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San Francisco Restaurants Propose Standard 25 Per Cent Tip
Telegraph(UK) ^ | October 16, 2011 | Nick Allen

Posted on 10/16/2011 9:20:33 AM PDT by Steelfish

San Francisco Restaurants Propose Standard 25 Per Cent Tip Restaurants in San Francisco have angered customers by proposing to make a 25 per cent tip standard with meals.

According to a recent survey San Francisco diners are the worst tippers in America Photo: ALAMY By Nick Allen

Most diners in the United States currently give a voluntary tip of between 15 and 20 per cent depending on the service and the quality of the food. But the new measure, which is reportedly supported by high class eateries, would be mandatory.

According to a recent survey San Francisco diners are the worst tippers in America.

They give an average of 18.6 per cent of the cost of their meal, which placed them bottom of the list alongside residents in Seattle. Customers have reacted badly to the proposal for 25 per cent tipping, saying it would lead to sloppy service and that restaurants are being greedy.

Mike Alexander of Antioch near San Francisco, told the Contra Costa Times: "They have to be kidding. The whole purpose of a tip is to reward service.

"If the price is dictated it's not a tip. If they're serious they'll meet a lot of resistance. It seems like everyone is trying to squeeze another buck out of us." Customer Candel Garcia told the newspaper: "If they try it, people will vote with their feet. Tips should be earned, not expected. I usually tip 10 per cent or 15 per cent, which I think is fair."

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; US: California
KEYWORDS: gratuity; sanfrancisco; tips
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1 posted on 10/16/2011 9:20:35 AM PDT by Steelfish
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To: Steelfish

Sounds like a plan to get put out of business to me.


2 posted on 10/16/2011 9:21:59 AM PDT by Mmogamer (I refudiate the lamestream media, leftists and their prevaricutions.)
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To: Steelfish
According to a recent survey San Francisco diners are the worst tippers in America

What--liberals are deadbeats with their own money? Gee, Who'd'a guessed?

3 posted on 10/16/2011 9:22:34 AM PDT by hinckley buzzard
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To: Steelfish

If it is mandatory it is not a tip, its part of the price.

Call it a price hike, that is what it is.


4 posted on 10/16/2011 9:22:42 AM PDT by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Happiness)
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To: Mmogamer

Restaurants?


5 posted on 10/16/2011 9:23:48 AM PDT by stuartcr ("Everything happens as God wants it to...otherwise, things would be different.")
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To: Steelfish

I hope it passes. It will be nice to see liberalism go full bore, and collapse on itself. Only then will these idiot voters change their votes.


6 posted on 10/16/2011 9:25:44 AM PDT by aimhigh
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To: Mmogamer

Crappy stats with a goal of a Leftwing union deal.


7 posted on 10/16/2011 9:25:48 AM PDT by colonialhk (Put them in green jails doing green jobs)
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To: Steelfish

I tip according to service. I used to wait tables, so I’m usually very generous, but if the service stinks, forget it. If tipping is mandatory, expect crappy service.


8 posted on 10/16/2011 9:29:59 AM PDT by USMCWife6869
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To: Steelfish
Most diners in the United States currently give a voluntary tip of between 15 and 20 per cent depending on the service and the quality of the food.

According to a recent survey San Francisco diners are the worst tippers in America.

They give an average of 18.6 per cent of the cost of their meal, which placed them bottom of the list alongside residents in Seattle.

Um... I'm a bit confused. If most diners in America give between 15 and 20% tip, and San Franciscans give an average of 18.6%, how does that make them the worst tippers in America?

9 posted on 10/16/2011 9:30:08 AM PDT by Egon (The difference between Theory and Practice: In Theory, there is no difference.)
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To: Steelfish

A 25% tip is just wage subsidization. Kinda cool when your servers make good money and stay on the job because you pay minimum wage and your patrons kick in the rest.


10 posted on 10/16/2011 9:30:58 AM PDT by Right Brother
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To: Mmogamer

People will go to places that do not require such practices. the economy sucks. businesss suffers already why squash any customer you have.

on the other hand. the waitresses are taxed on a % of sales for their tips. is it fair they get taxed on money they did not earn?


11 posted on 10/16/2011 9:31:00 AM PDT by television is just wrong
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To: Steelfish

25% extra payment for bad service and attitude. I don’t see anything positive coming from this government intervention of free trade.


12 posted on 10/16/2011 9:32:23 AM PDT by vetvetdoug
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To: Steelfish
Watch for a Bay Area boom outside San Francisco!

The traffic in San Francisco is a serious deterrent. Who wants to fight that and everything else when it's so easy to get out of the city for a nice restaurant or anything else.

When I lived in San Francisco, I told my wife: "I can get anything in the world I want here, but it'll take me all day to go and get it." We left.

Here in The Middle of Nowhere I can still get anything in the world I want--through the internet. It comes to ME! And no traffic! No panhandlers! No feces-covered sidewalks! No druggies! No San Francisco morons! I LOVE IT HERE!

Detroit is the future of San Francisco.

13 posted on 10/16/2011 9:35:22 AM PDT by Savage Beast (America's best hope is the Left's worst nightmare: Herman Cain!)
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To: Steelfish
Watch for a Bay Area boom outside San Francisco!

The traffic in San Francisco is a serious deterrent. Who wants to fight that and everything else when it's so easy to get out of the city for a nice restaurant or anything else.

When I lived in San Francisco, I told my wife: "I can get anything in the world I want here, but it'll take me all day to go and get it." We left.

Here in The Middle of Nowhere I can still get anything in the world I want--through the internet. It comes to ME! And no traffic! No panhandlers! No feces-covered sidewalks! No druggies! No San Francisco morons! I LOVE IT HERE!

Detroit is the future of San Francisco.

14 posted on 10/16/2011 9:35:22 AM PDT by Savage Beast (America's best hope is the Left's worst nightmare: Herman Cain!)
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To: USMCWife6869

Spot on on all accounts.


15 posted on 10/16/2011 9:35:48 AM PDT by Puppage (You may disagree with what I have to say, but I shall defend to your death my right to say it)
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To: Steelfish

This is just oink oink greedy. California already requires that restaurants pay waiters above the national minimum wage, exclusive of tips. I’ll be sure never to eat in a restaurant in SF or anywhere else that includes what is supposed to be a gratuity as a 25% charge in a bill.


16 posted on 10/16/2011 9:37:28 AM PDT by Post Toasties (Leftists give insanity a bad name.)
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To: Steelfish

A second thought: As the economy has worsened and gas prices have skyrocketed, we have had to make budgetary changes. The biggest one was less eating out. I admit that when money wasn’t so tight, we used to eat out a lot, a couple of times a week. Now, it is down to once a month. Twice maybe if we have a special occasion. So if they were to implement this here, it would be even less. Why are businesses doing this to themselves? Eating out is probably the one expense people are most willing to dump in tough times, so why give anyone another reason?


17 posted on 10/16/2011 9:38:47 AM PDT by USMCWife6869
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To: Steelfish
Pelosi and her husband own several successful businesses and restaurants in SF..
18 posted on 10/16/2011 9:38:47 AM PDT by PLD
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To: Steelfish

Tips are generally not legally enforceable, even if the restaurant claims it’s mandatory. The customer is generally not legally obligated to pay the tip.


19 posted on 10/16/2011 9:39:16 AM PDT by ltc8k6
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To: Right Brother

“A 25% tip is just wage subsidization. Kinda cool when your servers make good money and stay on the job because you pay minimum wage and your patrons kick in the rest”

Dead on


20 posted on 10/16/2011 9:40:54 AM PDT by DAC21
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To: aimhigh

Next step for SanFran: mandating residents that they MUST patronize restaurants, and how often, based on their incomes.

Yeah baby.


21 posted on 10/16/2011 9:40:54 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man (I'd like to tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.)
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To: Steelfish

Here’s an idea. Take some of San Francisco’s city tax money and send a check to everyone in the US outside of San Francisco. Then, everyone will want to go to San Francisco to thank them!


22 posted on 10/16/2011 9:41:35 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Steelfish

If an individual restaurant wishes to charge a mandatory 25% tip, that’s their prerogative. The market will decide whether or not it’s a wise decision.

To mandate such tips via legislation is absurd, but it is San Francisco we’re speaking of.


23 posted on 10/16/2011 9:41:45 AM PDT by Guy Gardner
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To: Steelfish
Sheesh!

We have to make a day trip to San Francisco. I think we will be carrying some sandwiches in our cooler.

24 posted on 10/16/2011 9:41:47 AM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear (*Philosophy lesson 117-22b: Anyone who demands to be respected is undeserving of it.*)
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To: Steelfish

Question: would this apply to all restaurants in the city, including fast food? If it doesn’t, how do they define fast food? There are some places that are kind of “borderline”, after all.

The idea of being required to tip 25% at McDonald’s is just surreal.


25 posted on 10/16/2011 9:42:00 AM PDT by Guy Gardner
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To: Steelfish

26 posted on 10/16/2011 9:42:25 AM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: Egon

“Um... I’m a bit confused. If most diners in America give between 15 and 20% tip, and San Franciscans give an average of 18.6%, how does that make them the worst tippers in America?”

Prood reading is dead these days. I can only suggest he should have dropped the “1”


27 posted on 10/16/2011 9:44:32 AM PDT by DAC21
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To: Mmogamer

The moonbats in San Francisco are at it again. In other news, the sun came up this morning.


28 posted on 10/16/2011 9:46:10 AM PDT by BAW (I'm part of the 75% who are Anti-Romney.)
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To: DAC21

And I’m the worst at it hahahah “Proof”


29 posted on 10/16/2011 9:46:43 AM PDT by DAC21
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To: USMCWife6869

Even when times were good, we hardly ever ate out. Service everywhere has suffered, the foods nowadays aren’t THAT special unless you’re at a high end place. All the places we used to go to changed their menus and got rid of, or cheapened up, the dishes we liked. Even on off times service was slow. And we’re good cooks so we spend the money on good ingredients.


30 posted on 10/16/2011 9:47:04 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man (I'd like to tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.)
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To: ltc8k6

The 25% tip is only applied to people that have been circumcised.


31 posted on 10/16/2011 9:52:43 AM PDT by donhunt (Certified and proud "Son of a Bitch".)
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To: Steelfish

Instead of tips, the government should subsidize waiters with a living wage, paid for by a special tax on the rich.


32 posted on 10/16/2011 9:53:44 AM PDT by Mr Ramsbotham (Laws against sodomy are honored in the breech.)
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To: hinckley buzzard

Yeah! Stingy liberals...shouldn’t they be tipping enough so these poor service people can make an honest “living wage”? Seems to me they should be tipping at least 100%.


33 posted on 10/16/2011 9:54:33 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: Secret Agent Man

I agree with you. Not that it is an excuse, but between hubby’s crazy schedule and my retail one, we just go lazy. But I am a good cook, and now that I’ve gotten back into the habit, I realize I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it. And this summer, we started trying to grow our own produce, and I intend to grow even more next year. I’m ashamed that I allowed my family to fall back on restaurants so much. It just became a horrible, lazy habit. Heck, between less eating out and more having to find free or cheaper entertainment, I have lost 60 pounds and still counting. So it’s a win/win for me and the family.


34 posted on 10/16/2011 9:55:01 AM PDT by USMCWife6869
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To: DAC21
Prood reading is dead these days.

So is proofreading. But I know a good many periodicals that could stand some professional prood reading.

35 posted on 10/16/2011 9:56:29 AM PDT by Mr Ramsbotham (Laws against sodomy are honored in the breech.)
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To: Steelfish

Here’s a tip:

Get a better job!


36 posted on 10/16/2011 9:59:53 AM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
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To: martin_fierro
.18 x 19.43 as % = $3.50

.20 x 19.43 as % = $3.89

Must be that fuzzy lieberal math on that receipt 'calculates' with as 'deemed necessary'.

37 posted on 10/16/2011 10:00:54 AM PDT by tflabo (Restore the Republic)
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To: Steelfish

Oh goody! Time to buy a restaurant in San Jose or San Rafael. Maybe both to catch customers going in and coming out.

But then again, with the business climate in that state, why make the effort? I could probably do much better in Pahrump, Nevada.


38 posted on 10/16/2011 10:01:12 AM PDT by mazda77 (and I am a Native Texan)
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To: Steelfish

25% of a really seriously overpriced meal is just abusing a customer. The lower tip percentage in San Francisco is probably just a bit of common sense (even there) that an inflated bottom line shouldn’t translate into the server getting paid twice as much for the same amount of work that they would get at a more reasonably priced place.


39 posted on 10/16/2011 10:02:11 AM PDT by gusopol3
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To: Steelfish

Not a good idea ...

Might as well start “taxing” Tea Parties.


40 posted on 10/16/2011 10:03:43 AM PDT by OldNavyVet (One trillion days, at 365 days per year, is 2,739,726,027 years ... almost 3 billion years)
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To: Steelfish

Why should we even tip anymore? Didn’t San Fran Nan and her ethically pure majority congress back in 2007-2010 impose the ‘living wage minimal pay hike’ on entreprenuers so that all restaurant workers can make it their career forever? We already tip with the prices raised on purchases. Thanks Rats for driving up prices and downing business with less jobs too.


41 posted on 10/16/2011 10:09:26 AM PDT by tflabo (Restore the Republic)
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To: television is just wrong
on the other hand. the waitresses are taxed on a % of sales for their tips. is it fair they get taxed on money they did not earn?

Nope it is not fair, in fact I would say it is unconstitutional and am surprised someone hasn't taken it to the Supremes yet. However, that is between the workers and the government and it is not up to me to supply them with money so they can actually earn the money they are required to claim as tips. I believe they have to claim 15% tips whether they actually receive them or not.

42 posted on 10/16/2011 10:09:26 AM PDT by calex59
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To: Steelfish

Such small thinking will doom America. If somebody can afford to eat out, then they can well afford to give an equal amount, i.e., 100% tip, to the heroic proletarian serving them. Fair is fair. You would think the people of San Francisco would know this.


43 posted on 10/16/2011 10:14:40 AM PDT by all the best
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To: Secret Agent Man

Even a measly smallish greasy hamburger, fries and a drink at a fast food chain these days costs about $7.00 and sometimes the quality is just awful. Kinda like the chicken teriyaki bowls at Jack but the staff are all mexicans here locally and I have to always ask for the sauce packets. Time to spend my dinero$ elsewhere.


44 posted on 10/16/2011 10:19:28 AM PDT by tflabo (Restore the Republic)
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To: GeronL

If it is mandatory it is not a tip, its part of the price.


My wife and I went to a Japanese restaurant a few months back that had a mandatory tip added to the bill. Good food, okay service. Regardless: We deeply resented the usurping of our discretion in tipping, so we will NEVER go back.


45 posted on 10/16/2011 10:20:04 AM PDT by rbg81
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To: Steelfish
A government mandated gratuity is not a tip, it's a tax.
46 posted on 10/16/2011 10:33:18 AM PDT by reg45 (I'm not angry that Lincoln freed the slaves. I'm angry that Franklin Roosevelt bought them back.)
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To: USMCWife6869

“...If tipping is mandatory, expect crappy service...”
-
An equal outcome for good service or bad service.
Those who excel in society must be punished.


47 posted on 10/16/2011 10:37:51 AM PDT by Repeal The 17th
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To: Mmogamer

You can’t create civil unrest if people have jobs. What a better way to kill several types of businesses than to kill restaurants. Once the people are unemployed they will demand jobs from the very people that killed their old one.


48 posted on 10/16/2011 10:39:03 AM PDT by Dutch Boy
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To: martin_fierro
They probably based their bogus "calculation" on the after tax amount, instead of the purchase total.

I usually calculate 25% of the subtotal to cover both taxes and gratuity. If the tax rate is over 7% - Well, tough beans!

49 posted on 10/16/2011 10:42:41 AM PDT by reg45 (I'm not angry that Lincoln freed the slaves. I'm angry that Franklin Roosevelt bought them back.)
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To: Steelfish

Last time I dined in SF, I noticed that there was a “health care” fee added to my tab. I have to confess that my tip (after deducting the fee) was somewhat less than 5 percent.


50 posted on 10/16/2011 10:47:39 AM PDT by pf flyers
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