Posted on 06/09/2014 1:28:05 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
A restaurant in Newport, Kentucky is making national headlines putting a ‘no tipping’ policy in effect. Packhouse Meats‘ tipping ban may seem strange, but it’s way more awesome than you think.
The restaurant has ‘No Tipping’ signs posted throughout its facility, and when customers pay by credit card, there is no option to leave a tip on the order receipt. Bob Conway, the owner of Packhouse Meats, revealed in an interview that he’s been inundated with negative reviews on Yelp for what appears to be mistreatment of his servers. A closer look at the new policy reveals that it’s not awful–it’s awesome.
Here’s how it works: severs are paid $10 an hour OR 20% of their individual food sales during their shifts–whichever amount is higher. Anyone who has ever waited tables before knows how rad this policy is. It’s basically a guarantee that you’re going to make good money.
Let’s break it down: if you worked a 5 hour shift and brought in $500 in food sales (which is suuuuuuper easy to do at any busy restaurant; TRUST); if you earn 20% of that, you take home $100–that’s twice the amount you’d make at the rate of $10/hour.
I think Packhouse Meat’s ‘No Tipping’ policy is awesome because it works for the restaurant AND its servers; the servers are motivated to push food sales (which means more $$$ for the restaurant), and the restaurant takes care of its employees with a guarantee that they’ll make a decent wage (which means happy servers).
I also think the ‘No Tipping’ policy is awesome because it eliminates what I call the Jerk Factor. There are few things in life more infuriating than busting it to take care of a table who leaves a chump change tip. You hustle like crazy to make sure these people’s drinks stay refilled, their orders are delivered promptly and accurately, their every need is attended to–all with warmth and courtesy– and they repay you with a $5 tip on a $125 check. Thanks, party of six, you guys must all be greaaaaaat people.
Packhouse Meats has taken the Jerk Factor out of the equation and ensured that their servers get the pay the deserve. Their owner gets an A++ in my book, but what do you think? Is their policy a good idea? Tell me how you feel in the comments below!
I’m not fine with that because I suspect the prices are higher and I rather doubt I will get better service there. Therefore if that is the policy of the business, then I am free not to patronize them.
Free market.
“....that leaves half-or-more of the waitstaff who don’t.”
Waiting is also something that one climbs a ladder for, as in s/he starts at a lower-end chain, moves to a more upscale chain, to a ‘better’ restaurant, white table cloth, etc. Along the line they’ve picked up a professionalism. If they’re still at the lower end chain after several years, they are probably not getting the 20%, OR they aren’t looking at waiting as a professional, potentially high-paying job.
By the time a server reach that professional level, his patrons are paying a large dinner/drink tab. And, presuming they’re well-heeled enough to afford that luxury dinner, they’re savvy enough to know how to tip well for good service. High-end restaurant don’t offer anything but excellent service. Or the server is gone.
people have left some ugly reviews on yelp.
Basically, they serve meatballs, said one review.
it’s not a classy place, it’s aimed at genx/y/z/whatevers, from what I can see. real “warehouse” decor.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/packhouse-meats-newport
Review samples...
Service was spotty, location was near sketchy activity and food was mediocre.
I can’t really see a reason to go back, the restaurant has a no tipping concept, but that lead to no incentive to provide good service. The meal seemed to take forever.
The dessert menu featured items that were not available because the “board of health wouldn’t allow items be made in house.” The ice cream sandwich dessert concept was both poorly conceived and executed- I was left with a $5 mess. The beer selection was very limited.
*************
I was really disappointed. The building was so cool and I loved the open air concept. The food was really really bad and only like warm. The very best item we tried was the standard marinara meatball. Everything else was so gross and so blatantly not good that I wanted my money back. Also, the no tipping thing kinda falls apart if when you ask about it your server says “but some people still do” (and smiles at you). Horrible. Never going back.
*************
Very small space, so go early. The place was packed and they had two waitresses who also make drinks and serve the bar. Waited forever to order and get drinks. I like to sit down and enjoy my food and drinks. I don’t want to continuously flag the server down. We finally got annoyed and left. Too many other places in the area.
The concept is fun, but I’d do more a chipotle style food service. Or better wait staff :)
Bingo.
Bottom line, packhouse is gimmicky, like a guy who wants to start a restaurant chain.
I think the no-tipping is over the top for gimmicks, though.
I think based on the reviews I saw at yelp, dude would be better off with a normal plan for paying waitstaff, which keeps the waistaff cost FLEXIBLE and LOW for the BUSINESS.
When it’s busy you can schedule more, slow schedule less, with some people part time and no benefits.
Good waitstaff will prosper and stay, bad will flake off, because the good will make very good pay in tips. And they don’t have to be too pushy to upsell customers, just give customers what they want.
What restaurant owner wants to pay fat hourly W-2 pay to waitstaff. That’s nuts.
They have to pay the backend; all the prep work and cleaning - that cost can’t be shortcut, or quality goes in the dumper. And 2 good managers are needed, chef on the back, manager in the front - this is very important in order for the business to run well.
Restaurant 101, just do the basics, there is no shortcut for long-term success.
After the honeymoon, you find out if your restaurant is worthwhile as a business.
THIS is a restaurant business...
I frequented this place in the 80’s, went back a few years ago - it was like a time warp. Same guys waiting tables, brown hair now gray - STILL HUSTLING. Multi-generation business. They do VERY well. SAME GUYS working the OPEN KITCHEN. 20 years later, still workin’ it. Wow.
Many on the staff must have been close with each other.
This place was something else. Basically the same menu for decades. Steaks, chops, etc. What a business.
I use to stop in late for a bite and sit and chat with a WWII vet, “Vic”, who had been in the felt hat business. God bless good old Vic, always a smile, quiet and lively conversation.
It was cool beans.
Of course, the class probably maxed out in the 70’s, ? I don’t know. Then it was a long, slow “coast”.
You can see the costs are excrutiating.
They started with a couple gimmicks, but kept on building it right, and it lasted 80 years, and enabled the families to get into a bunch of other businesses.
Wake up America.
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/03/legendary_pals_cabin_to_close.html
Free market principles also extend to the micro-level and not just at the macro-level. At a micro-level, choice is indeed being taken away from the consumer here. That is a limitation as well on the free market.
Just for kicks, I found an old Pal’s menu still online:
http://www.allmenus.com/nj/west-orange/31880-pals-cabin/menu/
And what happened with the Pal’s brand...
That is so cool. Capitalism, and friendship, at its best!
Depending on the place in the discussion, the pro-tip crowd will either say that they are religious in tipping and always give 15 or 20% in tips no matter what, or that not tipping will starve out the bad waitresses.
My impression is that tipping is rarely what gets rid of a merely average waitress, or that the totals vary so greatly for one over another waitress in the course of a year, based on whether.
Besides, in many restaurants it all goes into a pot anyway, and surely among the easiest of employees for supervisors to monitor quality of work, is a waitress, observing them is one of the duties of the supervisor.
So in other words, this is a mandatory 20% tip levied on all customers regardless of the level of service with the owner of the restaurant getting out of paying even a nominal base wage. Just like how taxpayers tend to get a poorer return on their money when governments take it and spend it, mandatory tipping policies like this invariably result in poorer service and a higher net cost for the customer. Consumers do better when they get to spend their money voluntarily, and that includes tips.
Naturally, there is absolutely no way for a small group of responsible adults to decide amongst themselves how to split this money. However a total stranger who just walked in can do this quickly and easily. If, for example, the waitress doesn't smile enough he will punish her with an insulting tip. It's not like he knows, or cares, that the waitress's son is in hospital today with an injury.
Local code changed and there were quite a few updates that had to be done on the hot water heater fittings. We had a 60 gallon unit due to the heating/cooling system we had (house was equipped that way when purchased) and that replacement coincided with work on the heater which quit on Christmas Eve.
Considering he spent Christmas Eve at our home trying to get us heat, brought us heaters we could use to stay warm so we didn’t end up at a hotel with our dogs in the kennel and also brought us jugs filled with water so that we could flush our toilets until he could get a hot water heater in there, he went above and beyond.
We ended up spending $1400 dollars that time and the zipline gift cards were purchased with our own money. As were the gift cards to the restaurant later.
What should be done about it?
That is a great price, in California it costs close to that for a normal 40 gallon switch out.
He seemed pretty honest to us and Angie’s list had great reviews on him. It’s good to find a hard working, honest business man. Heavens knows there are plenty out there working every angle.
I’m glad I’m not living in CA - I’d hate to think what the heater/a/c replacement would cost! We got a 96% efficiency unit and 2 decent-ish rebates from our utility company.
Have a great week, nice chatting with you. :-)
Thanks to Quicken's excellent memory, here is my record. I replaced an old 40 gal. water heater with a new 40 gallon one (LP gas) in 2008 for exactly $925.00. The work was done by Better Water Heaters, FWIW. I only helped the installer to lift the unit. This includes the cost of the new heater, and all the labor, and removal of the old unit.
Specializing in waters the companies usually come in a little lower, because they go for production, and water heaters are a nice little niche to focus on.
That price would have been close to, but a little under what most full service plumbing companies would have charged (on average), and it was about right for 2008.
They would have to. If the employer is cutting a paycheck, the w-2 would reflect the total paid. My concern here is that the server will be pushing the high-end items on the menu, really pushing alcohol (high-ticket items), to add to the total on the bill. Yes, he or she will be working to maximize restaurant profits, but that means the patrons will be experiencing an pushy, more invasive, dining experience than what tipping would normally provide.
Yes, it does have amazing restaurants. And the service, invariably, is excellent, really excellent.
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