Americans!!! please confirm or deny this happens?

soulsinging

redrock wrote:

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.

where were you a waitress that you were paid minimum wage? we were paid $2 an hour, significantly below minimum wage, and that was paid only to cover our government taxes.

redrock

soulsinging wrote:

where were you a waitress that you were paid minimum wage? we were paid $2 an hour, significantly below minimum wage, and that was paid only to cover our government taxes.

A long time ago, in Sacramento. Can't remember the name of the place, but it was one of those franchise type restaurants. Hell.. I even remember working for a month or so at Foxy Loxy (a bagel place) for minimum wage back then.

dunkman

soulsinging wrote:

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?

me.. bitch? well i never

i'm saying i wont tip if the service is shit or even average.. people should do their jobs professionally regardless of their career.. i.e. i'd be annoyed if the bus driver took me a 45 minute detour and then dropped me off at totally different spot.. he's done a crap job.

if a waiter doesnt do a good job then i wont tip.. thats all i'm saying

soulsinging

redrock wrote:

A long time ago, in Sacramento. Can't remember the name of the place, but it was one of those franchise type restaurants. Hell.. I even remember working for a month or so at Foxy Loxy (a bagel place) for minimum wage back then.

franchise? also, a bagel place? those ain't restaurants chief. you don't get full service there. you buy your bagel and they give it to you over the counter. fast food is not a restaurant.

redrock

soulsinging wrote:

franchise? also, a bagel place? those ain't restaurants chief. you don't get full service there. you buy your bagel and they give it to you over the counter. fast food is not a restaurant.

Not at the bagel place. I was just mentioning it because of minimum wage. But the restaurant was a FULL service restaurant. When I say franchise, I mean by that, that it wasn't an 'exclusive' one off fancy restaurant but one of those that will have a restaurant in various cities. Not a mcdonald's, not a Hard Rock Cafe or a TGIF type restaurant. A 'proper' one that paid a decent wage.

Still SS, exclusive restaurant or not, I got paid minimum wage (and not $2/hour) and was able to pay my rent, buy my food and drink. I did not have to rely on tips.

GreenTeaDisease

dunkman wrote:

me.. bitch? well i never

i'm saying i wont tip if the service is shit or even average.. people should do their jobs professionally regardless of their career.. i.e. i'd be annoyed if the bus driver took me a 45 minute detour and then dropped me off at totally different spot.. he's done a crap job.

if a waiter doesnt do a good job then i wont tip.. thats all i'm saying

dunk, I agree with what you're saying in terms of how it *should* be. However, while traveling in foreign countries, you really should adhere to what is customary while you're there. it's just common courtesy. Really, in the US, it is acceptable to tip LESS for poor service not not at all, unless it is REALLY BAD for some reason, like ok, if I witnessed the waiter spitting in my soup or something...For average service, you tip average, which is 20% for dinner. It is NOT the best system, but really I would not travel to scotland and not adhere to local customs. it just seems very wrong. that "average" waiter is depending on that tip, because it is how the system works.

decides2dream

_Crazy_Mary_ wrote:

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

WOW.
are you truly serious? do you work in one of those 4-5 star restaurants? and even there....sheesh. i live in NY, work in manhattan....eat in restaurants in both, and 20% is considered a GOOD/fair/generous tip. it's pretty much my standard, i may go over a wee bit for exceptional service, if it's a holiday....or just to round off the $ amount at times....but i highly doubt i EVER tip above say 22% at most. 20% is it. for years 15% was the "standard"...don't remember when it upped to 20, but it absolutely customary for GOOD/great service. i can understand 'wanting' it...i just can't believe you actually get it!

hell, i'd like a 10K raise this year, doesn't mean i'll get it....no matter how excellent an employee/asset i may be. granted, i am a well paid salaried employee who also gets overtime pay, full benefits, paid vacations, etc...but hell yea, i think it's a bit much to put it mildly to expect the customer to tip THAT high, even if you are the most fantastic waitperson ever. it is rare for me/us to undertip...but sure, if the service is THAT bad, you betcha we do....and sure, it's usually 15% nowadays, or maybe even 10% if the service is horrible. i think maybe 1-2x we've ever left NO tip, but obviously...must've be a terrible experience. shit, i KNOW waitstaff depend on tips, but i think 20% is VERY generous, so to just think it's *ok*...honestly i find annoying. while it's customary, it isn't 'mandatory' so i think one should appreciate that?



and to the topic: i NEVEr use a debit card, period. i HAVE one, but it is simply used to get cash out of the ATM. otherwise it just makes more sense for us to use true creidt cards, pay the bill in full each month, and it's like an interest-free loan on everything you purchase for a month. keep our own $$$ in the bank that much longer. win-win...and no *holds* on our money.

soulsinging

redrock wrote:

Not at the bagel place. I was just mentioning it because of minimum wage. But the restaurant was a FULL service restaurant. When I say franchise, I mean by that, that it wasn't an 'exclusive' one off fancy restaurant but one of those that will have a restaurant in various cities. Not a mcdonald's, not a Hard Rock Cafe or a TGIF type restaurant. A 'proper' one that paid a decent wage.

Still SS, exclusive restaurant or not, I got paid minimum wage (and not $2/hour) and was able to pay my rent, buy my food and drink. I did not have to rely on tips.

proper? what does that mean? it was proper becos it was the one restaurant out of tens of thousands that paid federal general minimum wages? also, did you still get tipped? were your wages paid in cash? were you a server or a cook or bus boy? something about your story here stinks.

to GTD, where are you living that 20% is average? generally, i tip 20% unless service is terrible, but mainly becos i was a waiter and know most people are cheapskate scrooges like dunk that like to take out their unhappiness on people who have no power to respond. nonetheless, i thought average was supposed to be 15%?

GreenTeaDisease

soulsinging wrote:

to GTD, where are you living that 20% is average? generally, i tip 20% unless service is terrible, but mainly becos i was a waiter and know most people are cheapskate scrooges like dunk that like to take out their unhappiness on people who have no power to respond. nonetheless, i thought average was supposed to be 15%?

I've really heard 20% was average for several years now! I USED to do 15%, but it went up...everyone I go out to eat with- family, coworkers, friends who don't make much money, we always tip 20%.

redrock

soulsinging wrote:

proper? what does that mean? it was proper becos it was the one restaurant out of tens of thousands that paid federal general minimum wages? also, did you still get tipped? were your wages paid in cash? were you a server or a cook or bus boy? something about your story here stinks.

to GTD, where are you living that 20% is average? generally, i tip 20% unless service is terrible, but mainly becos i was a waiter and know most people are cheapskate scrooges like dunk that like to take out their unhappiness on people who have no power to respond. nonetheless, i thought average was supposed to be 15%?

Proper means a restaurant, sit down, with tables, menus on the table and waiters/waitresses, bus boys/girls, etc. As I explained, not a 'fast food' restaurant as you were implying. I was a waitress and I also got tips - though we did share those with the busboy/girl which was only fair as they sorted your tables out - and I was expected to work long shifts. This restaurant wasn't exceptional when it came to paying minimum wage either. My wages were paid via the bank. All legit. Admittedly, I'm talking a number of years back. I guess the expectations of the american worker has gotten a lot lower nowadays.

Rygar

GreenTeaDisease wrote:

I've really heard 20% was average for several years now! I USED to do 15%, but it went up...everyone I go out to eat with- family, coworkers, friends who don't make much money, we always tip 20%.

I've always heard it was 15% and didn't know it went up.

soulsinging

GreenTeaDisease wrote:

I've really heard 20% was average for several years now! I USED to do 15%, but it went up...everyone I go out to eat with- family, coworkers, friends who don't make much money, we always tip 20%.

ive been doing that anyway, i wish they'd told that to the rednecks who used to come into the place i worked and stretch to find 10%.

Rygar

soulsinging wrote:

ive been doing that anyway, i wish they'd told that to the rednecks who used to come into the place i worked and stretch to find 10%.

"Sorry, we do not accept bits of string as payment. Store policy."

soulsinging

redrock wrote:

Proper means a restaurant, sit down, with tables, menus on the table and waiters/waitresses, bus boys/girls, etc. As I explained, not a 'fast food' restaurant as you were implying. I was a waitress and I also got tips - though we did share those with the busboy/girl which was only fair as they sorted your tables out - and I was expected to work long shifts. This restaurant wasn't exceptional when it came to paying minimum wage either. My wages were paid via the bank. All legit. Admittedly, I'm talking a number of years back. I guess the expectations of the american worker has gotten a lot lower nowadays.

i've never heard of anything remotely like this. we shared tips with bartenders and busboys as well, still only made $2 an hour. perhaps california has some legislation in place addressing this. were you an american citizen? the point remains... you still got tipped on top of your minimum wage didnt you? becos it is american cultural norm that servers are tipped.

redrock

soulsinging wrote:

i've never heard of anything remotely like this. we shared tips with bartenders and busboys as well, still only made $2 an hour. perhaps california has some legislation in place addressing this. were you an american citizen? the point remains... you still got tipped on top of your minimum wage didnt you? becos it is american cultural norm that servers are tipped.

What is so weird? A place of work that pays a 'fair' wage for your work? And yes, I got tipped. We didn't have bartenders, so only shared tips with busboys/girls. And yes, I am an american citizen, lived in the US, paid my taxes in the US. I have no problem with tipping and I don't know what legislation California would have to address for whatever you think needs to be addressed by legislation.

GreenTeaDisease

soulsinging wrote:

i've never heard of anything remotely like this. we shared tips with bartenders and busboys as well, still only made $2 an hour. perhaps california has some legislation in place addressing this. were you an american citizen? the point remains... you still got tipped on top of your minimum wage didnt you? becos it is american cultural norm that servers are tipped.

definitely sounds like it could be a state issue.

redrock

GreenTeaDisease wrote:

definitely sounds like it could be a state issue.

Just googling, it, I guess it may be:

"Workers' tips at issue in congressional minimum-wage bill
CBS2CHICAGO ^ | 02 AUGUST 2006 | AP

WASHINGTON (AP) Tip money earned by waitresses in Las Vegas, manicurists in Hollywood and bartenders in Seattle is on the table in the nation's capital as lawmakers scrap over an election-year minimum wage bill.

Nevada, California and Washington are among seven states where workers get to keep their tips on top of getting paid their state's full minimum wage."

So next time SS, don't be so quick in saying my story stinks.

TrixieCat

redrock wrote:

Just googling, it, I guess it may be:

"Workers' tips at issue in congressional minimum-wage bill
CBS2CHICAGO ^ | 02 AUGUST 2006 | AP

WASHINGTON (AP) Tip money earned by waitresses in Las Vegas, manicurists in Hollywood and bartenders in Seattle is on the table in the nation's capital as lawmakers scrap over an election-year minimum wage bill.

Nevada, California and Washington are among seven states where workers get to keep their tips on top of getting paid their state's full minimum wage."

So next time SS, don't be so quick in saying my story stinks.

erm...that was 2 years ago...what happened?

And Dunk, the whole busdrive ANALogy was pretty lame.
When you come here either tip or don't tip.
It is obviously your own personal choice.
But don't be surprised when you make an ass out of yourself.

redrock

TrixieCat wrote:

erm...that was 2 years ago...what happened?.

Obviously not much from what I gather from SS. American workers really need to sort themselves out!

dunkman

i knew a goold ol' fashioned tipping thread would bring The Soulster out of his retirement home..