Do you carry cash?

bootlegger10

F Me In The Brain said:

I pay a hell of a lot in taxes as well - certainly more than most wait staff actually make.  That doesn't change my position.  

Curious on the rational of who should pay taxes and who shouldn’t.  Based purely on income level?

mace1229

bootlegger10 said:

F Me In The Brain said:

I pay a hell of a lot in taxes as well - certainly more than most wait staff actually make.  That doesn't change my position.  

Curious on the rational of who should pay taxes and who shouldn’t.  Based purely on income level?

That’s basically how the government decides, right? That and number of dependents.

mace1229

crookedcross said:

Hobbes said:

Most restaurants have the servers tip out bartenders, bussers, back-of-house, etc. based on percentage of their sales and not based on the amount of tips made. That way the entire staff gets their fair cut regardless of the manner in which the tip was provided.

As a former busboy, bar back, and also a waiter, I can confirm. Every restaurant I've worked for, all waiters had to shell out 3% of their sales for the hosts, busboys, etc. I kinda miss waiting.

I never heard that. Kinda of sucks even more to get a bad tip then, you’re getting stiffed twice by not getting the tip, but then paying everyone else out on top.

crookedcross

mace1229 said:

crookedcross said:

Hobbes said:

Most restaurants have the servers tip out bartenders, bussers, back-of-house, etc. based on percentage of their sales and not based on the amount of tips made. That way the entire staff gets their fair cut regardless of the manner in which the tip was provided.

As a former busboy, bar back, and also a waiter, I can confirm. Every restaurant I've worked for, all waiters had to shell out 3% of their sales for the hosts, busboys, etc. I kinda miss waiting.

I never heard that. Kinda of sucks even more to get a bad tip then, you’re getting stiffed twice by not getting the tip, but then paying everyone else out on top.

Yes. There were days when I'd rather be a busboy or bar back and not deal with people. As I added to my initial comment, waiters also get taxed on 8% of your sales. The system assumes you get tipped at least 8%. Regardless of if you got it in cash or not, that 8% would be a reported part of your wages

crookedcross

That's why I always tip at least 20%, unless the server sucks and got terrible attitude. Then I just leave a smiley face on the receipt.. or draw a penis

Hobbes

crookedcross said:

That's why I always tip at least 20%, unless the server sucks and got terrible attitude. Then I just leave a smiley face on the receipt.. or draw a penis

Just the tip?

bootlegger10

mace1229 said:

bootlegger10 said:

F Me In The Brain said:

I pay a hell of a lot in taxes as well - certainly more than most wait staff actually make.  That doesn't change my position.  

Curious on the rational of who should pay taxes and who shouldn’t.  Based purely on income level?

That’s basically how the government decides, right? That and number of dependents.

Not really.  Government uses taxes to impact behavior  so they provide incentives and deductions depending on the type of income.

My question those was what was it about waiters that made it okay to not pay tax and what other types of occupations would be the same way.

Poncier

Hobbes said:

crookedcross said:

That's why I always tip at least 20%, unless the server sucks and got terrible attitude. Then I just leave a smiley face on the receipt.. or draw a penis

Just the tip?

And by doing so give the server the shaft.

crookedcross

Hobbes said:

crookedcross said:

That's why I always tip at least 20%, unless the server sucks and got terrible attitude. Then I just leave a smiley face on the receipt.. or draw a penis

Just the tip?

Never more, never less

F Me In The Brain

bootlegger10 said:

mace1229 said:

bootlegger10 said:

F Me In The Brain said:

I pay a hell of a lot in taxes as well - certainly more than most wait staff actually make.  That doesn't change my position.  

Curious on the rational of who should pay taxes and who shouldn’t.  Based purely on income level?

That’s basically how the government decides, right? That and number of dependents.

Not really.  Government uses taxes to impact behavior  so they provide incentives and deductions depending on the type of income.

My question those was what was it about waiters that made it okay to not pay tax and what other types of occupations would be the same way.

I think they get the short end of the stick in that job in that they depend on tips to bridge the gap between what they are paid and what they would be paid if tips were taken out of the equation.  Further, I believe that far too many people are shitty tippers and so if they do not have to take out taxes they have a better chance at bringing home a wage that should allow them to live better. 

Imagine if every job had a portion of the pay dependent on some asshat who asks for everything to be done differently than standard, who complains about minute shit, and who then uses their own skewed judgement to leave a small or non-existent tip.

Insert Mr White speech here....

On a larger scale I am for everyone paying less in taxes and for running this joke of a system with some level of efficiency.  This is just a small way in which I can feel like I help the lower pay level job folks out when I see them busting it.  (Who knows if this is disillusioned wasting on extra money or not...)

Hobbes

Thread integrity.

Tango carried Cash.

dankind

I’m in Lake Placid for my daughter’s hockey tournament. After a day of going around town and checking out the independent retailers and the folks who mind the shops, I took out a bunch of cash for my purchases here. 

Awesome, deserving folks here in the North Country. 

PureandEasy

dankind said:

I’m in Lake Placid for my daughter’s hockey tournament. After a day of going around town and checking out the independent retailers and the folks who mind the shops, I took out a bunch of cash for my purchases here. 

Awesome, deserving folks here in the North Country. 

I'm not against paying cash all together, I recognize the need to have it when necessary (tips, public transportation etc.).  I'm a planner, I know when I will need cash for certain circumstances. Going to a market was not one of them.  My issue, the initial issue, was being denied purchase for using a card.  Since I did not have cash on me and I refused to purchase items I did not need to meet the minimum, both myself and the merchant lost out.  

I work in Philly.  When you work in a large city, you don't carry cash.  Yes, a thief can take your cards but there are obstacles when using those cards.  Pin numbers, passwords, etc. If they steal your handbag and you have $ in there, it's gone.  Gone, whether it be the $20 someone posted earlier they always carry, or the $200 another posted they always carry.  GONE.  At least with cards, you have the ability to cancel those cards.  It's a fact of life working in the city.  You have to be aware.  So I guess it's become a habit not to carry cash unless the situation calls for it.  

F Me In The Brain

dankind said:

I’m in Lake Placid for my daughter’s hockey tournament. After a day of going around town and checking out the independent retailers and the folks who mind the shops, I took out a bunch of cash for my purchases here. 

Awesome, deserving folks here in the North Country. 

Nice!

what dreams

mace1229 said:

PureandEasy said:

F Me In The Brain said:

I carry cash, usually less than $100, though and prefer to pay with card or phone.

Tip in cash, almost always.
This is important, folks.  Tip in cash if you can.

Yes, that I agree with, if we're going out for dinner, I always make sure I have cash for a tip.  My niece used to waitress and she told me it's always best for the server if you tip in cash.  That I understand.

I assume it’s best because they can lie on their tax returns or not split fairly with the cook and bus boy if it’s all cash?
Why else is it best?

The tip out to bussers and bartenders is based on sales, not on how much you've been tipped. When you cash out at the end of the night, the manager has your sales total and you give a percentage of that

Same with tax reporting -- based on percentage of sales, so if you have a lousy tip night, you're screwed.

what dreams

I use cash at farmers markets because I know that Square charges over 3% for the farmers (or anyone) to use their service. Small farmers and craft vendors are already going broke. There is very little profit for them already. On the occasions when I have forgotten or couldn't get cash, I always give the farmer an extra 3% and tell them I understand why card usage hurts their business. 

deadendp

what dreams said:

I use cash at farmers markets because I know that Square charges over 3% for the farmers (or anyone) to use their service. Small farmers and craft vendors are already going broke. There is very little profit for them already. On the occasions when I have forgotten or couldn't get cash, I always give the farmer an extra 3% and tell them I understand why card usage hurts their business. 

That is awesome of you to do that. I hadn't considered handling it that way. 

brianlux

mace1229 said:

I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t carry cash. It’s not big or heavy, a few 20s in your wallet and you don’t even notice, what’s the big deal?
There are times when you can only tip in cash (free shuttles, valet, prepaid things, etc) and you need cash to tip.
There are times when cash is a lot easier. I saw Willie Nelson this weekend. Venue held about 6000 and there were just a few big bars. Lines for drinks were 2-3 people deep. I watched for about 7 or 8 minutes waiting each person ordering a few drinks, hand over a card, wait for it to process, wait for a receipt, sign it and hand it back. Those with a tab took even longer waiting for the bartender to find the tab in a giant pile and ask for ID. When it was my turn I asked for 2 beers, dropped some cash and left. Took about 10 seconds verses 2-3 minutes everyone took.

I also often pay local businesses in cash, and more often than not they thank me. Sometimes even give me a discount. I had my chimney swept by a local guy, when he was writing the bill I asked if he prefers cash, he said he’d take off 5 or $10 if I paid cash and thanked me.
I don’t see any reason to not carry some, and then when you run into a minimum for card it doesn’t matter.
Carrying change is annoying, a few bills is no big deal.

Totally agree with all points.

brianlux

what dreams said:

I use cash at farmers markets because I know that Square charges over 3% for the farmers (or anyone) to use their service. Small farmers and craft vendors are already going broke. There is very little profit for them already. On the occasions when I have forgotten or couldn't get cash, I always give the farmer an extra 3% and tell them I understand why card usage hurts their business. 

Excellent!

PJ_Soul

mace1229 said:

crookedcross said:

Hobbes said:

Most restaurants have the servers tip out bartenders, bussers, back-of-house, etc. based on percentage of their sales and not based on the amount of tips made. That way the entire staff gets their fair cut regardless of the manner in which the tip was provided.

As a former busboy, bar back, and also a waiter, I can confirm. Every restaurant I've worked for, all waiters had to shell out 3% of their sales for the hosts, busboys, etc. I kinda miss waiting.

I never heard that. Kinda of sucks even more to get a bad tip then, you’re getting stiffed twice by not getting the tip, but then paying everyone else out on top.

I always paid 6% ti 10% of tips to the hosts and cooks and bussers, in every place I worked. Nobody ever minded. We couldn't do our jobs without those people, and anyone who would disagree with that probably would have been considered a total dick.