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2004-09-11 -Short Attention Span Theater-

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Posted by Zenster 2004-09-11 3:56:16 AM|| || Front Page|| [3 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Hang 'em.

Posted by Shipman 2004-09-11 11:28:16 AM|| 2004-09-11 11:28:16 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 come on now...18% is a little steep for a tip, especially for goddam pizza....plus just how was the service? the owner say's they were rude..but what does that mean? means jack, we were not there.
i for one will base my tip on the service..lousy service gets a big fat 0, decent 10% superb 15%....

Posted by Dan 2004-09-11 1:10:28 PM|| 2004-09-11 1:10:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Yes, yes, yes...

Big picture. BAD PUBLICITY. Arresting someone over this? The owner of the restaurant is a FOOL.

Posted by BigEd 2004-09-11 3:49:38 PM|| 2004-09-11 3:49:38 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 You're right piss poor pr. But I'll bet the staff is loyal, sometimes the customer's wrong. I am biased tho, spent many summers bussing.

Posted by Shipman 2004-09-11 4:16:04 PM|| 2004-09-11 4:16:04 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 People have an entirely wrong idea about what tipping is about.

You tip a server not because he/she should be rewarded, but because it is an implicit contract between you and the server that the next time you sample his/her service, you will be treated the same as for the time you are now tipping.

There is, in fact, nothing wrong with not tipping if you never plan to return again for any reason even if the service was excellent, but if you do fail to tip and you draw that server again on a return trip, you get the service you paid for.

That is why a tip is called "to insure promptness".

It irks me to no end when I see ads on TV in sports bar telling me tip this person or that. Tipping should be a voluntary act based on a customer's personal evaluation of the service received based in part on whether the customer will return again.

Posted by badanov 2004-09-11 4:36:20 PM|| [http://www.rkka.org/title-boris.gif] 2004-09-11 4:36:20 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 wanna bet the owner and servers don't declare 18% of gross receipts as income? What, if any's the owner's share from each server? As they say on the Sopranos, I bet he's wetting his beak a little in that 18%

Posted by Frank G 2004-09-11 4:40:42 PM|| 2004-09-11 4:40:42 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 #6 wanna bet the owner and servers don't declare 18% of gross receipts as income?

I'd bet the farm on it and you'd lose your forty acres and a mule, Frank. I doubt very much that Sopranoâs Italian and American Grill exclusively serves parties of six or more. The mandatory gratuity applies only to groups of that size.

"18 percent gratuity for parties of six or more"

Like I said; The big print giveth and the fine print taketh away.

Posted by Zenster 2004-09-11 5:03:07 PM|| 2004-09-11 5:03:07 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 No Mustang Ranch leper jokes, please.

Side note: The world-famous Mustang Ranch is in the process of being dismantled. I was zipping by on I-80 on my motorbike last month and I decided to stop and have a look-see; the only building that was left was what looked to be the front office, and it was already partially taken apart.

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2004-09-11 5:58:54 PM|| 2004-09-11 5:58:54 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 FWIW - my maternal grandparents owned the ranch adjacent to the Mustang property on the Reno-Fallon highway, and Joe Conforte was known as a local semi-saint - provided services, funded little leagues, VFW balls, etc. Sometimes the IRS does damage in the name of the Fedss

Posted by Frank G 2004-09-11 6:22:39 PM|| 2004-09-11 6:22:39 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 BTW Zen - I'd stand by my question even given smaller (<6 = small????) parties....I bet the take was on at all levels, that's why the owner was abusive

Posted by Frank G 2004-09-11 6:24:12 PM|| 2004-09-11 6:24:12 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 So, Frank, did you do a lot of fence jumping while visiting with Grandma?

I don't know if you've worked in the restaurant business, but the margins are pretty slim unless you're one of those hoity-toity $100 a plate sort of places. Most wait staff except the maitre'd make minimum wage plus tips. Chefs are largely underpaid as well unless you are the owner and then it's 16 hour days and no social life.

When a party of diners edges past half a dozen there's a lot of work involved in serving them, even if they're only ordering pizza. Personally, I think a mandatory 18% for six or more is extortionate but that is up to Soprano and not me. I would also hope that Soprano's wait staff was professional enough to automatically inform all parties larger than five of the mandatory gratuity. Still, Taveras evidently neglected to check out both sides of his menu, or just tried to weasle out of the deal. As they say, caveat emptor.

Finally, if Soprano was routinely grinding his customers and skimming the tips (tres gauche), I doubt that he would willingly draw so much attention to himself. Just a single disgruntled employee could burn him to both the tax franchise and labor boards with pretty nasty results, especially for a place that serves alcohol.

Restaurants usually rely rather heavily upon word-of-mouth advertising and therefore tend to be rather lenient, even with obnoxious customers. My wager is that Taveras et al made a nusiance of themselves and then tried to stiff the help. That would even be enough to piss off Mother Teresa.

Posted by Zenster 2004-09-11 7:05:33 PM|| 2004-09-11 7:05:33 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 Minimum wage plus tips? Nope. Wage $2.80 an hour and assume the customers will bring it up to the minimum.... or that's the way it was in FL.

Posted by Shipman 2004-09-11 7:13:54 PM|| 2004-09-11 7:13:54 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 Sweet merciful crap, Shipman! Florida has no state minimum wage law. Totally fricking unreal. I've heard of an employer's market, but this is ridiculous. I'm a devout capitalist but there's limits and this is one of them. How in hades is someone supposed to survive on less than three clams an hour plus tips? Well, unless you're still living at home with mom and dad that is ...

The federal minimum wage is $5.15 per hour. The states are supposed to meet that in the absence of any internal regulations. Ah yes, but here's the catch ...

An employer of a tipped employee is only required to pay $2.13 per hour in direct wages if that amount combined with the tips received at least equals the federal minimum wage.

Earn more than $30.00 per month in tips and the employer can force you to accept those gratuties as a component of your minimum wage. That is simply draconian.

Posted by Zenster 2004-09-11 8:12:49 PM|| 2004-09-11 8:12:49 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 Did any of you realize that this debate is about approx. $4.50?? If 8 people ate at that restaurant for $71.00, which is what I read the final bill was, then that ain't no high end restaurant.....besides, if there was an 18% **mandatory** gratuity, why wasn't it included in the final bill? When I worked at restaurants that had that policy, we would figure it out for them and just include it in the bill. And getting 12% on a bill? How many times did that waiter/waitress score 20%, or even 25% on a tab.....it all evens out in the end, unless you are working in some s&#thole restaurant with a poor clientele...

Posted by formerwaiter 2004-09-14 11:46:14 PM|| 2004-09-14 11:46:14 PM|| Front Page Top

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