Restaurant wait staff minimum wage: $2.75/hr
Everyone else's mimimum wage: $7.50/hr
therein lies the rub!
Restaurant wait staff minimum wage: $2.75/hr
Everyone else's mimimum wage: $7.50/hr
therein lies the rub!
Pretty much exactly what I've been saying, except that I say the stigma attached to not tipping is crap.Originally Posted by Iceglow
Also, a $2.75 an hour wage is the governments problem and, as Heath says, the minimum wage clearly needs to be increased. Employees shouldn't be forced to live off of an optional benefit.
I want to post more small-misery that isn't remotely funny but at this point I don't know what to do.
Minimum wage definitely does need raising thats true. And I don't discount places where tipping is not socially acceptable. Theres actually very few trades where minimum wage is actually used, most trades including retail tend to use higher than minimum wage. All the jobs I have done/known people to do where they are paid min wage is a job with either Tips or Commision. These jobs primarily are:
Waiting
Hairdressing
Marketing (low level stuff where you're actually selling the crap like credit cards by ASDA)
This is obviously something of a pattern. Whilst most companies where tips are not expected or given normally you earn way above minimum wage but even though people are always saying that regardless of your job you should get more than the minimum wage nobody dares to raise the min wage per hour to something like 7 pounds. The companies where the staff can be expected to earn commission or tips are often paying as many staff as possible the minimum to maximize profits, which is pretty wrong really. I also hold down a job with HMV I earn around 8 pounds an hour there, you can really see the difference, my 2 jobs are approximately 2 - 3 miles apart and it takes 5 - 10 minutes to cross the distance by London Underground and yet the drop in pay is nearly 3 pounds an hour.
I have to admit I disagree with the idea of a service charge. I am a very good waiter in my job, I've said this before it's true and no one likes someone who blows their own trumpet it sounds arrogant. However my competition isn't all that stiff really when you consider I am the only English person working in my restaurant and whilst a few have excellent command of the English language a vast majority of the staff do not, I also have many years of customer service skill to draw upon in tougher environments than a restaurant where as most of the people I work with are students or on their first job. In the company measurement of how good waiters are called CHAMPS I often receive glowing reports and high scores, the company wants to make a manager out of me, something I have considered but without guarantees on hours ect cannot opt in for. The reason why I disagree with the idea of charging service charges I don't feel I should split my hard earnt tips with a waitress who wasn't on the shift, ís not as good as me at her job, does not smile to the customer no matter how hectic her day is, gets complaints made about her ect ect. I believe in tipping the people who matter to you. If I served any of you and got a tip you expect me to get the tip not for me to then share it with 30 other people, most of whom I never work with.
Still Heath I'd love to go see the minimum wage raised to at least 7 pounds an hour. In fact I'd vote for it. However what the government gives out it also takes back, one way or another. If they raised the minimum wage we earn to 7 pounds per hour (excluding tips which was a horrible practise by barbaric companies and thankfully now in the UK it's illegal to make a staff members wages up to minimum wage and beyond with tips) then undoutedbly they would raise the income tax and in the end we'd still be back to square 1. Not that the wages in my second job (Pizza Hut being the second job) matter to me much, it's not what I earn per hour what really keeps me going it's my tips. My wages are already nuked by the government who take a full cut of income tax and national insurance contributions because you cannot apply your tax code to two jobs only one of them is covered by your tax allowance per year. Sure I am entitled to a rebate but claiming the tax back is made as easy as acquiring blood from a lump of granite.
I believe there are calls in some quarters to abolish the idea of a 'minimum' wage and bring in a 'living' wage. I think that might be by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which, each year, puts together a report on how much it is required to 'live' upon, which includes things like having a social life and owning a car and stuff that might normally be overlooked. In fairness, some local government authorities are doing their bit to help people during the recession; I believe Glasgow City Council recently upped their minimum wage to £7 for all staff, which I think is certainly a step in the right direction. As a Labour voter, I honestly feel that the minimum wage does need to be increased but due to the financial climate I strongly doubt that we'll see this happen by the hand of this government and strongly doubt we'll see anything other than rises in line with inflation by a Tory government. The income tax has already been raised to 20% and people will scream bloody murder before you see a basic rate above that.
Also in fairness when I claimed back income tax all it took was a phonecall to my local HMRC office and I got a cheque through the post several weeks later. I had no hassle whatsoever.
I don't agree with you that few jobs pay simply minimum wage. In London they won't be because the cost of living is much higher and employers couldn't get away with paying that. Wages are also significantly higher in London than in other parts of the country. I live in Wales which has the lowest average income in Britain and - trust me - you'll be lucky to find a job for a young person that pays more than £6 an hour. As far as I can tell, most major retailers, including the one I am currently working for over the summer, pay minimum wage and wages a mere 50 minutes down the road in Liverpool are often £3-4k more than they are in Wales. Within the same bloody company. Though it would be highly unbecoming of me to tell you that that company is Arriva.
Not my words Carol, the words of Top Gear magazine.
Pretty much what rubahdubdub said, ja!
If you don't tip, these people don't make money. Especially in this economy, where these people make less tips than ever. Not tipping is a huge drain on the economy, and inevitably, you will suffer from it in turn. It's a fact, economists talk about it quite often in media. That's how I look at it.
Besides, if I go out to dinner or get my nails done or whatever, the amount of tip expected is never more than 3 or 4 dollars, so it's hardly a big deal. The only time I'll tip more than that is when I get my hair done (I tip 7 or 8 dollars then), because the woman who cuts my hair is a master.
People tip at hairdressers now?? But they charge so much!
qft.
But then again it must be an American thing. But hey, if the minimum wage for waiters and such is so low in America, I agree that tipping is fine and dandy.
To be honest, I wasn't aware that the minimum wage there was so low. That's ridiculous. I still don't think you should be hated for not tipping though.
Yeah, the minimum wage is really low in the States compared to here, where it's like $16.5 an hour no matter what job you have.
I think I;ll be moving to Denmark instead heading back to Toronto!
HOTROD
"Lets go for a spin you and I"
People asking you to bring threads back on topic.
Running into your children while dining with your extramarital lover.
Not having anyone sign your High School yearbook.
Parents who have favorite children.
Babies crying in movie theaters.
This one made melol. This is my favorite so far.
you can LEAVE if it's in a movie theater. what about an airplane?! UGH.
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