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Casualties of the Cashless Society: Those Who Get Seasonal Tips

nytimes.com

81–90 of 209 posts

Re: Casualties of the Cashless Society: Those Who Get Seasonal Tips

#81

Do people not carry cash? Maybe the types who have an apartment with a doorman in Manhattan don't. But I (a "millenial") often go to bars and restaurants that are cash only. Eventually, I found it was easier keep budget my "entertainment" in cash. Visually being able to see how much I have, how much I'm taking out helps. Being able to see that amount grow if I'm frugal one month feels good too. I have friends who cla…

How did you measure your last claim?

Re: Casualties of the Cashless Society: Those Who Get Seasonal Tips

#82
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not a tech problem and blaming the tech industry will not solve it. Employers should not be allowed to underpay their employees, regardless of what form of payment is commonly used. Blame lawmakers who refuse to raise the minimum wage and who continue allowing restaurants to pay below minimum wage because their waiters receive tips. Why do people expect tech companies to fix this problem? Tech companies did not…

I'm not suggesting that tech has to fix the problem, but that it should at the very least be interested in helping others solve the problem. Blame lawmakers? Absolutely. Why not actively lobby lawmakers, and work with them to change the law? > tech companies did not invent tipping and tech companies did not create a system where certain professions rely on tips. No, but they did break the existing model whereby worke…

A new technology can have many impacts on society. Are tech companies supposed to hold back on new ideas until every possible stakeholder has had a chance to weigh in? Is every negatively impacted stakeholder entitled to some kind of solution before new technologies are deployed?

The reason the tech industry will almost certainly not wind up with the negative image that financial companies suffer with is that people actually like the things new technologies do. People prefer Orbitz to dealing with travel agents. People prefer email to postal mail. People prefer downloading to buying CDs, and they prefered CDs to vinyl, and they preferred recorded music to buying sheet music and learning how to play an instrument. Despite decades of complaints by all these various affected stakeholders, people still have a positive opinion of the tech industry, because at the end of the day they see tangible improvements in their lives.

Re: Casualties of the Cashless Society: Those Who Get Seasonal Tips

#83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

its more expensive than ever. i refuse to tip via uber (of course I get downvoted by the driver due to tip extortion). Screw uber!

We honestly need less comments on HN that end with, "Screw X!"

[downvoted for excessive irony]

Re: Casualties of the Cashless Society: Those Who Get Seasonal Tips

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did you copy licenses if the power was out?

> we had an old carbon copier that we could use You know, the kind where you slide the thing across and you don't have to plug it in?

That takes an impression from a credit card (although I see more and more that don't have raised lettering) but not from an ID.

Re: Casualties of the Cashless Society: Those Who Get Seasonal Tips

#85
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish there was a list of Bay Area restaurants that don't require tipping. I discovered one last Friday and look forward to returning for the good food, service, and fair wages.

Would you mind sharing the name of the restaurant?

http://www.yayoi-us.com/california-location.html

Re: Casualties of the Cashless Society: Those Who Get Seasonal Tips

#86

There is no way we will rid this society of tips. People will need to be paid more to compensate. And not many capitalist want to to give more and earn less. I was just in New York yesterday. Upon seeing the doormen dressed like the guy in Home Alone, I realized that there are people who still want you dressed in a monkey suit for no logical reason. I doubt they're willing to pay them more. I'm certain someone can ma…

>On a side note do we even need door men? At my buddy's old place in Brooklyn the security door for the building broke. It had been broken for about 24 hours before my friend discovered a prostitute giving a john a BJ in the stairwell. Doormen keep prostitutes from giving BJs in your stairwell, among other things.

>Doormen keep prostitutes from giving BJs in your stairwell, among other things.

I don't mind having to step over a dude getting a blowie in the stairwell if it saves the Chinese food delivery guy from having to stand in the cold and saves me from having to put on a jacket to go get my Chinese food.

Stuff like prostitution and drug dealers would only be 10% of the problem they are if people would stop being bothered by them out of habit.

Re: Casualties of the Cashless Society: Those Who Get Seasonal Tips

#87
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Also when I get a haircut they give a big discount for cash “discount” ;) Nice euphemism for tax evasion.

Potentially, although do remember that card processing fees are rather high for small businesses, and every transaction that they don’t have to lose 3% or 5% of or whatever is extra money they can keep.

Unless jedberg is referring to a 3% discount as a big discount, then I think it's quite obvious that it's due to tax evasion, which would allow the merchant to provide deeper discounts. This is common in cash businesses.

Re: Casualties of the Cashless Society: Those Who Get Seasonal Tips

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's on the business. I used to be a cashier, and during power outages, we had an old carbon copier that we could use to copy credit cards and note the amount, and then enter it in manually later. You lose the instant approve/deny, but we'd also copy ids.

How did you copy licenses if the power was out?

You just write the relevant information on the carbon with a pen.

Re: Casualties of the Cashless Society: Those Who Get Seasonal Tips

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Things are different in America - restaurants get a special exemption under labor law [1] that allows them to pay wait staff about 25% of the minimum wage required for all other professions. The social understanding is that patrons are obligated to make up the difference via tips - you have to pay to use their services. The system sucks but that's how it is, if you don't want to tip then you can always eat at McDonal…

> The system sucks but that's how it is, if you don't want to tip then you can always eat at McDonalds or other establishments without wait staff. Or you can simply eat at that establishment and not leave a tip.

So in the name of changing labor laws, we should cause tens of thousands of people to lose their jobs, effectively. For something like that to work, labor and consumers would have to be on the same page, and do something like a national week of no tipping, which would still hurt only the workers, not the businesses.

This needs to happen in Congress.

Re: Casualties of the Cashless Society: Those Who Get Seasonal Tips

#90
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not suggesting that tech has to fix the problem, but that it should at the very least be interested in helping others solve the problem. Blame lawmakers? Absolutely. Why not actively lobby lawmakers, and work with them to change the law? > tech companies did not invent tipping and tech companies did not create a system where certain professions rely on tips. No, but they did break the existing model whereby worke…

A new technology can have many impacts on society. Are tech companies supposed to hold back on new ideas until every possible stakeholder has had a chance to weigh in? Is every negatively impacted stakeholder entitled to some kind of solution before new technologies are deployed? The reason the tech industry will almost certainly not wind up with the negative image that financial companies suffer with is that people…

> Are tech companies supposed to hold back on new ideas until every possible stakeholder has had a chance to weigh in?

I did not propose this strawman at any point. I merely said that tech companies should be actively engaged in solving the follow on problems from their creations, not that they shouldn't be allowed to create things.

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