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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

#51

Post by toomanybeersies »

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.

Some people tip their garbage collector: http://www.mymoneyblog.com/how-do-i-tip-the-trash-collector....

From a foreign perspective, where I don't think I've ever tipped anyone in my life, it's absolutely bizarre.

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

#52

Post by JackCh »

listenallyall wrote: post #35
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...)

> 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.

They have tip jars, but there is no social expectation that you should use them. Sometimes I drop my change in them if I don't want it in my pocket.

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

#53

Post by listenallyall »

sincerely wrote: post #41
listenallyall wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Those tip jars are basically a "if you don't want to deal with coinage or $1 dollar bills, we'll take it off your hand" option. You won't be thought poorly of for not tipping at a cafe or counter-service restaurant the same way you would be for not tipping a regular waiter.

Thanks Starbucks, for taking those dollar bills off my hands so I don't have to deal with them! How convenient of you! The homeless guy outside will also perform the same service, by the way, but I wouldn't be "supporting a living wage" if I gave him the money instead of your baristas.

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

#55

Post by JackCh »

walru wrote: post #32
baddox wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)

I suppose that's where the disconnect is. I only order beers or shots of whisky. One dollar per drink keeps the bartenders attentive in my experience.

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

#56

Post by walru »

DeRock wrote: post #34
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.

Not necessarily. If they aren't specialized in that field and just an order taker.

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

#57

Post by ponzored »

This just seems like a good idea independent of labour costs.

We don't need a planet of 16 billion with so many workers performing simple tasks that could easily be removed with improved processes like at this restaurant.

A planet of 2 billion with cheap land and cheap food for a happy, intelligent, beautiful and productive human workforce and lots of natural habitat for flora and fauna would be a better place. Even if we have to find our own table at a restaurant.

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

#58

Post by JackCh »

smileysteve wrote: post #30
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...)

> Tip them with cash when possible, to make sure they get to keep it...) Nothing like trying to help income inequality than to promote progressive income tax evasion.

Facilitating tax evasion is one consideration (although trust me, delivery people fall into a very low tax bracket anyway...) But another consideration is the number of employers who try to keep tips for themselves. It's hard to know which businesses do this, so it's safer to just tip with cash.

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

#59

Post by walru »

sincerely wrote: post #44
walru wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)

Personally if the drink is sub-10$, I tip $1.

Then you're not going to 'craft' establishments.

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

#60

Post by oddity »

dmode wrote: post #13

Not sure I see the problem, restaurants survive, people eat good food, and living wages are paid. Sure the market for college students earning a side income is impacted, but does that even happen in SF ?

This article isn't talking about the market for college students. It's talking about what would be an "average" person almost anywhere other than SF.

Living wages aren't being paid because the cost of living has risen to the point where the wage once paid is no longer livable. This means that restaurants must either increase prices or cut employees, which when taken in aggregate further increases the cost of living and lowers the average income.

Yes, "restaurants" as a category survive, but the low end gets devastated. Many of these may have been around for a long time and some of them may have been a major part of the local community or have been local favorites.

If you don't have a problem with that, then that's fine, but hopefully you understand why others might.

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