One way to keep the convenience the DDP with the rumored exclusion of tips would be to
offer the option of pre-paid gratuities,
Then the can of worms may get opened regarding tips for mousekeeping & other staff....I know other threads on these topics have gotten very
as it seems people don't agree on that either
(shocking - I know)
On another note, someone mentioned the need to "pay twice" (once with meal credits and once for tip), and I agree that this would be very inconvenient and inefficient. It would make more work for the servers, hold up tables longer (as everything is being figured out), and lead to more waiting time for guests (both at tables and waiting for tables). Again pre-paid gratuitues or another way to alleviate this issue seem like a good option.
I don't know that me paying my tip - the one I determine - with cash or my VISA would be that much more work. And I'm guessing that if it were cash it would be time that most servers would happily take - no dealing with getting paid their tips that were paid via a credit card, etc....it's money they'd actually take home that nite.
My only real concern here is what the bottom line will be in terms of my cost. Increase the DDP by 18% by removing the tip - I'm okay with that. Increase the DDP by removing the tip AND increasing the price by more than that 18%...whew