lunch. I ate at Quiznos today and got really annoyed by the line on my credit card slip for a tip. It's a fast food deli! It's not even a locally owned deli. (Keep Austin Weird!) I am with the author on this one. Why the hell are we tipping for services we already paid for?!? And if these people are asking for tips for reasons other than supporting the business or supplementing the lower than minimum-wage income of the employees, it's not a tip. It's charity! Let's call it what it is and if you're brave enough to ask for charity money, be brave enough to explain where my hard-earned money is going.

Okay - I'm through with my rant.

Amy

That salad sounds good.

That salad sounds good.

It IS good! Of course, the kids at Quizno's tell me it's gross (I asked them, they were being honest! HA) but it's not, it's really good. I love their Italian cheese blend.

A layer of various lettuce types, a HUGE layer of Tuna salad, a layer of tomatoes, a layer of Italian cheese blend, and dressing. Yum. Lasts me two days easily and I eat it twice daily.

Recently I've seen that 3 Quiznos have gone out of business in my area. I can't undertand it. I think their food has always been better than Sub-Way, although Sub-Way's food is pretty good. I just can't eat sandwiches anymore, so I haven't been to either place in a long time. However the tuna salad mentioned above makes me wish I had a Quizno's near me!:hungry:

"What difference does it make if it is a locally owned deli or not? Olive Garden isn't locally owned, do you tip their wait staff? Actually, Quizno's are locally owned... not sure why that makes a difference though."

It doesn't really make much of a difference except for the fact that I feel like I'm supporting my local community by frequenting those few places. We have a saying in Austin ("Keep Austin Weird"). It's all about supporting the local Joe and not selling out to the Wal-Mart monsters. As far as tipping those folks though, no difference. It's still begging to me.

"As for tip jars, if you don't want to tip, don't. If you want to, feel free. Nobody is forcing you to do anything."

Yeah - thanks for the advice. I won't tip if I don't wish to. However, I still reserve the right to find it annoying and to rant about it being annoying. :confused:

Amy

"What difference does it make if it is a locally owned deli or not? Olive Garden isn't locally owned, do you tip their wait staff? Actually, Quizno's are locally owned... not sure why that makes a difference though."

It doesn't really make much of a difference except for the fact that I feel like I'm supporting my local community by frequenting those few places. We have a saying in Austin ("Keep Austin Weird"). It's all about supporting the local Joe and not selling out to the Wal-Mart monsters. As far as tipping those folks though, no difference. It's still begging to me.

The guy who owns my local Quizno's lives down the street from me.

As for Walmart, I agree with you. I refuse to shop there.

I guess I am wierd. I actually enjoy tipping. However, I don't tip into tip jars. I tip the people who served me. If you want to feel good, stop a busboy and hand him 5 bucks. It will make his day!!! I always tip at least 20% and sometimes will leave $20.00 on a $40.00 tab. I think it is fun. It makes someone else feel special. And it makes me feel good to make someone else happy. For Christmas this year we gave the girl at the counter at the Dry Cleaners $100.00. She is a single Mom. Usually has her 2 boys on the floor doing their homework when I go by to pick up my cleaning. I never have to tell her my name and our clothes are always perfect. She was so overwhelmed with the gift. And it made Christmas more special for me and my husband to be able to give her this gift. I guess I figure I can't take money with me when I die. And unfortunately these days, monetary gifts often mean more than kind words, so..... Tipping it is. And beleive it or not I once had a college kid at On the Border refuse to accept a $20 tip I left for him. He was having a terrible time with a larger group and he neglected us. Other wait staff took care of our needs. The large group left him a 61 cent tip and he was obviously upset. My hubby and I felt bad for him and left him $20 and he chased us outside and refused to take it. He wouldn't accept a dime and actually appologized to us for the poor service. Their are good people out there, not just beggars.

Nursekathy: Tipping can be a lot of fun when you do it as a reward for good service, or as a gift to someone who you know needs it.

My beef is that nowadays some tips are mandatory and they are depended upon by workers who are often underpaid for the jobs they do. When did that happen? Why did we let it? Guilt plays into a lot of required tipping these days.

If workers should be getting more money for the jobs they do, then they should be paid more by their employer and it could be reflected in the price of the goods. Tips were originally created to reward good service and I think if it is called a tip, it should be discretionery on the part of the tipper.

Tips are one way that workers are able to break the rules and not declare part of their income on their IRS forms. And if you think about it in those terms, they're screwing other taxpayers once by requiring them to do the tipping and again when they don't pay their fair share of taxes.

It has become a system that works, but it isn't really ethical or above board and consequently it is resented by many consumers, instead of being something that most of them enjoy doing.

To Insure Prompt Service. That's what it stands for. Originally, tips were given before a dinner/event/whatever to encourage the staff to give you better service. Then you had to tip to get a good table/decent table/etc and I think it just slid down the hill from there.

Kathy, I think what you are doing is beyond tipping, and I think it's wonderful. I went to a club with some friends, and we were across the dance floor from the bar. The poor girl had to go through the crazy dancing crowd to fill our orders. I think I paid $10 on a $15 tab. She thanked me and I said "Hey, I only had to walk through that crowd once". But, I've also left $5 on a tab over $100 because of really crappy service.

The guy who owns my local Quizno's lives down the street from me.

As for Walmart, I agree with you. I refuse to shop there.

WasaBB is entirely correct. Many "big" businesses are run on the franchise plan and so when you do business at your local Quizno's you are dealing with a local owner and local workers whom he/she has hired. This means that when a local Quizno's has gone belly-up a local family has lost their business and a source for local unskilled labour has disappeared, too.

As for tipping in such places as the Olive Garden, well, whether the place is a franchise or a local outlet of a national conglomerate, certainly the waitstaff are local. These individuals are likely to be young people and may even be the kids of friends of yours or your parents. When you tip them you are giving back into your local economy. And although I have already stated that I have mixed feelings about the concept of tipping it has become established as part of the service industry economy.

By stiffing someone for his or her tip you are not going to revolutionise the industry. You are, however, going to hurt a specific individual. This is an unkind act. I figure that if you have enough bucks to eat in a restaurant then you have enough backs to tip the waiter for the tip is part of the price of your meal.

And by the way, nursekathy, I have got to say that I am oh so charmed by your gorgeous loosey-goosey fun way with some dollars here and there. I've got a hunch that what you are doing is a bunch of fun, mo fun than givin' to charity or payin' taxes in a socialised state. You go, grrl!

WasaBB is entirely correct. Many "big" businesses are run on the franchise plan and so when you do business at your local Quizno's you are dealing with a local owner and local workers whom he/she has hired. This means that when a local Quizno's has gone belly-up a local family has lost their business and a source for local unskilled labour has disappeared, too.

As for tipping in such places as the Olive Garden, well, whether the place is a franchise or a local outlet of a national conglomerate, certainly the waitstaff are local. These individuals are likely to be young people and may even be the kids of friends of yours or your parents. When you tip them you are giving back into your local economy. And although I have already stated that I have mixed feelings about the concept of tipping it has become established as part of the service industry economy.

By stiffing someone for his or her tip you are not going to revolutionise the industry. You are, however, going to hurt a specific individual. This is an unkind act. I figure that if you have enough bucks to eat in a restaurant then you have enough backs to tip the waiter for the tip is part of the price of your meal.

And by the way, nursekathy, I have got to say that I am oh so charmed by your gorgeous loosey-goosey fun way with some dollars here and there. I've got a hunch that what you are doing is a bunch of fun, mo fun than givin' to charity or payin' taxes in a socialised state. You go, grrl!

Green...

I always just love your posts. I agree with what you write and also, I fully agree with what you write to NurseKathy.

I agree too!

<p>Oooh, Green is currently preening her kinda sorta thinnish and rather prune-like self. <img src="http://www.LapBandTalk.com/images/smilies/kiss2.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Kiss2" smilieid="154" class="inlineimg" /><img src="http://www.LapBandTalk.com/images/smilies/kiss2.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Kiss2" smilieid="154" class="inlineimg" /><img src="http://www.LapBandTalk.com/images/smilies/kiss2.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Kiss2" smilieid="154" class="inlineimg" /><img src="http://www.LapBandTalk.com/images/smilies/kiss2.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Kiss2" smilieid="154" class="inlineimg" /></p>

Ok Green, I'm over it. Now I'm just fuming because I'm still a chunky monkey and you're all svelt and lovely and complimented and all.... some grrls just have their stuff together and I'm just not one of them, yet... dang it.:speechlesThis is what someone should do to my mouth.

Ok Green, I'm over it. Now I'm just fuming because I'm still a chunky monkey and you're all svelt and lovely and complimented and all.... some grrls just have their stuff together and I'm just not one of them, yet... dang it.:speechlesThis is what someone should do to my mouth.

Urgh! Green has got the blues. She has just come home from spending a number of days in the Canadian wilderness at her in-law's cottage. Bad food, many, many bug bites, some weight gain, and, oh yah, really bad food! Apart from the trillion goddam bugs not too many animals, eh. haha :heh:

<p>Oooh, Green is currently preening her kinda sorta thinnish and rather prune-like self. <img src="http://www.LapBandTalk.com/images/smilies/kiss2.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Kiss2" smilieid="154" class="inlineimg" /><img src="http://www.LapBandTalk.com/images/smilies/kiss2.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Kiss2" smilieid="154" class="inlineimg" /><img src="http://www.LapBandTalk.com/images/smilies/kiss2.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Kiss2" smilieid="154" class="inlineimg" /><img src="http://www.LapBandTalk.com/images/smilies/kiss2.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Kiss2" smilieid="154" class="inlineimg" /></p>

The hell you say!