Yeah, I've got your damned tip right here!

[juju]

Also, at places like Blockbuster Video and Best Buy, customers are just as rude as they are in restaurants, if not more. I've heard many, many people say that if they don't get their way, they're perfectly justified in throwing all of their anger at the staff and basically throwing a fit until they get their way. This sort of behavior happens every day in retail, and they take a lot of shit. Do they expect handouts? No, they just do their job.

[slang]

Originally posted by sycamore
True. Most of us choose what type of job we want. However, everyone in this country deserves to make a living wage.

I couldn't let this stand without some comment.

Why? What does society owe everyone in regards to their wage? The minimum wage laws are in place and almost irrelevant. Does anyone make the minimum wage? I now make 6 bucks an hour and it's a LOW wage, but it's above minimum. As uncomfortable as I am in this temporary shitty arrangement I don't think the government or any other feel good group should lift the wages of the shitjob workers. The market determines what I will make right now. I can't afford most of the cool things I used to do on $235 a week, does that mean that some compassionate group should lobby for me to make more money? No. What this means to me is that I should do something every god damned fucking day to take a step toward digging out of this nightmare. For me, it's focusing on getting out of this aweful place. I took this job instead of attempting to find another design job far away so I can complete a BSCS. Then all this asskissing for no cash bullshit will be replaced with something much better.

My personal observation of the people that I work with is that they have either given up hope on ever doing anything real or they drink (or whatever) to escape from the reality that they have a shit job, make no money, and have no control. I am often bitchy at this shit job from hell, but when I hear one of the others complain about the job, I ask them "what will you be doing when you leave shift today, that will take you one step closer to getting away from this type of job forever?" Most of them don't have a clue. These are the folks that Uncle Teddy feels he has to step in and help, but they are unhelpable! So, I feel that no one, not even me, is "entitled" to a living wage. What the fuck is a living wage anyway? In this area $235 a week is. Not a real comfortable LW, but it's doable.

I also had a few comments about the wait staff and tipping.

On most of my work travels I would look for a cheap place to stay shortly after starting an assignment (so I could wheelbarrow the money into my brokerage acct, to make really bad investments, to lose tens of thousands of dollars and end up working a shitjob from hell) I'd also look for a reasonable place to eat because I wouldn't have a place to cook. At every location I'd find some friendly waitress that I'd "train" to to prepare my food the way I like it. I would always tip her big. She wasn't my friend, lover, slave or anything else really, just someone not from the office I could chat with briefly as I ate. I would ask her for local information, directions around town, current local events, anything that might affect me while I was in that given town. It always worked out great for both of us. The nightly dinners at the chosen greasy spoon were often my only real social interaction, and I always appreciated them. Before I would leave a town I'd make it a point to say goodbye and thankyou along with a final $20 tip.

There was one place in Ct I stopped in, while in an incredible crunch for time. I walked in to the resteraunt with a briefcase, planner, and a $10 bill. The waitress came over and I said in a hurried tone of voice "I need a place to set down to do some paperwork and I might need to use a cell phone, is there a place out of the way here that I has good cell reception?" She hesitated for a second then I put the $10 in her hand and told her that was for her and I might not order anything but I had a lot to do and that I would rather be left alone. She looked at the ten like it was a one hundred and opened a booth in the back section of the diner. Perfect. For the next 6 months or so, I ate there in the same space in the back and left her about $5 a meal. Was it worth helping me get through my emergency? The other diner I went to was almost totally unresponsive with exactly the same scenario.

(This concludes the slightly off topic slang commentary/storytime)

[slang]

Originally posted by Undertoad
I'm an outrageous tipper, especially at places that don't charge like the high-falutin' restaurants.

I don't care why the practice came about, all I know is it's an opportunity to pay somebody to like me.

Thats funny UT, and I agree. When I develop a friendship I can stop eating out.

[SteveDallas]

I generally tip 20% or so... when I have lunch at one of the local restaurants near my office (chinese or diner mostly), my lunch total generally comes to $7 to $10. At that price point I usually just give 20% rounded up to the next quarter if they haven't done anything to piss me off. If I am pissed off, I'll probably leave 10%, but it takes a lot to provoke me to that extent, and once it's happened, I'm probably not going back to that place. Once I left 5%. See below.

However I don't tip when I get takeout or fast food.

Originally posted by blowmeetheclown

That was around the time I came up with my million-dollar idea (the fourth or fifth one, actually). Each table in a restaurant is outfitted with a small digital billboard-type sign (about the size of your keyboard). The sign is setup as a counter, in the form of 99.99, and is used to count down the server's tip.

I've had a similar idea. In my case, my one pet peeve about restaurant dining that I really can't stand is when you've had a good meal, good service... and it takes forever to receive and pay your check. So I devised the idea of a clock, much as you suggest, that would say "your tip is $x" and then, after a preset period of time, say 5 minutes, start counting down the amount of the tip. The clock would start when I request my check and stop counting when I'm paid up and ready to leave.

The one time I left a 5% tip was at Olive Garden. We were there for my wife's birthday and the amount of time it took to get takeout boxes and pay the bill was shocking---almost 45 minutes. In retrospect I should have complained to the manager. But I didn't feel like it, we just never went back. (I probably wouldn't have complained there anyway... I usually write a letter, which I find more satisfying for some reason.)

Like Tony, I'm an outrageous tipper most of the time. Here are my criteria:

• Did the server make the experience enjoyable, even if the food wasn't great?
  
• Were drinks refilled regularly and promptly?
  
• Was the waitress/waiter by my table frequently enough such that I didn't have to wait to ask for the check? (Bonus: they bring it out before I ask for it, asking "Are you ready for the check?" - hardly ever do I want dessert.)
  
• Once I receive the check, how long does it take for them to pick up my credit card?
  
• Do I have it back in a reasonable amount of time?

Like KB, once I'm done eating, I want to get the hell out of there. Far more important than food quality is whether or not it's been a pleasant experience for me - and sitting there bored and waiting for the check is not a pleasant experience.

I think I've only ever tipped under 15% once, and that was when I was livid with our waitress. She was by the table to take our order, bring our drinks, bring the food and then pick up the check. I asked for stuff that I didn't get and I really didn't have an opportunity to ask for it again. This was at the Silver Diner in Tyson's Corner, where I had previously had a similar experience. I give everyone one strike - we all have an off day. But this was, I'm almost certain, the same waitress that I had previously had (and complained about).

The total was $21.27, if I recall correctly, and I left $22 on the table - only because I didn't have $21.26 exactly and was too lazy to make change. I won't be dining there ever again.

(For those in the area with similar experiences - there is an excellent Silver Diner down Gallows Rd. in Merrifield. Go south from Tyson's and you can't miss it.)

[SteveDallas]

Originally posted by dave

Like KB, once I'm done eating, I want to get the hell out of there. Far more important than food quality is whether or not it's been a pleasant experience for me - and sitting there bored and waiting for the check is not a pleasant experience.

Heh.. well.. if it's just my wife and me we can pass some time talking to each other. (Though I'd still generally rather get out and continue talking elsewhere.) But if we have the kdis along, as we did in this case.... my kids are, I think typical, in that they have a certain limit to the amount of time they'll sit still doing nothing, and then they have to start doing something. Once they've passed their limit and started trying to climb the light fixture, disassemble the venetian blinds, have a conversation with the folks at the next table, dance in the aisles, etc., it's not only a bad experience for the parents, it's also a bad experience for all the other diners in the area, which means it's REALLY REALLY bad for business not to shuffle them out as quickly as possible.

[juju]

Originally posted by dave
I think I've only ever tipped under 15% once, and that was when I was livid with our waitress. She was by the table to take our order, bring our drinks, bring the food and then pick up the check. I asked for stuff that I didn't get and I really didn't have an opportunity to ask for it again.

Originally posted by SteveDallas
The one time I left a 5% tip was at Olive Garden. We were there for my wife's birthday and the amount of time it took to get takeout boxes and pay the bill was shocking---almost 45 minutes. In retrospect I should have complained to the manager. But I didn't feel like it, we just never went back.

It's interesting to me how the very things we tip to avoid are the very problems that the practice of tipping itself causes. If that's not irony, I don't know what is.

[Cam]

Originally posted by warch
I feel the world would be in much better shape if a healthy stint in food service was mandatory for all humans between 16-26.

I completely agree with you. Waiting especially as you learn how to be sociable and to initiate the conversation; and how to be friendly even though you want to kick the customer in the balls.

When it comes to tipping I'm generally at least 20 percent. Friendly service is the biggest factor in my decision on the amount to tip, but also the servers ability to do stuff without being asked, such as noticing when the drinks are down to 1/4 full and bringing you a new one so you never run out. Anytime a server is obviously keeping his/her eyes open as she rushes by on the way back to the kitchen warrents a good sized tip.