Tipping

[Montecfo]

If we banned tipping today and Employers did not pay adequately, they would lose a lot of staff.

Today, staff are usually told as part of their hiring conditions that they keep their tips, some in turn tip the other staff. Thus, the employers are encouraged to pay less, and the employee accepts it hoping they will get good tips. As is common with the current tipping model the employer usually always wins, think of the house in a casino.

Yet perhaps counterintuitively, the server positions are highly desired in the restaurant, despite "low pay". Employers are not encouraged to pay less, their pay is already above market. Why should they pay more?

 

[sengsational]

Larry seeing a drop in his pay while all the Rich customers send their money to various charities would be a problem for Larry. I wonder if restaurants have to ensure the wages meet minimum wage on a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or annual basis ?
Larry could be waiting for some time while earning $2.40/hr

......

Who gets the donation credit for Larry's tip ?

True that Larry, who probably needs every dime, would be sore at the customers if they donated. Not that the customers at Waffle House are rich, though. Rich enough to eat out these days isn't a very high bar, from what I observe. But it's servers that are in the cheap places that are the most at risk from the status quo. The restaurant enjoys knowing exactly what their payroll will be, irrespective of a downturn. If the weather is bad or the manager is not keeping the place clean, and so business falls off, Larry is the first to feel it. I think the employee should be better insulated because the employee is a smaller entity and probably has less capacity to cope with disturbances than a business. The restaurant industry is fighting tooth and nail to keep the status quo, if that is any hint.

It's on a paycheck basis, so Larry would never see a paycheck below the local minimum (untipped) wage.

I hadn't thought about who got credit for the donation from a tax perspective. From a "warm fuzzy" perspective, both the customer and server would share. I suppose the customer would be able to "write it off" on their taxes, not the server. I figure the server would have to take possession of the funds first, then give them in order to get credit from a tax perspective, and that doesn't seem like a workable solution.

 

[explanade]

Saw a social media post where there was a tip screen ...


on the back of a seatback entertainment screen on a plane, so presumably passengers were being prompted to tip the pilot.


Probably some fake though.

 

[Sunset]

Saw a social media post where there was a tip screen ...


on the back of a seatback entertainment screen on a plane, so presumably passengers were being prompted to tip the pilot.


Probably some fake though.

You don't want to crash do you ...... .... isn't that why we tip ....

 

[Music Lover]

I don't want to donate to charity in lieu of a tip, and I don't like being pressured to over tip either.

I'll just stop (or greatly reduce) eating out and then both the restaurant and Larry lose a customer.

 

[sengsational]

Yeah, but not all of us have the luxury of never going out to eat

 

[Music Lover]

Yeah, but not all of us have the luxury of never going out to eat

You could if you really wanted to. Or, at least reduce by 80% or 90%.

10% became 15% which became 18% which is now suggested to be 20% or more at some places.

We just choose to go far less often (social events only).

 

[Aerides]

The cost of a tip would never stop me from going out for a nice meal. It's far more than the food. I like dressing up with my husband, going to a place with nice ambiance, a glass of wine, music in the background, and then enjoying dishes I probably couldn't make myself without a lot of work and practice.

And then going home without having any dishes to clean? Priceless!

 

[Koolau]

If we banned tipping today and Employers did not pay adequately, they would lose a lot of staff.

Today, staff are usually told as part of their hiring conditions that they keep their tips, some in turn tip the other staff. Thus, the employers are encouraged to pay less, and the employee accepts it hoping they will get good tips. As is common with the current tipping model the employer usually always wins, think of the house in a casino.

We are losing several restaurants per month the past few years because they can NOT get/keep staff! Our meal price inflation has far exceeded general inflation, people are tipping more and STILL, the restaurants can't keep good help even with decent wages plus tips. The one "growth" area in the restaurant business is (wait for it) Food Trucks! These rolling restaurants feed almost as many customers as a sit down place yet take up a tenth the square footage and a tenth of the staff and (apparently) are still profitable. Surprises me, but who knew?

 

[sengsational]

I don't do food trucks. Pay restaurant prices or more to wait in the elements and the to balance the food on your lap and eat with a rubber knife and fork? Nope! Now, with the tap rooms that have food trucks and allow any outside food, I think going to Sam's to get a pizza and then suffering the consequences of portable food might worth it because it's inexpensive (and nobody is flipping a screen around with a 25% default on a $18 meal I'd need two of to get full, which is no exaggeration from my last food trucks experience.

 

[Fermion]

Food truck exception is the street tacos from a truck in an area like Omak Washington with lots of fruit tree workers. Some of the best and cheapest tacos I have had, with slices of fresh avocado. Something like $2 a taco.

 

[GenXguy]

I never use food trucks, but to me that would be like take-out or drive-thru, and I don't tip for those.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

We should all just agree to disagree as we are going round in circles.

The Tipping and server compensation system is BROKE, some put up with it, others do not. We will do what we like regardless. We deal with it how individually we see fit.

 

[Montecfo]

I guess it is the ambiguity that causes angst.

Tip what seems right and move on. A pay screen is a tool to allow you to tip if desired. Nothing more.

Tipping is unlikely to be replaced or eliminated. Where that has been tried it has failed.

New services may be tip worthy. It is relatively easy to extrapolate. But a tip in advance of service is not a tip.

The presence of a tip jar is not a reason to tip. In fact it may suggest no tip is necessary.

 

[Fermion]

Our state has a very high sales tax and yet no tax on grocery store food.

This is an additional incentive to not eat out as much, since you are saving about 10% right off the bat by not paying tax.

While the tip isn't taxed, most people tip on the total after tax too. Not really a lot extra there, but a $100 untaxed meal would be a $20 tip while a $110 meal would mean a $22 tip.

 

[youbet]

We should all just agree to disagree as we are going round in circles.

.

But isn't the real issue, that everyone seems to be turning a blind eye to, "at what age should servers take SS?"

 

[youbet]

We are losing several restaurants per month the past few years because they can NOT get/keep staff!

That's the free market system telling us that restaurants need to improve the jobs they offer (higher pay, better working conditions, etc.) to attract and retain employees.

 

[Aerides]

We should all just agree to disagree as we are going round in circles.

That will only happen when everyone decides they are tired of this topic.

 

[sengsational]

And that will only last a while, then it will start up again and need a complete rehashing

 

[Aerides]

And that will only last a while, then it will start up again and need a complete rehashing

I mean I could suggest this be added to our "best not" topics list but that would mean I'm no fun at all.

 

[Koolau]

That's the free market system telling us that restaurants need to improve the jobs they offer (higher pay, better working conditions, etc.) to attract and retain employees.

I hear what you're saying.

Some of the restaurants have been in business for generations and can NOT seem to find help at almost any reasonable price. Full service restaurant menu prices have already gone up about 40 to 50+% in the past 3 years. There is a limit to what people will pay. So, apparently, the "free market" is saying that Oahu needs fewer restaurants. I guess I can live with that as we rarely eat out any more. Kinda sad, but just the way it is.

 

[Koolau]

I don't do food trucks. Pay restaurant prices or more to wait in the elements and the to balance the food on your lap and eat with a rubber knife and fork?

Heh, heh, you just might like our "elements." DW and I do the next best thing - not a big fan of food trucks either though they are much cheaper than sit down places. We buy plate lunches from either hole-in-the-wall fast food places (not the biggies - mom and pop local places with no seating) or from food stores that offer local fare. Then we take it to a beach park to eat. GREAT elements. Good food. Decent prices. (No truck.)

 

[ShokWaveRider]

My issue is I hate to go to a restaurant, end up spending hours waiting for stuff, then eating, then waiting for a check, then having to pay through the nose for something I do not enjoy doing. I like to go in a place, sit down, eat and get out. Problem is those are all fast-food places and I do not eat fast food.

If there was such a thing of a walk in "pseudo" gourmet restaurant when you could go in, order a Filet Mignon and the sides at the counter, get it in 15 minutes, eat it and leave, I would be all over it. It takes me about 10 - 15 minutes to cook a filet on my BBQ.

 

[ls99]

'been over 40 years since I got lunch off the roach coach. No need to that now.

 

[marko]

My issue is I hate to go to a restaurant, end up spending hours waiting for stuff, then eating, then waiting for a check, then having to pay through the nose for something I do not enjoy doing. I like to go in a place, sit down, eat and get out. Problem is those are all fast-food places and I do not eat fast food.

Mom believed that eating out should be an experience to be savored. "There are those who eat, and those who dine". Sounds like you're in the former group!