Tipping when 20% tip is already (and openly) added to the bill.

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I should remember to find out if there is a discount for cash. I used to feel more resentment at the fact that cash customers help subsidize the credit card purchases. But, now that there are so few cash purchases, I note that the same benefits to the store as Aunt Bea mentioned. Stores and businesses don't have as much hard cash at the end of the day. I can assure you, there are times when it can be scary to make that deposit at the bank after dark. You stand there fiddling with the key and the cash bag long enough that passersby easily know what you are doing. It can feel like you are inviting crooks to grab that bag. And, the banks charge the store for those deposits. Well, they used to. I haven't had a commercial account in nearly 10 years, so I don't know if they still do that.

I keep cash at home and in my wallet. Not often, but once in a while it's handy. I keep a stash of fives in my entré. I use those for tipping on deliveries when it is warranted. Most grocery deliveries I tip.
 
Speaking of discounts, don't forget to ask if the store offers a senior discount. I was at a local business some years ago and as I was paying I asked if they offered a senior discount. The owner was standing right there and said she had been thinking about it. I suggested 25% ;-)) she said 10%. Now every senior gets a discount.
 
Also some stores have specific days for seniors - Bulk Barn has 10% on Wednesdays for seniors - guess when I'm buying the gingerbread house candy!
 
Also some stores have specific days for seniors - Bulk Barn has 10% on Wednesdays for seniors - guess when I'm buying the gingerbread house candy!
The Bay has one. I think it's the first Tuesday of the month. I'm pretty sure you have to be signed up for HBC points or whatever they call them.
 
Happy foodie reviewers youtubers always mentioning the added charge etc Nope not once, in this country they 'should' get at least the basic wage, they knew when they started, no tips, not even if they have a friendly smile and the like. Nope, pay the overprice meal and leave. Throw some pennies to those in living on the streets if you have to give money away. Thats my two cents.
 
Europe has a widespread situation of menu prices being "Service Included"
in USA the widespread situation was a 10% tip, grown to 15%, and in the current climate 20%-50%. ridiculous.

care must be used as to "basic aka minimum wage" - European countries have a 'minimum wage' concept entirely different that USA. apprentice/young workers - etc - long list of differences . . . may be paid a lower wage.

there is an oft spouted false hood that in USA waitstaff are only paid $2.13 per hour.
this is not the whole truth. if a tipped employee does not 'earn' minimum city/local/state/Federal minimum wage, the employer must contribute more than the tip credit (it's a tax thing) of $2.13/hr to make up the difference.
the whole mess is not exactly a simple thing . . .

it has also been long standing practice in Europe to 'round up' the bill - mostly to eliminate lots of change making. those 'roundings' never ever approach anything like 10-15-25%

there is a continuing undertone of whining that waitstaff are underpaid. several US resto owners went to a 'no tip' arrangement, higher menu prices, paying a "living wage" vs 'tips.' many of the waitstaff quit, because being paid a 'living wage' was a serious pay cut vs. tips they were earning. those establishments have reversed their approach to 'no tips.'
 
I should remember to find out if there is a discount for cash. I used to feel more resentment at the fact that cash customers help subsidize the credit card purchases. But, now that there are so few cash purchases, I note that the same benefits to the store as Aunt Bea mentioned. Stores and businesses don't have as much hard cash at the end of the day. I can assure you, there are times when it can be scary to make that deposit at the bank after dark. You stand there fiddling with the key and the cash bag long enough that passersby easily know what you are doing. It can feel like you are inviting crooks to grab that bag. And, the banks charge the store for those deposits. Well, they used to. I haven't had a commercial account in nearly 10 years, so I don't know if they still do that.

I keep cash at home and in my wallet. Not often, but once in a while it's handy. I keep a stash of fives in my entré. I use those for tipping on deliveries when it is warranted. Most grocery deliveries I tip.

In Houston, it has gotten popular to charge people more for using credit cards than if you pay cash. A lot of gas stations do it. It's around five cents more per gallon. Spec's Fine Wine and Spirits, the dominant liquor stores in Houston, also charge more for credit cards.

When my dad ran a company with thousands of gas stations, they all had convenience stores attached. He said they barely made anything of the gasoline, but it got people into the stores to buy junk food and drinks. The profit margin on fountain soft drinks is ridiculous. You pay 99 cents for a drink in a cup with a lid and straw that cost the store around five or ten cents.

I refuse to buy gasoline at a station that does that. I don't want to encourage that kind of policy.

CD
 
Happy foodie reviewers youtubers always mentioning the added charge etc Nope not once, in this country they 'should' get at least the basic wage, they knew when they started, no tips, not even if they have a friendly smile and the like. Nope, pay the overprice meal and leave. Throw some pennies to those in living on the streets if you have to give money away. Thats my two cents.

In Texas, the minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.75 an hour. Servers depend on tips just to pay their rent and keep the utilities on.

The minimum wage for everyone else in Texas is only $7.25 an hour. The Governor and State Legislature would like to abolish the minimum wage altogether, but Federal law requires it, and in Texas, it is the minimum allowed by Federal law.

The number one group of people receiving Federal Government assistance for things like housing, food and health care is McDonald's employees, followed closely by Walmart.

CD
 
pre-covid, many places offered a discount for cash.
I used cash a lot pre-covid. especially for local non-chain merchants/shops.
when covid came, no one wanted cash. they didn't want to handle/touch all that filthy money....
now, with the ever less inviting economy, many many many shops/stores are posting x% surcharge for credit cards.

stop and think about this . . . the credit card companies are getting 3-5% of every dollar spent in the country! that's a HUGE amount of money - going into the pockets of nothing but profiteers.
I still do cash for local businesses wherever it works.

credit car fraud is apparently way out of bounds. recent did a short vacation to a popular spot. it you presented a credit card, they wanted your driver's license....

when we got back I got email from FICO that my credit score dropped 9 point because of "recent higher credit card balances" - like totally el stupido - I have no credit card balances - every credit card is paid off in full every month....

I'm contemplating getting some gold coins to carry around and pay with . . . that'll cause some disruption at the cash register . . .
 
Throw some pennies to those in living on the streets if you have to give money away. Thats my two cents.
Interesting concept... but unfortunately some who depends on their tips would end up on the street without them because they didn't make enough to pay the rent.
 
" . . .the minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.75 an hour. Servers depend on tips just to pay their rent and keep the utilities on."

false.

no they don't. if they don't get enough tips to make it up/past the minimum wage, the employer must pay them more to meet minimum wage.

the very loud argument that "minimum wage" is not enough to live on, that's a different discussion.
 
Please note, i am referring to UK - not the US. and i stand by my comments. Highlighting things like number of dependents etc thats totally irrelevant. They are not forced to take the job, they CHOOSE to take the job, in the same way the choose to have kid/s and should be mindful of the cost involved. I am aware there are exceptions. No further comment from me on this.
 
When I was a server my employer never made up the difference if I didn't get minimum wage with tips. And on top of that, I had to pay taxes on those tips. So first we didn't get minimum wage and had to depend on charity to make our wages, then we got taxed on that charity.
 
Please note, i am referring to UK - not the US. and i stand by my comments. Highlighting things like number of dependents etc thats totally irrelevant. They are not forced to take the job, they CHOOSE to take the job, in the same way the choose to have kid/s and should be mindful of the cost involved. I am aware there are exceptions. No further comment from me on this.
Yes, many of them "choose" to take those jobs because, for many, it's the only job they can get.

However, since you're talking about the UK and not the US, I can't comment on typical practices in the UK when it comes to dining in restaurants. But here in the states, when I go to a sit-down restaurant for a nice meal, I personally tip my server because they're serving me and bringing me my food (as opposed to me getting it myself) and filling my drinks and making sure I have everything I need. And if the food sucks, they still get a tip because what comes out of the kitchen is not the server's fault. They don't cook the food, they just bring it to me. And if my server acts like they care about my experience and they do what they can to try and make it right (even though it was the kitchen that messed up) they get an extra special tip.

Makes me crazy when I hear people say "I didn't care for the food, so no tip for the server."

I just want slap them :mad:
 
Yes, many of them "choose" to take those jobs because, for many, it's the only job they can get.

However, since you're talking about the UK and not the US, I can't comment on typical practices in the UK when it comes to dining in restaurants. But here in the states, when I go to a sit-down restaurant for a nice meal, I personally tip my server because they're serving me and bringing me my food (as opposed to me getting it myself) and filling my drinks and making sure I have everything I need. And if the food sucks, they still get a tip because what comes out of the kitchen is not the server's fault. They don't cook the food, they just bring it to me. And if my server acts like they care about my experience and they do what they can to try and make it right (even though it was the kitchen that messed up) they get an extra special tip.

Makes me crazy when I hear people say "I didn't care for the food, so no tip for the server."

I just want slap them :mad:

In Europe, servers are paid better than they are here, especially in Texas, but it's still not a fast track to wealth. On my trips there, it was weird not tipping. If I got great service from a friendly server, I still would leave a little something on the table as a "Thank you." I've been told that is okay... don't know why it wouldn't be okay.

And yes, stiffing the server because the food was bad is all kinds of wrong. The server didn't cook the food. If you got good service, tip the server appropriately. If you have a problem with the food, go to the kitchen and tell the chef the food sucked, or tell the manager that the service was great, but the food sucked.

CD
 
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In Europe, servers are paid better than they are here, especially in Texas, but it's still not a fast track to wealth. On my trips there, it was weird not tipping. If I got great service from a friendly server, I still would leave a little something on the table as a "Thank you." I've been told that is okay... don't know why it wouldn't be okay.

And yes, stiffing the server because the food was bad is all kinds of wrong. The server didn't cook the food. If you got good service, tip the server appropriately. If you have a problem with the food, go to the kitchen and tell the chef the food sucked, or tell the manager that the service was great, but the food sucked.

CD
Yep, agreed.

I worked in food service for many years. I was a server for a while, but a good amount of my food service jobs was in the kitchen. Was a "salad girl" at a nice Italian restaurant for a while and I actually enjoyed that job. But, having done both the back and the front of the house, I would choose the back of the house over the front of the house any day of the week. Being a server is hard work. You're not only running your tail off, but you also have to deal with irate customers some of the time and it's not easy trying to keep your cool when the customers become very difficult to work with.

Until you've been in their shoes, it's easy to say "Oh, they chose to do this, so they get (or don't get) what they deserve."
 
Two things that annoy me the most:

1. Tip jars on the counters of just about every establishment that serves the public. The pimply faced kid behind the counter is making 20 bucks and hour and he expects a tip for doing his job? As they say in Nu Yawk, "git atta heah!"

2. Delivery services and grocery stores that expect you to tip BEFORE whatever you ordered, be it fast food, restaurant food, pizza or groceries, is delivered. As they say in California, "no way Jose!"

In my case, every mapping app known to man sends drivers to the back of the building, where the entrance to underground parking is, instead of the front of the building, where the entrance and lobby are. I have had Uber and Lyft rides canceled by the driver because he's too stupid to realize that he is on Dawson Drive, not 52nd street where the building entrance is and I am standing. I have had packages and groceries left outside the lobby entrance (once they left a package in the shrubbery and insisted they left it in a "secure location"), in the lobby on the first floor (I live on the 4th floor) or in front of someone else's door. I have had drivers call me and start talking to me in a language I do not understand, and I know five languages! The latest here is sunny Sandy Eggo is Haitian creole. I don't speak that. So when the order form asks how much tip to give I select $0. If they do manage to get it right the first time, I will tip them in cash out of my pocket.

Oh, and remember when pizza delivery was free, and if it wasn'r there within 30 minutes, the pizza itself was free? Now a $12.99 pizza will cost you 32 bucks if you want it delivered. The latest is that Papa John's will give you free delivery, if the order is over $45! Nowdays I eat a lot of store bought frozen pizza.
 
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