Joe's Crab Shack In Schaumburg Testing Out "No Tipping" Policy

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (CBS) -- A popular seafood restaurant chain is making a change, asking you to stop tipping and in return the staff gets higher wages.

But who wins, and who loses in this situation? CBS 2's Audrina Bigos takes a look.

At Joe's Crab Shacks across the country, servers bust a move. In Schaumburg, they dance but don't get tipped.

"I just put the tip on there and added it up myself," said Chanel Simmons. "I thought they made a mistake."

No mistake. Signs posted say it is a no tipping establishment: not required and not accepted.

To make up for no tips, the chain says it will pay staff $12 to $14 an hour. Then, up menu prices by 12 to 15 percent, maybe more.

"They're going to raise prices a lot higher than the average person things," said Roosevelt University hospitality and tourism professor Chuck Hamburg. "They say 20% but because of the tip credit, because of the processing charge on the credit cards, it's going to be 30 or 35 percent."

Bartending school instructor Don Austin is opposed to the idea.

"Tips being the European acronym for 'to insure proper service," he said.

"The better you are, the better service you give, the more tips you get," said bartending student Karla Cardenas. "It's basically your incentive."

Right now, Joe's Crab Shack is just testing this out. A spokesperson wouldn't tell CBS 2 for how long. The chain also wouldn't let CBS 2 talk to servers about how they feel about this.