bssc
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I am starting to see more. This article discusses them but I don't feel obligated to throw money in.
Tip Jars Everywhere
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dex
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Think about it from the workers point of view - why not put a jar out there? Whatever you get is gravy.
Maybe those working in office cubicals should put a TIP jar out.
There are a lot of people out there who are afraid to to say no or fight the crowd. Or as a historian once said: "The road to Aushwitcz is paved with indiffernece."
Maybe those working in office cubicals should put a TIP jar out.
There are a lot of people out there who are afraid to to say no or fight the crowd. Or as a historian once said: "The road to Aushwitcz is paved with indiffernece."
martyb
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Hahaha! I'm gonna put one on my desk tomorrow...wonder what comments I'll get?
OAG
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Was at the Mall this afternoon, which I seldom do. Decided to get a Cup of Coffee, which I almost never do, at a kiosk in the center of the Mall. Not Starbucks, just POBC (Plain old Black Coffee). $1.55 and right in the center of the counter (dead center) where you had to pass your money over and get your change over was the tip jar (seeded with change and a few $$). Ridiculous and although I did not ignore it I also did not put anything in it. Also see a similar pleas for money at Sears, most convenience stores in gas stations also have them for some third party cause or another. I often wonder how much of this money actually gets to the people it is intended for. At least the Coffee Shop was not trying to disguise the intent.
Bigritchie
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I have tip jar in my food business. (fast food), if you are super nice with people, and they are in a good move that day, you can make a extra 50-100 bucks per day.
Look at it like this, many small places like mine cannot afford insurance and things like that for employee's, and many times places with adults working are making minimum wage, to 10 bucks a hour, not much not much at all. So when you do tip then, even though it isn't required, it is very much appreciated, and really helps out.
I actually set up a 401k for one of my older employees. She needs almost her entire income to live and pay off some family hospital bills where her daughter had cancer several years ago and had a leg removed. So we use her tips for her 401k and I match 100% of them. it really helps with people going that extra mile for the customers.
It never bothers me though if people do not tip, but needless to say it is very much appreciated.
Look at it like this, many small places like mine cannot afford insurance and things like that for employee's, and many times places with adults working are making minimum wage, to 10 bucks a hour, not much not much at all. So when you do tip then, even though it isn't required, it is very much appreciated, and really helps out.
I actually set up a 401k for one of my older employees. She needs almost her entire income to live and pay off some family hospital bills where her daughter had cancer several years ago and had a leg removed. So we use her tips for her 401k and I match 100% of them. it really helps with people going that extra mile for the customers.
It never bothers me though if people do not tip, but needless to say it is very much appreciated.
dex
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I would rather pay more than have tipping in this country. Japan does not have tipping in its culture. I think it fosters a better relationship between the customer (NOT consumer) and the worker.
I know it will not change in the USA - just something to think about.
dex
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Here is another idea:
How about a TIP jar that says: All TIPS Will Be donated to Al Qadia.
I wonder how many people would donate?
(spelling of the terroist group?)
How about a TIP jar that says: All TIPS Will Be donated to Al Qadia.
I wonder how many people would donate?
(spelling of the terroist group?)
I agree that I would rather pay more and not tip also. Why should someone either get a tip or not get a tip, depending on the customer's mood. Why not pay them a standard wage per hour and charge what is needed in order to pay them that wage?
Dawg52
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If I still worked, I would. Maybe I will put one on my front door step. Put a sign out 'tip before knocking'.
I don't want to see the "Tip Jar Encroachment" continue, so I don't pitch in. On the other hand, I'm very happy to leave a generous tip at a table, in my hotel room, for a cab driver, etc. Hotel housekeeping folks get paid very little, and I know every $ they get from me is earned and appreciated.
Bram
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I was @ Doller General the other day. They have a clear plastic container with a slot & IIRC it is for some vague charity.
I dropped my 4 pennies in change into it. The clerk said "Thank you". I said "Honey, it was only pennies."
I was pretty impressed that the young gal thanked me!
I dropped my 4 pennies in change into it. The clerk said "Thank you". I said "Honey, it was only pennies."
I was pretty impressed that the young gal thanked me!
Meadbh
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I enjoy going to Europe because the price includes taxes and tips. I like to make purchasing decisions with firm information, rather than having to upcalculate afterwards. As far as I am concerned, worker benefits are core components of the price of the good or service. If they are left to the customer to decide, then by definition they are discretionary. I will tip generously and personally thank someone who gives good service, but if the service is lousy I will not tip at all.
I agree. When I visit the US now, I find the whole tipping thing confusing and degrading for all concerned. Especially at a restaurant when a waiter feels compelled to get all oozy and first-namey -- have some self-respect, please. I used to work in restaurants, so I know how it works, and I try to tip well because of it, but really, it would be much better if the pay were simply a bit better instead. Or bury the tip in the cost of the food automatically, if you want to leave an incentive for staff to increase business -- distribute 15-20% of all receipts among the wait staff, for example. Tips usually got shared where I worked anyway, so it would come out to the same thing.
ladelfina
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Abolish tipping; pay real wages
bpp3, absolutely. After spending time in tip-free Europe (where being a waitron is a lifetime profession for which one has to actually study and that pays a living wage, not some often-marginal temp/subsistence enterprise..) I can say that going out here is MUCH more pleasant. The waitrons are paid, and if not deliriously happy, at least content and helpful. I eat, they serve me, and I am happy, too. The quality of service has something to do with whether I come back or not.
If you want a really nasty eye-opener, read some waiter/waitress rant sites, like bitterwaitress.com. Setting up a dynamic where people feel justified to spit in your food (or rub it on their balls if they have them, and worse, IIRC) because you don't tip the ever-inflating 10%->15%->20%->more... is not healthy. Forget shopping cart germs.
I HATE going out to eat in the US. One of the last times I did, I stupidly ordered a dish with angel-hair pasta (hey- out w/ mom & sis.. suburbia). It was a gooey agglomerated mass; a tubular pudding. The strands were literally not distinct one from the other. I did NOT take it out on the waitress; of course she asked robotically "how is everything" and I asked for the same dish with whatever pasta they were able to cook properly (really trying to be friendly/earnest, not sarcastic!). My dish came back --after everyone else was done-- with different pasta ALONG WITH a couple of broken shards of ceramic plate that I chomped down on before noticing. Thanks, MACARONI GRILL, and F.U., too...
It was the first (and last) time in 25-30 years I ever sent anything back in a restaurant... Their food (aside from the pasta) was actually reasonable-tasting, too, but they'll never have me back as a customer; I won't set foot in the place and I bad-mouth them to all my US friends.
I find the whole US restaurant scene very antagonistic.
The smarminess is standard; worse, on a couple of occasions (waiter/waitress) they SAT DOWN WITH US IN OUR BOOTH. We weren't regulars. I am not "classist" but I found that incredibly offensive. No one invited the servers to dine with us and be our best pals.
To me the US dining scene (outside of the noble greasy spoons and random ethnic joints) is a "show" where the staff and "ambiance" are the stars and the dining public are bovine spectators with wallets/CCs. I feel like I am a cog in THEIR wheel.
Many Americans seem to perversely enjoy this (to me, horrible) treatment.
We went once to a rather expensive Boston restaurant (L'Espalier-COUGH) for our anniversary. We were "chatted up" as to where we came from, etc. how we drove there, etc., really mundane stupid stuff not at all consonant with the hoity-toity atmosphere and I found it pretty annoying. Then we come to order a foie-gras appetizer with which DH wanted a very particular wine he saw on the menu (an apparently rather rare and $$$ mildy sweet, fruity wine -- called "Picolit"-- that went perfectly with the foie gras). We got static. It was not the "correct" thing; it was "not done". I guess they had it pegged as a "dessert" wine. In the end he had to INSIST and we got the (excellent) wine (God knows how much a 1/2 bottle cost- and we ordered something elseridiculously averagely expensive with the rest of the meal), but we felt a constant tension thereafter and the dinner ended up being no fun; there was a sour current running; we weren't 'playing the game' or something... we weren't behaving according to some unwritten rule.
I see today a 375ml of Picolit runs $45 retail. So the restaurant price would have been likely 2-3x that. minus about 5 years' inflation.
Like CFB has said, customer service is DEAD. Doesn't matter if you pay $20 (Macaroni Grill) or $200 (L'Espalier) for a meal. Contempt.
Did we tip 15% -20% .. ? Probably. Although the service detracted from, rather than enhanced, our experience.
I think I remember seeing somewhere that tipping is basically no indication of/has little correlation with service. Intrinsically cheap tippers never tip or tip very little, regardless. More generous people tip the std. amt. or more no matter what. In large part it's a fiction that tips = good service and that good service = tips. The system "works" on most of us mostly because of guilt and social strictures.
I would absolutely rather pay an increased 15%-20% across the board and not have to worry about tips. Plus, that way you also eliminate the unfortunate "I'll get the tip" scenarios with acquaintances (or even SOs) who then leave an embarrassing pittance. I want to go out to relax and have fun, not to get into some weird psycho-drama/class war with my dining companions as well as the staff.
Don't get me started on the loud music everywhere, including the parking lot.
bpp3, absolutely. After spending time in tip-free Europe (where being a waitron is a lifetime profession for which one has to actually study and that pays a living wage, not some often-marginal temp/subsistence enterprise..) I can say that going out here is MUCH more pleasant. The waitrons are paid, and if not deliriously happy, at least content and helpful. I eat, they serve me, and I am happy, too. The quality of service has something to do with whether I come back or not.
If you want a really nasty eye-opener, read some waiter/waitress rant sites, like bitterwaitress.com. Setting up a dynamic where people feel justified to spit in your food (or rub it on their balls if they have them, and worse, IIRC) because you don't tip the ever-inflating 10%->15%->20%->more... is not healthy. Forget shopping cart germs.
I HATE going out to eat in the US. One of the last times I did, I stupidly ordered a dish with angel-hair pasta (hey- out w/ mom & sis.. suburbia). It was a gooey agglomerated mass; a tubular pudding. The strands were literally not distinct one from the other. I did NOT take it out on the waitress; of course she asked robotically "how is everything" and I asked for the same dish with whatever pasta they were able to cook properly (really trying to be friendly/earnest, not sarcastic!). My dish came back --after everyone else was done-- with different pasta ALONG WITH a couple of broken shards of ceramic plate that I chomped down on before noticing. Thanks, MACARONI GRILL, and F.U., too...
It was the first (and last) time in 25-30 years I ever sent anything back in a restaurant... Their food (aside from the pasta) was actually reasonable-tasting, too, but they'll never have me back as a customer; I won't set foot in the place and I bad-mouth them to all my US friends.
I find the whole US restaurant scene very antagonistic.
The smarminess is standard; worse, on a couple of occasions (waiter/waitress) they SAT DOWN WITH US IN OUR BOOTH. We weren't regulars. I am not "classist" but I found that incredibly offensive. No one invited the servers to dine with us and be our best pals.
To me the US dining scene (outside of the noble greasy spoons and random ethnic joints) is a "show" where the staff and "ambiance" are the stars and the dining public are bovine spectators with wallets/CCs. I feel like I am a cog in THEIR wheel.
Many Americans seem to perversely enjoy this (to me, horrible) treatment.
We went once to a rather expensive Boston restaurant (L'Espalier-COUGH) for our anniversary. We were "chatted up" as to where we came from, etc. how we drove there, etc., really mundane stupid stuff not at all consonant with the hoity-toity atmosphere and I found it pretty annoying. Then we come to order a foie-gras appetizer with which DH wanted a very particular wine he saw on the menu (an apparently rather rare and $$$ mildy sweet, fruity wine -- called "Picolit"-- that went perfectly with the foie gras). We got static. It was not the "correct" thing; it was "not done". I guess they had it pegged as a "dessert" wine. In the end he had to INSIST and we got the (excellent) wine (God knows how much a 1/2 bottle cost- and we ordered something else
I see today a 375ml of Picolit runs $45 retail. So the restaurant price would have been likely 2-3x that. minus about 5 years' inflation.
Like CFB has said, customer service is DEAD. Doesn't matter if you pay $20 (Macaroni Grill) or $200 (L'Espalier) for a meal. Contempt.
Did we tip 15% -20% .. ? Probably. Although the service detracted from, rather than enhanced, our experience.
I think I remember seeing somewhere that tipping is basically no indication of/has little correlation with service. Intrinsically cheap tippers never tip or tip very little, regardless. More generous people tip the std. amt. or more no matter what. In large part it's a fiction that tips = good service and that good service = tips. The system "works" on most of us mostly because of guilt and social strictures.
I would absolutely rather pay an increased 15%-20% across the board and not have to worry about tips. Plus, that way you also eliminate the unfortunate "I'll get the tip" scenarios with acquaintances (or even SOs) who then leave an embarrassing pittance. I want to go out to relax and have fun, not to get into some weird psycho-drama/class war with my dining companions as well as the staff.
Don't get me started on the loud music everywhere, including the parking lot.
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Phew, Ladelfina, my brother used to work in a hash house, and his experiences with bad customers make BitterWaitress look like a Teletubbies show.
He said geezers were the most demanding and the ones most likely to tip a quarter on a $25 tab. (Hey, they'd been tipping a quarter since 1974, so why not now?) Unfortunately they usually decided that they "loved the place" and wanted their "favorite table" six or eight times a week... so now if I'm served at all decently I tip 15% in memory of my brother's experiences. 20% if I'm impressed, and when I'm on travel maybe 25% if I'll be back later that week to enjoy the encore.
I've learned that if I'm staying in a hotel to tip the housecleaner at least $5 the next day to stay out of the room. That way the thermostat doesn't get moved off its "Hawaii" setting...
ladelfina
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Yeah.. I sympathise but only to an extent. Someone run ragged at a pancake house for a $10 tab definitely does pretty much the same work or more as some of the staff at more pricey joints. Opening a $20 bottle of wine => $3 while opening a $200 bottle => $30?? for a minute and a half of effort? And with the $20 bottle I don't have to listen to pretentious BS? (Sold! -- not that I have ever bought a $200 bottle, but you get the idea.) Serving a $1.50 coffee is not 1/3 the work of serving a $5 coffee.
The funny thing about BitterWaitress is that A.) they hate old geezers and galzers and getting stiffed and people asking for lemon and sugar packets with their water so the poor oldsters can make lemonade.. BUT... B.) they hate the idea of conceivably getting paid 20% more (with no tipping) MORE... most of 'em. I actually posted something about fair wages and no tipping a few years back and they basically ran me outta the joint. A very tough crowd!
AND they hate kids. AND they hate buffets. AND they hate bartenders. AND they hate, well.. everything, basically. That's why they're bitter!
Don't blame 'em 100%, but it certainly does encourage me to eat at home!
The funny thing about BitterWaitress is that A.) they hate old geezers and galzers and getting stiffed and people asking for lemon and sugar packets with their water so the poor oldsters can make lemonade.. BUT... B.) they hate the idea of conceivably getting paid 20% more (with no tipping) MORE... most of 'em. I actually posted something about fair wages and no tipping a few years back and they basically ran me outta the joint. A very tough crowd!
AND they hate kids. AND they hate buffets. AND they hate bartenders. AND they hate, well.. everything, basically. That's why they're bitter!
Don't blame 'em 100%, but it certainly does encourage me to eat at home!
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Bigritchie
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Well just to show a part of the other side, I own a restaurant that makes a good chunk of change per year and I am selling it because the general public is soooo damn rude now. The tipping part I could care less, they are just rude period.
You cannot believe the utter abuse and how many people believe that because they are spending 5 dollars they get to abuse you for 10 minutes.
I cannot tell you how many times my wife has called me in tears multiple times per day because of how utterly evil the general public is.
I even ordered my store shut down early today because the tourist were such idiots on the 4th.
I cannot tell you how many people think because they are paying 5 dollars think they can act like utter pigs and trash their tables and 5 others.
Now granted these general idiots are getting jobs in the business in America too and it is not helping with service.
When we first opened a 8 years ago, we had a rude customer every now and then, but now it is EVERYDAY.
I really wish I could express in words the mental torture, and how soul draining it is dealing with people.
Even had a day where we got a call in the middle of lunch with customers in line, and my wife collapsed balling, because she had just got the news her father died, and a guy cursed her out, because he wanted his food and did this KNOWING her she had just got the news over the phone. We even had a answering machine on for the days we were closed to deal with the death, and it was full of cursing because people couldn't get their food.
People are so stupid and picky now that they literally cannot even look at a menu and order off it, and we constantly deal with scammers and thiefs.
Once I get my place sold, I will tell you all more who I am, and what kinda place I own, and tell you some real horror stories about customers
You cannot believe the utter abuse and how many people believe that because they are spending 5 dollars they get to abuse you for 10 minutes.
I cannot tell you how many times my wife has called me in tears multiple times per day because of how utterly evil the general public is.
I even ordered my store shut down early today because the tourist were such idiots on the 4th.
I cannot tell you how many people think because they are paying 5 dollars think they can act like utter pigs and trash their tables and 5 others.
Now granted these general idiots are getting jobs in the business in America too and it is not helping with service.
When we first opened a 8 years ago, we had a rude customer every now and then, but now it is EVERYDAY.
I really wish I could express in words the mental torture, and how soul draining it is dealing with people.
Even had a day where we got a call in the middle of lunch with customers in line, and my wife collapsed balling, because she had just got the news her father died, and a guy cursed her out, because he wanted his food and did this KNOWING her she had just got the news over the phone. We even had a answering machine on for the days we were closed to deal with the death, and it was full of cursing because people couldn't get their food.
People are so stupid and picky now that they literally cannot even look at a menu and order off it, and we constantly deal with scammers and thiefs.
Once I get my place sold, I will tell you all more who I am, and what kinda place I own, and tell you some real horror stories about customers
cute fuzzy bunny
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Thats a new england thing. Theres certain things you do and certain things you just dont do. I think you noted this phenomenon regarding the "americas test kitchen" folks. Traditions are pretty much set in stone and theres a black/white right/wrong way to do things.
I still think its hideous and disgusting that californians have no impulse control with regards to the uses of mustard and mayonnaise. I mean...reallly...mayo on corned beef and mustard on top of tuna salad?
Fer cryin' out loud. Its just WRONG.
ladelfina
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Bigritchie.. wow! I know ANY kind of restaurant must be tough to run. What happened that changed so much? Did the neighborhood change, or is this the same clientele but behaving worse? I'm sorry for your troubles but am looking forward to hearing about your experiences and hope you will share them when the time is right. Just keep your eye on FIRE and try to stay sane in the meantime.
CFB. possibly. I mean they did not come out and SAY either of those things, though I put them in quotes. They were the double-finger-curling kind of "quotes". There was just a little throat-clearing and faux-obsequious references to several of their other, approved, beverages for that course. Plus a slight chill came on after DH held his ground.
If they had only ever tasted the damn stuff.. it was no mustard/mayo outrage; it was divine. Only eaten foie gras a couple times in my life, but I know it is often served with apples.. so what's so wrong with a fruity wine?
CFB. possibly. I mean they did not come out and SAY either of those things, though I put them in quotes. They were the double-finger-curling kind of "quotes". There was just a little throat-clearing and faux-obsequious references to several of their other, approved, beverages for that course. Plus a slight chill came on after DH held his ground.
If they had only ever tasted the damn stuff.. it was no mustard/mayo outrage; it was divine. Only eaten foie gras a couple times in my life, but I know it is often served with apples.. so what's so wrong with a fruity wine?
cute fuzzy bunny
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Eh, i'm the wrong guy to ask. Oh waitaminit...I shacked up with the head sommelier from a major restaurant for a while. 
While sweeter wines are often recommended with foie gras and are an excellent choice if the foie gras is about all you'll be eating, a good sommelier may express some concerns about foiling your palate for the drier, more delicate wines you'd be enjoying with your main course. I've had a couple of really delicious sweeter wines make a high end red taste like turpentine, and the effect lasted for several hours. I suspect there was more concern about the tasting order than the pairing.
But they shouldnt have made a stink out of it and there shouldnt have been any lasting tension. Unless of course you put mayonnaise on the foie gras.
What we really gotta do is find some way to put foie gras on a stick and deep fry it...
While sweeter wines are often recommended with foie gras and are an excellent choice if the foie gras is about all you'll be eating, a good sommelier may express some concerns about foiling your palate for the drier, more delicate wines you'd be enjoying with your main course. I've had a couple of really delicious sweeter wines make a high end red taste like turpentine, and the effect lasted for several hours. I suspect there was more concern about the tasting order than the pairing.
But they shouldnt have made a stink out of it and there shouldnt have been any lasting tension. Unless of course you put mayonnaise on the foie gras.
What we really gotta do is find some way to put foie gras on a stick and deep fry it...
CyclingInvestor
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When a "friend" who knew better did this to me I pulled out a few more bills and
said "I'll get the rest of the tip". When my mom does it (she grew up in a "10% for
good service" era) I just drop some more on the table as she is walking away.
CyclingInvestor
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That's awful. I use fat-free mayo - much healthier. Good on burgers too (yes, I
am a californian).
cute fuzzy bunny
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Oh my dear god. Fat free WHAT?
Is that like caffeine free diet coke? Which is what? Brown water?
Is that like caffeine free diet coke? Which is what? Brown water?
Bigritchie
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