Joe’s Crab Shack becomes first major restaurant chain to implement no-tipping

Restaurant chain Joe’s Crab Shack is following suit of a NY City restaurateur, and experimenting with no tipping.

The no tipping policy puts servers in line with Gov. Cuomo’s suggested $15 per hour minimum wage.

In banning the Joe’s Crab Shack tipping policy, it’s also a deterrent for servers who might consider moving to another restaurant since they’d start with the least-lucrative shifts.

Customers that usually leave a 20 percent tip or more, could save money.

Not all the servers we spoke with like the idea of moving to a higher set wage.

According to Blanchette the goal is to prevent staff turnover and improve service, though the “testing” is supposed to ascertain whether either will be achieved when waitstaff no longer make tips.

But though Joe’s is the first national chain to move away from a tip-supported model, it’s not the only restaurant in the country interested in finding more efficient ways to pay their servers.

The chain’s 13 Florida locations are not included in the tests and Blanchette would not give a timeline as to when the policy would be implemented across all of the 130 locations.

“I think that restaurant patrons have unwittingly believed that they could, if they wanted to, use their tip to punish bad service, and/or to praise great service”.

According to CNBC, servers, hosts and bartenders for the Ignite Restaurant Group owned Joe’s Crab Shack are now paid higher, fixed, hourly wages.

There are seven Joe’s Crab Shack locations in Central Florida, and one in Clearwater. “We look forward to learning more from this pilot program over the coming months”, said Blanchette. Either way it’s very encouraging to see a national company take a stand against the antiquated system of tipping in favor of paying employees fair, stable wages.

“The main thing to me, I respect my customers’ choices and they’ll let us know if we are doing the right thing or the wrong thing”.