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Very good. Next: "And don't go asking for any God damn handouts"
Servers always complain about the inequity in tipping. Some customers tip well, some tip crap, but it all evens out. They complain about the crappy tippers, of course.
However ask a server if they would forgo tips for a higher wage, and virtually every one I have ever asked this question says, "Not no, but hell no." They know that, in spite of their complaints, they do better when their tips are averaged into hourly averages than they would if they got only a straight hourly wage... even if the hourly wage were significantly above minimum wage.
Don't go asking for handouts
But it makes no sense unless you were going to eliminate tips.I did,and they gave me their reason.It was good enough for me.
Then how were you proposing to pay minimum wage without raising prices?It also makes no business sense to raise my dish prices and drive away loyal big spending longtime costumers.
It's called "math". $7.25 +X > $2.13 +X There's no way around that. How anyone could call that a paycut is incomprehensible.And you know what makes sense in the restaurant business how?
For the waiters to make what they make on average a week on tips,I'd have to raise their pay beyond minimum wage.
Where are you that people don't tip based on a percentage of the bill? You raise your price, the average tip will be higher. If average bill for a table is $100, a 20% tip is $20. You raise the price to $110 a table, a 20% tip is $22. Which is more. Now, if because of the higher prices people skip the appetizer or dessert so the table bill is lower, or you have fewer customers so the gross is lower, then the total tips will also be lower, but people don't tip less for a more expensive item...the reverse is true.If I raise my dish prices,people will tip less,
They should just pay them minimum wage and drop the idea of tips all together.
But it makes no sense unless you were going to eliminate tips.
Then how were you proposing to pay minimum wage without raising prices?
It's called "math". $7.25 +X > $2.13 +X There's no way around that. How anyone could call that a paycut is incomprehensible.
But they'd still be making tips. Or are you saying your proposal was to eliminate tips and go straight min wage? Which you have NOT stated.
Where are you that people don't tip based on a percentage of the bill? You raise your price, the average tip will be higher. If average bill for a table is $100, a 20% tip is $20. You raise the price to $110 a table, a 20% tip is $22. Which is more. Now, if because of the higher prices people skip the appetizer or dessert so the table bill is lower, or you have fewer customers so the gross is lower, then the total tips will also be lower, but people don't tip less for a more expensive item...the reverse is true.
I'm not sure what you think is rude about my questions. You've said things that don't make sense to me. I've asked for clarification. How is that rude? You might be reading frustration that you won't give a straight answer to simple questions of clarification, and I apologize if that comes off as rude. It was not intended so.Your line of questioning is starting to get very rude.
In no way have I told you how to run your business. Your story did not make sense to so I question to find out what I'm missing.I don't tell you how to run your business,so don't tell me how to run mine.
Why on earth do you think that's relevant? You don't have to run a restaurant to do basic math. I've been asking and asking what I'm missing but for some unknown reason you've chosen not to answer and instead question my experience. Do I have to be a restauranter for the answer to make sense? I'm an economist...I can understand far more complex business operations than a simple restaurant.Before I answer any of your questions,answer me these two questions...how long have you owned or managed a restaurant yourself?
Are you a business owner that employs people that make tips?
Who implied you were doing anything wrong, illegal or unethical? Where is that coming from? Not from anything I wrote.Radcen here once owned a restaurant himself.If I am doing anything wrong,illegal,or unethical,I believe he would have been the one directing this line of questioning.
Why not? What depth of restaurant knowledge is required to understand basic math and high school economics concepts?So unless you have experience running or owning a restaurant yourself,I can't explain how the business works..
It has been over 30 years since I worked as a waiter,
but the people skills I learned are still of value today.
People have choices of where and how to spend their discretionary funds.
Good service may be a small part of the overall dining experience,
but it is one people tend to remember if it's done poorly.
There is a certain level of pride in knowing that because you can treat people
decently, you can earn 2 or 3 times what a minimum wage worker makes.
I'm not sure what you think is rude about my questions. You've said things that don't make sense to me. I've asked for clarification. How is that rude? You might be reading frustration that you won't give a straight answer to simple questions of clarification, and I apologize if that comes off as rude. It was not intended so.
In no way have I told you how to run your business. Your story did not make sense to so I question to find out what I'm missing.
But you do need experience to run one.Why on earth do you think that's relevant? You don't have to run a restaurant to do basic math.
Ever run a business yourself?I've been asking and asking what I'm missing but for some unknown reason you've chosen not to answer and instead question my experience. Do I have to be a restauranter for the answer to make sense? I'm an economist...I can understand far more complex business operations than a simple restaurant.
Why not? What depth of restaurant knowledge is required to understand basic math and high school economics concepts?
Here are the things you've said that don't make sense.
You offered your staff to raise their base salary to minimum wage. Why? That would raise your labor cost, and I'm not sure what benefit you would get.
Your staff considered that to be a pay cut. Why? $7.25 is more than $2.13. So where would any losses come in? What would they be missing?
In the entire restaurant industry,it rarely works out that way.They'd still receive tips, wouldn't they?
You stated that raising the price per plate would cause tips to go down. I asked how that could be. Theoretically tips per meal would go up, and based on my observations tips per meal would go up as people tend to tip a similar percentage regardless of meal price. Total tips might go down if people spent less overall due to price increase, but it's not clear if that's what you were referring to or not. So I asked.
Seriously, I don't get your problem. I haven't accused you of anything, I'm not sure what you thought was rude. I just don't understand why you won't clarify things that don't make sense or somehow think only a restaurant owner could understand.
Servers always complain about the inequity in tipping. Some customers tip well, some tip crap, but it all evens out. They complain about the crappy tippers, of course.
However ask a server if they would forgo tips for a higher wage, and virtually every one I have ever asked this question says, "Not no, but hell no." They know that, in spite of their complaints, they do better when their tips are averaged into hourly averages than they would if they got only a straight hourly wage... even if the hourly wage were significantly above minimum wage.
And why couldn't you have just said that when I asked? You never said anything about giving up benefits for min wage. of course they wouldn't. And why do you you think practical experience running a restaurant is necessary to understand that? That's basic Theory. I could have told you that they would turn down that offer. I don't need to know how to order product or arrange shifts for thatThe bennies.They chose that instead.
Well, it depends on what you mean....level, or percent? There are multiple ways of looking at it and several explanations. I really doubt you've done any kind of real analysis on changes of percent tip or changing buying habits resulting in same or lower total bill. You've made it clear, boasted even, that you don't understand Theory and you don't deal with the money. So at best your casual biased observations don't trump decades of study on how people act and react.Tips only go up when dish prices are raised when there is a booming economy.
you weren't. Seriously,Because I don't like being interrogated.
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