Americans!!! please confirm or deny this happens?

_Crazy_Mary_

Hinny wrote:

With this tipping business, do you guys carry a calculator around with you to work out what's 15% of the price or something?

If the bill is two digits, you double the 1st number. If it's 3 digits, you double the 1st two. 20% is much easier to figure out than 15%.

Hinny

_Crazy_Mary_ wrote:

20% is much easier to figure out than 15%.

Yeah, obviously, but I'm struggling hard enough with the concept of needing to give a tip, no way in hell am I gonna offer a 20% one right away. A 20% tip for a meal... there better be a BJ involved in there somewhere.

Hinny

soulsinging wrote:

we've learned this thing called math in these things we have called schools. maybe they haven't made it to the outback yet?

We've learned to have this thing called a decent minimum wage for hospitality sector workers in these things we have called a government. Maybe they haven't made it to Bible-thumping land yet?

soulsinging

Hinny wrote:

Yeah, obviously, but I'm struggling hard enough with the concept of needing to give a tip, no way in hell am I gonna offer a 20% one right away. A 20% tip for a meal... there better be a BJ involved in there somewhere.

then stay home and make your own meal. oh wait, you want the convenience of someone cooking and serving it to you? by god, you shouldn't have to PAY for the services you receive!

_Crazy_Mary_

Hinny wrote:

Yeah, obviously, but I'm struggling hard enough with the concept of needing to give a tip, no way in hell am I gonna offer a 20% one right away. A 20% tip for a meal... there better be a BJ involved in there somewhere.

haha. I'm pissed if I get a 15% tip. 20% is ok, but honestly I want 25% to 30%.

soulsinging

Hinny wrote:

We've learned to have this thing called a decent minimum wage for hospitality sector workers in these things we have called a government. Maybe they haven't made it to Bible-thumping land yet?

if it was bible-thumping, id be opposing it on principle. it's a capitalism thing though, and like it or not, it's the way it is. you don't like it, don't come here. but don't fuck over the waiter who has no power to change it just becos your country does it different. you're hurting only the most vulnerable and powerless person in this chain, becos the people who created the system don't give a fuck what you do to the waiter becos they already got their cut. when we come, we'll respect your customs. when you come, you can respect ours. if not, you may find your meal has a few "extra" ingredients from time to time. and you'd deserve it.

dunkman

soulsinging wrote:

then stay home and make your own meal. oh wait, you want the convenience of someone cooking and serving it to you? by god, you shouldn't have to PAY for the services you receive!

when you're a lawyer will you get tipped? does anyone tip a bus driver? a librarian? how aboutr dental technicians? do they get tipped?

thought not..

dunkman

soulsinging wrote:

if it was bible-thumping, id be opposing it on principle. it's a capitalism thing though, and like it or not, it's the way it is. you don't like it, don't come here. but don't fuck over the waiter who has no power to change it just becos your country does it different. you're hurting only the most vulnerable and powerless person in this chain, becos the people who created the system don't give a fuck what you do to the waiter becos they already got their cut. when we come, we'll respect your customs. when you come, you can respect ours. if not, you may find your meal has a few "extra" ingredients from time to time. and you'd deserve it.

tough shit.. so i pay extra cos some fat guy who owns a restaurant doesnt pay his staff properly? not my problem.. free lesson for today.. stick in at school kids...


and that custom stuff doesnt hold water.. you know gas over here is about 3 times the price you pay? so when you come here will you just fill up the tank and not have a slight moan to people when you got back home?

complaining about something doesnt mean its an insult to your customs... it used to be a custom that Native Americans could graze their cattle where they wanted and hunt Buffalo.. but hey.. you fucked their customs so i'll fuck yours

soulsinging

dunkman wrote:

when you're a lawyer will you get tipped? does anyone tip a bus driver? a librarian? how aboutr dental technicians? do they get tipped?

thought not..

your meal price is the price of services of preparing the meal by the cooks and maintaining the restaurant facilities by management. your tip is the price of paying the waiter who handled everything else. just becos we don't roll it into one lump sum so as not to tax your feeble mind and instead charge them separately doesn't mean you all aren't paying for the same thing over there. the only difference is there you have no say over how much that service is worth, here you get to decide every time you eat out.

and good lawyers get tipped all the time with things like invitations to boxes at athletic events and golf outings and the occasional favorable congressional vote in gratitude for previous services rendered.

redrock

soulsinging wrote:

oh wait, you want the convenience of someone cooking and serving it to you? by god, you shouldn't have to PAY for the services you receive!

The bill pays for the food, the rent, the equipment, overheads, etc. The salary provided by the employer (ultimately paid for by the money we fork out on the bill) pays for the people to cook the food, serve it, clean up after, etc., ie the services received. The cost of a meal is calculated to include ALL outgoings + profit.

soulsinging

dunkman wrote:

tough shit.. so i pay extra cos some fat guy who owns a restaurant doesnt pay his staff properly? not my problem.. free lesson for today.. stick in at school kids...

you don't pay extra. you pay the same fees only in 2 separate bills. i know you scotsman hate having to use the mass between your ears, but sometimes life demands it, ya know? over there, you roll them into one to accommodate the setbacks of generations of inbreeding, here we keep them separate, figuring people are grown up enough to handle the responsibility.

soulsinging

redrock wrote:

The bill pays for the food, the rent, the equipment, overheads, etc. The salary provided by the employer (ultimately paid for by the money we fork out on the bill) pays for the people to cook the food, serve it, clean up after, etc., ie the services received. The cost of a meal is calculated to include ALL outgoings + profit.

not the salary of the servers though. that salary is left to the discretion of the consumer, who is better able to reward and punish good and bad service, leaving the owner free to concentrate on providing good food.

soulsinging

dunkman wrote:

tough shit.. so i pay extra cos some fat guy who owns a restaurant doesnt pay his staff properly? not my problem.. free lesson for today.. stick in at school kids...

and that custom stuff doesnt hold water.. you know gas over here is about 3 times the price you pay? so when you come here will you just fill up the tank and not have a slight moan to people when you got back home?

complaining about something doesnt mean its an insult to your customs... it used to be a custom that Native Americans could graze their cattle where they wanted and hunt Buffalo.. but hey.. you fucked their customs so i'll fuck yours

but i PAY it. i may question the wisdom of it, but i don't fuck over the guy who owns the station or pumps the gas becos i think gas policies of your country (policies that guy has NO control over) are unreasonable.

know1

dunkman wrote:

this was on the 'fucked' thread on the porch...

is this really how it works.. how does your bank know at 11.21pm you are swiping at a restaurant and not just buying something online.. i just dont believe this.. i then found this

Another example can be seen with a restaurant transaction. If an individual spends $40 at a meal, the server does not know how large a tip they will leave, if they choose to leave one on the card. The restaurant's credit card terminal is typically set to authorize a larger amount, such as 20% above the cost of the meal, but the transaction will settle for the actual total including the actual tip written on the receipt. Some restaurants will authorize just the amount of the bill but the transaction will settle higher with the tip included. Acquirers sometimes forbid the practice of preauthorizing an amount including a tip, but will guarantee settlement of the amount authorized plus 15 or 20%


is the guy i quoted meaning the restaurants credit card terminal and not 'the bank'? cos that i can understand (almost)..

I do not think that happens. In fact, my bank usually shows debit transactions as "pending" transactions and the money usually isn't withdrawn until a day or so later. I can access the pending transactions and have never seen them listed as more than my check...or at least more than my check plus the actual tip.

dunkman

soulsinging wrote:

you don't pay extra. you pay the same fees only in 2 separate bills. i know you scotsman hate having to use the mass between your ears, but sometimes life demands it, ya know? over there, you roll them into one to accommodate the setbacks of generations of inbreeding, here we keep them separate, figuring people are grown up enough to handle the responsibility.

ok i dont pay extra as such... in real terms.. but if the service is shit the bill is $20... if the service is great its $25... so i paid extra to get better service.. here's a revolutionary new idea... fire staff who are shit at their job and pay them a minimum wage, the cost of the meal stays the same (as you've just pointed out) the staff get a regular wage and the owner gets the same in takings each week... the bill is $54 then the customer is happy because he knows the actual bill... not "oh i better pay 17.9% extra because she was a 7 out of 10.

redrock

soulsinging wrote:

not the salary of the servers though. that salary is left to the discretion of the consumer, who is better able to reward and punish good and bad service, leaving the owner free to concentrate on providing good food.

That made me laugh. The owner is the one with the ultimate responsibility to deal with the service provided by paying decent WAGES!!!!! A waiter/waitress is not paid on tips alone. Unless the owner is the chef, his responsibility is running the restaurant which includes ensuring the food is up to standard, the premises are up to standard, hygiene is what it should be, hiring, firing, customers are satisfied, etc. The owner manages.

soulsinging

redrock wrote:

That made me laugh. The owner is the one with the ultimate responsibility to deal with the service provided by paying decent WAGES!!!!! A waiter/waitress is not paid on tips alone. Unless the owner is the chef, his responsibility is running the restaurant which includes ensuring the food is up to standard, the premises are up to standard, hygiene is what it should be, hiring, firing, customers are satisfied, etc. The owner manages.

owners are only required by law to pay enough wages to cover taxes. this is why i say your paltry attempts to make a statement of protest by not tipping doesn't do shit. you fuck over a worker who has not say in the matter and don't hurt the person responsible for the system one bit. they don't even know about your bullshit protest.

redrock

soulsinging wrote:

owners are only required by law to pay enough wages to cover taxes. this is why i say your paltry attempts to make a statement of protest by not tipping doesn't do shit. you fuck over a worker who has not say in the matter and don't hurt the person responsible for the system one bit. they don't even know about your bullshit protest.

Did I say anything about not tipping? I was just discussing the services one pays for via the bill, outlining very briefly how the cost of a meal was calculated and what the responsibilities of a restaurant owner are. I was a waitress for a bit, I was paid minimum wage.. I was also a restaurant manager for a while. Oh - in the US, not in Europe.

GreenTeaDisease

GraySaturday wrote:

I've been told at hotels to use a credit card not debit because you can get really screwed while traveling

oh yeah, I NEVER use a debit card at a hotel.

soulsinging

dunkman wrote:

ok i dont pay extra as such... in real terms.. but if the service is shit the bill is $20... if the service is great its $25... so i paid extra to get better service.. here's a revolutionary new idea... fire staff who are shit at their job and pay them a minimum wage, the cost of the meal stays the same (as you've just pointed out) the staff get a regular wage and the owner gets the same in takings each week... the bill is $54 then the customer is happy because he knows the actual bill... not "oh i better pay 17.9% extra because she was a 7 out of 10.

so you think it's unwise. fair enough. why does that justify you in fucking over the lowest person on the totem pole becos you think your country has the superior way of doing things? isnt that the sort of attitude you bitch about americans having all the time?