It isn’t a straw man, your plumber has a vastly greater range of service that he can deliver to you based on how he feels about you, or what mood he is in, or what type of man he is, yet you trust him to just do his job well, while you don’t trust us that have been in the food service business to do ours, unless we have the hopes of a bonus, of a tip.
Incorrect.
A plumber’s payback for doing a good job is repeat business. Their payback for terrible service is, at best, lack of repeat business and, at worst, liability for the damage they create by their poor work.
For a food server, who does not have tremendous sway over the quality of the product (the food, barring tampering), the quality of their service is their value to the customer - who pays both them and the establishment.
As I stated in my original post, I am not trying to be negative. I am trying to see how this setup serves the needs of all three parties to the transaction - owner, server, and customer. If the experience under this scenario is good for all concerned, then I would accept it myself. If service declines because there is no direct link to remuneration, I would not patronize the establishment.
I’m actually undecided as to whether it’s a good idea, and simply voiced my question. The analogy to plumbing is not a valid one, because there is no analog to the tipping in the plumbing business. Tipping in food service has been my experience throughout my life. Changing motivations by manipulating money flow is likely to have consequences beyond the intended ones - whether good or bad, I cannot say.
Sorry I’m rambling on, but I have to admit I have been surprised at the vociferousness of the reaction to my question, although I appreciate your engaging in the discussion without making it an attack, FRiend.
If the plumber stinks and doesn’t get the repair done right, I file a complaint with either his boss or the Register of Contractors. They check on what he did - since it is visible - and deal with it.
If a waitress screws things up or is just slow as molasses in winter, complaining only makes me stay longer in a bad situation. It does me no good to find out if she is fired 8 weeks later after the complaints build up.