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Bribing maitre d' to skip the line

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Re: Bribing maitre d' to skip the line

#111

Post by hugh3 »

rjett wrote: post #79
euroclydon wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess this isn't quite like the experiences I've had, where you have a reputation of tipping well, and all of the sudden items are missing from your bill. That's just an illegal transfer of wealth from the owner to the employee.

I have a friend who used to approach concession stands at sporting events and ask the teenager behind the counter if he'd give him a free x,y, or z if he put $2 in their tip jar. This usually worked.

Y'see, that's just crossing the line from nudge-nudge, wink-wink into outright let's-steal-from-your-employer.

Re: Bribing maitre d' to skip the line

#112

Post by WingForward »

mikeklaas wrote: post #87
lotusleaf1987 wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I worked at a steakhouse the smart servers would never charge for sodas or extras like baked potatoes, rice etc. Because as soon as the person got the bill, whatever amount was discounted almost always was directly added onto the tip amount. It might be bad for the restaurant for their soda/potatoes/rice, but that stuff costs as close to nothing as you're going to get.

The waiter is stealing the profit (and cost) of those items, not just the cost.

I think you're jumping the gun by using a loaded term like stealing. It may be restaurant policy to allow servers that discretion.

Especially if that "discount" is appearing on the bill.

Re: Bribing maitre d' to skip the line

#113

Post by mordero »

_cbsz wrote: post #76
illumin8 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, this is a huge problem. I was on a business trip once and eating dinner at the bar of TGIFridays. I normally wouldn't eat at a chain restaurant like that, but I was in Virginia and there was nothing nearby. In any case, these college kids were sitting at the bar next to me, and we started talking. They seemed to be friends with the bartender and one of the told me "give the bartender a $20 and you'll drink all…

There are companies that audit bartenders by very carefully inventorying the liquor. I found out from this article in my college's newspaper: http://www.michigandaily.com/content/2008-09-24/bar-audits-m... . The company is Bevinco (www.bevinco.com), and I'm sure there are others.

Yeah, I remember watching a video in an accounting class about internal controls of a bar in Texas which would weigh bottles every night and dispensed drinks through a soda gun.

Found another example of companies using some audits to keep track of liquor usage. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_43_40/ai_n267...]

Re: Bribing maitre d' to skip the line

#114

Post by compay »

RK wrote: post #65
kevingadd wrote: post #30

Growing up, I rarely was in a situation to tip, but these days, living near Palo Alto, i've noticed something interesting: out of the places I go to eat or get coffee, a few are small independent businesses owned by locals. At the ones where I was getting consistently good service, I started tipping 20%+. Within a few weeks of this, I was surprised to notice that they began discounting my food and drinks without ment…

I think a very common tip increasing strategy used by people serving food is to give discounts. If I'm selling you something for $10 and you'd normally tip $1 and I give it to you for $8, you are much more inclined to tip me $2-3, because you'd still pay the same or less and received "special" service. This of course may be unethical for the employee, depending on store policy. My best friend falls for it every time,…

> I see it as a type of scam against the employer, though.

That's definitely sometimes true. But it depends - when I was in college I used to go to a bar (Redbones in Somerville, MA) where the owner had a policy of letting the bartenders offer a certain number of free drinks and appetizers to favored customers at their discretion. He did this because he said it meant more loyal customers, which helped both him and his employees. I definitely spent a lot of money in that bar and always tipped heavily because of the great service. Despite all the freebies I got, I'm sure they turned a well-deserved profit off my business.

Re: Bribing maitre d' to skip the line

#115

Post by jakx »

mikeklaas wrote: post #87
lotusleaf1987 wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I worked at a steakhouse the smart servers would never charge for sodas or extras like baked potatoes, rice etc. Because as soon as the person got the bill, whatever amount was discounted almost always was directly added onto the tip amount. It might be bad for the restaurant for their soda/potatoes/rice, but that stuff costs as close to nothing as you're going to get.

The waiter is stealing the profit (and cost) of those items, not just the cost.

How do you steal something that never existed i.e. the profit?

Re: Bribing maitre d' to skip the line

#116

Post by ataggart »

MichaelApproved wrote: post #104
chunkbot wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If there's a "single page" option, I prefer that to "printable". I don't mind ads, but I hate to click through three pages just to read an article.

It's surprising the divide that exists within the HN community. You have a lot of entrepreneurs who try to make successful companies based on free content and another side that can't stand those people. Or at least it seems that way based on the way this article is submitted, downvoted comments and general comments posted on the site. Someone creates good content and we're almost punishing them for it. Yes, paging is…

For a given article, a single, long page should be able to display about as much ad space as multiple, short pages. If there's some benefit to the gross number of clicks/pageviews involved then perhaps it is the site that's gaming things.

Re: Bribing maitre d' to skip the line

#117

Post by Perceval »

mikeklaas wrote: post #87
lotusleaf1987 wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I worked at a steakhouse the smart servers would never charge for sodas or extras like baked potatoes, rice etc. Because as soon as the person got the bill, whatever amount was discounted almost always was directly added onto the tip amount. It might be bad for the restaurant for their soda/potatoes/rice, but that stuff costs as close to nothing as you're going to get.

The waiter is stealing the profit (and cost) of those items, not just the cost.

The incentives of the waiters and the restaurant owners are almost never perfectly aligned.

Most profit comes from simple items: drinks, salads, the most basic pasta dishes, coffee. It's all stuff where the ingredients cost next to nothing and the prep time is negligible. They don't cost much either, but have huge margins.

The waiter's incentive is not to push you to get the $9.95 ziti marinara, but to get the $22 lobster-filled ravioli, or the $25 jumbo shrimp dish, or the $27 steak—the most expensive dishes on the menu. But the lobster or the shrimp or the steak often have the slimmest margins of anything on the menu. Oftentimes something like lobster will serve as a loss-leader to get people into the restaurant.

As a waiter, you're constantly pushed to sell appetizers, salads, drinks, coffee and ice cream. All the stuff that's not just an entree. That's where the margins are, despite not costing very much and not leading to an inflated bill like a steak and bottle of wine would.

So not only is the waiter stealing the profit from the sodas they give you for free, they stand a chance of making the restaurant take a loss on your meal if you order a slim-margin item as an entree and don't order anything else.

But this is a problem you'll never really fix. Waiters are sharecroppers and their incentives will always be (in part) opposed to what's best for the restaurant.

Re: Bribing maitre d' to skip the line

#118

Post by infinite8s »

RK wrote: post #43
donohoe wrote: post #16

Related, but unrelated - this is some advice for events like weddings or any open bar where there is a crowd (think SXSW). Go to the bar early. Talk to the bartender, take $20 out of your pocket and tell him/her/them: "Hey, this is for you. I don't have change and I want to tip, and I have no idea how much I'll actually drink... Thanks!" I started doing this because I used to bartend and a lot of people skimp on tips…

I was recently at a conference reception where each person was given two drink tickets. My friend and I went up for our first drink and my friend tipped the bar tender well. The rest of the night that same guy just kept handing him his tickets back...

What is considered a good tip for a drink?

Re: Bribing maitre d' to skip the line

#119

Post by tyng »

I had a similar experience a few years ago in London where the night clubs were well known for their strict enforcement of "no collar no entry" policy. I did remember to wear a shirt that night but forgot to carry my passport, and I was blocked by a sumo-looking security guard at the club door. Upon suggestion by a friend who lived in London for many years I slipped a £10 note under a random business card I found in my wallet (pretend to be a valid ID) and approached the security guard.

"Here's my ID" I said, and showed a tip of the note under the card. "Show me," said the security guard and casually took both the card and the money from my hand. After pretending to check the birthday details for 10 seconds he returned the card (but not the money) to me and said "have a good night!"

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