Author Topic: Gregg Popovich may have given a Memphis server a $5,000 tip  (Read 8851 times)

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Re: Gregg Popovich may have given a Memphis server a $5,000 tip
« Reply #30 on: April 26, 2017, 03:29:49 PM »

Offline kozlodoev

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Pop is amazing.

That said, what about the cooks who work just as hard and don't get paid as much as the waitresses?

Tipping is a problematic institution. :P

But yeah, Pop is the best.
well, the cooks and other staff outside of the wait staff make a higher wage.  Wait staff do not get the minimum wage applicable to other jobs but a different minimum wage, which when I worked as a waiter in the mid-80's was $2.01.   I don't think it's gone up much from there.  I had a lot of nights where my tips didn't amount to enough to match minimum wage no matter how good I was at my job.

fully agree that this should be a system of pay that is sunset.

From what I have read / heard on economics podcasts, the back of the restaurant workers are often not paid as much as the people working the front end, even when you consider that wait staff are often not entitled to the same minimum wage.

There's a famous restaurateur in New York city who does not allow tipping in his restaurants for this and other reasons.

I was amazed to learn that even the best chefs in New York make relatively very little money.
Don't most restaurants pool tips these days? I'm not sure whether this includes the kitchen staff, but I'd think this type of arrangement is not uncommon.
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Re: Gregg Popovich may have given a Memphis server a $5,000 tip
« Reply #31 on: April 26, 2017, 03:44:42 PM »

Online Roy H.

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Pop is amazing.

That said, what about the cooks who work just as hard and don't get paid as much as the waitresses?

Tipping is a problematic institution. :P

But yeah, Pop is the best.
well, the cooks and other staff outside of the wait staff make a higher wage.  Wait staff do not get the minimum wage applicable to other jobs but a different minimum wage, which when I worked as a waiter in the mid-80's was $2.01.   I don't think it's gone up much from there.  I had a lot of nights where my tips didn't amount to enough to match minimum wage no matter how good I was at my job.

fully agree that this should be a system of pay that is sunset.

From what I have read / heard on economics podcasts, the back of the restaurant workers are often not paid as much as the people working the front end, even when you consider that wait staff are often not entitled to the same minimum wage.

There's a famous restaurateur in New York city who does not allow tipping in his restaurants for this and other reasons.

I was amazed to learn that even the best chefs in New York make relatively very little money.
Don't most restaurants pool tips these days? I'm not sure whether this includes the kitchen staff, but I'd think this type of arrangement is not uncommon.

It probably depends where you are.

I've worked in several restaurants as a server. We never pooled waitstaff tips, unless we were sharing a party. However, different establishments had differing rules compelling sharing of tips with bus staff, bartenders, and hostesses. I never saw tips shared with the kitchen, though.


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Re: Gregg Popovich may have given a Memphis server a $5,000 tip
« Reply #32 on: April 26, 2017, 03:52:18 PM »

Offline hwangjini_1

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Pop is amazing.

That said, what about the cooks who work just as hard and don't get paid as much as the waitresses?

Tipping is a problematic institution. :P

But yeah, Pop is the best.
depends on the restaurant. in some, wait folks split/share tips with cooks and others. after all, it is the cook that helps them earn those tips.
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Re: Gregg Popovich may have given a Memphis server a $5,000 tip
« Reply #33 on: April 26, 2017, 04:17:29 PM »

Online Big333223

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Tipping is an incredibly weird thing. I was a waiter for about 5 years in high school and college, always tried to work hard for the tips but it almost always came down to what kind of a person the customer was, not how good the service was.

Plus, it makes no sense that the tip winds up contingent on how much the food costs, which often has little correlation to how much work I had to do.

So why do we treat wait staff differently than any other profession? I say pay servers minimum wage and treat "tipping" like a commission. Then you can actually tie it to service and better servers can get better pay.

Anyway, good on Greg Popovich. I saw him and his wife in a restaurant in LA a few months ago. It was a nice restaurant I was only in because my wife won a contest. Always seems like a class act.
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Re: Gregg Popovich may have given a Memphis server a $5,000 tip
« Reply #34 on: April 26, 2017, 04:58:40 PM »

Offline Redz

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Tipping is an incredibly weird thing. I was a waiter for about 5 years in high school and college, always tried to work hard for the tips but it almost always came down to what kind of a person the customer was, not how good the service was.

Plus, it makes no sense that the tip winds up contingent on how much the food costs, which often has little correlation to how much work I had to do.

So why do we treat wait staff differently than any other profession? I say pay servers minimum wage and treat "tipping" like a commission. Then you can actually tie it to service and better servers can get better pay.

Anyway, good on Greg Popovich. I saw him and his wife in a restaurant in LA a few months ago. It was a nice restaurant I was only in because my wife won a contest. Always seems like a class act.

Yup.  Long time waiter here too.  By the end of my run I was having a really hard time with people indiscriminately leaving crappy tips.
Yup

Re: Gregg Popovich may have given a Memphis server a $5,000 tip
« Reply #35 on: April 26, 2017, 05:04:03 PM »

Offline Ogaju

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Tipping is an incredibly weird thing. I was a waiter for about 5 years in high school and college, always tried to work hard for the tips but it almost always came down to what kind of a person the customer was, not how good the service was.

Plus, it makes no sense that the tip winds up contingent on how much the food costs, which often has little correlation to how much work I had to do.

So why do we treat wait staff differently than any other profession? I say pay servers minimum wage and treat "tipping" like a commission. Then you can actually tie it to service and better servers can get better pay.

Anyway, good on Greg Popovich. I saw him and his wife in a restaurant in LA a few months ago. It was a nice restaurant I was only in because my wife won a contest. Always seems like a class act.

Yup.  Long time waiter here too.  By the end of my run I was having a really hard time with people indiscriminately leaving crappy tips.

the entire culture is changing as there are more people engaging the hospitality industry, and not all of them have disposable income to lavish tips. I think there should be reform in the compensation system in the hospitality industry, or more public education in tipping etiquette. I know it is laudable what Popovich did, or does, but this is not going to solve the greater problem of the income disparity and the vanishing middle class. If folks are okay with the country following the third world model of citizen provided welfare for the poor go ahead, but I believe we need a more reasoned system that does not depend on individual charity. It just is not going to solve the systemic problem of poverty.

Re: Gregg Popovich may have given a Memphis server a $5,000 tip
« Reply #36 on: April 26, 2017, 05:09:48 PM »

Offline kozlodoev

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the entire culture is changing as there are more people engaging the hospitality industry, and not all of them have disposable income to lavish tips. I think there should be reform in the compensation system in the hospitality industry, or more public education in tipping etiquette. I know it is laudable what Popovich did, or does, but this is not going to solve the greater problem of the income disparity and the vanishing middle class. If folks are okay with the country following the third world model of citizen provided welfare for the poor go ahead, but I believe we need a more reasoned system that does not depend on individual charity. It just is not going to solve the systemic problem of poverty.
It seems weird that you think people have no means to leave lavish tips, but the situation can be solved by pretty much "writing in" the tip into the price by including it into the salary. How do you think everyone will fare when the prices get bumped up 15-20%?
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

Re: Gregg Popovich may have given a Memphis server a $5,000 tip
« Reply #37 on: April 26, 2017, 05:15:16 PM »

Offline tarheelsxxiii

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Tipping is an incredibly weird thing. I was a waiter for about 5 years in high school and college, always tried to work hard for the tips but it almost always came down to what kind of a person the customer was, not how good the service was.

Plus, it makes no sense that the tip winds up contingent on how much the food costs, which often has little correlation to how much work I had to do.

So why do we treat wait staff differently than any other profession? I say pay servers minimum wage and treat "tipping" like a commission. Then you can actually tie it to service and better servers can get better pay.

Anyway, good on Greg Popovich. I saw him and his wife in a restaurant in LA a few months ago. It was a nice restaurant I was only in because my wife won a contest. Always seems like a class act.

And what were you doing in LA, Mr. Big? Fraternizing with the enemy? I call for a temp ban, effective immediately.  :police: 
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Re: Gregg Popovich may have given a Memphis server a $5,000 tip
« Reply #38 on: April 26, 2017, 05:20:53 PM »

Offline Ogaju

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the entire culture is changing as there are more people engaging the hospitality industry, and not all of them have disposable income to lavish tips. I think there should be reform in the compensation system in the hospitality industry, or more public education in tipping etiquette. I know it is laudable what Popovich did, or does, but this is not going to solve the greater problem of the income disparity and the vanishing middle class. If folks are okay with the country following the third world model of citizen provided welfare for the poor go ahead, but I believe we need a more reasoned system that does not depend on individual charity. It just is not going to solve the systemic problem of poverty.
It seems weird that you think people have no means to leave lavish tips, but the situation can be solved by pretty much "writing in" the tip into the price by including it into the salary. How do you think everyone will fare when the prices get bumped up 15-20%?

if the price is known ahead of time then the market sorts itself out. If the product is overpriced, the necessary adjustments are made, it becomes a basic supply and demand based free market system. The current system allows freeloaders that take advantage of the efforts of workers and do not pay. Free loaders on both sides of the market, the employer (entrepreneur) who hires workers he does not adequately compensate, and the consumer that enjoys labor it does not pay for -- freeloaders all.

Re: Gregg Popovich may have given a Memphis server a $5,000 tip
« Reply #39 on: April 26, 2017, 05:22:00 PM »

Offline Ogaju

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Tipping is an incredibly weird thing. I was a waiter for about 5 years in high school and college, always tried to work hard for the tips but it almost always came down to what kind of a person the customer was, not how good the service was.

Plus, it makes no sense that the tip winds up contingent on how much the food costs, which often has little correlation to how much work I had to do.

So why do we treat wait staff differently than any other profession? I say pay servers minimum wage and treat "tipping" like a commission. Then you can actually tie it to service and better servers can get better pay.

Anyway, good on Greg Popovich. I saw him and his wife in a restaurant in LA a few months ago. It was a nice restaurant I was only in because my wife won a contest. Always seems like a class act.

And what were you doing in LA, Mr. Big? Fraternizing with the enemy? I call for a temp ban, effective immediately.  :police:

Mr. Big was probably hanging with the Kardashians.

Re: Gregg Popovich may have given a Memphis server a $5,000 tip
« Reply #40 on: April 26, 2017, 05:26:36 PM »

Online Big333223

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Tipping is an incredibly weird thing. I was a waiter for about 5 years in high school and college, always tried to work hard for the tips but it almost always came down to what kind of a person the customer was, not how good the service was.

Plus, it makes no sense that the tip winds up contingent on how much the food costs, which often has little correlation to how much work I had to do.

So why do we treat wait staff differently than any other profession? I say pay servers minimum wage and treat "tipping" like a commission. Then you can actually tie it to service and better servers can get better pay.

Anyway, good on Greg Popovich. I saw him and his wife in a restaurant in LA a few months ago. It was a nice restaurant I was only in because my wife won a contest. Always seems like a class act.

And what were you doing in LA, Mr. Big? Fraternizing with the enemy? I call for a temp ban, effective immediately.  :police:
Spying is more like it. ;)
« Last Edit: April 26, 2017, 07:19:50 PM by Big333223 »
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Re: Gregg Popovich may have given a Memphis server a $5,000 tip
« Reply #41 on: April 26, 2017, 07:15:10 PM »

Offline KG Living Legend

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 The check was only $818. I do believe that's slightly higher than 20%.

Re: Gregg Popovich may have given a Memphis server a $5,000 tip
« Reply #42 on: April 28, 2017, 11:43:36 AM »

Offline kozlodoev

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the entire culture is changing as there are more people engaging the hospitality industry, and not all of them have disposable income to lavish tips. I think there should be reform in the compensation system in the hospitality industry, or more public education in tipping etiquette. I know it is laudable what Popovich did, or does, but this is not going to solve the greater problem of the income disparity and the vanishing middle class. If folks are okay with the country following the third world model of citizen provided welfare for the poor go ahead, but I believe we need a more reasoned system that does not depend on individual charity. It just is not going to solve the systemic problem of poverty.
It seems weird that you think people have no means to leave lavish tips, but the situation can be solved by pretty much "writing in" the tip into the price by including it into the salary. How do you think everyone will fare when the prices get bumped up 15-20%?

if the price is known ahead of time then the market sorts itself out. If the product is overpriced, the necessary adjustments are made, it becomes a basic supply and demand based free market system. The current system allows freeloaders that take advantage of the efforts of workers and do not pay. Free loaders on both sides of the market, the employer (entrepreneur) who hires workers he does not adequately compensate, and the consumer that enjoys labor it does not pay for -- freeloaders all.
I don't understand what this means. The price is always known ahead of time, at least as far as the consumer is concerned.

But, if you think that losing the business of customers who are unable or unwilling to tip the customary 20% is a more efficient market solution, you're probably wrong. Having an extra customer who pays menu price but doesn't tip is better for just about anyone involved.



"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

Re: Gregg Popovich may have given a Memphis server a $5,000 tip
« Reply #43 on: April 28, 2017, 12:45:50 PM »

Offline celticsclay

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As someone that just traveled for a few weeks I must say the European tipping system worked a lot better for me. You put a few euros out and maybe one more if the service is really good (which it frequently wasn't, particularly in Paris, but it wasn't unbearable either). It just felt a lot more comfortable having the exact cost of my meal and feeling like I could be nice and add a little extra if I desire.

In the US I constantly find myself just adding the same amount of money whether a server was mediocre to good and it is not longer really an incentive or actually a tip, but more of a hospitality tax. I have to imagine the servers would also generally prefer a stable salary because a bartender was just talking to me yesterday about how his income is entirely dependent on factors outside his control. For example, the Warriors were probably going to have a game 5 yesterday and he would have made hundreds of dollars etc (the bars get really packed for that). Cause the warriors swept his income goes way down for the week/month.

Re: Gregg Popovich may have given a Memphis server a $5,000 tip
« Reply #44 on: April 28, 2017, 12:49:40 PM »

Offline celticsclay

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Also as a follow up to this, there have been a number of restaurants in the Bay area that have been trying out paying their staff a living wage and getting away from Tipping. There is a little bit of a sticker shock when you see the prices, but when you do the math it is actually solid. However, the living wage restaurants have had a tough time periodically because if their staff can get in somewhere with a high tipping and high volume business, they will leave for that and they are playing by a different set of rules than the other restaurants.