This post has nothing to do with PJ but it does include tipping for good "service." Just the other day, I was eating at one of my favorite casual dining places. I was an actual customer, not performing a shop. A family of four entered the restaurant and the little boy immediately ran over to one of the waitresses and hugged her. The family was clearly regulars at this location.

While the rest of the family got a table, the little boy ran back to the front of the restaurant and grabbed a bunch of menus. This place has those really long laminated menus and the little boy struggled to hold them in his hands. He kept dropping them and picking them up. It was cute to watch.

As he saw new customers walking towards the entrance, he eagerly stood by the front door and handed menus to customers as they walked in. Some people ignored him but he did not give up. He kept vigil by the front door, greeting customers and handing out menus.

I finished my meal and the dad happened to be walking by my table. I told him what a good job his son was doing working the front door. I asked if it was okay to give the little boy a $1.00 tip. The dad said yes but said that the money would have to go towards his college fund.

I approached the little boy and told him what a good job he was doing. His eyes lit up and he smiled. Then I handed him the dollar and told him to put that towards his college fund. He seemed a bit stunned at first and then gave me a big "thank you" and ran over to his parents waving the dollar bill in his hand.

Now that is someone who earned a tip as small as it may have been. And yes, it made me feel good too.

***Edited for typo.***



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/2014 03:28PM by Shop2LiveinFL.

BellaFenice Wrote:
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> Wasn't that movie Office Space based around the
> main characters skimming a penny off each
> customer?


Office Space is a great movie. If anyone here has not
seen it, you should watch it immediately.

As far as the penny...it was suppose to be fractions
of a cent off each transaction......

The word is "discreetly", not "discretely"...........



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2014 11:48PM by kamarkim.

According to the dictionary, both are acceptable but neither are acceptible.



kamarkim Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> The word is "discreetly", not
> "discretely"...........
>
>

well, I was just getting ready to c/b PJ corporate anyway................

Hoju Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> According to the dictionary, both are acceptable
> but neither are acceptible.
>
>
>
> kamarkim Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >
> >
> > The word is "discreetly", not
> > "discretely"...........
> >
> >


They have different meanings.

This is from Dictionary.com - "Can be confused: discreet, discrete."

Help! I am becoming obsessed with proper word usage, grammar, and spelling. Get me professional help or a job as an editor!!!!

How can they do that isnt that illegal and wrong

fifty1 Wrote:
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> How can they do that isnt that illegal and wrong


IKR, every habitual misspeller, improper word user, and grammar misuser should be banned from posting on the Internet and required to take English 101 upon conviction.

Oh, wait....maybe you were talking about store associates just keeping the change?

I think you are right. That is illegal and wrong. It would also make me angry. You don't want to see me when I am angry....

I feel that anyone that makes minimum wage should not ask for tips. They are not making $2.18 an hour like waiters and waitresses and have to make up for what is not paid! I know that if the person does not make minimum wage in tips, the job has to make up for the rest, up to minimum wage. But come on, why are we expected to tip everyone? If the businesses would lower the amout of the product and wages so we can tip, that would be good. If someone is not helping or offering a service, they do not get paid!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/2014 01:48PM by maboug.

maboug Wrote:
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> I do not feel that anyone that makes minimum wage
> should not ask for tips. They are not making
> $2.18 like waiters and waitresses and have to make
> up for what is not!


Ummmmm, what was that again?

techman01 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Office Space is a great movie. If anyone here has
> not
> seen it, you should watch it immediately.
>
> As far as the penny...it was suppose to be
> fractions
> of a cent off each transaction......



Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler...

Well, maboug, next time you come into my store, I won't check out your items, take your payment, assist you in finding items, clean the bathroom so you're not sitting in other people's piss, lift your heavy items, bag your stuff, offer to get stuff out of the back room, or make sure the place is tidy so you don't trip over things.

Then we'll see if I'm "not offering a service."

Sincerely,

Someone who makes $8.25 an hour and is genuinely pissed off that people think I "don't work" for it

Dear $8.25 an hour,

go ahead.

We'll be watching.

@NinaMason - why did they throw money at you? How strange!! Glad you weren't hurt!

Boutique Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Really ??? I highly doubt the mentally challenged
> employees at these stores would be entrusted to
> the cash registers. They could just as easily make
> mistakes in the other direction and give away the
> store.
>
> I think that is a pretty lame excuse for a very
> strange policy (and no pun intended - as I can
> currently also be counted among the lame right now
> - handicap placard and all).

Well, I do admit that at every thrift store I have run
into that does this, they either have NO cash register,
or an old one that does NOT tell the cashier how much
change to return to the customer.

I know high school graduates who can't make change for
a $.69 purchase out of $1.00. They say "but they didn't
teach us that in school!"

I actually have no problem with it, if it's clearly posted.

And I'm talking about tiny, independent thrifts, mostly
Church-run.

The funny thing is, they will also take my personal check
for the exact amount, even when I'm 200+ miles from home.

And perhaps it's unique, a regional thing.



cease

I think signs at thrift shops stating that they do not make change is a regional thing. I've never seen that in Texas or in any other states in which I've lived and shopped. Most thrift shops I have shopped in (and I'm a thrift-shopper from way back!) have cash registers, offer receipts, make change, and in general operate just as regular stores operate.

Chix: because customers can be animals. I did a shop where the man in front of me was haranguing a cashier about paying sales tax and threatened to get her fired for charging it "because that's illegal!" It was pure nonsense, but she was very young and it was clearly her first job. She was too rattled to greet me appropriately and I actually put in the report that no sane person, witnessing the jerk in front of me, would have blamed her. I actually thought he was going to hit her.

Just yesterday afternoon I witnessed a funny at my local gas station. A cop friend was talking to this big guy inside. Twice in three minutes, and it sounded like it was said more than that, the guy was complaining the store manager had called the police on him. My friend kept explaining the manager hadn't called the police and he was there getting a soda when he heard all the commotion. The customer couldn't have been a regular. Since my area lacks one, that station is the surrogate donut shop

Wouldn't it be easier to make tipping decisions if each employee in a job that seems to want to add themselves to the "tipping" list wear a sign around their neck telling us what their wages are? It seems more and more types of employees are asking for tips now. If I have to pay someone $25-35 an hour to clean my house which seems to be the going rate in my city...I would like to know what their company pays them and also if they are self employed and get to keep it all. Some are earning more than many of us are and may not be paying as much in taxes as it is a cash under the table type of job. Most of us work just as hard at our jobs to earn our money. Tipping seems to have gotten out of hand to me. In some markets the servers are getting $12 an hour and in others barely more than $2 an hour. Some delivery drivers use their own cars and tips are a major part of their income, others get paid what they have told me they consider to be a good hourly amount and use the company car. I used to arrange an annual hosted party for my dept at work at a nearby hotel. We always included a generous tip to the valets but almost everyone tipped them a second time even tho we spread the word that tips were covered. I did not see anyone tipping the servers in the banquet room though. Where is the sense in our tipping strategy? If you get your haircut by an owner at a place that charges $150 a cut, why do you need to add a tip? For the artistic talent? Do you tip the artist when you purchase one of their artworks? It used to be that you did not tip the owner but in big cities you never know anymore who the owner is and often in salons and small restaurants they work side by side. I have often wondered about the inequities of tipping and the craziness.

I'm sorry, but IMO if someone is making minimum wage, I don't tip. I can't stand it when I'm at a place like Dunkin Donuts or Orange Leaf or even Five Guys and they have a tip jar at the counter. I'm not going to tip you for using a cash register and handing me a drink cup. And this is coming from a person who held many crappy minimum-wage jobs while going to school.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/2014 07:04PM by Phoebe70.

There are way, way too many tip jars on way too many counters these days.

I agree about the tip jars proliferating at places where they don't seem to belong. I mean, really? For what's basically a cashier at these fast-food ~ quick-serve places? Like Little Caesar's or Five Guys where they just take your payment and hand over your order? What's next ~ tip jars at the grocery cashier? They even have them at the DRIVE-THRU at some of the DQ's around here. At a *drive=thru!!!*

I mean, if someone really appreciated some extra-special service and *wants* to tip, fine.. but it seems pretty ballsy to *ask* for one, even passively with a jar, in those cases.

Sandy,

I actually like this idea. If I were making $10/hr, I wouldn't even consider that people "should" tip me. (I don't consider they "should" tip me to start with, but that is the wage where I would look blankly at someone offering me a tip and go "oh, thanks, but actually I don't make terrible money!" I always tip at places like Starbucks, even if it's only my change, because I know what wages they make and how thin they are probably stretched. It's a way to help.

My understanding is Starbuck's employees do okay compared to comparable workers and have had access to affordable health insurance through their employer for a while now.

Lisa,

What state are you in? I'm in Texas (for one more day, at least) and having applied there I can tell you Sbux employees here make federal minimum--$7.25.

According to GlassDoor the average pay is higher. That certainly doesn't mean they don't start at minimum wage. If the average is quite a bit higher they must be offering ongoing opportunities for increases rather than just waiting for a mandated increase to the minimum. I was also considering some of the benefits offered which do contribute to the compensation package. According to my research Starbuck's offers some things like comprehensive health coverage, 401K and tuition reimbursement for part-timers working as little as 20 hours a week. Is all of that a living wage, probably not. It does sound like when it comes to lower paying, service industry jobs they might be one of the good guys.

When I worked part-time for Linens n Things back in the '90s, my starting may have been just slightly above minimum. I did get regular increases based on performance, but the only benefits were a generous discount and partial holiday pay depending on how many hours I had worked. Certainly not health insurance or tuition reimbursement. Those were only available for employees working either 32 or 35 hours per week.

Huh. I wonder if my Sbux just has a lot of newbies. I know the "standard" now for entry-level is $8-8.50, pretty much because with the way our economic landscape has changed it's impossible to get really good workers at the federal rate. When I worked at the gas station they did mandated pay raises once per year and changed my title to one that was obsolete and never used in-store so they could bump me more than my "allowed" 20 cents.

Wow, I have never heard of such a thing as not giving change back. I doubt I'd be a customer for any business that had this policy.

Hi- In Canada, we round up to a dollar and down to a dollar.. I.e 1.87=1.95
1.98 =2.00. We don't use pennies any more at all. Works just fine

I have been in the retail business since the log cabin and I NEVER kept the customers change. Even today, sometimes people will say, "keep the change", but I give it to the charity jar. I feel better about it anyway.