fresnelly

That's an interesting point because it reveals more about what motivates service staff. Travelling in Italy and France, where tipping is built into the bill and not expected, for the most part we received excellent service.

I would say that the staff in these countries was motivated instead by the two following factors:

1.) Pride of place and workmanship.
2.) Chemistry with the customer.

This would explain why horrible service can always be found in Tourist trap restaurants, where out of place, distracted tourists meet disenfranchised waiters. It's the same for the bottom-line driven restaurants found in Hotels and Airports.

So it is possible to remove tipping from the equation and still have excellent service. You just have to have an elevated stature for service jobs and skills. Good luck with that though.

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Building an artificial intelligence that appreciates Mozart is easy. Building an A.I. that appreciates a theme restaurant is the real challenge - Kit Roebuck - Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life