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SF Restaurants Can’t Afford Waiters. So They’re Putting Diners to Work

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Re: SF Restaurants Can’t Afford Waiters. So They’re Putting Diners to Work

#31

Post by adventured »

acchow wrote: post #27
listenallyall wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Delivery used to be free from most pizza places and the occasional other restaurant that delivered. Now, almost everyone charges a delivery fee. The idea of tipping on top of that just irks me to no end, although I do it so they won't spit on my food next time. I don't tip my Fedex or UPS deliveryman, why should I tip for food delivery when I've already been charged extra for that exact service?

There are people who tip the fedex or ups courier? I didn’t even consider this was a possibility.

No, there aren't people that do that, basically. The parent comment was pointing out that that would be an absurdity if it were occurring.

Re: SF Restaurants Can’t Afford Waiters. So They’re Putting Diners to Work

#32

Post by walru »

baddox wrote: post #24
aeontech wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Giving bartenders a dollar no matter the order amount is not cool, really. That’s how you turn invisible to them the next time you want to order a drink ;)

Hopefully GP meant a dollar per drink. That seems to be the norm.

If you're headed to a craft establishment, $2 is the norm now. (aka a drink that has 4-10 ingredients, not a vodka/soda)

Re: SF Restaurants Can’t Afford Waiters. So They’re Putting Diners to Work

#33

Post by enra »

HumanDrivenDev wrote: post #10

The small menu is so appealing and the place itself so charming that you almost forget, as a diner, that you have to do much of the work of dining out yourself. You scout your own table. You fetch and fill your own water glass. And if you’d like another glass of wine, you go back to the counter. A lot of low-range restaurants work in Australia and New Zealand. Is this really that rare in America?

I think its been somewhat common in US before as well in cafes, pizza places, bars, food courts etc.

I think the difference the article is trying to make is the places like Souvla (fast-casual), that have nice decor, good/high-end food and wine options and potentially restaurant like prices, are targeting the normal mid-high end customers but using low-cost the self serve model.

Souvla does get old quite fast, but nowadays I'm definitely drawn to fast-casual places if I'm just interested to eat and not spend the whole day/night in the restaurant. You know what you get, the quality is good, its at least perceivably healthier (you don't feel sick like you would after McDonalds) it's fast (even with lines, you know you are in and out in 15-30mins) and there usually no table seating rules (you can order and sit down even if one of your friends is 15mins late).

Re: SF Restaurants Can’t Afford Waiters. So They’re Putting Diners to Work

#34

Post by DeRock »

walru wrote: post #28

Say you have questions and want to try something different, but are afraid to pay for something you don't want. Or, you're thirsty for a cocktail you've never had before and would like a suggestion. Isn't anyone afraid of losing that experience?

You still order from a human who could answer any of those questions.

Re: SF Restaurants Can’t Afford Waiters. So They’re Putting Diners to Work

#35

Post by listenallyall »

JackCh wrote: post #6
Eridrus wrote: post #3

So, a question from a foreigner, if you buy something at a counter, should you tip? I would think the answer is no, but in states where minimum wage laws are different for tipped workers, I would expect the answer to be yes, but are there other guidelines? Does it matter if you eat in vs take out? What are the damn expectations?

If you buy something at a counter, there is no social expectation that you tip (bartenders are the sole exception, but just give them a dollar not a percentage.) Nor for takeout, but you should definitely tip for delivery (those guys get a raw deal anyway, their pay sucks and they're almost always putting miles on their personal vehicle. Tip them with cash when possible, to make sure they get to keep it...)

> If you buy something at a counter, there is no social expectation that you tip

In the USA, plenty of counter-service restaurants/shops have tip jars. Further, many counter-service food outlets have added a tipping option to their credit card process, usually with 15% as the minimum.

Re: SF Restaurants Can’t Afford Waiters. So They’re Putting Diners to Work

#36

Post by bunkydoo »

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Re: SF Restaurants Can’t Afford Waiters. So They’re Putting Diners to Work

#37

Post by 40four »

aeontech wrote: post #14
JackCh wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you buy something at a counter, there is no social expectation that you tip (bartenders are the sole exception, but just give them a dollar not a percentage.) Nor for takeout, but you should definitely tip for delivery (those guys get a raw deal anyway, their pay sucks and they're almost always putting miles on their personal vehicle. Tip them with cash when possible, to make sure they get to keep it...)

Giving bartenders a dollar no matter the order amount is not cool, really. That’s how you turn invisible to them the next time you want to order a drink ;)

I disagree. I tip a dollar per drink no matter what it is. It's no more than 30 seconds of work to pour/ open a beer, maybe 60 seconds for a mixed drink? Then I walk away. Transaction/ service complete. Unlike a server who attends to you for the duration of a meal, while you are also sitting there occupying table space of other paying customers.

Most people run tabs on plastic nowadays, so how's the bartender supposed to even know what they are earning per drink? I prefer to pay in cash & tip dollars as I go, & i find most bartenders are more than happy to get them & continue good service when they see paper coming their way on every transaction.

Re: SF Restaurants Can’t Afford Waiters. So They’re Putting Diners to Work

#38

Post by toomanybeersies »

everdev wrote: post #22

In Santa Cruz we have a bar with no bartenders. It's fantastic. Scan your bracelet (linked to your CC), pour yourself whatever beer on tap you want and pay only for the once you pour. Want one once of 16 different beers? No problem. Can't get that experience at a traditional bar. The seating is more like a restaurant, so no one is sitting by themselves staring at a wall full of hard alcohol, everyone is facing the ro…

Given how bad most people are at pouring beers even from a bottle, let alone from tap, I don't know if that's a good idea.

But then again, I've seen plenty of bartenders completely screw up the pouring process. Just the other day I had a German backpacker behind the bar try to pour my Guinness like it was a lager.

> And the notion of the wise bartender with an ear to lend from the movies I never saw transpire in real life.

I'm surprised that you haven't found any wise bartenders yet. That's one of the reasons I enjoy going to good craft beer pubs. When I used to work in a pub I had a good knowledge of every beer on tab, whenever there was a new beer I'd have a half pint of it so that I'd know what it was like.

I was actually familiar enough with the regular beers that we served that I was able to discern the variations between the batches that came in.

Re: SF Restaurants Can’t Afford Waiters. So They’re Putting Diners to Work

#39

Post by jcelerier »

everdev wrote: post #22

In Santa Cruz we have a bar with no bartenders. It's fantastic. Scan your bracelet (linked to your CC), pour yourself whatever beer on tap you want and pay only for the once you pour. Want one once of 16 different beers? No problem. Can't get that experience at a traditional bar. The seating is more like a restaurant, so no one is sitting by themselves staring at a wall full of hard alcohol, everyone is facing the ro…

> Want one once of 16 different beers? No problem.

apart from the lack of decency.

> And the notion of the wise bartender with an ear to lend from the movies I never saw transpire in real life.

maybe not like "in the movies" but did you ever try to at least befriend the bartender ?

Re: SF Restaurants Can’t Afford Waiters. So They’re Putting Diners to Work

#40

Post by king_nothing »

everdev wrote: post #22

In Santa Cruz we have a bar with no bartenders. It's fantastic. Scan your bracelet (linked to your CC), pour yourself whatever beer on tap you want and pay only for the once you pour. Want one once of 16 different beers? No problem. Can't get that experience at a traditional bar. The seating is more like a restaurant, so no one is sitting by themselves staring at a wall full of hard alcohol, everyone is facing the ro…

Neighborhood bars: get to know folks, and become an unofficial official bartender. I guess tips in this “new” (under/unpaid) economy are “buy low, sell high,” as business owners complain about being “unable” to find workers to underpay with a sub-livable wage.
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