Research Paper Outline

reyner i

sarah reyner
Angela McGowan
CMS 320
November 5, y
General Purpose: To Persuade
Topic: Hattiesburg should enforce a mandatory gratuity
Organizational Pattern: Monroes Motivated Sequence
I.

Im going to start out by telling a story.

A. For the past few years I have worked in a restaurant as a waitress. This
summer I had a party of 3 wealthy looking moms and 3 children under
the age of 6 sit in my section. By the time I came back with their drink
orders the 6 year old was gone, the four year old drawing on the white
table cloth, and the baby screaming, while the 3 ladies were uncaringly
chatting away. My other tables looked like they wanted to kill me and the
women. After scrambling up their 6 year old two more times and
cleaning up everything their 2 year old threw on the floor, table, and
walls, I was left with no tip.
B. I am sure many of you can feel my pain because you have experienced
the same thing as a server or have heard horror stories from friends and
family.
1.

A large percent of the American population has experience in food

service

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reyner ii
a)

According to the National Restaurant Associations website

retrieved on November 21 on restaurant.org, 13 million people
in the U.S. are employed by a restaurant. This consists of about
10 percent of the American workforce.

b) 1 in 3 people get their first job at a restaurant and half of all

adults have worked in a restaurant at some point in their life.
2.

The tips that servers receive make an important economic impact.

a)

On February 1, 2007 Ofer Azar stated in his article The Social

Norm of Tipping that tipping in restaurants amounts to $27
billion annually.

C. After working in a restaurant for several years, I have seen first hand the
harm that comes from customers tipping trends.
D. Thesis: I have come to the conclusion that tips should be automatically
included on the receipts at restaurants.
E. Preview of Points: We need to work with our local government to
enforce an automatic gratuity on the receipts at restaurants to prevent the
problem that arises when people fail to leave their servers a tip.
-Transition: When people do not leave a tip, its not alway from bad service.
Many people are unaware of appropriate amounts or choose not to tip to be frugal.
II. People do not realize the effects that not tipping fairly creates.
A. It is more common than you think.
1.

According to a survey conduct by the website eatocracy.com on July

13, 2010, 49 percent surveyed have left a restaurant without leaving

Research Paper Outline

reyner iii
any tip, 29 percent left a very low tip, and 5 percent have left a
penny.

2.

As you can see the chances of being stiffed are high.

B. This is a problem because the only way that your server is paid is
through the tips you give them.
1.

Walter Wessel states in his article The Minimum Wage and Tipped
Employees in 1993 that the federal minimum wage is only $2.13 an
hour.

2.

Sadly most servers never see this money. When I received a

paycheck after working 40 hours, it usually had a big void
stamped across it because the amount of taxes I owed exceeded my
income. I ended up owing money when I got paid.

C. Most servers do not receive their entire tip due to something called tip
pooling
1.

According to Lisa Guerins 2003 article What Service Employees

Need to Know tip pooling is when servers chip in a portion of
their tips, which are then divided among a group of employees

2.

Where I worked I had to pay 3 percent of my total sales from the

tips I made that shift, which was distributed between the bus boys,
hostesses, and bartenders.

3.

This the main reason why not leaving a tip is so bad. They end up
paying with tips from previous tables to pay for the tip pool;
essentially paying to wait on a table.

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reyner iv

-Transition: I face many these issues everyday at work which is why I feel there
is a need for an automatic gratuity.
III. A mandatory or automatic gratuity would be beneficial because it ensures a
promised tip from customers.
A. Some restaurants already have this policy set at 18 percent.
1.

In my experience, a good tip is a goal that I set to keep me

motivated and working hard. When promised a tip prior, I noticed a
decrease in motivation.

2.

On November 21 I had an interview with Stephanie Johnson, who is

a professional waitress in a luxury dining restaurant, and she
explained that the point of tipping is to promote customer service in
employees, a promised reward compromises its purpose.

B. However, we can specialize the automatic gratuity to ensure tips while

also sustaining motivation.
1.

We can do this by providing four tipping options on the including

ten, fifteen, and twenty percent with an another slot for additional
tips on the receipt. customers still have the freedom to decide and
servers remain motivated.

2.

That way customers still have freedom to choose the amount of tip
deserved and not tipping due to the unwillingness to pay or lack of
knowledge will also be prevented.

-Transition: This policy will correct many of the imperfections of the current
tipping system, which brings me to my next point.

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reyner v

IV. If restaurants incorporate it, two parties will benefit.

A. The first party to benefit is the customer.
1.

I dont know about you, but I hate doing the math to calculate the
tip.

2.

Because the percentages are already on the receipt, the customer

wont have to open the calculator app on their smart phone to
determine tip percentages.

B. As you would expect, employees are the second party to benefit.

1.

Employees will be rewarded appropriately for their service and no

longer have to pay the tip pool out of pocket.

2.

Also, waitresses who have experiences like mine will be promised a

wage after slaving over a table, even if it is ten percent.

-Transition: I hope that something that I have said today has influenced you to
want to take action.
V. We are a small voice in the giant scope of things.
A. Start local by contacting the Hattiesburg city council and explain to them
why this automatic gratuity needs to be installed.
1.

You can e-mail them at actioncenter@hattiesburgms.com.

2.

You can also call the office by dialing 601.545.4500.

B. This issue is a problem for a large population of America.

1.

We should be the pioneers for this cause and influence foreign areas
by the improvements they observe here.

2.

The smallest actions can make the largest difference.

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3.

reyner vi
Most jobs promise a fixed income, why shouldnt waitresses like me
be given this promise as well?