The bells ring at 3:05 p.m. every day to signal the end of another day at CHS, but unlike most of her classmates who head on home or to extracurricular activities following a long day at school, junior Frances Rafferty heads over to Bub’s Burgers and Ice Cream where she is currently employed as a server.

Rafferty said she works two to three times a week and orders food for customers, checks on her tables, serves them food and, as a result of her hard work, is typically rewarded with a tip.

“I feel that the practice of tipping is so ingrained into our society today simply because of the wage that waitresses are paid per hour,” Rafferty said. “People need to give that gratuity to other people, especially if they are waitresses. Between a 10 and 20 percent tip is always appreciated, especially if you are just starting out.”

Despite the importance of tipping as a courtesy generally shown to waiters and waitresses who showcase excellent behaviors, some restaurants have begun to ban the long-standing practice.

Nationally, Union Square Hospitality Group executive Danny Meyer announced in October that the organization would ban tipping in 13 of its locations in the New York area. This decision has caused controversy about whether the “no-tipping” policy is the right path for society to go down.

Matt Frey, owner of Bub’s Burgers and Ice Cream, said he disagreed with this decision.

“People have a job, and their goal is to make as much money as they can. By taking tips away, you are taking away every person’s ability to make as much money as they can,” Frey said. “If no tipping is allowed, you are trusting that the restaurant owner or manager to not only collect, but distribute the funds appropriately.”

Rafferty said she agreed with Frey that the practice of tipping should continue to exist as custom in present-day society. 

“I disagree with the decision if they have waitresses at their establishment,” Rafferty said. “Considering that New York City is a very difficult city to live in, it’s an expensive city to live in. If you are trying to get by as a waitress, (not having tips) is going to make it more difficult for you to even pay your mortgage on your home.”

Emily Pattyn, server at Brunchies and junior, said she agrees with Rafferty in that tipping should continue to exist in modern society and in the future.

However, Pattyn also said a server should follow certain rules and show certain signs of respect to the customer in order to be fairly tipped. According to Pattyn, waiters must earn their tips.

“I think that (the waiter) should come back to the table multiple times and ask if they need refills on their drinks, ask if they need any napkins for their food,” she said. “Make a connection with them (the customers); form a bond.”

Rafferty added that there are several characteristics of a waiter that should entail tipping, of which the most important being serving the customer to the best of his or her ability.

She said, “I believe that waitresses should definitely be friendly and accommodating to the customers, making sure that they are feeling comfortable while they are sitting down at your place of employment. I feel that it is very important to engage in conversation and create a relationship there. I also feel like if I was at a restaurant and the waitress created a relationship with me, I would want to tip her further, because I feel like I got to know this person and they took time out of their day to get to know me.”

Frey also noted that one’s personality, attention to detail, sense of urgency and constant communication are vital characteristics that qualify a person to be a great waiter.
Rafferty said an additional characteristic of great waiters is to be able to set goals for themselves while they work.

“Even during our breaks at Bub’s, I look through all of my receipts and am like, ‘Tonight’s been a really good tip night and I want to keep doing better.’ Or if I haven’t done as well,‘What can I do to be better? Can I do anything to motivate myself further?’ It’s always nice to set a certain goal in how much tips you want to make in an night,” Rafferty said.

Despite the growing awareness and controversy about restaurants implementing the “no-tipping”policy, Pattyn said even if such a policy was implemented at her place of employment, it wouldn’t affect her outlook on her job at all.

“I think it depends from person to person,” Pattyn said. “I have some of my friends who are waitresses, too, and if they didn’t have that push, the money pushing them to keep working through the day, they wouldn’t be working if there (weren’t) tips. But, I love waitressing; it’s so fun.”