Message 160 of 22774 in Behind the Bar

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Now that Sarah's got an answer, I'll digress a little into a new thread.. 
because I'm still trying to figure it out...

[Clint, previous thread]
> Servng food and drinks, doing dishes, and stocking are what you get 
> paid for.  Your tips have nothing to do with that.
> 
> Tips are given for your service and friendliness.

Sounds right to me!

Yet at what point does taking a bottle out of the chiller behind you and 
placing it on the bar become 'service'? 
You might as well be a supermarket checkout.

Surely keeping the ashtrays clean and giving correct change are a basic part 
of the job description - i.e. "What you get paid for".

In the same way, carrying a menu around and getting a tray of drinks from A to 
B quickly is what wait staff are there for! 

Why am I a minority in thinking this? Why is hospitality the only industry 
that believes it has the right to consistantly overcharge above the stated 
prices?

The sordid bartender has an opinion,
http://www.edwindecker.com/sordid/tipping.html
yet has the audacity to claim the right for bartenders exclusively
http://www.edwindecker.com/sordid/tipcup.htm

(I love the rest of the rants, so go visit sometime: 
http://www.edwindecker.com/sordid/ )

Everyone on this board obviously knows how to add service, how to do that bit 
extra, how to EARN tips! I'm behind that all the way, and believe it's a fine  
way to keep on the ball.
And of course it's a reward for anyone who's good at what they do.

But why is there a baseline of 15% for service that is 'adequate' and tips are 
supposed to go up from there?
[The economy's dependance on tips]
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2000/10/23/p11s1.htm
[Complicated rules for how much to figure]
http://www.askmen.com/fashion/how_to/4_how_to.html


Why has it got to the state where a bartender will come out from the bar, 
visit me at the table even (expending many times more effort than they ever 
did to serve you) to point out that I'd made the grand mistake of providing 
the correct change? Bugger off, the bottle it was over-priced to begin with!

Sure, there's some cultural differences here for this non-Yank, but I find 
required tipping to be directly comparable with what is regarded as 
'corruption' in developing nations - 

Give the border guard a bit of baksheesh, or that stamp in your passport will 
take all day; 
Hand over a bit to the post office clerk personally, and you package might not 
be immediately be unpacked in the back room;
Yes, you are legally allowed to have that permit, but it's not going to happen 
until after you've greased the palms of all involved;

...Yet some 'tenders seem so self-righteous and proud about doing EXACTLY the 
same thing!

As Chris noted, some places deliberately underpay staff. I was reading up on 
the laws and noticed there's even legal dispensation to do that (up to 40% 
'Tip Credit' according to the US FLSA). That sounds like a symptom of common 
practice - not a justification. Prices and pay have been adjusted to absorb 
the anomaly.

It appears to me that the main reason that people tip in the US is because 
people tip in the US. Convention, without thought of the reason.

Yes, I'm expecting to be violently disagreed with here - but isn't it just 
less stressful for the drinks to be priced right, staff to be paid right, with 
no bribery involved?

.dan.