Portland restaurants wish they’d ditched tipping long ago

At the Northwest Portland restaurant, in addition to removing tip lines and raising prices 18 percent, almost all kitchen staff and servers were cross-trained in various positions and work full-time. Under the new "One House, Gratuity Free" system, servers may now spend a couple days working in the kitchen. Back-of-house staff have helped fill out server shifts.

Though the transition has gone smoothly, Park Kitchen owner Scott Dolich admits he was uneasy about making the switch.

"I was very nervous about it," Dolich said. "You’re not only changing the operations of the restaurant, but changing how people pay money. I was up all night the night before we did it…but I think as long as you’re providing value and service, it’s going to resonate with your customers."

By Samantha Bakall | The Oregonian/OregonLive

Full Story: http://www.oregonlive.com/dining/index.ssf/2016/07/portland_restaurants_wish_they.html#incart_river_index