I Was Banned For Not Tipping

mike.barskey.net ^

[gdani]

I don’t understand the poor waiter thing because frankly, they make out like bandits and make more per hour than a lot of jobs.

If they made out like bandits, everyone would be a waiter/waitress.

I don't care how much they make - they earn it by having to deal with the majority of society who are idiots & obnoxious.

Nothing will make you want to disassociate yourself from the human race faster than being a server or working retail.

[HereInTheHeartland]

This needs to be resolved with a beer summit at the White House; and maybe a tip czar is needed in the Obama administration.

[Raider Sam]

Well, the way I look at it, tips are reserved for people who provide an additional service at a service location. For instance, the restaurant makes the food, but the additional service of getting it for you deserves the tip. Same with pizza deliveries.

Also, Im not sure how to categorize it, but I always tip my barber. It seems to be the accepted practice.

[rwfromkansas]

Hoosier makes an excellent point.

What is so special about waiters or waitresses that it is okay to pay them a pittance an hour (but then really pay them a lot more after tips than even bare minimum wage jobs).

I don’t see why the cashier at McDonald’s making $7 an hour doesn’t deserve as much as that waiter at Applebees probably bringing in $15 an hour after tips.

It’s MORALLY WRONG to give the waiter more via tips.

Tipping sets different standards for different jobs that are equally as difficult and low-paying.

I tip in restaurants, but this is my feeling about it.

Now, when it comes to valet parking (hardly ever done it though) or coffee shop-type situations with tip jars....never will I ever tip them. That’s just idiotic.

[thefactor]

This guy is a loser, loser, loser.

He wants all the benefits of going out and visiting with his friends but none of the incidental costs.

Stay home and get your own food/drink you toolbox. I bet the people he was visiting with thought he was a loser as well and are glad to be rid of him at this event.

I can't stand people who need to be on a separate check when they are out with a group. Stay home!

[mnehring]

Isn’t the idea that the customer pays the salary of the worker a little absurd?

In all businesses the customer pays the salary of the employees- the money just doesn't spring out of no where. As I stated to another poster, waiting is like working on commission, except, instead of the commission being decided by some manager figuring out his profit margin, you as a consumer can determine the value and compensate accordingly.

If you go and buy a $50k car, you are paying the sales person probably around $5k in commission whether he treats you well or poorly. Tipping allows you to set the rate of what you think the value of service is.

[anonsquared]

After thinking about this a bit, I do thing there is a group of workers in society who should be paid $3.00 an hour and rely on tips to make living wage... ALL GOVERNMENT WORKERS.

[joe fonebone]

I guess I have to chime in here. I am an excellent cook, and do not go out to eat for the food. I go out for the service and convienience of not having to clean up. I find that most of the time:

1) My water, coffe, coke, tea, etc. gets empty and remains that way

2) My food is usually delivered either slightly warm or cool. This is not the kitchens fault.

3) I will not see my waitperson more than 4 times during my entire meal 1, take order..2, deliver drinks..3, deliver food..4, deliver bill

this type of service deserves nothing from me for service. This is what they get paid wages for. If you want a tip from me, deliver me service. Clear my table when I am done eating, keep my cup or glass full, ask me if everything is ok, and above all, deliver my food while it is still hot..This will net you a 15 or 20% tip...in other words, they have to give a damn, or I sure won’t..

[divine_moment_of_facts]

I’ve never heard of cooks getting part of the pooled tips.. That’s a new one to me!

[TalonDJ]

Wouldn't it be more fair to just charge the customer another dollar for that steak,another dime for that drink,those fies,etc. and just pay the help ?

A mechanic doing extra good service is basically invisible and does not effect your satisfaction with the transaction. The convenience store clerk is not going to significantly improve your shopping experience by doing a better job. A waiter on the other hand can make your dining experience significantly better. That is what tipping is all about. The owner could pay waiters more but then how would he reward really good ones? Also that would mean the owner would have to raise prices. Most cheapa$$ non-tippers would be all in a twitter if they had to pay a couple bucks more for their stake.

[gdani]

I don’t see why the cashier at McDonald’s making $7 an hour doesn’t deserve as much as that waiter at Applebees probably bringing in $15 an hour after tips.

Probably because you've never done either job. I have. Servers work harder & have more difficult jobs than counter people.

[TalonDJ]

After thinking about this a bit, I do thing there is a group of workers in society who should be paid $3.00 an hour and rely on tips to make living wage... ALL GOVERNMENT WORKERS.

Bingo! Now you realize the value, utility, and libertarian nature of tipping.

[Michael.SF.]

Interesting.Who’s responsibility is it to take care of the wait staff?

Apples and Oranges. The discussion on tip practices at restaurants was settle years ago. In the USA we tip. In Europe they do not.

Those are the rules established, polite people live by them. Those who choose not to deserve to be excluded from a restaurant at the owner's choosing.

[RobRoy]

>>With all of the problems that we face it seems really odd for him to choose tipping servers as a line in the sand.<<

As an oldster myself, I understand his position. I continue to re-evaluate my paradigms on a daily basis. One of them is tipping. When I say Reservoir Dogs, I admitted that Mr. Pink was precisely right. But like so many things like this, even when you win, you lose.

I tip, when necessary, but my solution to this whole thing is to just not find myself in a position where it is even an option.

I suspect the author, like me, has, over the years, drawn MANY lines in the sand. This is just one. Did you know that as people get older, they also tend to reduce their circle of friends? They become more “discriminating”.

[DieHard the Hunter]

(Grin!) Fair enough too. Cultures are different — here a tip is considered an insult by many.

It was explained to me this way, when I emigrated 15 years ago: New Zealand was settled originally by people leaving England from the servant class to make a better life for themselves, with nobody as their “master”. This is probably why New Zealand has an egalitarian feel to it, with a really blurry line between our classes.

Tipping reinforces the servant/master relationship, in many ways. It’s one thing to pay a fair price for something, and quite another to pay for servitude — which is something that our settlers left back in England.

We still get excellent service, but that’s because it is an expectation of the job rather than something driven by the tip. Waiters (in fact everyone in NZ) receive a minimum wage, which is currently sitting at $12.50 before tax per hour. That’s not a huge wage, but one can live on it by being careful.

[KarenMarie]

Putting aside my personal feelings on tipping, I will state the following, please.

1. That man is perfectly within his rights to not tip. He is paying for what he is getting and anything above that is optional.

2. Most ppl would stop eating out if the prices were reflective of owners paying top wages to their staff.

3. Altering a credit card slip is considered fraud. Federal offense.

[latina4dubya]

This guy is a cheapskate.

i would not want to be married to this guy... ewww...

[Responsibility2nd]

Sonic Drive Ins.

While we are all debating the topic of tipping, let me ask this:

Do you tip the carhop at Sonic?

Why or Why not?

Do you tip at other fast food places? What about if you use the drive through window at Sonic?

I’ve had people tell me it’s rude not to tip the girl who brings me a Sonic Burger, onions rings and a Route 44 diet lime-aid. (Yumm!)

Thoughts....

[RobRoy]

>>It is a shame that servers have been reduced to working for $2-something per hour on their paychecks, and I don’t like the system at all.

But since that’s how it is, if you’re too cheap to leave them a tip, please stay home. Just choose to never go out.<<

This.

And what I have done - “almost” never. And even then, it tends to be take-out. I NEVER tip for take-out.

[absolootezer0]

Every wait staff person I ever knew was a registered Democrat.

come to my restaurant. we don't have a single democrat.
as far as paying full salary to everyone.. ask your insurance agent what his base salary is. your car salesman, 90% of contractors, mechanics, repairmen, hairstylists/ barber, etc. granted, you don't tip these all these guys, but they, like servers, work for comission. the better, faster, more accurate job they do, the more upsells they make.. the more money they make.
yes, tipping a server is a more direct comission, but it amounts to the same thing. its incentive to make sure your table is clean and set before you sit down, your order is right, timely, that you don't lack for anything, to offer suggestions, to know the ingredients of the food in case of allergies, to make you happy.. basically, they're trying to make your dinner as enjoyable as if your mother was making you your favourite birthday meal.