Since my little coffee group recently discussed this very same question and many of the issues around it, I am ready to issue my proclamation on the topic.
I see the food service tipping problem as having a single root cause, after you boil it down. Tipping should never have become an assumed part of anyone's wages. A tip is a gratuity. Look it up, I'll wait here. Means "extra or unnecessary" doesn't it? Well, there ya go.
Going forward, if I were King of the Forest, minimum wage would be minimum wage for all workers across the board. The new common tipping percentage would drop to 1-5%, depending on service, and all workers would be eligible for tips, whether they own the company or sweep the floors, or both.
Why not abolish tipping? Incentivized service raises the standard of how we treat each other. It leads to discovery of new ways we can all be more accommodating to one another, not just in a business relationship, but as human beings encountering other human beings in the world. I haven't been outside of the US and Mexico since high school, but I do have family members who travel and live in other countries around the globe. Their comments on dining out in those countries where tipping is not expected all indicate that the service suffers. Service with a smile? Forget it. You'll be lucky to get any service at all.
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