Your opinion on Resturants..... Please

frank_f15 · Dec 5, 2003

reasturants like any businnes should pay their employees at LEAST MIN. wage. income by TIPS is so unfair. most are assumming that a restuart is always busy! no so. one one night u might have a sever working for lets say$3.00 p/h and very little business so she/he makes nothing. the next night a different server making the same $3.00 p/h has loads of customers and rakes in the $$$$$. wher is the fairness in that? now good service or bad servise is another matter

Junkman · Dec 5, 2003

A physician pays in excess of $100,000 in malpractice insurance if his practice is active..... Restaurant owners just get a free ride as far as I am concerned, because they pay a sub standard wage. The food industry is more profitable than almost any other retail business and the turn over of product and tables is at least once an hour. What does it cost to serve that $20 meal??? Certainly a lot less than what a $20 bag of dog food cost! On a $20 bag of dog food, we make a gross profit of $4.00.... we pay rent, lights, heat, employees out of that 20% profit margin... Have to sell a lot of dog food to make a profit... I believe that a restaurant should pay the serving staff at least the state minimum wage and then tip would be the extra incentive. The wait staff is expected to buss tables, fill salt & pepper shakers, sugar dispensers, ketchup bottles, etc... and then vacuum the floor, wrap silverwear..... all for $2.65 per hour. They are not always serving where they get tips.... Charge more for the food and let the market place determine if the price is commensurate with the quality, but pay the staff a living wage!!!!

Docsknotinn · Dec 5, 2003

Honestly I just dont really know what in the world you are talking about. If you just dont like restaurants, hey, dont eat out, its a free country, But no one gets a free ride. I dont know of any physicians paying any where close to 100k in malpractice. lol. You are really talking about stuff you dont understand in my opinion. Restaurants are notorious money loosers. In fact restaurants are year in and out one of the top three failing buisinesses. I wont dissagree with you that every one should get paid minimum wage. I didn't realize this was a strand about social injustice, just about tipping. Down at Fab bobs BBQ the wait staff might bus tables etc but not at the majority of restaurants. Yes they work hard. Many Make a good liveing. Just like any other occupation there are those who are more successfull than others and seek a winning team. Once you buy a restaurant and a medical practice come back and debate. I didnt jump on this strand to sling mud with some one who is obviosly bitter about restaurants. good grief. Let make a one word suggestion .... McDonalds /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

cowboydoc · Dec 5, 2003

Junkman is right about the $100k malpractice insurance. I know of several obstetricians who pay $100k plus and have never had a claim against them. I know quite a few surgeons who have had a claim or two, not really their fault either, and they also pay $100k plus a year for insurance.

DocHeb · Dec 5, 2003

Totally off thread but necessary: Richard (CowboyDoc): Although that $100,000 premium is above average, no matter what you pay, you don't get much for your money. As you know, the typical yearly premium is for a $200,000/$600,000 policy. That means that they will cover you up to $200,000 a case, with a cummulative maximum of $600,000. Most won't reach that $600,000 limit since the company will cancel you before your reach it. The problem is that some insurance companies will settle (despite the physician doing nothing wrong) just to make the case "go away"; this still counts against your policy, however.

Over my 20 years I did have one patient try to tip me as a physician - an ancient little black woman I saw while working at Detroit Receiving Hospital. She tried to put $2 in my pocket after I first saw her in the ER. To this day I don't know if she was really being thankful, or whether she thought she needed to tip the white boy to make him really care about her.

Back to the thread - I'm a routine 18% at nicer restaurants, but if you consider how much some of those meals run, the staff can pull down a chunk of change. I actually get the biggest kick out of leaving a $20 for a $8 check at the Coney Island. It means more when the gal goes home and tells the kids "I got a 250% tip today!".

I don't mind restaurants, but the group that always amazed me was the airport porters that check your bags curbside - a buck a bag and they've got to be handling a hundred an hour. Watch out, your bags might take a left in Albuquerque.

Dave (DocsKnotInn): Speaking of tipping in Vegas - my wife and I went there shortly after we were married. I had student loans up to my eyeballs, and we didn't have any money, but the pregnant wife (~7 months) wanted to go to Vegas because it sounded glamorous and exciting (as opposed to being the wife of a med student in Detroit!). After three days of spending/gambling more than we should, the thought of one more dollar leaving my pocket made me nauseated. We had tickets at the Tropicana for the big floor show on the last night we were there. The big, fat maitre'de was cramming the $50s and $100s down his pant's bottomless pocket, and then would assign the seats based on your tip. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gifI was so pissed off I told my wife I wasn't giving him a dime - and he sat us in the absolute last row of the theater. We sat with an insurance salesman from Iowa, and a Wisconsin dairy farmer and his wife. The farmers were on their first vacation in 40 years! Nice enough people, and it was fun talking to the farmer. Man those seats were high and far from the stage! The show was OK (gee - are those girls half-nekked? I don't know, I didn't bring my binoculars.) We hung out until the end, and they had a door prize drawing two hours after the show (an attempt to keep you in the casino longer). I won the $250 seat prize based on the lousy $0-tip-seat the maitre'de gave us! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Put a nice finish to the vacation!

Docsknotinn · Dec 6, 2003

Richard, Thats biggest non sense I have ever seen you post. Give me a break, now tell us what YOU pay ? ! Its no where near that and we both know it. The average 2/6 policy nationwide is more like 20k with a few marks, is there any one left that hasnt been sued ? Thats about as much BS as saying all restaurants are makeing a killing due to unfair labor practices. I guess every one thinks the other guys grass is geener and its just easy money. lol. yeaaaaaah. Come on over to my world and let me show you what 2 million dollars worth of SS looks like, a 100k floating tile foor, vent systems, halon systems, micros systems Has you handy dandy pocket calculator melted yet ? Does any one here realize a liquer license is six figures ? Do you have any idea what tables, linens, silver etc costs ? Now a medical office, You cant hardly get a loan because your inventory of value is your brain. The biggest expense you have is lease hold improvements and even thats probably not any where near 500k. That wont even get you in the bank door for a restaurant loan ! Whats your biggest single expense on a item Richard ? a X Ray machine and developer, MAYBEE 60k for a reall nice one ??? We can all all blatently missrepresent our selves, wheres the challenge in that. The average physician is not delivering babies or paying any where near 100k in malpractice. DocHeb, Those days in Vegas are gone. Since then The place has tried to turn family oriented (lol) and the tickets are just sold at the box office, but the best shows are over $100 per seat /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

Docsknotinn · Dec 7, 2003

DocHeb, there are policys available in Mi that give you more controll over settleing. Based on your description I am assumeing you buy your own insurance. No mater what your profession is its very unpleasant to have a case settled for cost benefit reasons when you did nothing wrog. Junkman, I did want to say that I hope my post does not appear that I am trying to pick bones with you. I just take exception to sentiments to the effect that anyone in the Restauraunt buisiness is getting a "Free Ride". Its offensive to those of us in that profession who have worked long and hard and taken good care of our staff. I can only wonder what experience you have had that has made you so hostile towrds the industry. No matter weather your a physician or a chef or sell Dog food it is not possible to group everyone together in one group, unless were all a bunch of Quacks that have gone to the dogs /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Junkman · Dec 7, 2003

Quite to the contrary, I am not bitter toward the industry as a whole, but I see all too often young people that are working their fingers to the bone trying to keep the wolves from the door and food on the table at home, and they all work in restaurants that don't pay well..... even when you add in the tips. These restaurants many times are the "chain" restaurants, and I do believe that they are getting a free ride since they don't pay at least the state minimum wage that is required by other retailers. The only difference is that they serve food and other retailers, even Walmart, serve products. I am a generous tipper and we go out to restaurants at least 3 times a week.... figure it makes it easier on the wife that works and the husband that doesn't cook well. The only thing that would suffer if these restaurants were to pay a higher wage, is their profits for the stockholders and the people at the top of the organization. Many times, they will serve for 5 out of 8 hours and the other 3 are used doing not tip producing things. Since they have already worked the "supper hour" and made good tips, and those tips are averaged into the 8 hours to come up to the $6.75 per hour wage that they must obtain, they are getting shafted for those 3 hours because the management only pays $2.65 per hour. If the restaurant had to hire someone to do that 3 hours of work and they were not a server, then the restaurant will pay $6.75 per hour. At the more expensive restaurants, there is good money made by the servers, often $45.00 - $60.00 per hour. Granted, they do hustle to make that money and they do deserve it since they provide great service, but I also know that some of these people only declare $20 - $30 per hour for the IRS reporting. This is also not fair to people that pay their fair share of taxes. One of the interesting things about these higher paid servers, is that the restaurant also have people that do all the silver wrapping, filling of salt & pepper shakers, etc. that are hourly employees that do no serving at all. These are the two extremes of the spectrum... Sorry if you thought that I was bitter toward the entire industry, and I am not trying to group all of the industry as a whole...... The industry is as varied as McDonald's at the low end and the Four Seasons (NY) at the high end......

Docsknotinn · Dec 7, 2003

Yes I see your point and I agree on some of your stance. Sorry if I was gruff, I dont like being grouped with those who take advantage of others. We all need to earn a fair wage in a competitive market/economy. The restaurant buisiness is full on cons/cheats and flat out thiefs. I could tell some storys there. How about the countless Chefs who are just getting started and get hired by large corporations as salaried exempt employees. I have worked many hours in the past for less than minimum wage because I had to pull a double even a triple shift. 80 hour weeks are not uncommon and your pay check is still the same. Experience is a brutal teacher. You learn to negotiate your hours as well as your salary. Again when tipping I always leave cash so my server gets the green before some one else gets their mitts on it. I count on them to be as honest on their taxes as the rest of us.

frank_f15 · Dec 7, 2003

when i walk into a restaurant my normal expectation is to tip 10% THE SERVICE OR LACK OF A DETERMINES if that % goes up or down. and i beleive THAT IS FAIR. also if service is good i will ask for the manager and compliment him/her on the good service. i do complain about bad food or service BUT I ALSO compliment on good food and service.