Why should i pay $14 to enter the US?
- Thread starter nacelle
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Amaris
Guest
Well, I've been a server, and a bus boy, and a cook, and it's all shitty work. 
Well, I've been a server, and a bus boy, and a cook, and it's all shitty work.
Amen.
I sorta liked being a bus boy. Great exercise, and nothing you had to mentally focus on, so you had tons of time to think but enough to do not to get too bored.
A
Amaris
Guest
Well, I've been a server, and a bus boy, and a cook, and it's all shitty work.
Amen.
And the people said "amen".
It depends upon what type of restaurant. I was a busboy in a very busy, family restaurant. Specifically, I was the only busboy in said very busy family restaurant.
Yeah, I usually had another guy with me, this weird Kosovar fella.
So it looks like those that expect 20% are really only getting between 16-18% averaged out. Must conclude that your expectations are too high.
And I bet when you get $3 instead of $4 on your $20 tab you aren't actually thinking "ignorant cheap asshole I'm gonna put fecal matter in your food next time you come in." You might think that if you get a $1 on a $30 tab, but probably not for the 15% that actually seems to be the reasonable amount.
My last question would be, why not just expect 15% as the normal? Seems like that way you would be happier when you realize you've made 17% for the week, instead of being disappointed you didn't make 20%.
Anyway, had fun shooting the shit about this topic. No hard feelings I hope.
I had to leave a ZERO tip written large across a receipt about 7 months ago. The waiter would actually walk away and not respond when asked a question. Another example, "What drink do you want?" Me, "Uhh.. I think I..." Waiter, "WHAT DRINK DO YOU WANT??" Once I said bring us our tab after appetizers and one drink he started being all ass-kissy. It's a friend's favorite local place and he's never seen that waiter in there again so I think he got fired.
And I bet when you get $3 instead of $4 on your $20 tab you aren't actually thinking "ignorant cheap asshole I'm gonna put fecal matter in your food next time you come in." You might think that if you get a $1 on a $30 tab, but probably not for the 15% that actually seems to be the reasonable amount.
My last question would be, why not just expect 15% as the normal? Seems like that way you would be happier when you realize you've made 17% for the week, instead of being disappointed you didn't make 20%.
Anyway, had fun shooting the shit about this topic. No hard feelings I hope.
I had to leave a ZERO tip written large across a receipt about 7 months ago. The waiter would actually walk away and not respond when asked a question. Another example, "What drink do you want?" Me, "Uhh.. I think I..." Waiter, "WHAT DRINK DO YOU WANT??" Once I said bring us our tab after appetizers and one drink he started being all ass-kissy. It's a friend's favorite local place and he's never seen that waiter in there again so I think he got fired.
Adjust expectations downward, and never be disappointed? It's a valid life strategy, I suppose.
That's weird. I'd guess he probably did.
Maybe he thought you were hard of hearing. "I SAID WHAT DRINK DO YOU WANT, SIR?"
I think you're assuming emotions that aren't there. I'm not disappointed when I get a 15% tip. I don't get angry. I move on and wait on the next table.
Again, 20% is the hope, partially because I know that I have to tip out 2-3% to the bussers and hosts. Because of that, even when I earn 20%, I only take home 17%.
But still, the only time I am ever disappointed by a tip is if I know I've worked my ass off for a table, have developed a good relationship with them, and they leave me very little. I once had a table of people that had been eating and drinking all night. It was only a few people, but they got their bill up to over $400. I had been running around all night for them, and I was happy to do it because we were having a good time. When all was said and done, they left me a measly 5 bucks. That is a 1% tip. With my tipout of 2%, I lost money waiting on them. Very frustrating.
If I had run up a $400 tip and had a server as good as I was that night, I would have gladly tipped $100.
Well, I would never think about putting fecal matter in food. My first thought is to think of anything I could have done wrong. It usually leads to about three or four minutes of self-doubt. Then I essentially think about all the possibilities to figure out whether or not I did a poor job with the table or whether they were ignorant and/or cheap. But I don't do that for 15%. 15% is a "I'll try harder next time." 10% is when I get mad. People who have a $23 bill and leave $2 make me mad. Once again, if I knew I screwed up, that's fine. It's when I know I didn't and they've even complimented my service that I get ticked off.
I think part of it is economic reality. Minimum wage for non-tipped employees has risen several times since 1997. Server minimum wage has not. Therefore, purchasing power has gone down dramatically. At the same time, food prices have risen with inflation, but have not been passed over to the customer with the same inflationary rate. Instead, part of the cost is passed to the server in lower labor costs, so food price isn't increased all the way. The lack of inflation in food prices mean 15% doesn't produce the same value as 15% did 15 years ago. I view a 20% tip as something that should eventually become the norm unless minimum wage laws are to be changed. But most people are traditional and are used to knowing that 15% is the norm. So if they're willing to budge to 18%, I think of it as a fair concession.
While I wouldn't give zero tip unless the service was essentially non-existent (in other words, if I get service only when I'm on the verge of walking out or if I have to find a manager), I certainly think unpleasant experience is grounds for a bad tip. As I server, I give 15% as a punishment, but I realize that sometimes that's bad for conveying a message, so somewhere between 5-15% would be fine, depending on how unpleasant the person was.
A
Amaris
Guest
See, now unpleasant service gets a 0% tip. If I wanted to pay people to trivialize and ignore me, I'd donate to Congress.
I really wouldn't have expected Americans to be so bitchy when it comes to something as trivial as tipping. And people were complaining about the guy who made a fuzz about having to spend an extra $14.
It's hardly trivial for the people working for tips. Tips are their livelihood.
Someone else here point blank said they would if they got a 10% tip and then had that customer again.
Alidar Jarok said:
Economic reality? Like the recession we are in right now? Do you ever consider that maybe your customer's wages are less and perhaps they are trying to save money... so instead of 20% tips they are throwing down 15%?
Sounds to me like you guys EXPECT 20% as the minimal threshold, yet you don't ever achieve that. Your expectations are too high.
Alidar Jarok said:
I was about to ask the guy what the fuck his problem was. The service was that rude.
It really was the worst service I've ever had in my life.
Sounds to me like you're not listening, as we've already explained that this isn't the case.
I meant the customer side.
I think the responses were perfectly analogous.
Can't afford to come to America? Don't.
Can't afford to go to a restaurant? Don't.
RoJoHen said:
I don't think there's a consensus on that. Expect is a slippery word, though. Like, both of these sentences are parsable: "I expect a Green Lantern movie not to suck. I expect the Green Lantern movie will suck."
If you can't afford to tip fully for good service, you shouldn't be eating at a restaurant. Order fast food, takeout, or make your own food.
I don't expect 20%. I said if service is satisfactory, 20% should be considered. In other words, if service is bad, give less. But 20% should be the norm for good service.
OK, in that case, it's reasonable. Still, I've had essentially non-existent service (server took 15 minutes to show up and take our order, another 10 minutes to bring out drinks, food was delayed with no explanation, etc.). To me, that's worse than being rude. But I agree that rude service is inexcusable.
Myasishchev, when I use "expect" here, I'm going with the second one. I expect 15% just like I expect Green Lantern to suck (actually, I expect the movie to be mediocre, but you get the point).
Again, you aren't being realistic.
Going somewhere to eat is fun and entertainment. A busy family of four may want to go out to eat sometime to escape and not have to cook and clean up after a busy day.
What's crazy is implying that they can't afford to eat at a restaurant because they tip 15% instead of 20%.
Alidar Jarok said:
From others estimates in this thread they don't consistently make 20%, they make less (albeit higher than 15%).
You do realize your 20% minimum tip level for satisfactory service is higher than the average persons? (or the other waiters/waitresses that have posted in this thread must consistently give less than satisfactory service)
Are you just picking and choosing random parts of people's arguments to respond to? Because I really feel like you're ignoring things we've been saying.
Alidar just said he expects 15%. He just said it. In the very post that you are quoting!
We do NOT consider 20% the expected minimum. We consider it the expected average. We're going to get tips that are less. We're going to get tips that are more. I would never expect anyone to tip more than 20%. I'm glad when they do, obviously, but I never expect it. Again, I expect people to tip somewhere between 15-20%.
Alidar just said he expects 15%. He just said it. In the very post that you are quoting!
We do NOT consider 20% the expected minimum. We consider it the expected average. We're going to get tips that are less. We're going to get tips that are more. I would never expect anyone to tip more than 20%. I'm glad when they do, obviously, but I never expect it. Again, I expect people to tip somewhere between 15-20%.
Going to the movies is entertainment, too. So is going on vacation. If you can't afford those things, you don't do them. Tipping is a part of the cost of dining in a restaurant and being waited on. If you can't afford to do it properly, don't go out to dinner at those restaurants.
