YATT: Pete visits a no-tip restaurant

[purbeast0]

All I know is that any place that forces me to pay any kind of service fee/gratuity/etc I will not pay 1 penny more regardless of how great the service was. But pretty much any higher end restaurant I've been to does not do this, and I tip very generously because the experience is usually fantastic.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

So when you go to a restaurant and see the writing "a 18% gratuity is added automatically for parties of 6 or more" yet when you eat there with just 1 other person, it's not automatically added, you consider that restaurant a no-tip restaurant when visiting with 6 or more people, and a tip restaurant with 5 or less?

IRS rules changes on Mandatory Gratuities occurred in 2014 - I'm suprised we are still seeing them.

“Service charges added to a bill or fixed by the employer that the customer must pay, when paid to an employee, will not constitute a tip but rather constitute non-tip wages. These non-tip wages are subject to social security tax, Medicare tax, and federal income tax withholding. In addition, the employer cannot use these non-tip wages when computing the credit available to employers under section 45B of the Internal Revenue Code, because these amounts are not “tips.” Common examples of service charges (sometimes called “auto-gratuities”) in service industries are: Large Party Charge (restaurant), Bottle Service Charge (restaurant and night-club), Room Service Charge (hotel and resort), Contracted Luggage Assistance Charge (hotel and resort), and Mandated Delivery Charge (pizza or other retail deliveries)”

 

[snoopy7548]

Pretty much every fast food restaurant I go to, and others to-go.

Probably because they make >= minimum wage... and aren't real restaurants.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Honestly if you're going to run that sort of place you need to make it clear employees are not allowed to accept tips. I don't mind the service charge, but I'd rather they just roll it into the price. I get the sticker shock issue though.

In some cases taxation is more favorable to the restaurant if they add it as a service charge instead of rolling into menu prices. Regardless, all the tipping nonsense is a huge mess.

The 3% Solution — Being John Curtas

You would’ve thought someone had put Rice Krispies in the Nam Khao Tod. But this brouhaha had nothing to do with food. What it concerned was this little cost dollop added to the bill, at Lotus of Siam, which hit the presses last week: THANK YOU. The 3% employee health insurance added to you bill […]

www.eatinglv.com

 

[highland145]

Eff me, I just paid $61 on a $41 tab. I'm sure that's akin to raping invasive piglets in San Fran.

Or not. They could apply for housing and get a better cut.

 

[ElFenix]

i was going to humble brag about the tip i left for lunch but @highland145 beat me to it

 

[BoomerD]

Eff me, I just paid $61 on a $41 tab. I'm sure that's akin to raping invasive piglets in San Fran.

Or not. They could apply for housing and get a better cut.

They done see'd you a'comin...

 

[Craig234]

Eff me, I just paid $61 on a $41 tab. I'm sure that's akin to raping invasive piglets in San Fran.

Or not. They could apply for housing and get a better cut.

I can't make any sense of that.

 

[highland145]

I can't make any sense of that.

Good. My jerb is done.




Hope you and yours are good. I appreciate your history pm earlier this year. 1 paragraph beat 6 weeks in H.S. I fear (know) the real history will be revised...good or otherwise.

Of course, the "real" history is....

 

[pcgeek11]

Definition of GRATUITY

something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service; especially : tip… See the full definition

www.merriam-webster.com

Definition of gratuity
: something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service especially : tip

It seems by definition a "Tip" or "Gratuity" cannot be mandatory as once it become mandatory it is no longer a gratuity or tip.

I can understand a mandatory charge for parties over 6 persons, I refuse to eat at locations that have a Mandatory Tip for everyone. If you want to increase the wages of your employees just do it and charge more for the food or service. Quit pretending and playing on the sympathy of your customers.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Wonder how well the business is doing with that policy, that's how you will know if it's a-ok with customers.

 

[highland145]

Wonder how well the business is doing with that policy, that's how you will know if it's a-ok with customers.

And how the wait staff is doing. I would thing a decent waiter/waitress could make $100 an hour at one of the chains where a meal is typically $50 or more.

 

[ultimatebob]

Minimum wage is $15 here due to high cost of living and In N Out starts its employees at $18.50 I believe. Because of the higher minimum wage everything has gone up in price. Everything.

I just dont see myself tipping like I used to and those blasted fast casual IPad tipping screens they thrust in front of you with pre-populated tips starting at 20%. Fuck off!

I'm over tipping.

Yeah, Connecticut is one of those states that signed a "road to $15" minimum wage plan.

They started at $10, and are planning on raising the minimum wage by a buck an hour every year until 2023. Most of the restaurants didn't waste any time, though, and they all raised their prices by about 25% just a few months after the bill was signed. I already noticed that food items that cost around $7 last year usually cost around $9 now.

I'm really looking forward to paying $14 for my cheeseburgers a few years from now once the wage gets up to $15.

 

[highland145]

I'm really looking forward to grilling my cheeseburgers a few years from now once the wage gets up to $15.

fixed

 

[ch33zw1z]

And how the wait staff is doing. I would thing a decent waiter/waitress could make $100 an hour at one of the chains where a meal is typically $50 or more.

Yea, it's an important part of the equation. I mean, you can tip more if you're so inclined. My 8 years in food server showed me that cash tips are wait staff fav's, because America is all about sticking it to the man

 

[highland145]

Yea, it's an important part of the equation. I mean, you can tip more if you're so inclined. My 8 years in food server showed me that cash tips are wait staff fav's, because America is all about sticking it to the man

The $15/hr is sticking it to the good wait staff.

 

[ch33zw1z]

The $15/hr is sticking it to the good wait staff.

Maybe, maybe not. People can be super critical and tip poorly for any ill conceived reason.

Either way, my home state has a solid handle on it IMO: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-law-about-minimum-wage

 

[highland145]

The $15/hr is sticking it to the good wait staff.

My $8 burger is now $11...37% increase...many won't tip extra.

 

[Captante]

but the receipt said no tip required

So what your saying is the receipt lied?

*(a rose by any other name etc)


And I 100% agree ... professional waitstaff like the tipping system as-is just like professional salesmen have no issue with working on commission.

 

[pete6032]

Wonder how well the business is doing with that policy, that's how you will know if it's a-ok with customers.

The restaurant is on the eater 38 list and was very busy when we went, so very popular.

 

[NoTine42]

And how the wait staff is doing. I would thing a decent waiter/waitress could make $100 an hour at one of the chains where a meal is typically $50 or more.

Usually the occasional story of an American restaurant converting from tips to a “living wage” ends with that restaurant’s best staff leaving to earn more at a tipped restaurant, then service declines with the remaining staff.

 

[Craig234]

They started at $10, and are planning on raising the minimum wage by a buck an hour every year until 2023. Most of the restaurants didn't waste any time, though, and they all raised their prices by about 25% just a few months after the bill was signed. I already noticed that food items that cost around $7 last year usually cost around $9 now.

I'm really looking forward to paying $14 for my cheeseburgers a few years from now once the wage gets up to $15.

You don't understand much about the role of low-wage workers in pricing. Going from $7.25 to $15/hour will make a huge difference for the workers, and is estimated to raise your burger 4%.

Raising fast-food hourly wages to $15 would raise prices by 4%, study finds

The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Raising it to $15 (a 107% increase) would cause prices to rise an estimated 4.3%.

www.marketwatch.com

 

[Craig234]

Usually the occasional story of an American restaurant converting from tips to a “living wage” ends with that restaurant’s best staff leaving to earn more at a tipped restaurant, then service declines with the remaining staff.

Evidence?

 

[Scarpozzi]

When dining solo, I tend to opt for fast food because I don't want to pay for a meal AND a tip. In other words, the voluntary service charge I consider to be a tip keeps me from giving them business some days.

I mention this because I usually tip no less than $4-5 on a $12 tab...and that's even when ordering a meal and a pitcher...so the server is only carrying 2 things to the table.

 

[ultimatebob]

You don't understand much about the role of low-wage workers in pricing. Going from $7.25 to $15/hour will make a huge difference for the workers, and is estimated to raise your burger 4%.

Raising fast-food hourly wages to $15 would raise prices by 4%, study finds

The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Raising it to $15 (a 107% increase) would cause prices to rise an estimated 4.3%.

www.marketwatch.com

Which is nice in theory, except that it already raised the price of my lunch by about 20%. And that was just the 2019 wage increase from $10 to $11 an hour.

In fact, I remember McDonalds publicly saying that they were not going to increase food prices because of the wage increase. In their defense, they waited about 4 months before actually doing so, and they did it right around the same time they added the self-order kiosks and got rid of one of their cashiers. But I'm sure that's all a coincidence, right?