Signal 46

Don’t start a file move between data stores (or anywhere) on ESXi 5.0. There’s no way to cancel it once it begins. Stupid.

Someone on my Facebook posted a link to this blog post (You’re an Adult, Learn How to Tip), which before I even clicked on it I knew what it was about. I’m tired enough of reading these sort of posts that I decided I would respond in-line to quotes from the original post.

Before we get to this $5.00 thing, let’s go over the basics.

• Don’t get out your stupid phone to calculate a tip.

Just don’t. Why? A) You look like an idiot, and B) It is completely unnecessary unless you have some severe form of dyslexia. The only number’s you need to know are 10%, 15%, and 20%.

I find it very ironic that he’s complaining (continue reading) about people tipping poorly, only to poke fun at those who use a calculator to figure out a proper tip to give to him and his brethren. Beggars can’t be choosers – if you get a good tip you shouldn’t really care how they arrived at that number.

• 10% = Bad Service, 15% = Below Average Service, 20% = Satisfactory Service

No. That wasn’t a typo, you read that right. TWENTY PERCENT is the standard for satisfactory service. I don’t care if you were taught that 10% is standard, it’s not, it’s a crap tip. Let’s think about this for a minute. You and a friend have a meal at a restaurant. You’re both drinking water (because you’re so healthy like that) and then you each have a $12.00 entree. Your total bill, including tax, is about $25.00. If you were to leave a 10% tip, that’s only $2-3. What’s the big deal you say? You’re not made of money? Consider this: You and your friend may have only spent $25.00, but you took an hour of the servers time, holding up a table, for a minuscule bill. In that hour, the server made $2.63 (in Massachusetts), doing a shit ton of other things besides taking care of you.

I guess this is in accordance with inflation? I mean, if you think about it, with the rise of food prices, the long accepted 15% would rise in proportion. Guess that’s not enough. And I don’t come to a restaurant to worry about what the server has to do when he/she is not tableside waiting on my party – I come to a restaurant to not have to worry about anything other than enjoying a meal. I can’t think of any other industry where it’s common practice for customer to have to consider what their service provider does for others. Do you worry about the cable repairman and the fact he has other customers? No – you don’t pay them for that – you pay them to provide your service. But wait – if we follow the blogger’s example, then they’re off during that hour earning a tip from several other tables…. hmm.

Now the minimum wage. This is not a secret. Everyone who is a server knows before they take the job that they are paid a low wage. Now, thanks to the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) and other labor laws, employers are required to pay their employees a minimum wage. What, how can this be – $2.63 is clearly not minimum wage. What they fail to tell you is that  if the sum of their tips and their small hourly wage do not equal what they’d be paid per hour on minimum wage, the employer has to pay them that difference. So if minimum wage is $7.00 (for math’s sake), and you worked 20 hours, you’d have to make $140 gross in order to be legal – if you only made $100 in tips/wage, your salary for that week would have to be adjusted to meet the computed total pay if you were to earn minimum wage.

• Just move the decimal point and double!

Okay, now you’re going to give a good tip on your $25.00 meal; just move the decimal place over and double the number. So, for those of you whose hand I need to hold: $25.00 becomes $2.50, and doubled equals $5.00. There. That’s 20%. That’s the standard for any service that you are satisfied with.

This I do agree with, to a point. If the bill is small, sometimes I just to 15$ and round to the nearest dollar, typically up.  20% however, is a very good rule of thumb.

• Satisfied ≠ Exceptional

When I say satisfied, I mean satisfied. The server was pleasant, attentive to their best extent, and made an effort to fix your wicked complicated and customized order that you think is completely normal to do at a restaurant.  (This isn’t Burger King.) Remember, ”your” server is also taking care of a number of other tables, that is if they’re actually working at a restaurant where they can make enough money to live. If you service was exceptional, you tip more than 20%. Now let’s talk about that $5.00 rule.

Um, you’re right, it isn’t Burger King. To that end, it should be better than BK. So yes, the server should make an effort to make your order correctly…and for that they will get a good tip. And here he mentions that they are also earning their tips at other tables simultaneously. So if you tipped them $5 for an hour’s meal, and they had five other tables that tipped the same – that’s $25 in that one hour. Not too shabby. Oh, and add that $2.63.

• If it’s under 25$, leave $5

I consider this a bit of an “advanced” rule, but I think you’re ready. Hell, it’s actually really simple. Rarely should you leave a tip under $5.00. Why, you say? Let’s consider my $5.00 tip from the photo. I stopped at ABC for lunch a few days ago. I drank a glass of water, a cup of coffee, and eat a small meal. The meal came to just over $14.00. If I use my 20% rule, I’m only getting to $3.00 and that’s not good enough. Especially for a breakfast and lunch diner that doesn’t sell any alcohol. So I left $5.00, and I always leave a fiver if it’s under $25.00 for the meal. Not only was I there, enjoying their food, atmosphere, and a bit of banter for 35 minutes, but more than one server now had to add me to their list of people they were keeping an eye on. Unless you’re a complete ass, I’d say that’s worth at least $5.00. If everyone left at least $5.00, those extra dollars would add up.

I’m sorry, $3 for a $14.00 bill seems appropriate, especially considering the other givens – that it was just him for 35 minutes.

• If you can’t afford to follow these rules, at a minimum, STAY HOME

Seriously, stay the F home. It’s really that simple. While you’re out to catch up with your friends or have a few drinks with “ya bros” we are trying to earn a living. Not only are we quite literally taking care of you (often while you’re getting trashed) but we have to split our earnings between other servers and support staff at the restaurant. If you’ve got the cash to go out and drink and eat, you better have the cash to pay for all of it.

So you’re telling those of us that don’t meet your standards to stay home. Well, if we did that then you’d get no tip from us – $3.00 for that $14.00 tab is far better than $0 for no table, and no tables means less hours, which means less opportunity for you to earn any tips. Further, should the business be doing poorly enough, no tables = no restaurant and you on unemployment.

• If you tip poorly, servers will remember. And we’ll talk about you.

Unfortunately, we aren’t able to refuse your cheap ass service if you come back, but your service is going to suck and we’re going to make sure everyone knows. Do you want to redeem yourself? Leave a good tip and you’ll be back in our good graces.

If you serve poorly, we will remember. And we’ll tell our friends about you and your restaurant. And if your service sucks in the future, why would you expect a better tip? Really – bite the hand that feeds you (juxtaposition, perhaps?). I refer also to the fact that any tip is better than NO tip.

• Keep your change in your pocket.

Yes. Yes we do mind if you give us all your coin dollars that you hate carrying around. Yes. Yes we do mind that you leave us a tip in quarters. Worst of all:  DO NOT LEAVE US CHANGE. Ever. We don’t want it. A quarter or two is nice every now and then for laundry or parking meter, but all the rest can stay in your purse or wallet. Why do I want to spend my shift walking around with a jingle-jangle pocket? I’m not going to a coinstar, I’m not 90. The only acceptable time to leave a non-dollar amount is on a credit card tip. (But you’re not going to be doing that anyway!)

I try not to do this, however sometimes I will, but usually only the silver. It still spends the same as a tip, and you can always cash it out for paper money from the till which I’m certain all restaurants have. Once again, any tip is better than NO tip. Would you rather if all we had was coinage us to leave you less than the %20 you want?

• If you get a discount, tip on the FULL AMOUNT

If you get ANY sort of discount, advertised or not, you need to be tipping on the regular price. Don’t know it? LOOK AT A MENU. Would it really kill you? We have to give you the same exact service no matter what it costs to you, otherwise we get fired. Imagine if your sales job cut your pay for merchandise you sold at a discount, how would that work for you?

Agreed. It’s returning the favor.

Do you get it now? All this is true whether you’re eating at an upscale place or a small diner, whether you’re getting table service or cocktail/bar service. It’s common sense. Imagine if your boring desk job was reliant on tips. How would you be doing constantly trying to be “on” for your shitty co-workers? People become servers for a variety of reasons, but many do it because they like the interaction with a variety of people. Don’t make them come to hate it. You’re an adult, it’s time to start tipping like one.

Sounds to me like someone else already hates it. And if you’ve this much pent up rage at the very people who come in and pay you via tips, then perhaps you might want to examine another line of work.

I have plenty of friends and family who have waited tables, tended bar, and other service industry tasks, so it’s no mystery to me what servers do and the kind of people they have to put up with. But honestly, if it’s that much a burden to you financially and apparently emotionally, then go find something else to do for a living. Wake up, few people get paid what they feel they deserve, and everyone wants to be paid more.

Have you ever done this to someone? Have you ever been on the bad end of this? Food for thought… found at this link during a cursory search.

How many times have you said this? A lot. You didn’t even notice, but you said it. It may be said any number of ways:

• Don’t feel that way
• It isn’t that bad
• You shouldn’t worry about it
• It’s not that big of a deal
• Try to relax
• You need to get over it

All of these are saying the same thing: your feelings are wrong, a waste of time.

I believe a lot of this may be from perspective issues. Just because one person doesn’t see things the way another did, doesn’t mean that the other’s perspective means nothing and is worthless.  In the article, there are some suggested responses:

Instead of the above responses, try these sincere and sympathetic responses instead:

• I’m sorry you feel that way
• That sounds rough
• I can see why it worries you
• That would frustrate me too
• I understand
• I don’t blame you for feeling that way

A great response is anything that says you understand, you are listening, and they are welcome to tell you more if they need to.

Once again, the link to the whole article is right here.