언론사

- U.S. 'Tip Inflation,' 'Employee Welfare Costs Like Tips'

: Customers complain about the recent appearance of nominal 'wellness charge' (employee welfare fee) charges in U.S. metropolitan restaurants.

The Cheongdae Times Senior reporter Yeseul Jang

https://url.kr/zqufx2

In the United States, which has been suffering from continued inflation since the COVID-19 pandemic, "tip inflation" is causing great controversy. A series of restaurants are charging customers with tips (service fees) given to restaurant employees and delivery workers in the name of "employee welfare expenses," and accordingly, there is a war of words online about "tip inflation."

Recently, a popular casual restaurant selling local food in Washington, DC, was embroiled in a tip debate.

On the Next Door app, the U.S. version of the Carrot Market, a complaint was posted along with a picture of the restaurant receipt, saying, "We ask customers for mental health welfare expenses for employees."

After dinner with acquaintances at a Virginia branch called "Founding Farmers," the customer was embarrassed to receive the receipt. In addition to the price of three dishes, including fried food and shrimp dishes, $49.48 and $3.12 in tax, "Founding Farmers" demanded an additional $2.47 for "wellness charge.“

The customer, who felt uncomfortable, asked the manager, and the answer was, "5% of the food price is charged as wellness charge for the mental health of employees." "I didn't even recognize the related explanation because it was written in a very small letter under the menu," he said. "I know that restaurants have struggled since COVID-19, but this is an insult to customers."

He said, "Customers should be able to have a choice, not take wellness charge like hostages." Eventually, he withdrew his wellness charge in protest at the restaurant, and eventually did not pay the corresponding fee.

Tip inflation after COVID-19 has increased tips from around 15% to up to 45% in large cities. Complaints are also flooding in the U.S., the home of tips, as take-out cafes such as Starbucks ask for tips through an unmanned card payment system.

In the meantime, there is also a strong atmosphere of bitter criticism about wellness charge, which has emerged mainly in restaurants in large cities.

Nearly 300 comments were mainly criticized for the restaurant. Local resident Anne Asher said, "The restaurant is dishonest," and pointed out, "We need to not charge customers for employee welfare, but rather give employees a salary suitable for labor without tips."

In another reply, "It seems like Wellness Charge is asking us social questions beyond whether the food is delicious and the restaurant is clean or if it was a pleasant experience," but "But I don't think I'll go to this restaurant in the future."

Complaints about such a tip culture are intensifying day by day, and voices are growing that it is a culture that must be eliminated in the United States.

However, even in Korea, where there is no tipping culture, controversy is heating up as places that require tips (volunteer fees) have emerged one after another like the United States.

There are conflicting opinions that it is okay to tip an unburdened amount if you were satisfied with the service, and that it is excessive to actually "mandate" tips on already high prices.

The "Tip Controversy" has been growing as the experience of being asked to give tips at cafes has recently become a hot topic on the Internet, following the pilot introduction of a function to give tips on the taxi call platform Kakao T.

It is expected that there will be a big blow to accepting the tip system, which has a lot of concerns in foreign countries as well, as Korea. Rather than accepting the culture that advanced countries are trying to eliminate, we hope to accept the good culture of foreign countries that Korea does not have and transform Korea into a country with cultural development.