Proof, if needed, of corporate cuntery

Post by **faceless** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 1:32 pm

[web]https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7308233.stm[/web]

This brought a smile to my face! What a bunch of bastards to take the tips like that... it wouldn't do to give the actual workers what the customers think they deserve eh?

Post by **Skylace** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 2:16 pm

Geez, that's disgusting. I know when I was at the little ice cream and coffee shops the managers never took the money of the tips. They're not making minimum wage after all. I am glad they are having to pay it back with interest.

maycm · Post by **maycm** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 11:02 pm

Actually, I think the policy of not letting the front line staff have their tips is:

"fundamentally unfair and beyond all common sense and reason".

major.tom · Post by **major.tom** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 12:59 am

I'm not in favour of management getting a piece of the tips. As Skylace says, their salaries reflect their increased responsibilities already. But another question this raises is why non-management needs tips to make a living. If Starbucks (or anyone) paid their staff a living wage, wouldn't that eliminate the need to tip?

On my 1st trip to Europe, I learned that Australians don't tip as a habit. This was a shock; where I live, not tipping would be a rare exception. Heck, in France (and maybe other places) you have to "tip". So isn't it just a way to subsidize workers salaries?

Maybe the Aussi's have discovered a magic formula which eludes the rest of us.

nekokate · Post by **nekokate** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 1:30 am

Tipping is something that always confuses me. I hear that in North America, not tipping is seen as incredibly rude, but in the UK (where I am) it's only certain places like sit-down restaurants and casinos that you have a social "obligation" to tip at. Infact, if you tipped in a coffee shop in the UK, people would probably look at you funny.

I think it has a lot more to do with tradition than anything else.

Post by **eefanincan** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 1:31 am

I'm with everyone on this.... I think they deserve all their tips, especially for the schtick they have to go through just to serve a cup of coffee!

Post by **Skylace** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 1:36 am

nekokate wrote:Tipping is something that always confuses me. I hear that in North America, not tipping is seen as incredibly rude, but in the UK (where I am) it's only certain places like sit-down restaurants and casinos that you have a social "obligation" to tip at. Infact, if you tipped in a coffee shop in the UK, people would probably look at you funny.

I think it has a lot more to do with tradition than anything else.

It is rude because most servers are not paid minimum wage. They need the tips to make up for the income difference. A standard tip is 15-20% of the total bill. If you don't leave a tip (especially at a meal) you are telling the server that the service wasn't any good. If you want to rub salt in the wound, just leave a penny.

Now, at coffee shops I am not sure, because I know some pay minimum wage, while others don't. If there is a tip jar there, I tip. If there isn't, I figure there isn't a need for a tip.

I personally think that paying our service staff below minimum wage is terrible and we should get away from it and in all honesty it should be illegal. I don't think that they will work better to get tips and if you took tipping away they would be crap. If they're crap, they should be fired, then they get no money at all.

It took my husband a while to catch on to tipping and he's still not as big of a tipper as I am.

I don't tip out of habit or social obligation at all. I tip because I know wait staff are usually paid shit and that tip could mean rent or not that month.