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#84111 of 91797 Re: Tipping [driver100] by dino001

Sep 24, 2012 (8:24 am)

Replying to: driver100 (Sep 24, 2012 6:46 am)
BTW, if you ever travel to places like Poland, Russia and such (in general, in Eastern Europe, Germany, France and most other socialized/highly regulated economies, the tip is a real extra and the waiter is supposed to get a living wage regardless - although it's changing) and still want to tip, use cash. Tip on a credit card will never reach the service person - or if it does, it will be months after and in some small fraction. By law it has to go through the company's books first (VAT payment) and they will pay all the taxes on it upfront. It is not uncommon for the companies (especially big chains) to simply grab that money and play dumb as "we know nuthing about no stinkin' tips".

#84112 of 91797 Re: SFTSF Role Call [abacomike] by jmonroe

Sep 24, 2012 (8:25 am)

Replying to: abacomike (Sep 23, 2012 1:46 pm)
If you happen to be in a restaurant at 5:30, especially Italian restaurants, they serve these delicious garlic rolls - all you want, with dinner. So, they fill up on the garlic rolls and then order more and put them into napkins and right into their purses to take them home…
 
When we visit my Delray Beach brother we go to an Italian restaurant like that. I can’t remember the name but I was told that the original owners sold it but are now the owners again. I like garlic rolls a lot but even I have to tell them to cut down a little on the minced garlic that is on the top. One time when I told a waiter about this he said, “OK, I’ll tell them to cut back on the garlic for this table but it doesn’t seem to stop the little old ladies that come here and stuff their purses with them before they go home. I swear they must have a separate purse just for those rolls because there is no way they, or anyone around them, could put up with that garlic smell from carrying that purse around all the time. We can smell them coming as soon as they walk in”.
 
Yeah, I know what you mean about that purse stuffing.
 
jmonroe

#84113 of 91797 anyone shopping? by kirstie_h HOST

Sep 24, 2012 (8:28 am)

A reporter would like to speak to someone who is currently in the market for a used car. If you are actively shopping for a used car, and would like to share your story, please send your daytime contact info to predmunds.com no later than Monday, September 24, 2012 at noon Pacific/3 p.m. Eastern.

#84114 of 91797 Re: Tipping [tjc78] by michaell

Sep 24, 2012 (8:41 am)

Replying to: tjc78 (Sep 24, 2012 6:42 am)
A view from the other side.
 
I believe I've mentioned this before, but I have a full-time day job where I work from home and then I moonlight delivering pizzas 3 or 4 nights a week. I do this for a couple of reasons ....
 
1) the money is pretty good
2) it gets me out of the house and socializing with other people (co-workers and customers)
 
Yes, a majority of my earnings for this second job is based on tips.
 
In Colorado (and I believe in most states), there are two different minimum wage scales ... one for "regular" workers (currently $7.64/hr in CO) and one for workers who get tips (wait staff, pizza delivery,etc. - that wage is only $5/hr).
 
I've been doing the pizza thing for 4 years now ... I have documented every shift I've worked and how much I've brought home in tip money + mileage (I get .75 from the store for each order I deliver).
 
In 4 years, I've averaged $11.16/hr in tips, excluding my minimum wage. Or, put another way, I'm averaging about $550/mo in tips, while my "take home" pay is anywhere between $200-275/mo.
 
Of course, I've been stiffed. Of course, I'm not happy when it happens. But, I remind myself that for every stiff I've had, I've probably had a better than average tip to compensate. Hence, I try to look at the long term average rather than any one delivery in particular.
 
Example - on Friday, I delivered a $50 order to the local HS; a football game was in progress and the food was for the concession stand. The person to whom I delivered the pizzas to was not the same person who placed the order. I ended up getting no tip for the delivery.
 
On my next delivery, a $33 order, I received an $8 tip. So, it all worked out in the end.
 
Like Mike, I've got plenty of customer stories to share.
 
I also try to put myself into the shoes of the customer. It may be that this is the one time a month that they've decided to eat out, and they've scrimped and saved the money to do so. I can't complain if they don't tip me, since there may not have been any extra money to do so.
 
I also live by the maxim that I get the best tips in the worst neighborhoods and the worst tips in the best neighborhoods.
 
Why?
 
Because many people in those lower income neighborhoods are probably in the service industry themselves and understand what it's like to live off tips.
 
In the better neighborhoods ($1M houses in gated communities), it's possible that folks got those houses because they were careful about how and when they spend their money, and not overpaying for any service or product.

#84115 of 91797 Re: HARD-TOP CONVERTIBLES ARE NOT ALL THEY ARE HYPED TO BE [isellhondas] by jmonroe

Sep 24, 2012 (8:55 am)

Replying to: isellhondas (Sep 23, 2012 2:44 pm)
In some cultures, spending as little money as possible is a way of life!
 
I know what you mean and there is one culture that is the worst at this. We might be talking about the same one. There was a guy that worked at our place years ago that was like this. He grabbed all of what was left over from meetings and took it home. One time my secretary (back then they were not called “administrative assistants”) told me she was going to get the leftover food after a meeting and let the people in our group know that it would be set up at her desk area so that they could get it but this guy had taken it before she could get there. She was telling me because it was my budget that paid for these goodies and since this guy was not in our group and had done this many times before; she was fed up about it and wanted me to know what was going on. I never paid attention to the leftovers but one time a little later I did see him rushing into the conference room and leaving with an entire tray of leftover sandwiches, bags of chips, pieces of cake and pies, soft drinks, etc. I figured this was a good time to confront him about it and I did. His lame excuse was, “jmonroe, you have to understand the culture of my country we do this all the time”. I said, “OK, since you want to talk about cultures, don’t they cut off the hands of thieves in some countries for stealing”? He never did this again with left over goodies from my group but he did continue to do it with other groups.
 
A fellow manager had this happen to him and when he confronted the guy and ask why he didn’t learn from what I had said to him, his response was, “I stopped doing that with jmonroe’s group but YOU never said anything to me about not doing it”. This fellow manager said to this thief and I believe him (if you knew him you’d also believe it), “If you EVER do that again without being given permission, I’ll close your damn hands (I cleaned that up due to forum rules) in that door over there and I’ll see if you can pick up a tray after that or would you prefer that I throw you down the steps so that you can’t walk”. And you guys thought that I was a meanie.
 
He NEVER did it again and FWIW he left the company about a year later.
 
jmonroe

#84116 of 91797 Re: HARD-TOP CONVERTIBLES ARE NOT ALL THEY ARE HYPED TO BE [jmonroe] by isellhondas

Sep 24, 2012 (9:57 am)

Replying to: jmonroe (Sep 24, 2012 8:55 am)
No, jmonroe you do NOT have to understand the culture of his country!
 
He came to America! As a US citizen he needs to become part of our Melting Pot and embrace the way WE do things!
 
If an immigrant can't do these things they are more than welcome to return to the country they left. They need to learn to speak English too!
 
If this makes me a meanie, so be it!

#84117 of 91797 Re: SFTSF Role Call [jmonroe] by abacomike

Sep 24, 2012 (11:01 am)

Replying to: jmonroe (Sep 24, 2012 8:25 am)
When we visit my Delray Beach brother we go to an Italian restaurant like that
 
*jmonroe, all the Italian restaurants down here are like that with the exception of the high class, expensive ones - $25.00 minimum for an entree w/o appetizer or dessert or drink. And one other maneuver some of these people implement is, "...bring us one chicken parmiagiana w/ziti and two plates!" Some restaurants had to list "no sharing" on their menus to stop that kind of ordering.
 
I know I am being extra hard on "my neighbors" but it is actually comical to live down here and see what goes on.
 
With the economy getting weaker as time passes, these retired people who once had enough money to last their lifetimes have almost run out of money because of the increase in the cost of food. We just got a 20% increase in our AT&T home phone bill. We don't even have long distance on that line - we use the cell phone or the phone from Comcast with the computer for long distance. A Pizza used to cost $12.00, now it's $15.00. Just the price of gas has almost doubled since Obama took up residence in the White House. And now the FED is just "printing" money with nothing to back it up with. How long before the dollar is worthless? We are paying our debts with cheap dollars which the rest of the world despises.
 
BTW, *jmonroe, perhaps when you are down here visiting your brother we could meet at Mercedes of Delray at a specific time and have lunch together. If you're game, I am. Just let me know if you would like to do that.

#84118 of 91797 Re: A short trip to Oktoberfest... [roadburner] by driver100

Sep 24, 2012 (11:25 am)

Replying to: roadburner (Sep 24, 2012 8:03 am)
their steering feel communicates exactly what is going on at the front wheels
 
I get it! All I can say is marketing studies have probably told the bmw marketing guys that if you want to win over Cadillac and Buick customers you have to have cars with insensitive steering. That's what American buyers want, and probably the potential customers in other countries don't know about insensitive steering. The electronic steering I believe is a few pounds lighter, and car makers want to reduce weight, even if it means using run flat tires.
 
I found the new 3 Series is pretty Americanized from the jazzy interior to the lack of driving sensitivity, what I refer to is the feel of the road. I think our A4 has more feel of the road and has a more European interior than the bmw. But, I have a feeling that won't last for long.
 
Mercedes was the first to go, and then bmw, next Audi. Companies stay true to their values, carve out a small niche market, and then change so they can sell more and make larger profits, even if it means catering to mass appeal.

#84119 of 91797 Re: anyone shopping? [kirstie_h] by driver100

Sep 24, 2012 (11:28 am)

Replying to: kirstie_h (Sep 24, 2012 8:28 am)
A reporter would like to speak to someone who is currently in the market for a used car.
 
Oldfarmer is always in the market for a used car. The kind of used cars he has in mind might not be the kind the reporter has in mind.

#84120 of 91797 Re: Tipping [isellhondas] by jmonroe

Sep 24, 2012 (11:43 am)

Replying to: isellhondas (Sep 24, 2012 6:16 am)
It may not be a "fair" system but waitpeople in restaurants simply can't make it without tips. I personally feel that if a person chooses not to leave a tip that they probably shouldn't eat out.
 
When I was a kid, maybe 10, I remember asking my Father why people always left a tip. He explained it pretty much like you did. I understand that it is just part of the going out to eat process, and man, we do too much of that. There have been very few times that I have not left a tip but I don’t feel like ‘driver’ that I have stiffed someone if the service was just plain bad and because of that I did not have an enjoyable dining experience. I don’t fall for the smiley face thing at the end either.
 
I don’t know how this is happening but we seem to be agreeing too often lately. You’ve gotta start reading between the lines of my posts. There has to be something in there that you don’t agree with. The dues paying members are not getting their money’s worth lately.
 
jmonroe

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