Replacing Tips With Higher Menu Prices

The task

Do you think restaurants should replace tipping with higher menu prices?

• Decide yes or no and give your opinion.
• Explain your reasons.

Original CELPIP-style practice question, not an official CELPIP test item. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by Paragon Testing Enterprises. The CLB level of each sample answer was reviewed by a TESOL-certified instructor. It is not an official CELPIP score.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking time

90 seconds

Question

2 of 10

Yes, I think restaurant should stop the tipping and put it in the price. For me, it's easier like this. When I read menu, I want to know how much I pay, how much exactly. With tips, at the end I always calculate, and I'm never sure what is enough. It makes me nervous a little bit. Also the workers should get normal salary, not depend on customer mood. Sometimes the customer is rude and leave nothing. That's not fair, not fair at all. My friend works in a restaurant, she told me this happen every week. So yes, higher prices, and everybody know the real price from the start.

Why this answer works

• Content/Coherence: two plain reasons (simpler for customers, fairer for workers) and a second-hand example from a friend; the ending repeats the answer.
• Vocabulary: "normal salary", "customer mood" and "nervous a little bit" show a limited range.
• Listenability: short sentences with missing articles ("When I read menu", "get normal salary") and agreement slips ("leave nothing", "this happen"); clear throughout.
• Task Fulfillment: answers the question directly and stays on topic.

Actually, I'd say no, at least for now. First, tipping lets customers reward good service. When my parents visited last fall, our server at a small Italian place remembered my mother's allergy from the year before, and leaving a generous tip felt like the right way to say thank you. A fixed price wouldn't let us show that. Second, I think higher menu prices could scare people off. People compare the number on the menu, so a restaurant that included service might look more expensive than the one next door, even if the final bill came out the same. And third, the servers I know personally like tips, because a busy weekend can pay better than a fixed wage. One friend of mine pays her rent with her Friday tips. I do understand that tipping can be awkward. But I'd rather fix that with clearer guidance on the bill than remove it completely.

Why this answer works

• Content/Coherence: three reasons, a specific example (the server who remembered the allergy) and a brief counterpoint.
• Vocabulary: "reward good service", "scare people off" and "a fixed wage" are accurate and natural.
• Listenability: "Actually, I'd say no" sets the position at once, and the allergy story is told in time order, so it is easy to follow.
• Task Fulfillment: a clear position defended to the end, with an alternative instead of a flat no.

Yes, I think they should. My one condition is that the extra money really goes to the staff. The case for including service is simple. Customers would see the real cost before ordering, and servers wouldn't depend on someone's generosity. It's also simply more honest pricing. The serious objection is that good servers might earn less. A brunch place near my office tried this last year. They raised each dish by a couple of dollars and paid a higher hourly wage, and within six months two of their best servers had left for places with tips, because their weekend shifts were worth less. The owner told me himself; he was pretty disappointed. So I don't think the idea failed; I think the numbers did. If a restaurant does it, the new wage has to match what a good server earned before, and that should be written down, not just promised. Customers should be able to see that policy too, maybe printed on the menu. With that guarantee, I'd take the higher menu price.

Why this answer works

• Content/Coherence: a flat yes, then the main counterargument weighed with a precise local example and draws a careful conclusion ("I don't think the idea failed; I think the numbers did").
• Vocabulary: "My one condition", "the serious objection" and "written down, not just promised" are precise and natural.
• Listenability: the brunch story moves in clear steps (prices up, wage up, two servers gone), and the owner's reaction is added as a short aside.
• Task Fulfillment: a clear yes with one condition, kept to the end.