Restaurants should either not go for Groupon. If they do, they have no business despising Groupon customers. Doing that makes no sense. It is they who decided to go for it in the first place.
Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.
81–90 of 182 posts
Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem is they tip on the Groupon price, not the full price, and are thus tipping something like 40% of what they should be. I am not intimately familiar with the tipping culture (at least in the US), but here are some genuine questions: Is there an inherent reason you tip on the full price? Is it a tax? If tipping is to support staff wages does that mean waiters who serve fancier higher priced food items are en…
this is something that probably isn't clear to people who don't live in the US -- wait staff in the US make around $2-3/hour. they aren't paid a living wage. they rely on tips as their primary source of income, and tips are usually shared with a bartender/busboy. if a restaurant runs a groupon and all grouponers tip on the post-coupon rate, the wait staff will be taking a rather large pay cut for the length of time t…
All restaurants are required by law to pay at least minimum wage if the employee doesn't make at least said wage in tips.
Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.
#83I wasn't aware tipping was all that common in the UK but here in Canada I would be wary of using Groupon for that exact reason. Personally I find tipping to be a nearly meaningless exercise (nearly because occasionally great service deserves a bit extra). Because I live in a country where we are expected to tip, restaurant owners do (and are allowed to with lower minimum wages) expect to be able to underpay their staff and let them live off tips.
It is to the point where most chains have a tipping system where wait staff tip out to everyone, chefs, bussers, etc so everyone gets a chip at it. If you undertip the wait staff can actually lose money.
I'm tired of being responsible for someone elses paycheck. Most restaurant waitstaff are merely ok, not amazing and not deserving of something extra, nonetheless I feel obligated to pay 15%+ anyways because of the culture.
Worse than this there are many here who despite the tipping culture feel perfectly free to never tip or undertip, leaving the rest of us to make up the difference (how do you think we go from 10% being a normal tip to 15-20%?).
It's for this reason alone and because I know most Groupon users are brutal cheapskates I will probably never take a Groupon for a restaurant. Though one persons advice to tip up front or at least let the waitstaff know you have no intention of only tipping on the remainder is valid and if you are going to get a groupon deal you'd do well to remember that.
What sucks about this whole anecdote is it means owners using Groupon are getting doubly screwed. They are getting one-timer coupon clipper who don't care about the crap service since they are never coming back anyways, and they are getting potential first customers who are not going to come back now because of the bad service. Even worse they will likely get negative word of mouth.
Of course there is a simple solution here, plan ahead and don't mistreat your staff by making them beg for tips. Personally I have zero sympathy for restaurant owners since they themselves are the ones who maintain this bullshit tipping culture.
Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
this is something that probably isn't clear to people who don't live in the US -- wait staff in the US make around $2-3/hour. they aren't paid a living wage. they rely on tips as their primary source of income, and tips are usually shared with a bartender/busboy. if a restaurant runs a groupon and all grouponers tip on the post-coupon rate, the wait staff will be taking a rather large pay cut for the length of time t…
wait staff in the US make around $2-3/hour. they aren't paid a living wage. Not true. That's why we have federal minimum wage laws. If the wait staff are actually employed and not acting as independent contractors, then they are paid the minimum wage for their state. (Although I will grant that this being a living wage is definitely arguable.) Edit: Correction - although not California (my state), apparently some sta…
"Tipped workers" are paid under different rules, and it varies state by state. They typically have a minimum cash wage ($2.13 federally and in NY for example) and an hourly "tip credit" ($5.12 fed/in NY) to bring them up to standard "minimum wage" ($7.25). They only get paid $2.13 an hour by their employer.
More here: http://www.paywizard.org/main/Minimumwageandovertime/Minimum...
Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
this is something that probably isn't clear to people who don't live in the US -- wait staff in the US make around $2-3/hour. they aren't paid a living wage. they rely on tips as their primary source of income, and tips are usually shared with a bartender/busboy. if a restaurant runs a groupon and all grouponers tip on the post-coupon rate, the wait staff will be taking a rather large pay cut for the length of time t…
wait staff in the US make around $2-3/hour. they aren't paid a living wage. Not true. That's why we have federal minimum wage laws. If the wait staff are actually employed and not acting as independent contractors, then they are paid the minimum wage for their state. (Although I will grant that this being a living wage is definitely arguable.) Edit: Correction - although not California (my state), apparently some sta…
yes, you're right, what i said wasn't fully true for expediency's sake, but your statement isn't fully true either. federal minimum wage laws don't apply to tipped workers in the same way (iirc, it varies based on the state, i'm not sure).
if an employee doesn't at least make minimum wage after tips are considered, an employer is required by law to compensate an employee up to the point where they do make minimum wage. in theory.
in practice, this doesn't always happen.
Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.
#86Restaurants should either not go for Groupon. If they do, they have no business despising Groupon customers. Doing that makes no sense. It is they who decided to go for it in the first place.
Absolutely. But I think there is a disconnect raganwald points out between the owners / managers who had the idea of going to groupon and the staff who feel it's effects.
Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.
#87I think Groupon suits the purpose if you would be visiting a restaurant that has a usually high amount of coupons or vouchers changing hands. Here in the UK if Franky & Bennys offered the coupon I don't think I would think twice. I think also if it was for somewhere I frequented often and I know the standard of food is good then I would do also. We had a situation earlier this year with a voucher where the terms were…
That's very true, though if you only go to places you know and trust then Groupon isn't doing it's job for the restaurant! They're simply giving a discount to loyal customers.
Well I generally only deviate from the restaurants I visit when I have done the entire menu. I try to try everything on a menu then I try a different place. I guess the model doesn't really work for me, I wouldn't generally try somewhere different unless I have seen the place and I wanted to try there anyway.
I guess that's me though, everyone is different. I have been stung too many times in the past with bad meals and I am probably the fussiest customer you will find. If I had been going to a place for years and they started serving bad meals, I wouldn't think twice about not going there again. I don't generally complain about a meal, not going there again is good enough for me.
I like the insight into the Groupon experience as a whole though, this is probably what would happen to me so I'm glad I had never taken the plunge.
Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
this is something that probably isn't clear to people who don't live in the US -- wait staff in the US make around $2-3/hour. they aren't paid a living wage. they rely on tips as their primary source of income, and tips are usually shared with a bartender/busboy. if a restaurant runs a groupon and all grouponers tip on the post-coupon rate, the wait staff will be taking a rather large pay cut for the length of time t…
wait staff in the US make around $2-3/hour. they aren't paid a living wage. Not true. That's why we have federal minimum wage laws. If the wait staff are actually employed and not acting as independent contractors, then they are paid the minimum wage for their state. (Although I will grant that this being a living wage is definitely arguable.) Edit: Correction - although not California (my state), apparently some sta…
Not true. Waiters have a different minimum wage:
http://www.dol.gov/wb/faq26.htm
Question: Is it legal for waiters and waitresses to be paid below the minimum wage? Answer: According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, tipped employees are individuals engaged in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips. The employer may consider tips as part of wages, but the employer must pay at least $2.13 an hour in direct wages. An employer may credit a portion of a tipped employee's tips against the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. An employer must pay at least $2.13 per hour. However, if an employee's tips combined with the employer's wage of $2.13 per hour do not equal the hourly minimum wage, the employer is required to make up the difference. The employer who elects to use the tip credit provision must inform the employee in advance and must be able to show that the employee receives at least the applicable minimum wage (see above) when direct wages and the tip credit allowance are combined. If an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct wages of at least $2.13 an hour do not equal the minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference. Also, employees must retain all of their tips, except to the extent that they participate in a valid tip pooling or sharing arrangement.
Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
this is something that probably isn't clear to people who don't live in the US -- wait staff in the US make around $2-3/hour. they aren't paid a living wage. they rely on tips as their primary source of income, and tips are usually shared with a bartender/busboy. if a restaurant runs a groupon and all grouponers tip on the post-coupon rate, the wait staff will be taking a rather large pay cut for the length of time t…
All restaurants are required by law to pay at least minimum wage if the employee doesn't make at least said wage in tips.
this is true, but sometimes people bend or break this rule (most people don't, of course).
Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
this is something that probably isn't clear to people who don't live in the US -- wait staff in the US make around $2-3/hour. they aren't paid a living wage. they rely on tips as their primary source of income, and tips are usually shared with a bartender/busboy. if a restaurant runs a groupon and all grouponers tip on the post-coupon rate, the wait staff will be taking a rather large pay cut for the length of time t…
wait staff in the US make around $2-3/hour. they aren't paid a living wage. Not true. That's why we have federal minimum wage laws. If the wait staff are actually employed and not acting as independent contractors, then they are paid the minimum wage for their state. (Although I will grant that this being a living wage is definitely arguable.) Edit: Correction - although not California (my state), apparently some sta…
Actually this is true. Average tips are calculated when determining hourly wage. I worked as a server for 4 years in high school/college. My hourly wage was about $4/hr while the minimum in Florida was $6.25. My paychecks mostly went to paying taxes on my tips.