minor things that make you fume

[Huyton Layne]

Got undertaken by another cyclist today at high speed. He left about 8 inches and then tried to blame me for it. He refused my offer to pull over and discuss why he thought I was wrong.

Might get one of those dash cams.

Police grass

 

[degsy]

Aha! "One for yourself" is fairly normal down South... but it's not intended to be 20p to 50p. It's literal: the cost of a drink for the person pulling your pint. So anywhere between £2 and £4, roughly, with the unspoken etiquette being that they don't take a drink that costs more than your own. If I want the staff to get less than that, I'd invite them to "keep the change". Fairly sure it's quite a widespread standard because that's how it was when I was working in pubs and bars 20 years ago, and it's the method my friends and I follow now as patrons.

I'm the first to ridicule the Americans for tipping 20% at all times, but offering 20p to the person who just served you a round of beers seems VERY tight.

EDIT: obviously this all changes if the barmaid is hot / ginger.

EVERTHING changes when a hot ginger is involved, eh, @RAFUH.

 

[RAFUH]

I'm the first to ridicule the Americans for tipping 20% at all times, but offering 20p to the person who just served you a round of beers seems VERY tight.

EDIT: obviously this all changes if the barmaid is hot / ginger.

EVERTHING changes when a hot ginger is involved, eh, @RAFUH.

Americans tip 20% because bar staff and waiters make a much, much lower hourly wage. Tips are their income.

*said as a ginger former bartender who paid for a good chunk it university with those tips

 

[Baines' left foot]

Americans tip 20% because bar staff and waiters make a much, much lower hourly wage. Tips are their income.

*said as a ginger former bartender who paid for a good chunk it university with those tips

It's scandalous how little waiting and bar staff get paid over there.

I know a lad who works in a high end restaurant in Chelsea and probably earns about £40k a year from it. Occasionally he'll get a ridiculously big tip from some high flyer who takes a shine to him.

 

[ijjysmith]

Americans tip 20% because bar staff and waiters make a much, much lower hourly wage. Tips are their income.

*said as a ginger former bartender who paid for a good chunk it university with those tips

Is it still in some places over there that some waiters and bar staff don't get a wage and live purely on tips?

I remember being told that ages ago.

 

[The Cowboy]

It's scandalous how little waiting and bar staff get paid over there.

I know a lad who works in a high end restaurant in Chelsea and probably earns about £40k a year from it. Occasionally he'll get a ridiculously big tip from some high flyer who takes a shine to him.

It's effectively just performance related pay. Be nice, provide good service, reap benefits.

The US model actually makes more sense in a customer-facing business. It's not the greatest job in the world serving people, but give them a straight salary and you'll just get surly folk slamming food on tables and walking off. People come back if they get good service, and you'll only get that if there's an incentive for the staff to be nice.

 

[Baines' left foot]

It's effectively just performance related pay. Be nice, provide good service, reap benefits.

The US model actually makes more sense in a customer-facing business. It's not the greatest job in the world serving people, but give them a straight salary and you'll just get surly folk slamming food on tables and walking off. People come back if they get good service, and you'll only get that if there's an incentive for the staff to be nice.

The tips come from the customer though, and so the employer gets away with paying $3 an hour or whatever it is.

It's also not compulsory to tip so there's no guarantee that the employee would actually get a tip.

 

[Jamo Martinez]

Is it still in some places over there that some waiters and bar staff don't get a wage and live purely on tips?

I remember being told that ages ago.

Who told you that? the Daily Mail?

 

[ijjysmith]

Who told you that? the Daily Mail?

An American

 

[The Cowboy]

The tips come from the customer though, and so the employer gets away with paying $3 an hour or whatever it is.

It's also not compulsory to tip so there's no guarantee that the employee would actually get a tip.

Yes, the system does benefit the employer, I agree.

In terms of it not being compulsory, true, but it's ingrained in the US attitude to service industries like bars and restaurants.

In the UK tipping is very optional and often down to service exceeding expectations. But in the US, it's more like you tip as standard, and don't in the case of bad service.

 

[Jamo Martinez]

An American

I wouldn't believe what they tell you mate.

 

[RAFUH]

Is it still in some places over there that some waiters and bar staff don't get a wage and live purely on tips?

I remember being told that ages ago.

Not some places. All bars and restaurants. There is separate federal minimum wage for tip earners. It is currently $2.15/hour.

 

[RAFUH]

Yes, the system does benefit the employer, I agree.

In terms of it not being compulsory, true, but it's ingrained in the US attitude to service industries like bars and restaurants.

In the UK tipping is very optional and often down to service exceeding expectations. But in the US, it's more like you tip as standard, and don't in the case of bad service.

No. You always tip. Many things you may consider bad service are out of the control of waitstaff.
Additionally, tip earners are required to pay income tax on a certain percentage of their total sales....whether they are tipped or not.

 

[Deleted member 24970]

No. You always tip. Many things you may consider bad service are out of the control of waitstaff.
Additionally, tip earners are required to pay income tax on a certain percentage of their total sales....whether they are tipped or not.

Hey Raf, you helped advise me on my job in another thread, are you some sort of director of a company or ITK about working conditions ?

 

[Tree13]

No. You always tip. Many things you may consider bad service are out of the control of waitstaff.
Additionally, tip earners are required to pay income tax on a certain percentage of their total sales....whether they are tipped or not.

See, this is the bit that does not compute. If you're on a very low minimum wage and reliant on tips to boost your income, then surely you do your best to offer a good service. That's how the model works, isn't it. To suggest that the customer must always tip, even if service is bad, renders the model ridiculous. And most people have worked as wait staff or behind a bar at some point, so most people understand what is under the control of the staff and what isn't.

Good service gets tips, bad service does not. That way the industry is staffed by people who can do the job and those that can't... well, they move on to different work.