Fast food workers get paid 3-4 times as much as a waiter from the restaurant. It all comes out the same in the end - the restaurant could pay their waiters more and charge you more for the food, and you wouldn't have to tip. But in the end, you'd be paying the same total amount, and the waiter would have less incentive to provide better service (outside of the threat of being fired, but that exists now too).
I don't think a lot of you guys realize that just raising the prices aren't that easy. We own a restaurant and I am sure a lot of higher end restaurants the people that work there make a lot more than minimum wages. So if you think that just increasing to minimum wages at a fancy steak house, you are going to have a bad time there. Those people make bank. Even at my middle class restaurant people are making over minimum wage. That being said, I personally have no problem with paying my workers a decent wage and increase menu prices and having no tipping policy. Although it would be tough to do it without the other restaurants doing it and having customers complain why my food is more expensive than the one down the street. Especially to the customers that never tip. Like I said above I can see service dropping off unless you match the wage they are making usually at those restaurants. A flat minimum wage across all restaurants won't work.
That's still MUCH different than a fast food worker dealing with you over the span of 2 minutes then moving on to the person behind you in line.
No one said you have to pay minimum wage, you can always pay more. Just do not like having to tip to make up part of someone's wage. It should be like a door man service, if you want to tip, you can.
In Hong Kong, tip is already included when you pay for your food, so you don't have to tip at the end. But of course, it's different here.
Tip, or else Mcintosh coming for you, watch out!!!! <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xCpRHGfATLo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
If they're working for you, you should be nice to them regardless. I'm not saying "DON'T BE NICE to ONE", I'm saying "BE NICE TO ALL."
That's not entirely true. Retail, especially salespeople, deal with customers for an extended period of time. And before the "they get commission" argument comes into play, at a lot of places they do not receive commission. You're right though that the general fast food worker does not deal with anyone for more than about a minute total. But another counterexample is when I go to the grocery store. When my shopping cart is full I spend an average of at least 5 minutes total with the cashier and sacker. I say that because I agree with the other poster who said a waiter works with you over the span of an hour. Not for the entire hour. I honestly don't feel like I spend more than 5 minutes with a waiter over the course of a normal two person dinner. If it's a larger party I definitely agree the waiter spends a lot of time with you and they most certainly deserve an extra token of appreciation. Anyway, I think that would be an interesting study. How long waiters spend with you in total time and the correlating tips they receive.
Isn't the rule that if the waiters do not make at least minimum wage then they have to make up the difference? Is the rule not enforceable or am I just misinformed?
And this is part of the reason why we rarely get good customer service anymore, anywhere. Society looks down on jobs like that. People shame folks who work as waiters or fast food or in a grocery store. They say, "BUT what else do you do?" Some feel they are "too good" to work those jobs. So when society is talking about how crappy a job is, how do you think the person that is working the actual job, feels about working there? Thats why some of the folks working those jobs could give a rats ass about how they are treating you. Sure, these jobs were suppose to be "starter" jobs and not careers, but its different now. Times can be rough and not everyone is as fortunate as the next man for whatever reason. Are we really going to ridicule somebody for working a certain job? Are you that big of a douchebag? Whether you are a waiter or a rocket scientist, an honest job is still an honest job as long as you take it serious and work hard at it. Don't ever feel bad about your job or let anyone tell you different. Most of those guys get paid well (unless theyre undocumented). But feel free to still tip them since you are so generous about tipping. LOL i always find it funny when somebody rants and ends it like this. Like they have to make sure at the end to let everyone know they aren't the ******* their rant makes them out to be. A dude can rant about how much he hates bald people but at the end he says, "ok so with that being said, my best friend is bald" :grin:
Great rant -- love the passion! The "drop the mic" line about doubling tax was the cherry on top. 10/10 would read again.
I literally lol'd when I read that last line of his post. And then again when I read your reply. Funny stuff. Actually 10/10. Would read again.
I don't have a problem with tipping, but I do think it's stupid how it is tied to how much you spend. The tip amount really should not depend on if I decided to order the burger or the prime rib that night. Seriously the dumbest part of this whole thing. I'm also confused when I get take out. I usually tip 10% on take out, just out of guilt, not because I think they actually deserve a tip for putting my food in a bag for me.
^ That's another point I have not articulated well. If I am there for 20 minutes and spend $5, I don't think I should give them more than $1 even if they went BEYOND service to make me feel like a special customer. If I spend approximately 1 hour, but I make them go back and forth for a spoon a fork, etc, stuff they forget, etc., they should get nothing. If I spend 1 hour and they catered to my every need and they forgot NOTHING and they asked me how everything is without irritating me and without bothering me while I chew on my food, I will give them maybe 1/4 of the amount of the check. It should really depend on how much you feel like they've earned, how their service was, etc., based upon the amount of good service you received and the amount of time you spent.
Because it is tied to the establishment you go to. Usually if you get a prime rib you are getting better service than a dude throwing you a burger a chilis. I doubt if you go to a nice restaurant to get a prime rib you will have to flag down someone and wait 15 mins for your water to be filled. Also most of the times your tips don't go just to the waiter, its to the food runners and the bus boys as well. I know our workers will give you great service no matter if you tip well or not. I can't vouch for other restaurants but that I think ultimately comes down to the owners/managers.
I'm speaking more about a single restaurant. If I order a steak at Vic and Anthony's instead of chicken, then my tip is expected to be bigger. Why? I don't know what the solution is, but the current system is broken.
