【英语生活】餐厅越高级小费越高？

Do waiters in mid-priced restaurants work less than those at high-end ones? If not, shouldn't their tips be the same (in absolute terms)?

Manoj

Dear Manoj,

I can see where you're coming from: a 10 per cent tip on a £20 meal is less than a 10 per cent tip on a £100 meal. If it's the same waiter doing the same job, shouldn't the tip be, say, £5 for each meal – a 25 per cent tip in one case and a 5 per cent tip in the other?

This is not what happens. According to a survey by the economist Ofer Azar, the absolute size of tips in the US is overwhelmingly dependent on the size of the bill. In Europe, formal service charges often replace tips and the FT's restaurant insider, Nicholas Lander, tells me that such charges tend to be proportionate to the bill – or if anything, to be a higher percentage in the fanciest restaurants.

I am not sure the puzzle is quite as perplexing as you think, though. First, the connection between what the customer tips and what the waiter gets is far from straightforward. Waiters are not slaves: if tips are too low to attract them, then the restaurant owner will have to add a wage. And if a waiter can earn hundreds of pounds in tips at a top restaurant, the owner will be able to demand a share without running short of staff.

Second, high-priced restaurants tend to have fewer customers per waiter, to ensure attentive service. They receive higher tips, but fewer of them.

Despite these points, it is of course possible that waiters are paid more in better restaurants. But in a capitalist society, skilled workers expect to earn more. I suggest you sample the quality of service at El Bulli or the Fat Duck, and pop into Pizza Hut on the way home. Then tell me again that the waiters should earn the same at each place.

在中等价位的餐厅，服务生的工作量是否少于高档餐厅的服务生？如果不是，两者获得的小费（按照绝对金额计算）难道不应该一样多吗？

马诺伊(Manoj)

亲爱的马诺伊，

我能理解你为什么这么问：为20美元的一顿饭支付10%的小费，不及为100美元的一顿饭支付10%的小费来得多。如果是同样一名服务生提供同样质量的服务，小费金额难道不应该都是——比如——5美元吗？也就是说，两家餐厅的小费比例应该分别是25%和5%。

事实并非如此。经济学家奥费尔•阿扎尔(Ofer Azar)的调查发现，在美国，小费的绝对金额在很大程度上取决于账单金额。而在欧洲，小费常常被正式的服务费取代。英国《金融时报》撰稿人、餐饮业权威人士尼古拉斯•兰德(Nicholas Lander)告诉我，这类服务费往往与餐费成一定比例，而在那些最高档的餐厅，服务费的收取比例甚至会更高一些。

但我不敢肯定，这个问题是否真像你想的那样令人费解。首先，消费者给多少小费与服务生拿到多少小费之间，根本不是简单的关系。服务生不是奴隶，如果小费太少，不足以吸引他们，餐厅老板就不得不给他们涨工资。如果一家顶级餐厅的服务生能赚到数百英镑的小费，老板就可以要求与他们分成，同时又不至于造成员工短缺。

其次，在高价位餐厅，为了保证周到的服务，每名服务生需要招待的客人数量较少。他们虽然获得了金额较高的小费，但收取小费的次数却减少了。

尽管如此，餐厅档次较高，服务生收入也相应较高的现象仍有可能存在，这一点毋庸置疑。但在资本主义社会，技术熟练的劳动者理应获得更高的收入。我建议你去体验一下阿布衣餐厅(El Bulli)或“肥鸭”餐厅(The Fat Duck)的服务质量，回家时再顺道去必胜客(Pizza Hut)转一圈。到时你再来告诉我，每个地方的服务生收入都应该一碗水端平。

译者/章晴