Should tipping be banned?

[Black Walder]

Just curious, not saying it does not exist or anything, but what is "solid gold" service for a taxi? What does a taxi provide more than actually driving the client to the place he asked?

Solid gold service for a taxi means priority service from a driver who knows his shit. This evening, for example, I rescued a number of my regulars from downtown in a timely manner on a Saturday night with horrific street-blockages, when nobody else in this town could get a cab to save their life and if they did their trip was likely to be filled with purgatorial waits and/or detours. My regulars pay me very well for this sort of thing, and I consistently deliver.

My apologies to everybody who doesn't tip if I sounded a little harsh with the whole FUCK YOU thing; what I actually meant there was, "Serving you will not be my highest priority, good luck with the shitty drivers who have to take whatever they can get." ;)

[The Iceman of the North]

So you tend to swindle customers who you don't find to tip adequately?

[Black Walder]

So you tend to swindle customers who you don't find to tip adequately?

No, I tend to not give my personal number to customers who I don't find to tip adequately. Everybody gets the benefit of the doubt, though most disappoint.

Face it: Taxi service is a commodity. I provide it faster and better, so I get paid more. This may be hard to adjust to for those of you who are used to members of the service industry being the helpless victims of your whims, but it is how my business operates because I choose who gets rides, and I'd be a starving fool not to take advantage of it.

[Kolantero]

Tipping a taxi driver is the most weird thing I've heard the last month at least, I hope crap like that never become popular in my country (I'm not gonna bother commenting on the whole "victim" thing).

Also in my country (or at least in the big cities) taxis are either called through a company or the client nods them to stop in the road. In the latter case and after the cab has stopped, it is illegal for a taxi driver to refuse a fare, a measure taken to stop assholes from choosing clients with convenient/profitable routes.

[Liffguard]

I personally don't like the idea of waiters not being paid a fair minimum wage, but I can at least understand the logic of separating tipping from the set price in a restaurant. You're receiving two things; a meal (a physical product with a certain degree of standardisation justifying a fixed price), and the service (which can potentially vary hence the idea behind giving a tip). I don't personally think it's the best way to run it but I get the thinking behind it.

I don't understand tipping (i.e. a service charge) for something that is already just a service, like a taxi. If I'm paying a fare in order to receive a service and nothing else, then by definition the fare already is the service charge. If you don't think the fare is high enough to cover the service offered then why not just raise the fare?

[Masonity]

I wouldn't work somewhere that banned tipping. I'm paid an okay hourly rate for what I do, and the service charge I get from big parties and the like boosts it to at least half again the minimum wage. That said, tips are still nice and appreciated. If I go out of my way for you it's a great way to say thanks, and if there are hundreds of customers outside, a queue ten deep at the bar and I have my arms full of plates/glasses the fact you tend to tip will tend to mean I'll still stop and see if I can get you a topup / save you queuing at the bar rather than just ignoring you and doing my job by the book.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

What hourly rate constitutes a living wage?

[TheLoneliestMonk]

That depends on where you are. I assure you a living wage in Manhattan is higher than in Biloxi.

[Seli]

I personally don't like the idea of waiters not being paid a fair minimum wage, but I can at least understand the logic of separating tipping from the set price in a restaurant. You're receiving two things; a meal (a physical product with a certain degree of standardisation justifying a fixed price), and the service (which can potentially vary hence the idea behind giving a tip). I don't personally think it's the best way to run it but I get the thinking behind it.

...

So a cook, or the kitchen staff as a whole (including procurement) can be expected to work to a standard, but serving staff can not? I don't get that reasoning.

[The Iceman of the North]

No, I tend to not give my personal number to customers who I don't find to tip adequately. Everybody gets the benefit of the doubt, though most disappoint.

Face it: Taxi service is a commodity. I provide it faster and better, so I get paid more. This may be hard to adjust to for those of you who are used to members of the service industry being the helpless victims of your whims, but it is how my business operates because I choose who gets rides, and I'd be a starving fool not to take advantage of it.

I was referring to the "purgatorial waits and/or detours" part of your reply.

If you work somewhere where you're free to only respond to calls from regular customers, that's something different.

[fuseprime]

When I used to work for tips, we had to Roshambo (Rock Paper Scissor) to see who'd end up with the European. And, I'm not talking about the tourist, I'm talking about the European who's lived in America for years, but doesn't get the concept that people who work in the service industry depend on tips for their living. Between, being a mover, concessions etc. Europeans are, in general, the worst when it comes to tips.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

That depends on where you are. I assure you a living wage in Manhattan is higher than in Biloxi.

Some politicians have the nerve to call $10 an hour a living wage in New York. That sure as fuck isn't enough to live anywhere in the city.

[Mad Monkey]

It depends on if they specifically said New York or New York City.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

It depends on if they specifically said New York or New York City.

New York City elected officials are saying this.

[fuseprime]

$15 is BARELY a living wage in NJ. I could imagine NYC being much more.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

$15 is BARELY a living wage in NJ. I could imagine NYC being much more.

Someone wanted to turn the Kingsbridge armory in the Bronx into a mall and the politicians and community activists said the workers had to be a so called living wage of $10 an hour.

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2011/12/12/while-prestige-properties-moves-forward-at-bay-plaza-and-stella-d-oro-factory-gets-shopping-living-wage-bill-halts-kingsbridge-armory-project-formerly-proposed-by-related-companies/

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2010/05/24/council-members-pitch-living-wage-bill-for-subsidized-developments/

[Errant Bard]

Just for reference, how expensive is the rent for a one bedroom appartment in an average residential part of the city, how much does a sandwich cost, a metro ticket, a litre of gasoline?

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

Just for reference, how expensive is the rent for a one bedroom appartment in an average residential part of the city, how much does a sandwich cost, a metro ticket, a litre of gasoline?

$1000 gets you a small one bedroom in the Bronx, a ride on the bus and subway is $2.50 and a gallon of gasoline is $4.

[Errant Bard]

$1000 gets you a small one bedroom in the Bronx, a ride on the bus and subway is $2.50 and a gallon of gasoline is $4.

Thank you, and ouch, rent price is brutal.

[Liffguard]

So a cook, or the kitchen staff as a whole (including procurement) can be expected to work to a standard, but serving staff can not? I don't get that reasoning.

Fair point. I didn't really think that through. I guess I'm just in favour of paying all service staff a decent wage and removing the need for tips all together.