You Should Tip

[Vegosiux]

-snip, both posts-

You're kind of funny, you know? I doubt you ever actually worked a job like that. I'll tell you frankly, if I worked at a place you frequent and you frequented it with that attitude, I'd frequently spit in your coffee.

And then post the stories on notalwaysright. [http://www.notalwayright.com] Yeah, some people really don't give a fuck. I wouldn't give a fuck if I had to deal with shitty and pretentious customers on a daily basis either. Having worked as a waiter before I can tell you obnoxious customers are a lot more common than you may think.

But, a waiter is there to serve your food, he's not there to serve you.

 

[tehroc]

I know how you feel. I work at a coffee shop, and some people are regular customers who never tip.

I made 6 drinks for a family before, and I didn't get a single penny in tips.

You put a cup in front of spicket and pulled a lever. Why do you think you deserve a tip for doing your job? You didn't cook anything or put any effort whatsoever into product. All you did was service a customer without even leaving the counter. You only deserve your paycheck for doing this.

OP also the next time you boss forces you to serve unsanitary food, it should be your responsibility to be a whistleblower and narc this guy out to health officials.

 

[emeraldrafael]

<spoiler=Original Post>

yeah, thanks, Im sure am glad youre allowing these conditions to continue. you know, instead of reporting these surely well documented cases to whatever health board does your inspections and bringing this matter up. Its great you took a stand, whoop dee do. all that says is youre replaceable when management finds you no longer worth while to deal with and at your professional level you are very easy interchangeable with someone who could give less shits. So instead of doing something about it (getting rid of the higher up who makes the decision, seeing as they're telling you to do these hazardous things) you're just letting it continue. thank you for being part of the problem, and please, dont be surprised when i read that statement and feel no urge to tip you, or ever go to one of your eateries again. I'd rather go to a different one, even if they do the same, because at least they're keeping me in the dark, rather than saying "Yeah, it happens, but I dont really do anything to CHANGE it from ahppening again."

That could very well lose you your job, and will often prevent you from getting a job anywhere in that industry again. How willing are you to go without work?

His solution is to do the best he can whilst keeping his job. Yours is scorched earth. It shouldn't be up to the employees to risk their jobs to prevent this, the inspections should be random and whatnot. But they aren't, and so the guys out the back are doing the best they can. They could just not bother. It would make their job easier, and they're certainly not getting thanked for it.

...

Maybe they will lose their job, but its better than working there and whining about it while making themselves sound better for it. Unless he plans to work as a manager or some higher up in the same fast food industry, it wont affect the job market much when you explain. In fact, most employers will say its good you did this, because they want someone who is honest, or if they find out they may ask you why you didnt and that can changer their perception of you. But then again, Im rather ethical, and I would never work somewhere where thats happening without either reporting it and documenting it for the next visit or reporting it flat out. And if I did I wouldnt ask for a tip for it because im not doing anything for it.

-snip, both posts-

You're kind of funny, you know? I doubt you ever actually worked a job like that. I'll tell you frankly, if I worked at a place you frequent and you frequented it with that attitude, I'd frequently spit in your coffee.

And then post the stories on notalwaysright. [http://www.notalwayright.com] Yeah, some people really don't give a fuck. I wouldn't give a fuck if I had to deal with shitty and pretentious customers on a daily basis either. Having worked as a waiter before I can tell you obnoxious customers are a lot more common than you may think.

But, a waiter is there to serve your food, he's not there to serve you.

that never worked a job at a theatre? yes, I did, and while it wasnt always as bad as I said above, it did get that bad. 7.10 (and by the time I became an usher 7.25) was not worth putting up with those people and definitely not worth the threats of violence the more irate customers would give. But I accepted my position and knew that what I do isnt special, that I am easily replaceable, and that its what I call mass production job because it is done a certain way with little if any variation and anyone can come in and do it if they have any sense of competency.

though what you mean by with that attitude I have no idea. No fast food place I go to asks for a tip, and I certainly dont give one to them. But i dont go in there with a bad attitude and tell them they dont deserve tips. I simply go in, have a cheerful enough demeanor when speaking to them, and then get my food and go. However, if someone asks me for a tip in a place like that, i ask them what they did to deserve it and when they dont give a good answer (because sad life stories about how you make min wage and want to live above your means is not a good answer im afraid) I tell them thats why i dont tip. Like I said, fast food places as the OP described are not places I tip because to me a tip means that you did something out of the ordinary. You make min wage and your job nature doesnt rely on tips, so I dont see the point unless they did soemthing special that went above and beyond.

 

[Vegosiux]

though what you mean by with that attitude I have no idea.

Berating the OP for "doing nothing and continuing to be part of a problem" despite the fact that he did do something; especially ironic since you continue how "taking a stand" can get you replaced by the next guy who'd do the same job without complaining, while on the other hand reporting the situation is even more likely to, especially with spiteful management, which you proceeded to completely ignore.

As for tipping culture, well, waiters' income won't depend on tips here, so yes, that's one thing, but if it did, I'd see a tip merely as payment for the service.

 

[loc978]

I follow gratuity customs wherever I go, yes. Servers at restaurants get 10% for a bad job, 20% for a great job here in the US (also, dollar a song minimum to stippers and round up to the nearest euro at restaurants in the EU. I'm told they make a living wage there without gratuity)... but that doesn't really apply to fast food, sorry... haven't actually walked into the building of a fast food place in years. It's a little harder to tip from a drive-through. Not sure it's even possible, especially with a debit card.

I also refuse to eat fast food at all out of state... Oregon food service laws and their enforcers would shut the place you work down within a month of operation. I've learned the hard way that California's laws are horrifically lax in comparison (got food poisoning from a breakfast bowl at a Jack in the Box down there), and that they've got some of the more stringent food service laws in the US... so yeah. I avoid fast food entirely when traveling. I'd rather walk into the woods, kill my next meal with a stick and cook it on the spot.

 

[Lieju]

Tipping is not a thing here in Finland.
Everything is expensive already, but that's because you aren't expected to tip.

 

[Sight Unseen]

(And the UK, I think) we tip people

Not true, there is the odd occasion where some say "keep the change" but it's not in our culture.

In the UK min wage is about £6.08 an hour, which is $9.77 ... I assume that is more than your min wage, so it doesn't have to be "topped up".

I always thought it was strange that American business owners expect there employees to be payed by the customers directly. We should pay the establishment, then they pay the staff.

Then again I think America sound like the weirdest place when it comes to cash, you're charged for medical stuff, you have to work out VAT yourself, tip people ... how do you afford to buy food!?

In the uk, I can go into a shop, pick up something for 99P and pay 99P. If my meal costs £20, then I pay £20 and leave From what I have heard you pick up something for $1 and pay $1.20 or something. You to a restaurant and your meal is $20, you pay $24 for it then tip the person serving you an extra $4 or something.

I might be wrong about the VAT though.

Assuming VAT is what you call a sales tax then you're right. MOST places in Canada (where I live) and the US that I've been to don't incorporate taxes into the prices shown on menus, store shelves, etc. So everything ends up being more expensive.

In most provinces in Canada that sales tax is 13%... So if you buy something that costs $100, you're actually paying $113, which adds up very quickly.

OT: In Canada we also tip waiters and waitresses, which I never really understood because we have a minimum wage that's like $10 and hour and I think we have much more job security than the USA does. Employers can't just fire people for no reason, they have to have proof of one of many valid causes. Otherwise they have to give them a certain amount of advanced notice or pay in lieu of notice in order to find another job.

 

[anian]

I usually go out to eat when I travel somewhere, but that's pretty rare. Then I tip when I feel at least that the staff was polite and approachable.
That's it.

In my country, we rarely tip and, unlike USA, waiters don't really expect it and usually get decent wages anyway (well the whole country is in the crapper so it's like the whole mental state), although in most of Europe it usually is polite to leave a tip.
McDonalds and other fast food stuff, we don't leave tips and never saw anybody leave a tip, when there's some very little spare change I usually drop it the charity box on the counter.
For delivery sometimes I leave a tip, though mostly not, since I'm usually strapped for cash myself.

To be honest the american system is bloody stupid, if tip is for is good service, everything else should be included in the price, that's why it is THE PRICE. In any case even if you don't leave a tip, there's no discussion about customer being unfair to the staff by default. I understand pays are low for service staff, but you're insinuating that's the customers fault and that they should pay...how's that freaking logical?
If you go into a supermarket and buy something of a shelf for a price, you don't expect somebody asking you to pay more because they unpacked it and put it on the shelf for you to buy, do you? Being polite and going out of your way to keep a customer happy that's another thing, but being expected to pay extra for doing your job, which anybody else who does any other work doesn't get...isn't that at least unfair to everybody else?

The whole other part about you saving people from spider eggs (though if you told me I was about to eat cooked spider eggs, I'd be all "yeah, top of the food chain, damn arachnids")...it's just a shame that you feel like you're being treated unfair in this situation. The whole system is again very f-ed up and again you want the customers to pay you extra for keeping them from food poisoning (what you're talking about is extra price on top of a price they agreed to pay for a service).
Is this blackmail the next step?

 

[emeraldrafael]

though what you mean by with that attitude I have no idea.

Berating the OP for "doing nothing and continuing to be part of a problem" despite the fact that he did do something; especially ironic since you continue how "taking a stand" can get you replaced by the next guy who'd do the same job without complaining, while on the other hand reporting the situation is even more likely to, especially with spiteful management, which you proceeded to completely ignore.

As for tipping culture, well, waiters' income won't depend on tips here, so yes, that's one thing, but if it did, I'd see a tip merely as payment for the service.

its at least doing something that can make a permanent change. All the op is telling me is they work in an unsatisfactory condition of health to both worker and customer, and they are not doing anything for larger change. I know what they say about a blissful ignorance, when you tell me something like that, it doesnt make me want to tip you. it makes me want to report you for not doing your job and duty in reporting it yourself and never eat at that place again. fast food is not what its cracked up to be and there are many other jobs you can go into that require the same skill level (essentially none) that if you explain will accept you or hell wont even ask. the solution is simple. Leave, report and take the chance of being forced to leave or keep your job, or dont expect a tip after saying all the dirty secrets like that. I see nothing in their work that deserves a tip, but rather a quick trip to unemployment and visit from a health bureau.

besides, the op doesnt rely on tips, so I see no need. as I said, i tip when you do something special, and keeping someplace "safe" enough for me to eat is not going above and beyond, thats expected.

 

[Frission]

Normally I think this thread would be more of a call for regulations and job security and increased minimum wage. Not more tips. Although the call for civility is good.

I didn't tip that much outside of the states because I knew the wages of the waiters and waitresses were not made entirely out of tips.

 

[Da Orky Man]

Here in the USA (And the UK, I think) we tip people for service.

I'm guessing, people have said this, but I'd like to get onto that bandwagon before it leaves:

We Brits don't tip nearly as much as you Yankees. In this sense, we're together with the rest of Europe in our tipping tendencies. If you provide truly excellent service, then you get a tip. If not, then you don't.

 

[omega 616]

(And the UK, I think) we tip people

Not true, there is the odd occasion where some say "keep the change" but it's not in our culture.

In the UK min wage is about £6.08 an hour, which is $9.77 ... I assume that is more than your min wage, so it doesn't have to be "topped up".

I always thought it was strange that American business owners expect there employees to be payed by the customers directly. We should pay the establishment, then they pay the staff.

Then again I think America sound like the weirdest place when it comes to cash, you're charged for medical stuff, you have to work out VAT yourself, tip people ... how do you afford to buy food!?

In the uk, I can go into a shop, pick up something for 99P and pay 99P. If my meal costs £20, then I pay £20 and leave From what I have heard you pick up something for $1 and pay $1.20 or something. You to a restaurant and your meal is $20, you pay $24 for it then tip the person serving you an extra $4 or something.

I might be wrong about the VAT though.

Assuming VAT is what you call a sales tax then you're right. MOST places in Canada (where I live) and the US that I've been to don't incorporate taxes into the prices shown on menus, store shelves, etc. So everything ends up being more expensive.

In most provinces in Canada that sales tax is 13%... So if you buy something that costs $100, you're actually paying $113, which adds up very quickly.

Yeah, it stands for "Value Added Tax". You pay it on everything except some food. In the UK it was 20% the last time I looked, for years it was 15%, then went up to 17.5%, then 20% during the recession ... probably gone back down now though.

 

[Agent Larkin]

I don't tip.

This is Ireland. We don't do Customer service so i don't do tips.

 

[RanD00M]

I don't tip here in Iceland because waiters aren't paid that bad, and when I'm abroad I don't tip because I either don't care or I have better use for my money.

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

Last time I went out to eat and pay for my own meal (as dinner), was in Berlin.
I had a five Euro pizza. I payed with a twenty Euro note, and let them keep the change as a tip.
Best pizzas I've had in any European country. I'm quite happy to tip just about anyone like that. I just don't go out anymore.
Of course, if they aren't nice, I won't tip them. Like a certain asshole in Amsterdam. Get my damn order wrong, and try to tell me otherwise... No generous tip for you. I don't like aggressive, rude staff.

 

[spartan231490]

snip

I don't believe you. I work in fast food myself, and we aren't allowed to accept tips. If we accept a tip and get caught, we're fired. Also frankly, the guy behind the counter has absolutely nothing to do with your food, if you want to tip someone go tip the guy in the back who has to make the food. Sure, the people in front need to deal with angry customers but the guy making the food usually has more work to do, and probably gets paid less.

Certainly, it's always nice when the person ordering isn't an angry douche, but tips are a bad idea.

 

[spartan231490]

snip

I don't believe you. I work in fast food myself, and we aren't allowed to accept tips. If we accept a tip and get caught, we're fired. Also frankly, the guy behind the counter has absolutely nothing to do with your food, if you want to tip someone go tip the guy in the back who has to make the food. Sure, the people in front need to deal with angry customers but the guy making the food usually has more work to do, and probably gets paid less.

Certainly, it's always nice when the person ordering isn't an angry douche, but tips are a bad idea.

 

[DeltaEdge]

It feels a bit weird to call the people that you want more money from bastards before asking us for what is basically a favor...
OT: I dislike the idea that I should feel obliged to tip. If your working standards are terrible and you are under-payed, then to me that sounds like something that you should take up with your employers. I think it's ridiculous because the management is basically abusing it's employees, the customers should have to pay up. That's like saying "I'm not getting enough money from my employer, so now I'm making it your problem too. Give me twenty percent of whatever your food costed!". Don't get me wrong, most people who work at places like that deserve better, they really do, but demanding gratuities which we are not obligated to give and should not have to give doesn't sit well with me either. I generally don't have a problem with tipping people, but if anyone ever asks me for a tip they are getting nothing.

 

[VanTesla]

TIP DAMMIT. Tip everyone.
Do you tip? Who do you tip? Do you agree that we should tip the guys behind the counter?

I tip 20% if the waiter or waitress are being attentive and considerate and never give less if say the food is bad for they are not at fault. I tip the same for delivery if I have exact change or close to 20% for gass and etc. I tip my barber 20% if they do well. Only reason I don't tip behind counter is for they get paid more than the average waiter/waitress without counting tips in America for if not for tips they be only making 2-3 dollars a hour... Ofcorse that is not the same for barbers, but that was how I was raised and it just stuck... I do think that many in fast food places get screwed over by the higher ups and some don't get paid enough, but that is the sad thing about life... It's bull crap but it's how it goes and honestly many workers do barely anything and still get paid the same amount for how ever they perform... There are two sides to everything and also if I tipped every dam person for every task I would just not go out and eat at home... It's the job you picked or got stuck with and I am thankful for you being a outstanding worker by the looks of it and hope you get a better living and enviroment since those in charge seem to be idiots that if caught would be fired themselves, but im not going to tip the person that is typping down what I say in a register. I will however thank them if they are polite and always be polite back.