To the Editor:

Re “The Tipping System Is Immoral,” by David Brooks (column, Oct. 25):

Tipping is a big con perpetrated by restaurant owners on both servers and customers. Tipping gives discretion to the customer to reward a good dining experience or punish a bad one. But why should a server get paid less because the kitchen is slow or the food is unpleasant? And more to the point, why are servers forced to endure the whims of customers in order to receive a fair wage?

Restaurant servers, like everyone else, ought to be fairly paid for the service they provide. Their wages should be determined in advance through a negotiation with their employer, and not be dependent on the generosity and subjective experience of customers.

It is unfair to require servers to behave obsequiously in the hope of getting a fair wage. Tipping is simply part of the exploitation of unskilled work.

Jeff Kramer

Brooklyn

To the Editor:

David Brooks writes that “ in a world of rising economic inequality, a 30 to 50 percent tip is a small but direct way to redistribute money to those who are working hard to earn a living.” I have seen tipping guidelines go from 10 percent to 15 percent to 20 percent. Now a 30 percent standard? This is obscene.