Minimum wage and tipping

Maybe I'm a bit behind the game but when did the tip standard become 20% vs 15%? I always thought it was 20% when the server did an outstanding job...15% for everything else.

Or is it simply that ya'll suck at math and .15 is just too difficult to multiply with?

 

No one said that waitstaff should make minimum wage. And why should it be the patrons responsibility to ensure they are paid sufficiently? Once again, is that not what restaurant management is supposed to do? If a restaurant did not pay enough then they would have trouble attracting / keeping employees. I know any time in my life when my pay was not what I considered sufficient I found another job that payed better.

 

Sounds like Hooters...

 

That's exactly what I was thinking.

 

If you read it again, he said at least minimum wage.

 

IIRC it was around 2008/2009 when the economy was tanking. In my area there was a media push to pay the help a little more in those troubles times so they could get by...

 

The current system is not pleasant for a significant number of your customers. What do YOU suggest?

And for the record, I usually tip 20%. More if service is excellent, less if it sucks and I really don't care how bad your day has been. The overpriced meal I am paying for may be my way of getting past a bad day of my own.

 

I like the current system, and judging by the way the industry is booming around here, there are plenty of customers who don't mind tipping.

One local restaurant has been experimenting with a no tipping model, and seems to have had some success with it, but it's kind of like a social democracy, so you guys might not like it.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/246972

 

The original post talked about the minimum wage being raised to $15.

Their paycut or lack thereof isn't my problem. If they want to do a job, they should be paid a basic salary like everyone else. Fast Food places, convenient stores, shops, mechanics, welders, so on and so forth...there are millions of jobs that perform a service and get paid an hourly wage for doing so.

Servants should be no different IMO. Pay them minimum wage (or whatever the manager deems necessary), they bring the food and drinks, the customer pays the bill. It is that simple.

 

I'm not sure if it's the culture or the no tipping policy in Europe, but when I was over there recently the service sucked everywhere...BAD. The whole dining experience is different, but even at higher end restaurants it was a pain in the ass to even get a refill. It was kind of nice not leaving a tip, but I'd much rather get better service and tip accordingly.

 

Then the restaurant needs to hire better people.

There are millions of people worldwide who perform well at their jobs every day without having to be tipped to do so.

 

I agree with your point, however, incentives are a great way to get the best performance out of people.

 

Once again this falls on the restaurant manager to ensure his or her people are doing their job correctly. Cash incentives are the easiest in the short term but after a little while it becomes the new standard and the benefits disappear.

 

Don't be so quick to blame the manager. Immigration may have detained half of his staff, and the people whose jobs they stole may not be applying for the open positions in droves. The other half of the staff shows up when they damn well feel like.

 

Sure, incentives every now and then (yearly bonus) are fine. But they shouldn't be a constant incentive for someone to do their job the way it should be done.

If somebody needs an incentive of a cash bonus to do their job, they have a problem with personal motivation and drive. And if that can't be remedied, then they need to be replaced.

 

Incentives should be given if someone performs above minimum expectations. I get very tired of employees asking for an increase because they come to work every day.

 

If my employees came to work everyday, they were performing above my expectations. I finally just downsized. Now I just work my teenaged son and one of his track teammates. I don't get near as much done, but I have successfully developed the ability to be satisfied with what I do accomplish and not worry about the rest.

 

I think that sets the bar a bit low. If someone does not meet minimum expectations they need to get up to speed or be replaced. If they just do their job well they are doing what they are paid to do. IMO, incentives should only come in to play if they go above and beyond.

 

I think the hard part about min wage in the food business is that it's hourly. How many times is the restaurant full? At dinner? See, they can't afford to pay people 15$ hour or whatever when the store is empty. They drop to skeleton crew, they cant send them home and loose out on the help when it picks up. Plus when the place does pick up, your making quite a bit more than 15$ an hour. You know your making all your money in a 2-3 hour window and everything else is just prep work, that a waiter SHOULD NOT BE DOING. Hourly should be prepping napkins etc.