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| 5/23 |
| 2006/7/21-25 [Finance/Investment, Finance/CC] UID:43759 Activity:kinda low |
7/21 I understand valet tipping is now customarily $2 (up from $1).
Is it customary to tip the valet if, let's say, there is a required
$2.50 or $3 fee to use the valet, and you're driving let's say an
1999 Camry? What about required fees of $5 or higher?
What do you do?
\_ To avoid this stupid discussion again, look:
http://csua.com/?entry=27200
http://csua.com/?entry=42275
http://csua.com/?entry=42038
http://csua.com/?entry=41928
http://csua.com/?entry=36732
http://csua.com/?entry=34977
http://csua.com/?entry=34956
http://csua.com/?entry=33171
http://csua.com/?entry=26270
http://csua.com/?entry=18819
\_ Generally, tips are independent of any "mandatory" charge. A
gratuity is a thank you for good service and is voluntary,
I don't care what anyone says. -John
\- i'm sort of curious what your actual
tipping range is in USA restaurants.
say what percentage of the time do you
tip under 10%? BTW, do you also consider
wedding gifts optional? was it holube
who considered wedding gifts optional
but considers tips "mandatory"?
\_ was it passb who considers "holube" a clever
insult? Wedding gifts are optional if you
didn't attend the wedding. -tom
\_ They are mandatory if you did attend?
\_ By etiquette, yes. -tom
john advisory: are you from SF? the situation
in SF has gotten sort of complicated with the
minimum wage law change since it doesnt have
a tip credit ... it basically takes money away
from the worst paid employees [busboys, dishwasher
etc] and xfers more money to the much-higher-paid
and certainly over minwage frontroom wait staff.
one restaurant owner [i think at incanto] responded
by creating a "mandatory" service charge, which
made a lot of people go insane. then again most
people cant think in economically rational
manner and people seem to have amazing ability
for self-serving delusion per the corkage
article recently discussed in the motd.
\_ OK, we'll just cut your salary in half, then, and expect you
to make it up on tips. -tom
\_ Bad example; I'm an independent consultant and if I don't
deliver, or provide crappy service, I don't get paid. Why
should I be compelled to pay someone anything beyond the
indicated price if he's a surly shit? -John
\_ Gee, I didn't know I could refuse to pay my independent
consultants if they are surly. Does it say that in
your contract?
You are compelled to pay according to whatever the local
tipping rules are, because their salaries have been
cut with the expectation that they will make the rest
on tips. The U.S. would be a better place if waiters
earned a real wage and tipping were truly gratuitous,
but they don't and it's not. -tom
\_ No, you're able to not pay them if they do not
provide the service they are contracted to do. In
the case of service personnel, part of their job
is to provide me with civil, competent service. If
they do not, it should reflect on their earnings. And
tipping is fine, it gives me a chance to stiff the
guy throwing a snit while serving me. -John
\_ But it's not OK for someone to stiff you for
throwing a snit, of course. -tom
\_ Apples and oranges. A waiter might get a
$100 tip or a $0 tip. A better waiter will
usually make more than a poor one. I happen
to think that waiters actually benefit from
the current system. A decent waiter can make
$60K/year easy. Without tips, it's probably
half that.
\- 1. the true distribution is not $100 or $0.
and you need to talk in terms of percentages
anyway. a server at a boulevard may get
a $100 tip but will never ever get $0.
the waiter at the neighborhood pasta restaurant
is never ever going to get $100. so i think
the tip distribution has probably 90% of its
mass in the 12%-22% range. 2. i think tip
pooling among the frontroom staff is not
uncommon, so the poor waiter can be
shielded. 3. the waiters even benfitted
more from the fact that there is no
tip credit in CA when it comes to min wage
[this is for waiters at decent places].
4. i think $60k is a bit high for your
waiter salary estimate [do waiters
work 40hr weeks?].
See e.g.
work 40hr weeks?]. See e.g.
http://http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/28844
for some details on reasonably high end
restaurant operation. As well as:
http://csua.org/u/gi2
\_ If you have a crappy waiter, SOP is to give
the manager a tip and tell him to make sure
the bus boy gets it. Stiffing bus boys is
king lame. And Partha, my mom has a
culinary placement company in SF, so I'm
well aware of the tipping & wage situation.
I'm also aware that a good waiter can pull
upwards of $100k, a lot of it effectively
tax free. -John
\- What percentile would you guess $60k
and $100k are in terms of waiter incomes
in SF?
\- What fraction of waiters in SF would
you say make $60k or more? $100k or more?
Yes, I realize there are escalatory
ways of dealing with exceptionally
lame service, but I dont think most
people resort do that ... and they are
pretty rare events i'd say. i agree
routing the tip to the mgs is a good
routing the tip to the mgr is a good
way to deal with the situation.
[I personally weigh intentional things
like snooty obnoxiousness [Aqua] more
heavily than minor incompetence [dropped
plate ... that stuff happens]]. I've
sort of decided to put up with less
deliberately bad service and walk out
of places.
BTW, I do agree with you than the getting
rid of tipping is probably not the way
to go, although I dont think the
status quo is perfect. It's sort of
like rent control ... there are pros
and cons ... one regime not unambiguously
better than the other.
and cons ... one regime not "pareto
superior" to the other.
\_ I'm not interested in how much a
waiter makes, or what percentage of
waiters make >$60k (a good number in
more upscale restaurants). That is
not my problem. In a restaurant, I am
paying for the experience as much as
for the food. If a waiter is being
a shit (surprise, it does happen), I
should make sure the owner knows this
(maybe through the manager) as he has
a financial stake in the business. In
the meantime, I will not give "hey,
thanks, good job" money to a waiter,
bellhop, cabbie or anyone else who
gives me a shitty attitude (note that
I'm not talking about incompetence or
inexperience here.) There is no
obligation to tip, but if you feel
your service was ok or better, some
conventions apply. -John
\- I understand what you are saying.
I am just sort of curious what
%age of the time or how many times
per year the service hits the
threashold of not tipping,
rerouting the tip etc. In the past
15 years say, i can think of maybe
10ish incidents ... in one case
[in durant court] we left a 5cent
tip that was thrown at us as we
we leaving, but i really havent
caused a scene in a med/highend
place. [sometimes because i was
somebody else guest, in other cases
because the management made it up
sort of [free bottle of wine] etc.
if this is something you do 1-2%
od the time [like inb my case],
od the time [like in my case],
then it's more sort of an ad hoc
reaction, than your "standard
behavior for bad service". i think
the place where i most frquently
get annoyed are bars where the
bartender is lame about imple-
menting FIFO. i guess i have caused
a scene in a high end place but we
left a very very large tip :-).
Not often, to be honest--maybe about 10 times in the last 5 _/
years. I have a pretty high tolerance; usually I just leave
a lower tip if service is really bad enough to make me notice.
However, we frequently go to nice restaurants, and I know what I can
expect for a given price, so I don't hesitate to ask for a different
waiter. I've only walked out on a place once or twice, and usually
I'll tell the manager if something really pisses me off (normally
they're very cool about it.) I dislike waiters being snippy, being
ignored, having food take a very long time even when we ask about it,
pissy reactions when a dish isn't acceptable, and worst of all, "do
you want your change?" The problem is that most people feel a bit
intimidated and think they owe the waiter something, and are afraid
to speak up when something really sucks. -John
\_ Once a waitress argued with us that a certain item was not on the
menu. We said that it was. She said it was not. We again told
her it was. She again said it was not. We asked for the menu.
She was wrong. This was a fairly nice restaurant (Campanile in
LA). The manager overheard the whole thing and gave us free
dessert. That is acceptable and she got a 15% tip. Since two
of my sisters (and their two boyfriends) are in the restaurant
business (GM, chef, waitress, and sommelier) in nice SF
restaurants I can definitely say that $60K isn't a problem if
you are experienced and that you really shouldn't leave less
than 10% even if the service sucked. However, you should
complain to the GM. It is the GM's job to make things right.
Also, without tipping, I really do think waiters/waitresses
would make a whole lot less money and as a result the quality
of service (already poor in most cases) would get worse as
professionals left for other jobs. Tipping works well, because
when the restaurant does well so does everyone and when the
restaurant does poorly then everyone suffers. No sense keeping
waiters on at $60K+ when business is bad.
\_ Only once in the last five years have I not tipped, and that
was at the Grill place across the street from the Piedmont
Landmark Theater (formerly a Rolling Dunes): the entire wait
staff were rude and indolent. We did not tip, and we will not
be back. --erikred
\_ Funny, that's in my neighberhood, I go there all the time,
and get fine and friendly service. Chris, the owner and
often bartender, is the only shop owner on the street
(except for the yogurt place) who knows me and greets me
on sight.
One thing to remember is that waiters have to deal with
obnoxious customers a lot more often than you have to
deal with obnoxious waiters. We all have bad days. -tom
\_ Agreed, but this was beyond the pale. This was mid-day,
and the fan above our table was casting a shadow that was
making all four of us dizzy and queasy. We asked a waiter
if it would be possible to turn it off; he went off to ask
someone, but never came back to tell us one way or the
other. We asked another waiter and finally the person who
looked like the manager at the time, and were similarly
blown off. At the same time, our orders arrived and were
wrong; even though there were only three groups of
customers there including us, no one ever came by to see
if we needed more water, more food, or even the bill. We
eventually went to the bar to ask for our bill, and when
we paid, we left no tip. Please understand, I have friends
who are waiters and I am sympathetic to the plight of the
working wait staff, but this level of silliness was
untenable. --erikred
\- i think "routing around" the problem works when the problem
is a lame/snooty/etc waiter, but there are some establishements
that have that problem [farralon, aqua, various medium level but
hot and packed placed in the mission], i wonder if they will do
anything. or even at say zacharies, a place i think is sort of
customer unfriendly. re: the "feel they owe their waiter
something" ... i think in part they feel they will be thought
of a cheep [perhaps "justifying" in the waiters mind thinking
"these guys are declasse"] if they just leave a small tip without
elaborating on the reason. and most people may not have the
personality to say something beyond the tip.
\_ Weird. I have been to Farralon three times and Aqua once
and all four times I had great service. How many times
have you been to Aqua? -ausman
\_ I, too, had superb service at Aqua the one time I went.
--erikred
\_ If you leave a 10% tip they definitely get the idea
that you are either dissatisfied or declasse. You have
to tell the manager why if you want them to know which.
All I am saying is that 10% is low enough that they will
know something's up. I know people who stiff the
waitstaff and I've only do that in an extreme situation
(e.g. the one time I was asked to not patronize a
particular restaurant ever again). As for Zachary's, it
is very unfriendly to customers. The cash only policy is
evidence of that.
\- along with no RSVP, no pitchers of soda,
exploiting children etc.
\_ Again, stiffing the "waitstaff" is lame. The busboy
can't help it if the waiter's a prick. Nor can the
waiter if the restaurant has crappy policies. Use your
own judgment, and as psb says, let the GM know, they
need to be aware of this sort of stuff. But I've been at
Farallon 7-8 times and never had bad service. -John
\_ Tipping is fundamentally a way to enforce class
structure. The wealthy (restaurant/valet/hotel/taxi
patrons) want to have the right to punish the servants
for insolence. Look at the sense of entitlement
displayed in the comments in this thread; it's really
pretty sad. -tom
\_ Uh...I want to punish someone who gives me crappy
service and bad attitude. In shops, I can't do
this to the sales clerk directly, in restaurants I
can. Don't turn this into some pseudo-Marxist class
warfare claptrap. I's a not tryin to keep the po'
folk in they's place, just have a nice dinner
without some snotty shit spoiling it. 15% says
"you did a reasonable job, thanks". 10% = "you did
not do a good job." Anything less, including 0% =
"you suck, fuck you." That's my right as a
customer. -John
\_ Ponder these two questions:
1) How did the tipping rules get developed in
the U.S.? Why is the waiter tipped and
the shopkeeper not?
2) Why are relatively large tips customary
in the U.S. and generally not elsewhere? -tom
\_ The shop clerk (not shopkeeper, wrong
comparison) is not tipped because he is
not providing a service in the same class
as the waiter, shoe shine guy, taxi driver,
etc.; many salesmen also get commission.
\_ Commission is not the same as tipping.
And what is different about the class
of service being provided by a taxi
driver vs. a shop clerk? Non-circular
definition, please. -tom
\_ The shop clerk is selling me an item.
His manner of selling it, strictly
speaking, is not part of the overall
experience I am paying for. With a
waiter or cab driver, it is (how nice
is the service, how smooth is the
ride.) Same with shoe-shine guys,
or valets. What's your point? -John
\_ That's a crock; plenty of shops
provide personal service at or
above the level of shoe-shine-boy.
(Like a shoe store, for one). -tom
\- i agree there is something "american" about
the tipping system ... compared to a more
"socialist" system [modulo tip pooling], but
i think holube is overstating things. where i
think there is a class system is the disparity bt/
frontroom staff and the often minority back
of the house people like the dish washing crew
who are paid lower and certainly work hard
and get no part of the tip pool. under a sort
of rawlsian theory i'd rather see increased
spoils going to them rather than the wiatstaff
[in re: sf min wage change]. and i also think
at reasonable standard resturants the waitstaff
are not just passive agents to their fate ...
i think some probably consciously tailor
behavior to who the expect better tips from ...
and if they guess wrong, well they deserve to
lose out a bit. [i've seen white businessmen
in their 50s get much better service than
i did when in my late 20s at places like aqua.
analogous to the bartender who give better
service to hot chicks who are lousy tippers ...
at least in cash.]
\_ Hello, there is no tipping in Japan and yet the wait
staff are still professional and polite. I see no
reason to reward wait staff here who cannot do this.
I'm not expecting anything more than civility and
politeness; I'm certainly not looking for servility.
\_ Paying 15% in the U.S. isn't "rewarding" wait
staff; it's paying their wage. More than 15%
could reasonably be construed as reward. -tom
\_ This is an semi-invisible system in that the
general public is not usually made aware that
wait staff's salaries have been depleted to
the point where tips mean the difference
surviving or not. I agree that the situation
needs to fixed (i.e., adjust wages to comp),
but relying on customer support of an
unpublished system sounds broken. That said,
I generally tip 20%. --erikred
\_ It's not really an unpublished system;
it's part of etiquette. I agree that
the system is untenable, and I think it's
particularly onerous because it has its
roots in slavery and the culture surrounding
it. I certainly don't think I get better
service in the U.S. compared to overseas
in countries where tipping is not
customary (because they pay full wages).
-tom
\_ In many other countries, being a
waiter is a career choice. In the
US (except at high-end restaurants)
it is not. The quality of service
reflects this. However, I can't say
that I've gotten really great
service at dive restaurants in, say,
Europe either. I think your ideas
about the nature of tipping are
crazy. As I said before, I think
most waiters make out better by
earning tips than they would without.
\_ It is basically unpublished. There are
so many immigrants here in the bay area
for example that it's not realistic to
expect everyone to be on the same page
wrt tipping. I see that clearly with
coworkers. They have no idea. I never
really analyzed it in detail either...
sure you see your parents and others
do the 15% thing but the details are
not explained. How many people know
how the tips apply to busboys? What
do you do in buffet restaurants? The
tipping system seems like a good one
for a more homogeneously civilized
society but not apropos now. (One
coworker from India thought it was
ok to tip almost nothing at a lunch
joint. Of course he also liked to talk
about the dirt-cheap food and services
in India where regular engineers had
full-time chauffeurs etc.)
\- having a chauffeur in india is like
having somebody mow your lawn here.
but your major point stands: indians
treat service class people like
shit and tip like shit. the latter
is a social norm diffcult to change
but there is no excuse for the
former. a dramatic case of this is
how westerners and indians deal with
say trekking guides and porters ...
on the other hand, i think indians
are often pretty low maint when it
comes to "special requests". |
| 5/23 |
|
| csua.com/?entry=27200 MOTD:Entry 27200 2003/1/26-27 Recreation/Dating UID: 27200 Freq:6 Changed:2 1/24 How much do people tip for their lap dance? Only if she goes down on my gf. She's a prostitute. WTF are you tipping? |
| csua.com/?entry=42275 Those that pay more get special attention and get their food and drinks served faster and those that don't, well, her dad spits on their food. Seriously, she say they simply don't have the time or energy to keep track who pays how much tip and by law they have to treat EVERYONE with the same respect. She rarely remembers who pays more or less tip, but the more the better of course. If you have the money and you have to ask, just fucking pay 20-30% and forget about it, and if you are tight on budget, don't pay. No one's gonna give you special treatment for overpaying or hunt you down and call you a cheap ass for underpaying tips. Part of the reason is that the servers know that they will probably (unless you're a bastard) get a much bigger tip in absolute terms, even if not in percentage terms. If you are a regular or if you truly appreciated the service, it makes sense to tip more as a percentage. My sister has been a GM at many fine restaurants (and was a server when in college) and you can bet that she remembers specific instances when someone was a cheap bastard or when someone was very generous. Sometimes she even had the same person as a client again and you bet it affected her attitude. However, this is more a case of getting stiffed after, say, a $1000 meal (or in one case a $10000 wedding party) rather than recalling if some schmoe tipped 15% or 20% after his once per year birthday dinner where he spends $50. By law, can the provider give differential treatments based on how much tip you gave them in the past? I would expect that tips are appropriate where you can identify a specific indiviual who provided you a service and who isn't being paid directly by you. Taxi-cab driver, pizza delivery boy, and hairdesser are examples. I think you should tip any exceptional service, and shouldn't feel obligated to tip if you feel the service was bad. Everyone has to be paid minimum wage, if you don't feel the service was good you absolutely shouldn't tip. If the manager gets angry at you or or something for not tipping, tell him why you didn't. asp \_ If for some reason they don't make enough in tips to cover min wage they have to get compensated up to minuimum wage. However if a server can't make minimum wage on tips they aren't going to last long. If you have any social sense/grace at all, these questions are unnecessary. Will they ruin the buffet when they see me coming in the next time? I don't tip at retail clothing stores or at the post office or the water company either. Is that one of the sites inhabited by the waiters who say you should tip 15% even if they spit in your food and 25% or higher if they bother to refill your water glass? But I see you have your mind made up already, based on nothing other than your own cheapness. I'm not cheap, but I don't think "15% as a BARE MINIMUM" is a policy I'm inclined to follow. Waitstaff salaries are set based on a presumption of a 15% tip. Spending less than that is cheap and a breach of etiquette, no matter what the service was like. It's also accepted that if the service was crap, 10% is reasonable. I assume the person is just having a bad day, even though I could be totally wrong. Or rather, there is an etiquette to the ways you can retaliate. I've been absolutely flabbergasted at some of the shit waiters expect people to put up with. that is their \_ yes but I still have to wear it for 2+ weeks and people are stupid like that. Why doesn't the post office let your mail get butchered unless you tip well? It kind of makes sense for services where \_ who would I tip? Leave tips in your mailbox for the mailman, or else the mail is mysteriously in bad shape. Tip the guy at the counter, or else he might just forget about your mail for a few days, or take forever to do what you want. a long time ago in a place far far away when the mailman went door to door and most people knew theirs by name my parents gave them christmas gifts and such but I've got a new one every day, they drive by in a jeep and all they deliver is junk mail anyway. well, according to the hair-butchering theory, maybe the mailman should be losing and/or damaging and/or stealing yer mail... actually that reminds me, last year I had a package I absolutely needed the same day, but missed the mailman, so I drove around the neighborhood and eventually found the guy. It was the first time I'd talked to him ever, but he knew our house and we had a nice little chat. He was a little odd, but he's a postal employee so that was to be expected. I don't see why they shouldn't be getting stuff while others do. Then again my current mailman always delivers the previous tenant's mail even though I have a note there and always mark it to send back. That wasn't about customary etiquette, that was just me saying "Thanks for not making me wait another week for them to reschedule you." After googling a bit, I am going to go back to tipping $1-2, but the Asian folks I'm usually with never tip. Last time I was in Berkeley I walked by that teller and thought of him, but he wasn't there. My friends and I still mention this guy from time to time. BTW, I think it was: "Whatever you can spare without hurtin' yo'self." I remember "Pat" who smelled like piss and didn't say anything (and patted his head all day), that Starr fellow, the bucket-drumming guy, the little groups of street punks with, for example, mini suitcase locks in their nose, and the 3-card-monte guy who was an asshole and could get hostile. I think there was another black semi-hostile beggar/demander. For example, how much money is it required to open up a Ben & Jerry, Subway Sandwich, and such? This is of course not considering the cost of location rental which is very geographically dependent. asp wage Working for America NOTICE AND POSTING SYSTEM Washington, DC 20415 Notice No: 52 Date: September 20, 1996 Notice of OPM Operating Information AGENCIES: THIS NOTICE PROVIDES ADVANCE INFORMATION ABOUT THE INCREASE IN THE MINIMUM WAGE. Heads of Departments and Independent Establishments: 1 President Clinton signed the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996, Public Law 104-188, on August 20,1996, to provide an increase in the minimum wage for American workers. The enactment of the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 will improve the economic lives of millions of American workers. Within the Federal Wage System, the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 will affect primarily nonappropriated fund Federal Wage Systems employees. This minimum wage increase also applies to wage schedules produced by reference to schedules adjusted pursuant to wage surveys and to wage schedules that have been temporarily set aside from certain provisions of the Federal Wage Systems pending study by the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee. Increases granted on the basis of higher minimum wage rates are in addition to the usual annual wage schedule adjustments. The previous statutory approach was to calculate tip credit and minimum cash amounts employers may pay as percentages of the Fair Labor Standards Act minimum wage. Within the Federal Wage Systems, this change affects the special pay plan governing tip offsets for nonappropriated fund Federal Wage Systems employees classified as Waiter/ Waitress. The determination as to when and whether a tip offset is applied, and the amount applied, is made through negotiations between local nonappropriated fund management and the official representative of the local exclusive bargaining agent for the tipped employees. Where such employees are not represented by a union, the tip offset determination is made by local nonappropriated fund management. Nonappropriated fund activities are also required to apply State laws wherever the State laws are more beneficial to employees than the Fair Labor Standards Act. Guidance on this special pay plan in Subchapter S11-3 of the Office of Personnel Management Operating Manual, Federal Wage System-- Nonappropriated Fund, will be changed to reflect the Fair Labor Standards Act amendments in a future update. |
| csua.com/?entry=42038 You either have a lot of money, or you are an idiot, or both. You tip when you want to and you don't tip when you don't need to. This is the land of the free and you do whatever you like. You're not gonna get special treatment for overtipping and you're not gonna get bad treatment for not tipping. You tip to people who give you good service, who make LESS than minimum wage and depend on tips, and who you wish to see over and over again to get the same service. Are these contractors starving, making minimum wage, and you wish to see over and over again? These people are highly skilled PROFESSIONALS making good money. I tipped my painter $100, because I liked him and he did a good job. Usually, if I tip I will give them a $20 bill each at most. For example, the about-right number for average service at a restaurant is 15%, so patrons can go higher or lower than that number accorder to the quality of service they receives. So, I just want to know the about-right number which I can then adjust depending on how the crews do. You just paid those guys, say, $100/hour to tile your bathroom and then you want to *tip* them? Give them a case of beer unless they did an exceptional job. On an hourly basis they make more money than you do, even after expenses. The difference being that they don't necessarily work 8 hours per day every day. I met a roofer who did a lot of work in Dutch Harbor, and he said that one time he hired a couple crabbers, but they weren't crazy enough to roof out there, so they quit. |
| csua.com/?entry=41928 in fact i would think this is covered under some broader employment rules about you cant charge employees for fuckups like this. i can ask a acquiantance who is a chef-owner fuckups like this. i can ask an acquiantance who is a chef-owner in SF about the dine&&dash situation. Since most waiters make minimum wage (in CA), it's going to be illegal in most cases. If someone doesn't pay for a meal, obviously there's no tip for that meal for the rest. owner to withhold, but they may not withhold money from any of the other tips. Nor can they charge waiters for broken dishes or the likes. That said, there is a good reason why most people who matter in any given restaurant loathe waiters (especially primadonna prissy whores like the blogspot guy above). Good ones are few and very far between and deserve a nice fat cash tip. html Tuesday, July 12, 2005 Check Please Ah, the check - my favorite part of your meal. I know this is the part of the dining experience most people could do without. A lot of people are idiots when it comes to the simple act of paying for services rendered so I've compiled a little tutorial to make the whole currency exchange a little smoother. Are there twenty customers waiting by front door for a table? I know that attitude ticks people off but a restaurant is a BUSINESS - not an extension of your living room. It's considered rude for a waiter to drop a check without the customer asking first. Some people are unaware of that convention so they sit around pissed off wondering why the waiter hasn't produced the checkbook. A sure fire way to discreetly ask for the bill is to put your credit card or wallet on the table. A tactic usually employed when a waiter's under pressure from management to turn tables and increase revenue. However, if you anticipate a "fight" over whose the more generous party please keep the waiter out of it. Go to the waiter at the start of the meal and hand him your credit card. If there's still a disagreement the waiter will follow the following rules to avoid dropping the check on the table like a hockey puck and letting you scramble over it: a Will give check to the regular customer of he or she demands it. c Will give check to person he or she knows is the better tipper. d Hand the check to the five year old and crack everyone up. I've had people chase me and try and take their friend's credit card out of my hand so they could pay the bill. Grab something out of my hand and you'll have more than the bill to worry about. Sadly this is the reverse of Rule # 3 - no one wants to pay the bill. You've dropped the check and no one make a move to pay it. This usually happens with adults eating with grown children or excessively parsimonious middle aged yuppies. Did you ask the server how much that Osso Buco on special was? Don't complain to me about the prices because I don't set them. It's your responsibility to keep track of what you're spending not mine. It's my job to separate you from as much of your money as possible. Don't leave the checkbook lying forgotten in the middle of the table while you're having your "my son/daughter is more successful than yours/I make more than money than you/I live in a nicer building/I'm thinner/I have a better job than you" conversation. He can't hover over your table waiting to see if you placed cash or a credit card in the checkbook. You have to let the server know it's ready to be picked up. We hate going to the table and asking "can I take that for you?" Ways to avoid any unpleasantness are: a If you're paying in cash make sure the bills are peeking out of the checkbook. b If you're paying by credit card use the old stand by - set the checkbook upright on the table with the credit card sticking out. c For the love of God don't put the bill in your lap, under a napkin, or, my favorite, lean on it with your elbows. Most restaurants' computer systems can split a bill four or five ways. If it's a mix of credit cards and cash explain how you would like me to process the bill. Unless you asked at the beginning of the meal for separate checks you ain't getting 'em. There is no way I can remember who got what two hours later. Credit card companies charge a fee for every transaction. But leaving the TIP in cash will always make you the waiter's friend. I will chase you down like a dog and hold you till the cops arrive. If a customer skips out on the bill it's the WAITER who has to pay for it. Nothing warms the cockles of my heart than to tell some Sex in the City wannabe, "I'm sorry but this card is experiencing some difficulty." That's why there's a bunch of declined slips in your checkbook! And don't get on your cell phone and fight with your credit card company. Just give me a card you haven't maxed out at the Sharper Image. People occasionally leave their wallet or purse at home. If you're a regular, no sweat, we'll get you the next time. Leave your wife or girlfriend behind as a bargaining chip while you go and secure funding. You'll have given your companion a date she'll never forget. THE TIP What do I need to say that I haven't said already? Most places add a mandatory 18% gratuity or service charge on parties of six or more. If it's listed as a gratuity you're under no legal obligation to pay that amount. The French Laundry adds an 18% service charge to EVERY bill so give me a break. Now here's where reading Waiter Rant pays off for you the consumer. Sometimes customers, often drunk, are unaware the gratuity is added to the bill so they TIP ON TOP OF IT! Example: Bill - $100 Mandatory Gratuity - $18 (figured pre tax) Total $118 Customer stupidly leaves $141. Now some waiters will be pissed that I'm telling you about this little secret but tough shit. It's dishonest and I'd rather you come back to my bistro and give me money over the long haul. It doesn't pay to alienate customers with petty thievery. That being said - if the customer's a complete asshole my ethics might get compromised real fast. Most waiter manuals say its bad form to take a paid check of the table before the customer leaves. I always check the bill before a customer walks out the door. I can't tell you how many times the customer has taken BOTH credit card slips. It also helps to embarrass the shit out of some tightwad who's stiffed me on the tip. Customers, usually smashed out of their minds, think they've handed me their plastic and sign the bill thinking it's the credit card receipt. Since I'm the manager at my place pray I'm in a good mood. c If you see something on the bill you don't understand you have every right to have the matter explained courteously to you. d If an establishment says it takes a certain credit card on the door than they have to take it. "Well I prefer American Express," I replied handing him the card. If you have any additional guidelines I didn't think of feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments section. If you hand me a checkbook filled with cash tell me if you want money back. If you hand me two hundred dollar bills and the check's $130 that's a no-brainer. However, if you hand me a hundred dollar bill and the bill's $80 am I assume you're a great tipper? Abel : 7/12/2005 4:50 PM It is really illegal for the owner to take the credit card fees out of the waiter's tips? The resturant that I work at takes 35% of our charge tips towards paying the credit companies, so that it doesn't come out of his pocket. thimblesee : 7/12/2005 10:21 PM What's the deal with free bread? One friend says it's bad form to ask for a second (or third) basket. Other folks (including me) feel that at an expensive restaurant the stuff should keep coming. I understand it's a hassle for the waiter-person, though. Most waiters and waitresses anoy the hell out of me while i am trying to eat. So feel free to stand at the door and make your smart ass comments, I will be sure to leave you a few of my own. A friend of mine is a waiter and once told me about people who tip while drunk and then call back the next day to ask for their tip back--and the manager did it! And then had the balls to go after the waiter to get him to reimburse the restaurant! If I may though, I'd like to post a c... |
| csua.com/?entry=36732 Now that I'm married my wife does a decent rendition of the Barber shop standard men's haircut. I usually tip her $2-$5, depending on how depressed she is re her family that day. Looking and smelling good is the minimum for getting laid. But then this guy doesn't know if you owe a debt in US$, and US$ goes down in value, it's actually good for you, and he still goes to outlets to buy gold and silver when you can buy GLD: "The outlets that sell gold ... com/s/space/20060609/sc_space/maybetonighthoneyihaveamigraine I need to figure out how to give my wife a migrain. We haven't had consistent sex for a very long time and it's pissing me off. Criticisms include being a little short, and related to that the pacing is a bit fast. It's missing something, some weight to push it into true greatness territory, although there are glimpses ... Come on back to your alma matter and hang out with us n00bs for an evening. html For further research, you may select from the following custom searches a t the top three search engines... |
| csua.com/?entry=34977 though I (and I think most people) usually just round up to the next dollar, and if that is less than 10%, add a dollar. I know it's not your job to make their careers viable but it's something to keep in mind. Now if you want to question which, if any jobs should be largely paid in tips, that's another matter. art_id=92666&cat_id=123 Gist being that driving a cab even in Cedar Rapids is dangerous. The sentiment, however, is wrong -phuqm seriously bad, according to Miss Manners. salary is that with tipping the customer can punish the employee for doing a bad job or reward them for a good job. It's basically an economic system of performance evaluation. They're not entitled to a tip if they do a terrible job, and that's borne out both in custom and law. I always tip but if someone was really rude or incompetant I would not feel obligated. The understanding implicit in tips is that your pay is performance-based. or a taxi driver who gets lost after you specifically asked do you know where X is. the restaurant is understaffed, those are all different scenarios in my book. there is bad service and then there is stuff that actually will cost you money ... it's the latter cases where i think it is not unreasonable to imply "this is coming out of your tip". I may also receive an additional bonus as an incentive to perform; said bonus may be allotted on purely subjective criteria, so essentially, yes. Service industry employees hold jobs which involve providing service. If they are not being paid enough, it is a contractual issue between themselves and their employers. I am already compromising far more than I feel obliged to by adhering to cultural norms suggesting I pay the service staff extra for making an effort to provide particularly good service. the analogy to "me and my employer" doesnt work because one relationship is between 2 parties and the other is between 3 parties ... and norms that are sustainable in long term relationship may not work in one-shot cases. it is not feasible for me to tip 15% and then go to the employer and ask for a partial refund because of some problem. again i am talking about cases where something fairly dramatic has gone wrong. also the restaurant case is likely different from others because tip pooling is likely. there are certanly micro- differences in service and tipping is one place to allow for some flexibility are you a regular who is seated before other people who got there before you? It's the world smallest violin, playing just for the waitresses. I just transfered and the ETA is now 5 business days (a whole week). I'm thinking about transfering everything to PayPal since their turnaround is still 3-4 business days and their ... I spent some time making sure that even if the mysql passwords are stolen, it would only have read only access. It would have been easier with suexec, but I guess the current admins insist that CGIs run as "nobody", which is a security risk ... html This FREE Palm OS application has most of the information contained here on The Original Tipping Page with an added bonus: An automatic tip calculator. Simply cl ick the subject and then hit another button to automatically calculate t he correct rate for the total. entry=11672 It's not fucking hard to do, but it's really hard to find decent people to do it for some reason. just don't give them a tip unless they do their job properly. Me and my buddy who used to do this would pull up at exactly the time we were supposed to, roll out of the van running, take our shoes off so as not to fuck up the carpet, assemble the furniture exactly where it was supposed to go, and get rid of our trash, all without damaging anything. Once I had to go out on a delivery with one of the other fucking clods who did it, and he wanted to stop for donuts every ten minutes. give no tip to hozers who do not deserve to call themselves delivery men! we dilivered to some *really* rich people, and when they saw us sweating buckets but being polite and doing a good job, they might give us as much as 20 dollars each(there were always two of us), or they might give us nothing. We also delivered to a lot of working class homes, and were extremeley happy to get 5 bucks each or even just a couple bucks if they looked poor. If you give them five bucks each, and say "lunch money", they should be happy, if they are true delivery men. art_id=92666&cat_id=123 Local News Local Driver Looking to Add Cameras to Taxi Cabs Friday, November 12, 2004, 9:04:17 PM By KCRG-TV9 News Reporter Sarah Colbert - TV9 Iowa City Newsroom From protective plastic shields to in-car cameras... taxi drivers are tak ing a proactive approach to stay safe while working. A report from the US Department of Labor says cab drivers are 60 tim es more likely than other workers to be murdered on the job. In 1988, a taxi cab driver was shot to death in Cedar Rapids. Attacks on cab drivers usually don't turn deadly, but after a recent run in, one Iowa City driver is considering security cameras. Roger Larson knows the risks that come with being a cab driver. "You're going to deliver them to thei r destination and they're going to pay and you try and make it a positiv e trip." A routine trip took a turn for the worst Wednesday night while dropping t wo men off in a downtown Iowa City ally. Although Larson wasn't harmed, he intends to install a surveillance camera in his taxi. He says it's a saf ety measure most taxi drivers will take in the future, if they haven't d one so already. "If I would've had a sign on my car saying equipped with a security camer a for your safety, something like that I doubt they would have ever even have chose to attack me." There's only one cab company in Iowa City that currently has a security c amera installed in its taxis - while no companies in Cedar Rapids are us ing surveillance. Some drivers say the cost outweighs the chance that they'll encounter a d angerous situation. |
| csua.com/?entry=34956 though I (and I think most people) usually just round up to the next dollar, and if that is less than 10%, add a dollar. I know it's not your job to make their careers viable but it's something to keep in mind. Now if you want to question which, if any jobs should be largely paid in tips, that's another matter. art_id=92666&cat_id=123 Gist being that driving a cab even in Cedar Rapids is dangerous. The sentiment, however, is wrong -phuqm seriously bad, according to Miss Manners. salary is that with tipping the customer can punish the employee for doing a bad job or reward them for a good job. It's basically an economic system of performance evaluation. They're not entitled to a tip if they do a terrible job, and that's borne out both in custom and law. I always tip but if someone was really rude or incompetant I would not feel obligated. The understanding implicit in tips is that your pay is performance-based. or a taxi driver who gets lost after you specifically asked do you know where X is. the restaurant is understaffed, those are all different scenarios in my book. there is bad service and then there is stuff that actually will cost you money ... it's the latter cases where i think it is not unreasonable to imply "this is coming out of your tip". I may also receive an additional bonus as an incentive to perform; said bonus may be allotted on purely subjective criteria, so essentially, yes. Service industry employees hold jobs which involve providing service. If they are not being paid enough, it is a contractual issue between themselves and their employers. I am already compromising far more than I feel obliged to by adhering to cultural norms suggesting I pay the service staff extra for making an effort to provide particularly good service. the analogy to "me and my employer" doesnt work because one relationship is between 2 parties and the other is between 3 parties ... and norms that are sustainable in long term relationship may not work in one-shot cases. it is not feasible for me to tip 15% and then go to the employer and ask for a partial refund because of some problem. again i am talking about cases where something fairly dramatic has gone wrong. also the restaurant case is likely different from others because tip pooling is likely. there are certanly micro- differences in service and tipping is one place to allow for some flexibility are you a regular who is seated before other people who got there before you? I just transfered and the ETA is now 5 business days (a whole week). I'm thinking about transfering everything to PayPal since their turnaround is still 3-4 business days and their ... I spent some time making sure that even if the mysql passwords are stolen, it would only have read only access. It would have been easier with suexec, but I guess the current admins insist that CGIs run as "nobody", which is a security risk ... html This FREE Palm OS application has most of the information contained here on The Original Tipping Page with an added bonus: An automatic tip calculator. Simply cl ick the subject and then hit another button to automatically calculate t he correct rate for the total. entry=11672 It's not fucking hard to do, but it's really hard to find decent people to do it for some reason. just don't give them a tip unless they do their job properly. Me and my buddy who used to do this would pull up at exactly the time we were supposed to, roll out of the van running, take our shoes off so as not to fuck up the carpet, assemble the furniture exactly where it was supposed to go, and get rid of our trash, all without damaging anything. Once I had to go out on a delivery with one of the other fucking clods who did it, and he wanted to stop for donuts every ten minutes. give no tip to hozers who do not deserve to call themselves delivery men! we dilivered to some *really* rich people, and when they saw us sweating buckets but being polite and doing a good job, they might give us as much as 20 dollars each(there were always two of us), or they might give us nothing. We also delivered to a lot of working class homes, and were extremeley happy to get 5 bucks each or even just a couple bucks if they looked poor. If you give them five bucks each, and say "lunch money", they should be happy, if they are true delivery men. art_id=92666&cat_id=123 Local News Local Driver Looking to Add Cameras to Taxi Cabs Friday, November 12, 2004, 9:04:17 PM By KCRG-TV9 News Reporter Sarah Colbert - TV9 Iowa City Newsroom From protective plastic shields to in-car cameras... taxi drivers are tak ing a proactive approach to stay safe while working. A report from the US Department of Labor says cab drivers are 60 tim es more likely than other workers to be murdered on the job. In 1988, a taxi cab driver was shot to death in Cedar Rapids. Attacks on cab drivers usually don't turn deadly, but after a recent run in, one Iowa City driver is considering security cameras. Roger Larson knows the risks that come with being a cab driver. "You're going to deliver them to thei r destination and they're going to pay and you try and make it a positiv e trip." A routine trip took a turn for the worst Wednesday night while dropping t wo men off in a downtown Iowa City ally. Although Larson wasn't harmed, he intends to install a surveillance camera in his taxi. He says it's a saf ety measure most taxi drivers will take in the future, if they haven't d one so already. "If I would've had a sign on my car saying equipped with a security camer a for your safety, something like that I doubt they would have ever even have chose to attack me." There's only one cab company in Iowa City that currently has a security c amera installed in its taxis - while no companies in Cedar Rapids are us ing surveillance. Some drivers say the cost outweighs the chance that they'll encounter a d angerous situation. |
| csua.com/?entry=33171 tia \_ watch Along Came Polly, that girl really tipped the scuba instr. The voluntary-but-standard tip is in addition to the 10%. Don't use the student excuse, even for delivered pizza, although that's 10%. I'm kind of skeptical on the first part, so I would ask the admin people. Most of these folks aren't getting rich off their job, it doesn't hurt to put a good finish on their day. In my mind standard service is 20%, crappy but not insulting is 10-15%, crappy and it's because they're just born dumb is 5-10%, crappy because they're lazy is 0$, and genuinely good is 30%. It's up to the costomer to provide an economic signal to the waitstaff that rewards good work and punishes bad work. If everyone were like you, all waitresses would get paid the same, which is stupid. A good diner waitress can make 20 dollars an hour on the same shift as a shitty one who makes 10 an hour, which is how it should be. com/pf/features/lists/summer_tipping/ Click Here TIPS Summer Tipping NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Okay, so it's summer and the living is supposed to be easy. But if you're traveling on vacation, playing golf, sending your kids to camp or just having the lawn mowed, there are always two hard questions that linger: "Do I have to tip? To find the lowdown on the tipping customs where you're going, check with a good travel agent or country-specific travel book. ") AIRPORT TIPPING Skycaps: $2/bag Electric cart driver: $2-$3/person Wheelchair pusher: $2-$3/person AUTO TRANSPORT Taxi drivers: 10%-15%; up to 20% if driver helps with bags or makes extra stops Car service/limo drivers: 15%-20% Door-to-door shuttle: For paid shuttle service, 15%, with $1-$2 extra per bag if help with luggage is provided. BUS TOURS One-day trips Guide & driver: 10%-20% cost of tour Extended tour Guide & driver: $1-$10/day, unless gratuity is part of tour price CRUISE TIPPING Varies. HOTEL TIPPING Doorman: $1-$3 for hailing cabs, helping with luggage Bellhop: $1-$2/bag Concierge: $3-$5 for dinner reservations ($10 for hottest restaurants); g, getting extra towels, setting up chair/umbrella) Golf caddy: $10-$25 above fee if fee is paid to the golf club Country club staff: Policies vary. But check with the company about their tipping policies when signing up. Some may suggest paying a lump-sum equal to a percentage of the cost of your stay, and the company then divvies it up among the staff. |
| csua.com/?entry=26270 Oh and by the way, thanks for the suggestion below to write my own logging script. Of course, back then I didn't know what to do, how to get the most out of it, or tip. But remember, your fate for the month depends on your hairdresser. I'm trying to use Ant to generate a DLL and then call a Ant task which needs native libraries in that DLL. I'd rather not have to modify my system path to include libraries before they have been generated... They're cheap, but they're very restrictive as to the things you can do there. For example, they don't allow a script to run for over 30 seconds (they have an auto kill script and are unwilling to be flexible, so my sa-learn always gets killed). com/archives/001917 - danh \_ While I'm not ready to call it outright bullshit, I'm skeptical: * Most DNS operators with a clue set TTL values to cache records for 24 hours to one week. html Menu > 16 The Tips > 17 US > Beauty Shop/ Hair Salon Beauty Shop/ Hair Salon one operator 15% of bill several operators 10% of bill to person who sets hair; |
| csua.com/?entry=18819 i cant belive a bunch of overpaid sofware people are so cheap. oh, wait, it's because programmers are mostly assholes, i rememeber. alot of blue collar people i know pay closer to 30% when they get good service, and they make a loth less than most of you. if you every wonder why people don't like you, now you know. You go to a restaurant to enjoy the food, not the service. the standard rule of thumb is 15% for dinner BEFORE tax and 10% BEFORE tax when doing lunch. the easy way to calc this is to shift your pre-tax amount decimal point. make a reasonable judgement and remember always that waiters/waitresses have to live off tip (so living can be easy or very hard depending on the establishment). if they go out of their way to provide excellent service and check on water, etc often, person deserves the 15% tip. But if the person's a rude motherfucker, you can tip 5% or even file a formal complaint (lots of uppity ones in sf, in the finer dining places, apparently). oh yeah, to avoid being an asshole, round up as necessary and don't leave little bits of change, unless you want to be really insulting to some nasty waiter/waitress. You go to a restaurant to enjoy the dog, not the service. There is no tipping in China (I heard) or Japan, but there is tipping in Hong Kong. Yes, that's right, there's a hole in the minimum wage law for employees that recieve tips. at a high end place, where the waiter has to do a lot more, you may consult with the wime person etc. for a 35 hour dinner with flawless service, tipping 15% is lame. The server's employer usually _requires_ them to report 8% (any less and the restaurant gets audited). Therefore if you tip less than 8%, it costs the server money (they have to pay taxes on a tip they did not get. waiters depend on turnover, and chilling at one table (esp. If you drink $50 in beer and $20 in food (assuming your server is bringing you those pitchers) the tax will only be on the $20. if i am sitting at a table and get a drink from the bar it is because the person is taking far too long to come around ... i am pretty patient and dont think i have unreasonable expectations there. also i will tip the person at the bar and assume this is an establishment where tips are split. given the profit margins on a lot of alcohol and the small amount of work involved, i dont think the doubleing the tax as a baseline for a typical meal isnt too unreasonable. i am sympathetic to your point about lingering at a table, but i wouldnt be surprised if a lot of people's tips were affected by beaing kept waiting 20 minutes for a table when you had reservation and showed up on time ... yes maybe it isnt the server's fault, but never the less. question: if you do "table service" do you prefer tipping at the end or by rounds? you don't you're likely to get ignored, unless you've opened up a tab. Suppose the tax rate now is x, and that in 20 years it'll be increased to say, 12*x pay for our failing Busheconomy and our expensive Iraq War. If I have 401K pre-tax then in 20 years I'd have to pay 02x more tax than now right? |
| www.chowhound.com/topics/show/28844 Hubby and I went there once before, shortly after they opened. I was in the mood to treat myself, and I wanted to check them out again since I had heard such positive reviews under the current (new since I was last there) chef. If I have time I will try and post more about the meal later (executive summary: food was ok (my entree) to very good (everything else), place has obviously gotten quite a bit more popular and had just a touch of a 'scene' vibe, which certainly wasn't true the last time I ate there. As announced on the menu, they have started adding 5% to every bill as a way to address the requirements of SF's living wage law, 'without having to raise prices'. Fine, but this raises some questions in my mind: does that mean that servers will automatically get the additional 5% even if it isn't needed to raise their income to the required levels for the living wage law? Is there an advantage to the server of this approach over just raising prices? or should I have reduced my tip by 5% (I left 15%, so does that mean the server in essence got 20%? Service was decent, but as I said, there were some inconsistencies and minor annoyances). Interestingly, two gentlemen at another table asked their server for his opinion as to how they should handle the issue. At least, I assume that is what they asked: they were using their 'indoor voices' and I couldn't hear their half of the conversation. I COULD hear the response, because the server proceeded to give his extended opinion of the law, the restaurants response, and the like, in a voice loud enough to be heard four tables away. He did claim that Incanto's policy was superior to that of 'some' other SF restaurants, 'where servers are being fired right and left even though they have worked there for years'. Not sure if that is true, but am curious as to other Chowhound's views and input, both regarding the policy itself as a viable solution to the issue, and as to what an appropriate tip amount would be under such a policy? link to this post over 2 years ago Windy replied How baffling! it sounds like they still expect you to tip 15-20%, in which case the extra 5% is in fact raising the prices, like one of those resort surcharges. Windy I manage a restaurant and maybe I can help clear this up since most of you have it wrong. The public voted yes on it, so the public will have to pay through menu price increase. A surcharge is only going to raise confusion, especially to those who live elsewhere. Bob Well, now I wish I had gotten out a pen and copied down the exact wording, but as I reported originally, and as best I can recall, the little Blurb on the menu didn't say something like "this is a surcharge so we can meet the requirements of the law without it eating into our cash flow" (sorry for the pun). No: the essence of the blurb was that this was a 'Service Charge' (which implies it is a tip going to the server) to assure compliance with the law 'without raising prices'. But if the money is indeed going to the resto (for whatever purpose) and not to the server, and the tip should not be adjusted accordingly, than how in the heck can they claim they aren't raising their prices? If they really want to point out a weakness in the law (from their point of view; let me be clear that I am not convinced there is a weakness), why not just print a little note saying, 'sorry, but we had to raise our prices, call your neighborhood supervisor to complain'... and if they just want to keep all of their business, just quietly raise prices and say nothing. I think with the business they were doing at 6:30 on a Wednesday night, and the good press they've been getting, that they really don't need to be too worried, as long as they concentrate on the quality of the food and experience. At best, their way of handling the situation was confusing. Apart from that, I really was bothered that the waiter was using that confusion to make a political point (sorry, but when I spend over $60 for dinner solo after a rough day at the office, I really don't want to hear the server give a political talk). I guess the bottom line for me is: if the place is great or otherwise captures my heart than I won't let a small increase in price keep me away. So far, Incanto hasn't captured my heart, though I will probably give it at least one more try since it is close to my house and one can't eat at Bacco every night :-) However, if I don't end up going back, it will be because of lapses in service and the fact that the food didn't wow me, NOT because the meal was a few dollars more than it might have been a few months ago. I am posting in response to the thread of dicussion about Incanto's 5% partial service charge. In a nutshell, we decided to implement this service charge at Incanto because, after months of evaluating how this law would affect our business, we concluded that a service charge would be the most fair and equitable long-term solution both to our guests and to our employees as a whole. We are not attempting to make a political statement or to attempt to trick any of our guests. We sincerely believe this policy is in everyone's best interest, considering the specifics of the circumstances. The following facts led us to our decision to implement a service charge: - Like many table service restaurants in San Francisco, the only minimum wage employees at Incanto are those who work in our dining room, earning minimum wages plus tips, the latter of which effectively double, triple, or quadruple their hourly earnings. Although these tips are reported to and taxed by both state and federal governments, California is one of only a small number of states in which tip income does not count toward the minimum wage. Thus, at Incanto, only our 12 already highest-paid hourly workers, all of whom work in the dining room and receive tips, received a raise as a result of this law. The remainder of our staff: Incanto's dishwashers, prep cooks, and line cooks, the true working poor in San Francisco restaurants, were left behind by this law, as they were already earning $9 or more per hour. While we don't begrudge a pay increase to any of our employees (including our tipped employees), I am not alone in feeling that it would also be nice to do more for our lowest-paid employees if we are going to increase the pay of our highest-paid employees. A pay gap between dining room employees and kitchen employees already existed in restaurants, but in a single stroke this law has both widened the disparity and made it substantially more difficult for many restaurants (such as Incanto, which last year earned a profit only one-third of what it will cost to conform with this new law) to stay in business, let alone continue offering benefits such as health insurance to our employees or to raise the wages of our lowest-compensated employees. We felt that all of these strategies would negatively impact either our employees or our guests. Since the law went into effect, there have been layoffs (mostly among "expendable" low-wage staff) at many prominent restaurants in the city, as well as two high-profile closures (Prop L cannot be blamed for these closures entirely, but it certainly could not have helped the financial picture for these struggling restaurants). Moreover, because the law includes a provision to increase the minimum wage by the local inflation index annually forever, following these strategies will lead to reducing service and increasing prices every year to keep up with rising costs. A service charge provides an alternative to all of these problems, without raising base prices or eliminating jobs. A meal that used to cost $100, plus a $20 tip, still costs $100, with a $5 charge for service, after which the guest has every right to deduct this amount (that's why it's called a partial service charge) from his/her additional tip, therefore paying the same $120 in total, including tip. If, on the other hand, we were to raise prices by 5%, the same meal would cost $105 before tip. Assuming the same 20% tip on the higher bill ($21), the new cost of a meal would be $126 -- effectively multiplying the price increase passed along to the guest,... |
| csua.org/u/gi2 -> www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/01/26/BAG2C4HM081.DTL Any way you look at it, people eating out in San Francisco are going to feel the pain of the city's looming minimum wage hike, in higher prices, reduced service or both. And so will many of the workers for whom the raise was intended to help. Many will also whittle staff hours and benefits when the new wage, passed by voters last November, takes effect Feb. "For the average table service restaurant in San Francisco, this will be the difference between being marginally profitable and posting a loss," said Mark Pastore, who opened Incanto in Noe Valley 18 months ago and enjoyed his first day in the black on Dec. Pastore and other restaurateurs say a handful of restaurants can comfortably afford the cost of the increase, estimated at $70,000 for high-end places like Jardiniere and La Folie to $250,000 or so for Pasta Pomodoro's seven San Francisco spots. Most say they have already slashed costs to the bone to survive the recession and spikes in other expenses like workers' compensation contributions. "I am not going to take this out of my Porsche payments -- I don't drive one. The new wage law covers all 9,000 San Francisco businesses with 10 or more employees (smaller companies come on board in a year). Supporters of the hike said the state minimum wage equated to a little more than $14,000 a year for an employee working 40 hours a week. In lending his weight to the initiative, Board of Supervisors President Matt Gonzalez said City Hall leaders "need to step up and take responsibility that $14,000 a year is just not making it." Raises mainly for waiters But restaurant owners argue that they've been unfairly hit because they're being forced to pay money they can't afford to the workers who need it least -- the wait staff, the only ones who are paid the minimum wage because their real income is their tips. "The law was written to help people," said Vince Calcagno, Zuni Cafe co- owner. "But what we are doing is raising the pay of the people who make the most in the restaurant instead of the people at the other end. We're raising people who are making sometimes hundreds of dollars a night." In some corners, outrage is running so high that an angry poem with racial overtones is circulating: It says the minimum wage law favors "white" waiters over "brown" cooks. For a lot of people, they don't know how they are going to pay the bill," said Calcagno. Owners seek 'tip credit' law Long-term, restaurateurs hope the solution will be to get California to adopt a "tip credit," a formula that allows some tips to be counted toward the minimum wage. More than half the states have one, and San Francisco's Golden Gate Restaurant Association is galvanizing to lobby the Legislature. Servers, meanwhile, welcome a raise, especially when so many have seen shifts and benefits evaporate during the last few lean years. But they know they may pay with further cuts, and would hate to lose their tips to service charges. "Of course, I'm glad to be getting a raise," said Oscar Davila, a waiter at Cosmopolitan Cafe near the Embarcadero. "Restaurants are taking away a lot of benefits -- health, vacation -- so having an increase in a living wage is a way to afford the things you desperately need. But it's not going to change my living style or my income." While servers at high-end places like Restaurant Gary Danko make up to $85,000 a year, according to chef-owner Gary Danko, most servers don't make nearly that much. And they resent the owners for making them sound greedy when many have to scrounge second jobs to work enough shifts to survive. "All the time we are reading about these people making $50,000, $60,000 a year. I want to apply," said one server at a posh downtown restaurant. Davila says he can make as much as $120 in tips at lunch, but leaves with $70 or $80 after giving the host, bartender, runners and busboy their cuts. Also, he gets only a few shifts a week, so he's looking for a second job. "Tips are nice, but you can't count on them,'' said Ian Kramer, a waiter who is out of work since the Mission District restaurant Rock Soup closed recently. "It's inconsistent and depends on who has good shifts and seniority." Service surcharges likely Most owners are done panicking about the wage raise and are making decisions. Reports that many of them were moving to a European-style service charge of 18 percent or so have proven unfounded. But what would happen in America is that service would slide down the hill,'' said Danko. Restaurateurs think it would drive diners away, because they would perceive it as an overcharge. Customers also like deciding how much to reward service. In San Francisco, it would take a lot of restaurants saying they would do it all together," said Zuni's Calcagno. "A lot of waiters who didn't like it would go to other restaurants. Zuni's not ready to go that way, at least not now, he said. However, some restaurateurs plan to tack on smaller charges. Jardiniere plans a 3 percent "surcharge," according to general manager Larry Bain. The Civic Center restaurant cleared $85,000 on $6 million in sales in 2003. Bain figures the wage hike will cost about $70,000, on top of a 32 percent jump in employee health benefits and 20 percent more for workers' compensation. And turning to cheaper food purveyors isn't an option for a restaurant whose reputation is built on quality ingredients from local organic and sustainable farmers. Raising menu prices 3 percent, from an average check of $68 to $70 before tax and tip, is another option. But Bain says people tend to compensate by ordering less or coming in less frequently. A service charge "is alien to the culture," raises the restaurants' taxes and strips away waiters' motivation, so, Jardiniere will go with the mini service charge. Some 50 other restaurants are considering similar charges, up to 8 percent, said Bain. "I think people will go for it if everyone else is," said Calcagno, who is keeping his options open. Gary Danko and La Folie will likely add $1 to $3 to each multi-course menu. Lower-priced places like Pasta Pomodoro will probably end up raising prices slightly. Server cut considered Pasta Pomodoro founder and CEO Adriano Paganini first considered eliminating servers in his seven San Francisco restaurants, and having people order at a counter instead. The vision of families lining up with hungry kids changed his mind. "But it depends on what other people are doing," he says. Restaurateurs like Mark Pastore keep running the numbers, and coming up with no good answer. "What was a well-intentioned law is just going to end up hurting working people," Pastore said. |