Why my father liked McDonald's

My father hated tipping for political reasons. He felt it demeaned honest working people. In fact, his reasons for hating tipping remind me of some of the rhetoric that now, 60 years later appears in the discussion of the death of the restaurant industry as demolished by the pandemic.

McDonald's came to our neighborhood in a suburb of St.Louis some time in the late 1950s. The very first one opened in another county location in August, 1958 (source), and I believe the one near us followed soon after that. My father, if I recall, was really interested in this new hamburger stand. Our family almost never ate at restaurants, except for a rare treat at Steak n'Shake. We tried McDonald's soon after it opened. While my father wasn't all that interested in food, he was intrigued by what you might call the new business model of McDonald's.

The first McDonald's in the St.Louis area. (source)

Early McDonald's didn't offer indoor dining options, or even picnic tables: you drove up, stood in line at a window, and took away a bag of burgers in wax-paper bags, milk shakes or soft drinks in paper cups with extra-large straws, and wax-paper bags of fries. The only size burgers and fries were around as big as the current ones on the children's menu. A burger came with a pickle and some catsup, cheese optional, no other choices. You probably know all this history since it's almost like a foundation myth of our nation's food ways.

What was the big difference at this new food place? At sit-down restaurants from high-end hotels to low-end diners you tipped the waiter or waitress. At Steak n'Shake you tipped the car hop who brought your burgers on a specially engineered tray that hooked onto the outside of the car window -- then you ate in the car, and flashed your headlights when you wanted them to pick up the tray. They jumped when you told them to jump.

AT MCDONALD'S THERE WAS NO TIPPING AT ALL.

If I recall correctly, that meant everything to my father who wanted to view all workers as honest and equal participants in society. No tipping to him meant that the relationship of a waiter or waitress to a customer automatically meant greater equality, while a server working for tips had to behave in a servile way. My father perceived more dignity in the person who simply brought you a bag of hamburgers and took your money. No one had credit cards then except very rich people with Diner's Club Cards meaning that cash business was another sign of a more egalitarian establishment -- a biggie for my Old Left Dad!

There are other factors in the current discussions of the disaster that's befallen the restaurant industry, but the question of tips will clearly be important when restaurants come back to life. I don't have a clue what the new changed post-pandemic world will look like, and mostly no one else knows either. But in fact tipping is probably not going away yet. My father's utopia isn't coming soon.

Blog post © 2020 mae sander.