美國知名餐廳爲何對小費說不

Danny Meyer has always been considered one of the most forward-thinking restaurateurs of his generation.

丹尼蔠爾(Danny Meyer)一直被視爲他這一代思想最前衛的餐廳老闆之一。

Even by his standards, though, the owner of such celebrated New York restaurants as Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern and The Modern (at the Museum of Modern Art) has just taken an incredibly brave step. He has announced his decision to abolish tipping in his restaurants and increase prices accordingly. His peers salute him but are grateful that it is he who has taken the step rather than them.

然而，即便根據他的標準，這位紐約多家知名餐廳的所有者也剛剛邁出了無比勇敢的一步。他名下的餐廳包括聯合廣場咖啡館(Union Square Cafe)、Gramercy Tavern以及位於紐約現代藝術博物館(Museum of Modern Art)的現代餐廳(The Modern)。他宣佈決定在他的餐廳取消小費並相應提價。他的同行們紛紛向他致敬，但讓他們感到慶幸的是邁出這一步的是他，而不是他們。

Tipping is terribly misunderstood. In most of Europe, Australia and other parts of the world it no longer exists — and visitors from those countries earn an unwarranted reputation for meanness when they, in their ignorance, fail to tip in Britain and the US.

小費受到了嚴重誤解。在歐洲多數國家、澳大利亞以及全球其他地區，小費已不復存在，來自這些國家的遊客由於不瞭解這種習慣而沒有在英國和美國支付小費，就被不合理地扣上了小氣的名聲。

In Britain, tipping or the payment of a service charge is mistakenly thought of as an extra payment or thank you to the server — whereas in fact it is an integral part of the pay structure of the restaurants they frequent.

在英國，付小費或支付服務費被顧客錯誤地視作額外付款或者對服務員的感謝，實際上，小費是他們光顧的餐廳的薪資結構不可分割的一部分。

The customer is actually colluding in what Will Beckett, director of the London-based Hawksmoor chain of steak restaurants, terms a “benign lie” whereby the restaurant avoids VAT and employer’s national insurance contribution on the amount that is levied through the service charge. The ultimate beneficiaries are the customers who would otherwise have to pay more for the services they enjoy. The situation is a muddle, but an innocuous one.

顧客實際上在共同編造倫敦牛排餐廳連鎖Hawksmoor董事威爾貝克特(Will Beckett)所說的“善意的謊言”，即餐廳可以逃避服務費這一部分的增值稅以及作爲僱主應爲這一部分交的國民保險供款。最終的受益者是顧客，因爲否則的話他們將不得不爲所享受的服務支付更多費用。這種情況有點亂，但無傷大雅。

In New York the situation is rather different. The “benign lie” has never really caught on and customers pay the staff directly for their service through the tip.

在紐約，情況則有所不同。這種“善意的謊言”從未真正流行過，顧客直接通過小費爲餐廳員工的服務付費。

This levy is raised through a system of cajoles, threats and moral blackmail. No customer dares refuse to pay the (minimum) 15 per cent tip. The restaurateur may pool the tips, but only those who spend at least half their time with the customer — meaning the front of house team — are allowed to receive money from the resulting “tronc”. In Britain there is no such restriction; cooks and ancillary staff also receive money from the tronc.

這種小費是通過哄騙、威脅和道德敲詐收取的。沒有顧客膽敢拒絕支付（最低）15%的小費。餐廳老闆可能會把小費集中在一起，但只有那些至少用一半的時間與顧客在一起的員工（指前臺員工）才被允許獲得小費收入。在英國，則沒有這種限制；廚師和後勤員工也會分到小費收入。

What Mr Meyer and any other enlightened restaurateur is recognising is that the commis chef in the kitchen is contributing as much to the customer’s pleasure as the charming schmoozer who is the face of the operation.

梅爾和所有其他開明的餐廳老闆意識到，後廚的廚師助理爲顧客貢獻的愉悅感與面對面與顧客交流的富有魅力的服務員一樣多。

The no-tipping move is a logical response to the skill shortage confronting restaurateurs in most leading world capitals. With no one prepared to foot the bill for apprenticeships and training schemes, there are not enough cooks to go round. Even star chefs in London and New York are having to pay higher wages to keep the myriad foams, smears, spherifications and gels artfully arranged on the plate.

全球多數主要都市的餐廳老闆正面臨技能短缺，取消小費之舉是對此做出的合理迴應。沒有餐廳準備爲學徒和培訓計劃買單，因此一些餐廳找不到足夠多的廚師。甚至連倫敦和紐約的明星大廚，也不得不支付更高的薪資招聘人手把各種各樣的乳泡、醬汁、球狀及膠狀食材藝術地盛放在盤中。

At Hawksmoor, Mr Beckett claims his staff earn a wage that corresponds to their vocational level. “Waiters and chefs earn as much as, say, policemen and teachers, and managers earn as much as doctors or headmasters.” If this comes as a shock, you will be gratified to hear that most London restaurants pay much less.

在Hawksmoor餐廳，貝克特聲稱，他的員工賺取的薪資與他們的業務水平相符。“服務員和廚師的收入與警察和教師一樣多，經理的收入與醫生或中小學校長差不多。”如果這令人震驚的話，那麼聽到多數倫敦餐廳支付的薪酬遠遠低於這個水平會讓你感到欣慰。

In New York, the situation is very different: most chefs earn a great deal less than a policeman, while a waiter would give a Florida plastic surgeon a run for his money. It is this anomaly that Mr Meyer is seeking to address: the danger is that customers will balk at higher prices and the wait staff will revolt if their pay is cut.

在紐約，情況非常不同：多數廚師的收入遠遠低於警察，而服務員的收入卻堪比一位弗羅裏達州整形外科醫生。梅爾正是希望解決這種反常現象：問題是顧客可能對漲價不滿，同時如果服務員的收入下降，他們也會抵制。

As he launches himself like Sir Galahad at this heavily defended wall, a great many restaurateurs are going to be looking on from behind the parapet. Customers who are confused will have to keep their wits about them: always check to see if there is a service charge or if tipping is discouraged. Even if it is, habits take time to unlearn — and for the foreseeable future, a little gesture of thanks is unlikely to go amiss.

在梅爾像完美騎士加拉哈德爵士(Sir Galahad)一樣衝向小費這堵防守嚴密的牆壁時，很多餐廳老闆會站在牆後觀望。感到困惑的顧客將不得不時刻保持警惕：總是查看餐廳是否收服務費，抑或是不鼓勵小費。即便餐廳取消小費，拋棄習慣也是需要時間的，在可預見的將來，一點點表示感謝的舉動總是會受歡迎的。