Tipped Workers Want in on $15 Min Wage Deal

[mitzi]

This woman is cocktail waitress at a Baltimore casino and she's not making good money? She must really suck at it and should probably explore other career opportunities.

No server worth a crap would want to make only $15/hr. I made more than that at Bambino's back in the mid-80s, and when I subbed at various Solomons restaurants I made WAY more than that. And I guarantee you that $15/hr is ALL they'll make because the cost of the meal will have to go up in order to cover it, plus I believe most people will stop tipping. And when restaurants add a mandatory tip, people get pissed and stop going there.

Restaurants operate on a razor thin margin and can't afford to just eat (ha) the extra payroll. Raising the minimum wage to $15 is a stupid idea and it's even stupider to raise it to that for tipped employees because it's not going to go like they think.

The worst service I've ever received was at a casino in the lounge/bar area. In NJ and National Harbor. It took over a half hour to get my beer and this was after asking for it 3 times. I believe they don't make much if it's always like this. I never wanted to come back to St. Mary's and order a beer so bad in my life

 

[Tech]

Who gave you the quarter?
Everybody....














(If you don't get the joke I'll tell it but honestly it's old as the hills and the punchline should suffice)

Come to think of it, there were a few Suzie Bs.

 

[brewman]

My crazy whacked out idea:

Pay people what they're worth, and do away with this tipping and minimum wage nonsense.

Fixed; I'm sure this is what you meant.

 

[TCROW]

Heaven forbid we allow the market to determine prices!

 

[Clem72]

I'm mainly thinking about the large percentage of other people who do their job everyday without soliciting donations from their company's customers.

​

Every time I solicited donations from my customers the damn lawyers got involved haranging me about ethics violations and calling it bribery. I'm providing a service, shouldn't I be tipped when I do a good job for the customer?

 

[Clem72]

I am a generous tipper when treated well and tip with cash. Never have I "stiffed" someone because of lousy service though they could have gotten more if their service had rendered it.

I have a similar thought process, though I always tip on the card. If you are helping that person to make a fair wage (and a decent tip usually means they are making well above minimum wage for the time they are serving your table) then they should also pay taxes on those wages. They should be paid fairly, and they should pay their fair share.

 

[awpitt]

This woman is cocktail waitress at a Baltimore casino and she's not making good money? She must really suck at it and should probably explore other career opportunities.

No server worth a crap would want to make only $15/hr. I made more than that at Bambino's back in the mid-80s, and when I subbed at various Solomons restaurants I made WAY more than that. And I guarantee you that $15/hr is ALL they'll make because the cost of the meal will have to go up in order to cover it, plus I believe most people will stop tipping. And when restaurants add a mandatory tip, people get pissed and stop going there.

Restaurants operate on a razor thin margin and can't afford to just eat (ha) the extra payroll. Raising the minimum wage to $15 is a stupid idea and it's even stupider to raise it to that for tipped employees because it's not going to go like they think.

Bambino's.....

Now that brings back memories.

 

[awpitt]

I have a similar thought process, though I always tip on the card. If you are helping that person to make a fair wage (and a decent tip usually means they are making well above minimum wage for the time they are serving your table) then they should also pay taxes on those wages. They should be paid fairly, and they should pay their fair share.

Even if I pay with plastic, I usually give their tip in cash. Just to be nice. A lot of businesses automatically report a certain percentage of their hourly wage in the TIPS block on the W2.

 

[TCROW]

Even if I pay with plastic, I usually give their tip in cash. Just to be nice. A lot of businesses automatically report a certain percentage of their hourly wage in the TIPS block on the W2.

I used to always tip in cash — I couldn’t possibly care any less if it was claimed as income or not. But over the last few years, I have this odd obsession with only having even dollar charges on my credit card. So if my dining total is $98.52, I will leave $xx.48 as a tip.

 

[vraiblonde]

Has anyone mentioned yet that $15/hr still isn't much in a high cost state like Maryland? Let's err up and say they work 40 hours a week and 52 weeks a year, it comes to $31,200. After taxes you're looking at around $2000 take home a month, and that cocktail waitress with 4 young kids isn't going to be able to make that stretch very far.

I'm not sure what they mean by a "living wage", but $15/hr is not a primary income. Every time Democrats fix something they always make it worse.

 

[vraiblonde]

Even if I pay with plastic, I usually give their tip in cash. Just to be nice. A lot of businesses automatically report a certain percentage of their hourly wage in the TIPS block on the W2.

How restaurants usually do it is they tax tips by your sales. I'm not sure the percentage, but they assume that the customer left you x% of sales and consider that taxable income whether you actually got it or not.

I'm typically a very generous tipper and I usually tip in cash. The server's relationship with Uncle Sam has nothing to do with me and if some working parent or college kid can keep a few extra bucks instead of having politicians use it to grease the palms of terrorist dictators and jet off for luxury vacations, I'm all for that.

 

[Bonehead]

Bambino's.....

Now that brings back memories.

Yeah listening to Norris play on Friday evenings.

 

[Auntie Biache']

How restaurants usually do it is they tax tips by your sales. I'm not sure the percentage, but they assume that the customer left you x% of sales and consider that taxable income whether you actually got it or not.

I'm typically a very generous tipper and I usually tip in cash. The server's relationship with Uncle Sam has nothing to do with me and if some working parent or college kid can keep a few extra bucks instead of having politicians use it to grease the palms of terrorist dictators and jet off for luxury vacations, I'm all for that.

It was 8% in FL when I was serving.

 

[David]

When the polls put the issue into perspective, surprise, you get different results:

The same poll last week that found 60% of Maryland voters support making the minimum wage $15 — with 43% strongly supporting the idea — also found that support for the move passed by the House of Delegates Friday dropped sharply when voters were told it would raise prices and cost jobs.

https://marylandreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Gonzales-Poll-Results-RAM-Minimum-Wage-Questions-March-2019.pdf

 

[vraiblonde]

When the polls put the issue into perspective, surprise, you get different results:

Yeah! Give away free money!

...


Oh, you mean I'm going to have to pay for it? Nevermind....

 

[GURPS]

also found that support for the move dropped sharply when voters were told it would raise prices and cost jobs.

yeah when the average person realizes such moves COST THEM MONEY not The RICH ...

 

[kwillia]

People today have no idea how to separate diners from their money. Growing up in a tourist town, well, it's a gift. You either have it, or you find another job.

This past weekend I left a $20 tip for what should have been half that amount because she had the gift.

 

[frequentflier]

I left a $5 tip for a $9 sandwich once... great server and service

 

[SamSpade]

I'm typically a very generous tipper and I usually tip in cash.

I tip GREAT when they do a good job. I really have a hard time giving them anything when they do a poor job,
and we have the bar fairly low - you have to check on us, you have to be prompt with refills, and you have to
actually DO things we ask for, like replacing a dirty utensil or replacing a wrong order. And you have to be nice
about it - I don't HAVE to eat at your restaurant.

Admittedly there are some tasks I'm never sure about tipping - like the person who refills drinks at a buffet.
They don't do very much.

 

[awpitt]

I tip GREAT when they do a good job. I really have a hard time giving them anything when they do a poor job,
and we have the bar fairly low - you have to check on us, you have to be prompt with refills, and you have to
actually DO things we ask for, like replacing a dirty utensil or replacing a wrong order. And you have to be nice
about it - I don't HAVE to eat at your restaurant.

Admittedly there are some tasks I'm never sure about tipping - like the person who refills drinks at a buffet.
They don't do very much.

I still tip a couple of dollars at places like Golden Corral. Even though they don't do a whole lot. It's just the nice thing to do.