Posted on 01/07/2010 9:51:07 AM PST by big black dog
Tough $h!+ if the government wants a bite.
“My point was not that the government needs more taxes. Until we have the majority of Americans paying into the system, the increasing numbers of the ones who don’t will continue to screw those of us who do.”
OK, I’ll buy that. But I still tip, and like the way it makes the waiter dependent, directly, on my good will.
Legally, it isn’t a gift though. It is compensation. It is, in essence, commission that you control the rate of. No different than the commission you pay when you buy a car except that you control the rate.
>>There is no reason to tip.<<
As a repeat customer, it’s to keep your food and drinks bodily fluid free.
Because 75% of their job is dealing with people like you?
Well, yeah...but you also are upside down and can't spell. :)
Tipping is a holdover from the way restaurants used to run in the late 19th and into the 20th Century. They way it used to work was that the waiter was an independent contractor, and when you ordered your food, it was actually the waiter who was buying it from the restaurant operator, paying for it up front at the exact same cost printed on the menu. Tips were the entire way they made money. Slowly, the practice was introduced of making waiters an actual employee of the restaurant and, later, of giving them a small token wage. I can still remember in the early 80s, the waiters at the Berghoff, in Chicago, lining up at a cash register to pay for the food before bringing it to your table.
Sucky thing about that is I have to be careful, I have four kids and there has been more then one occasion that I have had a gratuity automatically added to my bill, then left a tip on top of that. Usually it has been for crappy service, when the server feared getting a lousy tip. I will tip better for good service then bad, but I will still tip for bad service, it will however noticeably not be as generous.
I had a server confront me one day about a less then generous tip, I told if she had done a better job she would have received a better tip. My next trip there I had outstanding service from the same girl, I more then made up for the previous visit.
You pay many different types of businesses commission for the service they provide- car salesmen, real estate agents, electronics salesmen. They all earn commission for servicing you by helping you find the product you want. The only difference is that you are in control of the rate of commission instead of letting someone else tell you the commission rate built into the price.
If you pay cash, there’s no way to make errors, or changes, to credit card receipts and these ‘misunderstandings’ would never have happened.
Food for thought.
>>Because 75% of their job is dealing with people like you? <<
LOLOLOL!!!!
Spot on!
Where I live we do not have to pay for parking (nor look for our vehicle once we are ready to leave). We also pick carefully the time of day we go to a restaurant to avoid having to wait for long periods (or make reservations). Most places we go to the service is generally very good (though at one of our favorite places the service and food has greatly diminished - we haven’t been there for a long time as a result). Most of the time our wait person has been prompt with the bill, though occasionlly they are slower than I would like (but, my wife takes longer to finish her meal than I do, so I have to wait around longer than I’d like anyway).
The best food I’ve eaten, by and large, is made at home (with the exception of the two times we went to Ruth Crist - wow, the food and service there is just outstanding). We don’t eat out often either. It’s way cheaper to make good food at home, and then I don’t have to drive to and from.
I think here it’s b/c tipping is considered free market earnings—you work hard, you get paid more. Esp when I was growing up, 30+ years ago. The guys, and some girls, worked tobacco or fished/clammed to make money, b/c it’s a fact none of our parents had any to give us. Waitressing and schoolteaching were one of the few ways a female could get out of some of the more backbreaking stuff. Not that waitressing isn’t hard work—it’s just easier than hauling nets or oystering or farming.
The only “classes” here are “locals” and “tourists” LOL
Even so, I object to the concept of tipping for such service. I find the tradition morally repugnant and insulting. It is burdensome to me and patronizing to the server. Just raise the prices of the food by 20%, pay your staff adequately and leave me out of your company's personnel issues. I am there to eat food, not to assess & reward your employees' performance. If I wanted to do that, I'd apply for a managerial position instead of showing up as a customer.
It’s not pretty!
That said, one of the poster’s problems is that he doesn’t realize that this is going to affect his entire group.
I probably overtip massively (unless I have gotten bad service, in which case I don’t tip but let management know or leave a note) to make up for all the other women who are crummy tippers. Like it or not, you’re regarded as part of the group you are with or identified with.
The ones that work REALLY hard, can multi-task, are friendly, have a good memory, treat the cooks and other employees with respect, and present an attractive appearance can make out like bandits.
Not everyone can or is willing to be a good waiter/waitress.
What leads the "few" who "do" to drop spare change in the jar? And what constitutes "change"? Does NZ have 1 and 2 dollar coins like Canada?
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