I think you might be overestimating how much insight the waitress has into the business. It may be the case that this was a close, family-held restaurant and they have a daily pow-wow on cost of goods and marketing strategy, but I wouldn't bet that way. My guess? Groupon customers are poor tippers, either from adverse selection or because they either a) attempt to tip with leftover funny-money or b) tip based on the…
If you can put twenty quid in her hand, then you wouldn't be bothering using Groupon, would you?
Even people who have money will take a deal if it's offered. That's often how they wound up having money.
Side note - in California 18.5% is the customary practice for tips, though, to make it easy, you can round up to 20%. No service person will complain. If you get lackluster service, you can point it out with a 15% tip. Poor service gets a 10% tip, and, will make it clear you are unhappy. After 15 years of doing this (I'm from Canada, where tips aren't as proscribed, though they are still expected) I find it awkward a…
I'm in Canada, where tipping is just as expected as it is in the US. However, here it seems that 15% is standard for good service; 10% for fair service or a buffet/brunch meal (where the server was less-involved); and 20% or more for fantastic service. I had no idea California was so high. Servers in all proper US/Canadian restaurants have to "tip out", which means paying a percentage of what should have been their t…
Also, often the IRS taxes them not on what they actually make in tips if it is low, but on what the IRS thinks they should have made.
imagine a restaurant on a good Sunday where the place is crowded and absolutely all the customers are Groupon coupon users,
the main aim of the waitresses and cooks would be to get the Groupon people - meaning - everybody - out of the restaurant as soon as possible - that goes against all principles of running restaurant business ..
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.
How this works in practice is servers are fired if they do not sign off that they earned the difference in tips. This is a big issue with fast food restaurants like Pizza Hut, and cheap buffets where there is a lunch rush and then a slow period, coupled with a propensity of patrons of this sort of place not to tip because they think it is a buffet or fast food restaurant, not one where servers are paid $2.35. Often you have slow periods where there might not be any customers. Let's say from 1-5pm at Pizza Hut you have 3 tables and each leaves $1. So you made $3 in a 4 hr part time shift. You get paid $2.35 * 4 = $9.40 for those three hours. If minimum wage in your state is $8.25, you are required to report that you made $23.60 in tips during that period, not $3. You then pay various taxes on those phantom wages, notably social security and medicare tax, which are regressive flat taxes. You also may find yourself being forced to split the phantom wages with the dishwasher and manager. Often you make less than $0 during your shift. Some people can make up the difference during the dinner and lunch shifts, but those usually go to senior employees and the more attractive women. Getting more than 4-6 hrs a day is hard because then you are no longer a part time employee, which means the employer might have to start paying benefits, which would ruin their entire business model that relies on $2.35/hr wages and no benefit costs. Talk to anyone who works at Pizza Hut or most buffet chains to hear more about this in great detail, I have heard about this situation from dozens of people over the last 30 years.
I feel much more comfortable using a certificate from restaurant.com. They automatically add 18% gratuity to your bill, so that there are no issues with tipping. And they structure deals such that you have to spend a certain amount, e.g. your $25 certificate requires a $35 purchase, ensuring the business makes some money. It's perceived as a gift certificate more than a coupon. Even better, they frequently have sales where $25 certificates are only $2.
A note about other service industry deals on Groupon:
I've read somewhere of people buying discount coupons for services like haircuts or aesthetics, only to find that when they call for an appointment, couponers have longer waits than non-couponers for scheduling. That alone makes me uneasy.
I find etiquette fascinating, so I've read some books on it. Particularly, in tipping etiquette, prescriptive books seem to agree about one thing: In the US, if you're going to tip less than 15%, you should not tip at all. You should leave nothing and ask to speak with a manager to explain why you won't. If the failure in service doesn't rise to that level, then 15% is the minimum polite tip. Of course, it's your wal…
The books are not correct as far as practice goes. 10% was standard for years and 15% for great service. Waiters of course have been trying to promote 20%, 22.5% and more as normal. 10% is not great, but is what senior citizens and rich politicians will leave if they tip at all.
10% has not been standard in the US for quite some time. You need to update your info.
All restaurants are required by law to pay at least minimum wage if the employee doesn't make at least said wage in tips.
How this works in practice is servers are fired if they do not sign off that they earned the difference in tips. This is a big issue with fast food restaurants like Pizza Hut, and cheap buffets where there is a lunch rush and then a slow period, coupled with a propensity of patrons of this sort of place not to tip because they think it is a buffet or fast food restaurant, not one where servers are paid $2.35. Often y…
I'm sorry you've had that experience. I've worked as a waiter, and was never pressured to report anything other than what I made. I'm not advocating for poor tipping, I was just clarifying for those not in the US how the law is written.
I think you might be overestimating how much insight the waitress has into the business. It may be the case that this was a close, family-held restaurant and they have a daily pow-wow on cost of goods and marketing strategy, but I wouldn't bet that way. My guess? Groupon customers are poor tippers, either from adverse selection or because they either a) attempt to tip with leftover funny-money or b) tip based on the…
I took the same Groupon deal with a similar outcome (although we stated from the outset we had a voucher so no awkwardness about stuff we'd have to pay extra for). That said: * This is in London, which doesn't have the same "tipping culture" as the US. Sure hospitality jobs don't pay great, but both my wife and I have worked them in the UK and you can definitely get by without tips. Getting snippy about a drop in tip…
Because of their attitude I won't be back, that's the cost for making an assumption about me as a customer.
That's the rub, really. I find it hard to blame Groupon themselves for stuff like this (though certainly Groupon has other aspects that are complaint-worthy). If you're going to treat customers poorly because they've taken advantage of a deal, I don't really want to be your customer. And if it's such a bad deal for you, as the restaurant, why are you participating anyway? If you really feel that the extra customer acquisition is worth the lower revenue for the sale, then you should be happy when Groupon customers come in. If you don't believe it's worth it, why do a Groupon deal at all?
I think you might be overestimating how much insight the waitress has into the business. It may be the case that this was a close, family-held restaurant and they have a daily pow-wow on cost of goods and marketing strategy, but I wouldn't bet that way. My guess? Groupon customers are poor tippers, either from adverse selection or because they either a) attempt to tip with leftover funny-money or b) tip based on the…
Groupon customers are definitely poor tippers. I've known a number of waiters to complain about it. 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.
That really surprises me. So disappointing. I've always been taught to tip on the full cost, even if I'm getting a deal. This isn't new because of Groupon; gift certifcates/cards and vouchers have certainly been around forever, though perhaps not as prevalent or well-publicized.