Cheesy Pickins
I'm in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies conference. I went to the Peabody Hotel restaurant for lunch. Walked in, didn't order room service or anything.
Well, I get my bill, and...get a load of this: Tacked on the price of my hamburger with Gorgonzola and my sauteed spinach was a 60 cent "facilities upgrade surcharge."
Apparently, the city (or maybe it was the state) reneged on some promise to pay for the convention center, so the hotel tacks a four percent fee on rooms, food, and more at the Peabody.
City couldn't or wouldn't pay? You know what? Not the problem of the hungry diner!
Have a daily bake sale or something. Have masseurs walk the lobby, selling foot joy. But, keep your surcharge off my lunch! Tacky, tacky!
Hmmm, 21%. You weren't kidding when you claimed to be a good tipper....
Stu "El Inglés" Harris at June 16, 2006 6:19 AM
I've been told you tip based on the pre-tax amount, but I've yet to actually do it. I'm way too scared of what other people think of me. So how's the convention???
rebecca at June 16, 2006 9:23 AM
I tip based on the fact that I'd rather not be a waitress, and also on the notion that it costs me very little in the long run to make somebody feel good. What's the difference between a really good tip and a crappy tip, generally speaking...a dollar?
Amy Alkon at June 16, 2006 1:16 PM
Very tacky indeed, and a huge commercial faux-pas IMHO. They should just hike the burger price, nobody would notice.
Frog in L.A. at June 16, 2006 3:46 PM
See if you can drive to DuVal's Bluff and go to Mary's Pies there.
KateCoe at June 16, 2006 4:22 PM
WOW 60 cents for a facilities upgrade surcharge! there's a catch to it.
Margo at June 16, 2006 4:29 PM
Ms. Alkon is from the Stylish/Intellectual sector of Southern California, where bad tipping is indicative of sexual disfunction. That doesn't mean your waiter needs to make $60/hr, even in Arkansas. (Arkansas!)
But responsible diners are expected to do some math. If a thoughtful tip topples your budget, you should stay home and eat cereal.
That's what I did throughout the Reagan years.
Crid at June 16, 2006 10:20 PM
Different countries, different customs. In the US, service people often depend entirely on tips. That system stinks. They deserve decent wages like everyone else. In this country (the UK) they get them, partly due to minimum wage laws. If you say that paying by tips ensures better service, you are partly right. Personally I ensure better service by choosing where to repeat my custom.
The price on a restaurant bill includes service - no matter what it says on the bill. Otherwise the prices would be the cost of the ingredients only.
Not tipping can make you feel uncomfortable, so many people do tip even in the UK, just to avoid looking bad. That's just emotional blackmail - nothing to do with quality of service.
Norman at June 17, 2006 2:25 AM
Otherwise the prices would be the cost of the ingredients only.
"Shome mishtake surely?" (Norman, being Brit, will get this reference). How about the salaries of the manager, the exec chef, etc.? The cost of advertising and PR? Public liability insurance?? Stationery and printing? Amortisation of kitchen and computer equipment?
Oh, and by the way, the business owners expect something really despicable called a "profit".
Stu "El Inglés" Harris at June 17, 2006 8:05 AM
Stu-
You mean the business owners pay all these costs? Gosh, I assumed that since they didn't pay their front-line staff, they just didn't pay anyone anything.
Norman at June 17, 2006 12:30 PM
PS Eye reference noted & appreciated :-)
Norman at June 17, 2006 12:31 PM
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