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Casualties of the Cashless Society: Those Who Get Seasonal Tips

nytimes.com

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

#191

Post by opencl »

omg_ketchup wrote: post #11

Is it really worth tipping someone to open a door or press a button in an elevator? I never understood the need for this position, let alone why anyone would ever tip them.

There are plenty of older buildings with manual elevators (as in direct control of the motor), and they're a bit tricky to line up with the platform accurately. I regularly visit two buildings with such elevators and only one has an operator on staff. If people are being paid to 'operate' modern automatic elevators it is indeed quite silly though.

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

#192

Post by will_hughes »

deftturtle wrote: post #190
ironjunkie wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The biggest hurdle to move away from tipping is that the people that get screwed by the tipping culture are the first one to want to stay in it. They are also the first ones to moralize people about how tipping is a must and if you don't tip, that poor waiter will be unable to make a living. NO! The ones that get away easy in this whole scheme are the owners that have now no responsibility to pay their employees corr…

Exactly. I quit a job where I was paid minimum plus tips, but it's not enough. The restaurant should pay more than minimum wage. Profits should be split, regardless of how tips are handled. They try to keep the cost of food at 30%, as is common in business. COG around 1/3 or less. So when we have a really busy night, there is excess profit relative to the amount of tips. Assuming tips are a constant percentage of sal…

> The restaurant should pay more than minimum wage.

Perhaps, but it sounds more like that your minimum wage isn't set to be a living wage[1].

That's the important part - minimum wages should be set so that someone who is working full time (~40 hours/week) should be getting enough income so that they can afford a modest standard of living for themselves and a family too.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_wage

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

#193

Post by cardiffspaceman »

code_duck wrote: post #161

I’m bothered by the need to carry cash just for tips, kind of like how quarters function solely as special magic tokens for parking meters. Starbucks, for instance, does not have tipping activated on their electronic check out… Who knows why? I tip with every coffee I get, except when I’m unable to because of payment technology.

If you pay Starbucks with their stored-value card linked to their phone app you can tip with it. If you enable notifications from the app you can get a reminder to enter the app and check off the tip amount. You also have 2 hours to change the tip.

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

#194

Post by tuna-piano »

fernandopj wrote: post #126
Yetanfou wrote: post #66

The 'cashless society' is starting to show another dark side here in Sweden in that several banks have started to close accounts for organisations [1] which don't "agree to the bank's ethical foundation" (the Swedish word is "Värdegrund" [2]). While there still are banks willing to take these organisations as customers this is a development in the wrong direction. It does not matter whether you agree with the "ethica…

If only there was a way for society to go cashless, but not to rely on central authorities to decide who has money and who doesn't... Oh, wait. Joke aside, you just described why blockchain ideologists hope the future will be a global, decentralized system. So no one can unilaterally deny access to your money.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but by design block chain is also non-anonymous. So if you want to, say, give money to Donald Trump, everyone could know you gave money to Donald Trump.

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

#195

Post by beisner »

greggarious wrote: post #54

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…

Anecdotally, I’m a millennial with an apartment in Manhattan. I never carry cash, and generally avoid cash-only places. In fact with some notable exceptions, I rarely see cash-only places. Even food trucks have Square readers. The only times I carry cash are when I go to the barber, since you generally can’t tip with card.

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

#196

Post by asteli »

santaclaus wrote: post #93
jhpankow wrote: 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.

I recently went to Homestead in Oakland, which includes tips. The service was top notch, despite what the include-the-tip naysayers claim will happen.

Half Orange by Fruitvale BART notably comes to mind.

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

#197

Post by ggg9990 »

will_hughes wrote: post #192
deftturtle wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. I quit a job where I was paid minimum plus tips, but it's not enough. The restaurant should pay more than minimum wage. Profits should be split, regardless of how tips are handled. They try to keep the cost of food at 30%, as is common in business. COG around 1/3 or less. So when we have a really busy night, there is excess profit relative to the amount of tips. Assuming tips are a constant percentage of sal…

> The restaurant should pay more than minimum wage. Perhaps, but it sounds more like that your minimum wage isn't set to be a living wage[1]. That's the important part - minimum wages should be set so that someone who is working full time (~40 hours/week) should be getting enough income so that they can afford a modest standard of living for themselves and a family too. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_wage

> minimum wages should be set so that someone who is working full time (~40 hours/week) should be getting enough income so that they can afford a modest standard of living for themselves and a family too

Can I ask... Why? Shouldn't a "minimum" wage provide a "minimal" lifestyle rather than a modest lifestyle? And why should one be able to support a family on a single minimum wage?

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

#198

Post by Hydraulix989 »

gamblor956 wrote: post #160
45h34jh53k4j wrote: post #42

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!

You can't get downvoted by drivers for refusing to tip. They don't find out if you tipped until after they've rated you, unless you actually tell them, "I'm not tipping you."

Some drivers still ask for cash tips ("Uber takes a cut if you tip in the app").

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

#199

Post by newen »

betterunix2 wrote: post #152
CM30 wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Normal cash is also much easier to use, doesn't rely on any software needing to be installed (or a computer/network access in general) and offers a decent amount of deniable plausability too. Why the obsession with replacing everything with technology when sometimes the old system works fine?

Cash cannot be used to pay websites/etc., and having a single method of paying is more convenient than having two methods. So the growth of online ordering essentially pushes people to use electronic payments of some kind, and as the number of online purchases increases so does the pressure to use electronic payments generally. Don't confuse ease-of-use in specific situations with ease-of-use generally.

> having a single method of paying is more convenient than having two methods

Are you a GNOME UI designer?

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

#200

Post by taejo »

dvtv75 wrote: post #180
wfo wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>In the US, employees must still be paid minimum wage. Depending on the state, an employer may count tips toward this amount. If an employee reports $0 in tips, the employer must pay them $7.25/hr. While I would like to believe that what you say is true, I find it hard to be true. Sure this is technically correct according to the way the law is written but it ignores the reality which is that a large group of crimina…

Not in the US, but these have happened to me in my last three jobs (mostly in Dunedin, New Zealand): * steal from their employees by not paying them when they quit * intimidating employees into not reporting wages under the minimum * refusing to pay legally mandated overtime * refusing to allow legally required breaks I'm owed between $20,000 and $40,000 by two (New Zealand) employers in particular, who refused to pa…

That seems like it'd be enough money to be worth going to court.
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