Tipping

[Les Grossman]

Here's the contradiction in that though - it's a fact that the gap between workers in corporations and executive level staff has been widening over the last 30 years, and earnings at the top have sky-rocketed while the relative pay of general workers has been stagnant, despite an enormous increase in productivity.

Going on the same principle as you mentioned re: paying chefs instead of servers (that the people who actually do the work should be rewarded with the fruits of the labor), Botfly is correct; the pay of general labor is too low relative to the profits they deliver and relative to the economy they live in.

I'm on the same side as you about tipping by the way, I just wanted to point out that I agree with Botfly's remarks in that regard.


(As a side point, contrary to the right wing rhetoric we get a lot, the point of social democracy is not to ensure equal outcome to the lazy as to the hard working. It's to ensure that the social safety net is guaranteed to everyone who needs it, rather than coming in the form of charitable donation on the whim of the wealthy and religious groups to those they deem deserving.)

Yes, I totally agree that the gap between the low-end workers and high-end 'workers' is way too large, and I suppose tipping is a way around that travesty. But, I wasn't really referring to the executive level wages, those are really out of control.

I'm a firm believer in paying/having to pay for what you get, and I don't really see the high value warranting 'over-paying' a server for the job that they actually do and on the other end of the spectrum, I don't see the high value warranting over-paying executives their ridiculous salaries.

 

[DC]

How is it my problem, or the problem of any consumer, that the restaurant makes their servers tip out? Why am I responsible for ponying up the excess? In Europe, waiters/waitresses don't rely on tips because the restaurant pays them a reasonable living wage. So what we're really saying here is that restaurant managers get to live like a pauper and make their waiters/waitresses live in squalor. And in order for the waiters/waitresses not to live in squalor, consumers need to give them a little extra.

Does that make any fucking sense?

The reason restaurants across our country began switching to this system (for reference, the old system was the server was supposed to tip out their support staff based on their tips) is because the service staff, i.e., our offspring began lying. Instead of a $20 cash tip they would have tipped their assistant and bartender on , they got "Stiffed." Lying about tips became the norm so they could pocket more. That's an industry fact.

When you factor in Tip Share and what you're allowed to do with it, it just became easier to make it as objective as possible. Tip on your sales because "it's not your assistants fault that you forgot to ring in that side of mashed potatoes"

It is what it fucking is.

 

[malcore]

I don't think your response actually answered JimJohnson's questions.


Here is an informative link about tipping in the US:

Unlike Europe, where servers are often paid a set hourly wage, the most common and accepted way to pay servers in the US is through Tips. Some employers are allowed to pay servers a special low sub minimum wage ($2.13) and diners are expected to leave a tip that is based off a percentage of the total amount of the check. The customary rate is 15 to 20 percent. Although diners are free to leave nothing at all and the tip system is voluntary, leaving a tip has become a integral part of US dining culture. Restaurants have a unwritten agreement with the dining public to pay for service by leaving a tip and thus subsidizing the wage of the server. Most restaurants in Europe and other parts of the world do not grant the diner this option, they simply integrate a service charge into the price of the meal. As a result, dining in Western Europe is considerably higher and less affordable than in the states. The US tip system is unique in this way- It allows the patron to decide whether or not to pay for service and also allows servers to potentially earn much more than some European servers because income is based off a percentage rather than a set, fixed hourly wage. But this tip system did face many challenges when first introduced as an alternative to the European model.

More here...

http://wiserwaitress.com/the-menu/the-tip-system/

 

[winterwarz]

I'd rather pay a set price and not have to deal with butthurt servers. I typically get it to go to avoid all the drama anyways.

 

[malcore]

I'd rather pay a set price and not have to deal with butthurt servers. I typically get it to go to avoid all the drama anyways.

Really? What kind of places do you go to where there is butthurt drama? Sounds like the butthurt is coming from the other side.


The set price is actually about 12-15% on top of the pre tax price. You have the freedom, or the power, to make it lower or higher based on your satisfaction. Seems ideal to me.

 

[winterwarz]

Really? What kind of places do you go to where there is butthurt drama? Sounds like the butthurt is coming from the other side.


The set price is actually about 12-15% on top of the pre tax price. You have the freedom, or the power, to make it lower or higher based on your satisfaction. Seems ideal to me.

Nah, guy. I'm referring to someone not being happy with a tip for service that I may deem unsatisfactory.

 

[JimJohnson]

I don't think your response actually answered JimJohnson's questions.


Here is an informative link about tipping in the US:




More here...

http://wiserwaitress.com/the-menu/the-tip-system/

I've been to Europe multiple times and I'm not sure I agree with the notion that dining in Western Europe is "considerably higher" than in the states. Certainly not 15-20% higher!!!

When I was in Paris, I was getting ham and cheese baguette sandwiches with a coffee for about 8 USD. Pretty much what I pay in Chicago unless I go to a fast food place.

And for dinner, I was getting steaks for abut 25-30 USD. I often pay more than that for a quality steak in Chicago. So I'm not buying the notion that dining is Western Europe is considerably higher.

Add in the 15-20% tip, and a nice dinner in Chicago is significantly more expensive than the equivalent meal in Europe.

 

[malcore]

Nah, guy. I'm referring to someone not being happy with a tip for service that I may deem unsatisfactory.

When are you made aware of that? I have never witnessed a server upset about a tip I left, mainly because I am usually gone by the time they see it. This can't be a frequent experience. If it is, you are either very hard to please, or your taste in restaurants is suspect.

 

[KittiesKorner]

[video=youtube;qwisejuNOro]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwisejuNOro[/video]

 

[malcore]

lol

 

[Monk]

Church people are notorious terrible tippers. Especially in large groups. I'm sad to be associated with them.

How do you guys feel about tipping at a buffet? I tip but usually the minimum.
Sent from Heaven. On a cloud.

 

[malcore]

I ordered Dominos pizza in Taiwan once. I tipped the driver about $5 US, and he seemed pained. About half an hour later, he returned with an order of wings, repaying me for my kindness. And outdoing me as well. The wings were about $7 US.

I learned never to tip there. I also learned Dominos pizza is far better tasting in Taiwan than it is in North America.

 

[Monk]

I ordered Dominos pizza in Taiwan once. I tipped the driver about $5 US, and he seemed pained. About half an hour later, he returned with an order of wings, repaying me for my kindness. And outdoing me as well. The wings were about $7 US.

I learned never to tip there. I also learned Dominos pizza is far better tasting in Taiwan than it is in North America.

We were in Jackson Heights in NYC setting up a Christmas tree and cleaning the streets up for the celebration they were about to have. This little Indian dude kept bringing people chi tea. We asked the guy we were working with if we should offer to pay and he said don't because he would be terribly offended.

 

[KittiesKorner]

I ordered Dominos pizza in Taiwan once. I tipped the driver about $5 US, and he seemed pained. About half an hour later, he returned with an order of wings, repaying me for my kindness. And outdoing me as well. The wings were about $7 US.

I learned never to tip there. I also learned Dominos pizza is far better tasting in Taiwan than it is in North America.

I was inclined not to tip in Hongcouver because everything was so expensive and a lot of the people were rude

 

[malcore]

I was inclined not to tip in Hongcouver because everything was so expensive and a lot of the people were rude

qft. One of the nicest cities physically that I've ever lived in, but crammed full of entitled assholes and uppity hippies. Sounds like it was memorable trip ole.

 

[KittiesKorner]

qft. One of the nicest cities physically that I've ever lived in, but crammed full of entitled assholes and uppity hippies. Sounds like it was memorable trip ole.

I was just surprised because everyone was cool in montreal and I assumed all canadians were the same lol

 

[malcore]

I was surprised too. The difference between the East coast and West coast in Canada may be even greater than it is in the US.

 

[KittiesKorner]

what is your opinion of toronto? we haven't been but have thought about it. a torontan at work is a serious d-bag

 

[malcore]

When I lived in London (Ontario), the saying was Toronto is a great place to visit, but I'd never want to live there. I enjoyed Detroit more at that point. But, there's d-bags everywhere, and it's hard to top Montreal for a Canadian city really, especially in the summer.

I've been to Chicago twice. I loved it when I went through in my late twenties, and always wanted to get back. The last time I went there though, we did not have a good time and cut our stay short. I don't know if it was more Chicago was different, or I was. The Bears losing to Seattle was a big factor, and it was December, so...

 

[KittiesKorner]

there are plenty of d-bags in chicago, especially on the cta, worse than nyc, I'd say.

also, thanks, cutler, for ruining malcore's visit