371–380 of 550 posts
Mexico all inclusive vs Thailand. Anyone that has been to these two places would have to agree that tipping directly correlates to the quality of service. This is why I'm going back to Mexico for the 9th time in 4 years.
I presume you mean in Mexico that since everything is all-inclusive, the only real payment is tips so it strongly affects service quality.
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I worked in finance sales for about 3 years. Bonuses are fun but I have seen a lot of misconduct in the pursuit of a bonus. Maybe its just banking... I'm all for the no tipping and i happily work without a bonus. And i would expect other to as well. If you can't show up and be consistent in performance without a carrot then thats maybe not a great reflection of how you work and what you value.
> Bonuses are fun but I have seen a lot of misconduct in the pursuit of a bonus. Maybe its just banking... It's not just banking. I was horrified at some of the behavior I saw from the sales folks at a software start-up I worked for (including the CEO). As a sales lifer, our CEO came up with some pretty generous comp packages for the sales team that promoted bad behavior and short-term "wins" that the rest of us woul…
Tipping is also extremely inconsistent in at least three ways. One is the idea of a percentage: how does that make any sense? When I go out for a rare nice dinner and the tip alone ends up being $20 or so, I ask myself: did this person/restaurant really do any more than the server of the last entire meal that cost $20? Of course not, and yet somehow it would look weird to pay $40 for a $20 meal with tip, for the same…
> One is the idea of a percentage I've always found this odd too. Say for a special occasion I decide to go to a high end steakhouse... mid-range bottle of wine, two nice steaks, a'la cart sides, appetizer, and desert we're at $500. That's $100 at 20%. Did that person really do more work than the person I tipped $10 at Chili's (an american casual family restaurant)? > Another inconsistency is where to tip I usually e…
they were better able to answer questions and offer suggestions (including off-menu changes that might help you). They timed your meal for your enjoyment rather than for turnover. They made sure you had fresh silverware, a clean table, and a full glass. They coordinated your bar, wine, and food orders so appropriate items were presented at the appropriate time. They verified the kitchen gave them correct dishes before they brought them to you. They devoted a lot of energy into ensuring that a small number of guests have a great experience.
They're able to earn decent livings because they are at the top of their field.
The folks at chili's are granted no autonomy. Their goal is to turn the table quickly, with the least effort; and to do this with the least skilled staff. They work hard, but their goal is to serve a large number of guests with a tolerable experience, not a great one.
Yes, they bring food and drink, but the focus is on throughput, not on quality.
It's similar to the difference between code written by a low bid contractor versus a talented on-site team. If you want anything unusual or if you care about quality and the experience, you'll greatly prefer the on site staff. Even if some execs might not understand why you can't offshore 100% of the work.
Tipping is also extremely inconsistent in at least three ways. One is the idea of a percentage: how does that make any sense? When I go out for a rare nice dinner and the tip alone ends up being $20 or so, I ask myself: did this person/restaurant really do any more than the server of the last entire meal that cost $20? Of course not, and yet somehow it would look weird to pay $40 for a $20 meal with tip, for the same…
I think that tipping as a percentage of the meal cost is absolutely idiotic. I have never gotten good service at an expensive restaurant, and yet the receipt gives you the math for 18%, 20%, and 22% tips. I have gotten good and bad service at cheap restaurants (something like Steak and Shake), and tip accordingly. The "work" is not anything different between the two jobs. Just take my order, bring me my food, and ref…
If you have more money to spend, a lot of the time you'll end up spending more on desserts, drinks, etc. Then you pay a greater amount of money for the service. If you have less to spend, you'll buy fewer things, and pay a smaller charge.
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>> "If they do the above and keep your water glass filled constantly without need to ask, if your meal, drink orders and dessert come out promptly and correctly This shouldn't be considered exceptional. It's what I'm paying for and should not require tipping. >> if they ask if everything is ok throuought the meal at appropriate times I understand you included 'appropriate' but this is honestly the thing that irritate…
It's hard to do the latter. When is the appropriate time to intervene to ask if everything is ok? But I can't tell you how many times I've not had a fork, or needed a drink and my waitperson never came to ask if I needed anything. The frustration can go both ways.
Where I grew up (The Netherlands) this simply does not exist. If you need something you ask the waiter and only then they'll come to you. Likewise for the check, the check only comes when you ask for it. It is considered extremely rude to get the check before you've asked for it.
Of course, after living in the US for 5 years I've become accustomed to all kinds of weird things (like the insistence of having salad before the entree, and entree not being an appetizer, simply blows my mind).
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Try doing 20% on an american credit card bill when you're drunk and leaving the house, where it wants you to write down the total AND the difference. It's completely retarded in every conceivable way.
Isn't that an either-or? I've always either written the tip or the total amount on trips to the US.
I probably will continue to write both as I'm a little paranoid about people making changes to the values before they get put into the machine, and having to change 2 lines is harder than 1.
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> One is the idea of a percentage I've always found this odd too. Say for a special occasion I decide to go to a high end steakhouse... mid-range bottle of wine, two nice steaks, a'la cart sides, appetizer, and desert we're at $500. That's $100 at 20%. Did that person really do more work than the person I tipped $10 at Chili's (an american casual family restaurant)? > Another inconsistency is where to tip I usually e…
Here's the thing. I worked in the restaurant business in various capacities all through college. As a cash transaction, it will come as no surprise that a lot of tips go unreported as income. From time to time the IRS will decide the reported income from a restaurant seems low and audit the staff. It was generally understood that if you had reported 10% of your sales as a server/bartender as tip income you'd be ok. I…
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> I read an argument once that that tipping is probably illegal under US employment law because, in practice, its racist. Research indicates that servers who are ethnic minorities are tipped less than white women, who are tipped most. Wouldn't that make minority owned businesses racist too by the same logic? If people make choices based on race, it puts them and their employees at a disadvantage.
How does that follow?
Tipping is also extremely inconsistent in at least three ways. One is the idea of a percentage: how does that make any sense? When I go out for a rare nice dinner and the tip alone ends up being $20 or so, I ask myself: did this person/restaurant really do any more than the server of the last entire meal that cost $20? Of course not, and yet somehow it would look weird to pay $40 for a $20 meal with tip, for the same…
Try going to a foreign country, almost any, and have this conversation. They'll look at you like you've gone insane, really. Every conversation I've had with a foreigner about this and they think American's are batshit when it comes to the tipping strategy and how much noodle time and effort we spend on it. Basically it's a type of freeloading. The business manager is dumping off their decision making, verbal and mon…
Someone should look into how much this is costing the US tourism industry.
> The business manager is dumping off their decision making
The individual business manager is powerless about this. It's an ingrained national culture.