September 2004

September 10, 2004

Worst Job Ever?

Eww... this must be the worst job ever.

Posted by Phil at 01:01 PM | Comments (0)

September 13, 2004

Poor Tipper Arrested

You know how many restaurants have a note on their menus that a XX% gratuity will be added to your bill for parties of X or more? I always wondered if that was just a suggestion or mandatory to pay. And is it enforceable? Well this story says a man was arrested for giving only a 10% tip for what he said was poor service when the restaurant policy was 18% for his large party. The question still remains, though, if the charge is legitimate and held up in court.


More thoughts... Demanding a predetermined tip without being able to consider the quality of the service is crap. But what I'm curious about is whether the restaurant will win here based on any relevant laws that may exist. I think the restaurant has no right demanding a tip. They must earn it.

To look at another side of this... When I worked at Friday's, servers had mixed feelings on this. On one hand, they thought some customers who might otherwise be stingy will feel compelled to give the 15% as specified, making up for the effort of serving a large party. On the other hand, even if the service is excellent, a large party might still just tip the 15% because it's precalculated and it seems like the restaurant is saying that 15% is enough. In this case, if the 15% wasn't already tacked on, they might have given more.

No, the food doesn't cost more, but it does take a lot more energy to serve a large party and it usually limits the number of parties/tables a server can take. So I can understand why a restaurant would want to secure or guarantee servers 15% or whatever it is to make up for taking away their chances of getting more tables. Also, larger parties are usually there longer because it takes longer to get them their food and sometimes are there for a special occasion, increasing their time. If you calculate a tip per hour amount, it decreases the longer they are there.

So, in conclusion, I can guess some reasons why restaurants do this, but I don't think they have the right to demand it; they're essentially saying from the start that their service is worth a X% tip, when it may not be.

Posted by Phil at 10:30 AM | Comments (0)

Cars for the Audience

Now I thought I lucked out when I got an XBox on the day they came out when I went to the Rosie show. But today, Oprah gave the 276 people in her audience a new Pontiac G6. The cars were apparently donated by Pontiac, including all expenses and customizations. Wow, that's quite a donation. But only Oprah could pull that off. (Read the Yahoo! News Story)

Posted by Phil at 02:06 PM | Comments (0)

September 16, 2004

Tipper Update

Thankfully, the charges against the Poor Tipper were dropped yesterday according to this story. The decision came down to a technicality. The 18% add-on was called a gratuity; if it were called a surcharge or service charge, the man would have been required to pay it. Look out for surcharges appearing on menus near you. I can see it coming.

Posted by Phil at 04:04 PM | Comments (0)

Better Off?

Are You Better Off Now Than You Were Four Years Ago? - A BuzzFlash Perspective This website offers some graphical insight into areas like unemployment, job creation, and the stock market over the presidencies of the Bushes and Clinton. When I look at it from this perspective... no, still absolutely not voting for Bush. Again.

Posted by Phil at 05:04 PM | Comments (1)

September 20, 2004

Reading Puts Me to Sleep

Reading always puts me to sleep. Ugh! Especially when it's pretty dry and boring, which is usually the case when it's for a class.

Posted by Phil at 01:39 PM | Comments (2)

September 24, 2004

Richest Man

Yes, we all know Bill Gates is the richest man in America, but isn't this a funny picture to go along with the story?

Posted by Phil at 11:01 AM | Comments (0)

September 30, 2004

New Car

I put a deposit on a new car last night. I'm picking it up today. Wow, my first new car that's all mine. I still can't believe it. Wee!!!

More about my car-buying experience later.

Posted by Phil at 04:14 PM | Comments (3)