "It's very comforting because tips can be very volatile."
The brand new tipping protocol has only been in place for a matter of weeks, and despite a positive response so far from both staff and customers alike, owner Nick wants to wait a little bit longer until he implements the strategy in the long-term.
He told press he'd spent the next three months or so assessing the viability of the tipping technique before making it permanent, adding that he hopes fellow small business will be inspired by his decision.
"I look forward to seeing if other businesses jump on this because I do think people are sick of tipping," he admitted. "I think it's the future of our industry."
Rhianna Benson