Originally Posted by
planemechanic
I always laugh at these outragous "suggestions" from those inside the industry.
You actually think we should pay you EXTRA MONEY for POOR SERVICE???
Where is that "rolling on the floor busting a gut laughing" emoticon when you need it. How ridiculous.
Here is a "suggestion" of a more realistic tipping structure:
Service is terrible = 0% and talk with a manager and tell him you expect him to comp the meal.
Service is poor = 0% and talk to the manager and tell him you are an unhappy customer who may not be back. If he argues with you tell him all of the friends you will tell about your experience.
Service is average =0%
Service is good = 0-5%
Service is outstanding = 5-10%
That will encourage good service and also encourage bad workers to exit the business. If enough managers get the speech they will also be encouraged to address the industry wide problems of low pay and poor service.
I don't know if you aren't from America and therefore do not understand the wage/tip structure in place or you are from America (I hope not) and are just a huge tightwad.
Getting 10% on a tab is barely making any money by the time you figure out taxes, tip outs and your incredibly low hourly wage. Getting 5% is losing money.
I also do not understand your logic about how a 5-10% encourages good service and causes bad workers to leave. The opposite will actually happen. If everyone had your ideology, then being a waiter would become an unlivable profession, and everyone that could get a better job would leave. So there goes the young college age workforce out of your industry. The only people left will be those that have little to no other career prospects; Convicted felons, people with perhaps a high school diploma or drop outs etc. Do you think service would actually improve under those conditions?
As for enough managers getting the speech things will change... well, honestly I don't see anyone could be that naive.
First, lots of waitstaff would be fired before that would happen. Then the waitstaff that actually got to keep their job would have to suffer incredibly low wages for years until federal laws are passed to mandate it. A managers job is to make sure the restaurant is profitable. They aren't going to increase their payroll by thousands of dollars every month unless they absolutely have to because they know that the spike in food prices will drive people away especially in this economy.
If you don't like the system fine, but then don't take advantage of it either. There are plenty of options when it comes to eating; you can cook your own food, order fast food, or get something to go. By not tipping you are only hurting innocent hardworking waitstaff trying to make an honest living.