crazy4hoop Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Not too sure but I believe the "standard" (if there is one) for a handpaid jackpot for slot winnings or video poker winnings is 0.5%. I usually am happy to tip this even though I wonder if the motivation of the slot attendant is to get a tip considering that he or she almost always gives me my last $100 in smaller denominations. I hate W2Gs but the money sure is nice. I need to learn some more games besides 9/6 Jacks or Better :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerben42 Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Sounds like a great strategy to play negative EV slot games and when you rarely win, you tip someone to reduce your winnings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwnn Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Some people do it for some other purpose than just maximising their expected winnings.. They want to maximise their "Fun factor" EV, and tipping people (for some people) is fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerben42 Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Sure... but I've never seen the fun in slots except for the casino owner :) I guess I could enjoy some casino games when playing them with friends, even with negative EV. But single-player action? No way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helene_t Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 The Danish idea that tipping is tax evasion makes perfect sense to me. It is taxable in Denmark. Interestingly, if Danish employees agree among themselves to share the tips equally (yeah, this is Scandinavia!) then each employee is nevertheless taxable of what s/he received from the customers. So the best strategy is to be rude to the customers so you don't get tips. You will pay less taxes and your income will be roughly the same. Alternatively, they could agree to let the employer collect the tips (technically of course, not that the customers will notice), and then let the employer pay it to the employees as a bonus. Disadvantage of this is that the employer will then have to VAT and other taxes in addition to the income tax the employees pay. In practice of course it is tax evasion, but then again, restaurants and bars only pay a fraction of the tax they are supposed to pay anyway. My cousin tried to run a bar in Copenhagen strictly according to the rules (reporting everything to the revenues, no illegal immigrants employed, no sales of smuggled-in or homemade spirits etc.) He didn't stay long in business. Since a Danish waiter earns appr ten times as much as his Arizonan (according to zman102) colleague, which is more than I do, I wouldn't tip in Denmark unless I got exceptional service. Historically, it used to be the custom that you were supposed to pay 15% or such extra as tips, then at some point it became the law that the "mandatory" tips were included in the listed prices, and restaurants specified that on the bill, thereby telling the customers that "you already tipped so you don't have to tip extras". Whenever I took a taxi on work duty in Copenhagen, the driver would suggest that he billed me for twice the proper amount and repaid me half the proper amount so we screwed my employer. To my surprise, once I took a taxi together with my boss, my boss accepted the driver's generous offer. Not sure if a similar kind of tipping is frequent in restaurants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 I guess Anna Nicole Smith's hubby was 'classy' too. I find mega-tips creepy/goofy. You want to be classy, make a charitable donation or whatever. 'Nicest I heard of' deserves 'Ever heard of ... nicer' Touchy, touchy. Some drunk tipped my son $300 for putting his golf clubs in his car yesterday (split between 3, but still..) Agree with JonO. Lavish tipping is strange. There's probably some pathological basis for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenberg Posted May 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 This drunk then got behind the wheel? Yikes! Some twenty-five years ago I agreed to have this guy in Granada shine my shoes w/o first asking the price. At the end he asked for dos mil. Two bucks seemed a bit high (25 years ago) but I was about to give it to him, and I hadn't even been drinking. Then I came to my senses and realized dos mil was twenty bucks. I explained that los zapatos cuesta quatro mil (or words to that extent), and I gave him 200 pesetas. He seemed to be more than happy with it, even forgiving my mangling of his language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 This drunk then got behind the wheel? Yikes! It was an outside tournament and some high-end auto dealership sponsored it. Lets just say he can afford the DUI and the boost to his insurance. I just hope he didn't plow into anyone. OTOH I would be unconcerned if he ran into something large and unmoveable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycroft Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 The reason I find Herr Langer's "tip" classy isn't the cash. The clubs cost, what, $2000? Maybe as much as $10 000? And he'd just won over $1m. But these people now have a story for the rest of their lives. And they can just point in the corner. Nobody - that's NOBODY - else has one of those in their living room. Heh - not even Herr Langer (well, he may have one from the other time he won). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherdanno Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 The reason I find Herr Langer's "tip" classy isn't the cash. The clubs cost, what, $2000? Maybe as much as $10 000? And he'd just won over $1m. But these people now have a story for the rest of their lives. And they can just point in the corner. Nobody - that's NOBODY - else has one of those in their living room. Heh - not even Herr Langer (well, he may have one from the other time he won). Indeed (and probably the recipients cared about golf, and really liked the present). Comparing it with some creepy monster tip because a billionaire found some waitress sexy is bad taste, sorry Josh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y66 Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Give the guy a break man. Maybe he's not a golfer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barmar Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Agree with JonO. Lavish tipping is strange. There's probably some pathological basis for it. It's another way that rich people can flaunt their wealth. It's a way of being ostentatious and showing off, like driving a fancy sports car or wearing extremely fancy jewelry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onoway Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 I'm confused. Why is a monster tip from someone who can afford it creepy? I bet the cocktail waitress didn't think it was! Why should people only give generously to charities, many of which waste a good deal of it or skim off the top anyway? I don't understand the logic that says it's ok to give a bunch of millions to an organization but not over some undefined limit to an individual.Seems a really wealthy person is caught in the middle..if he gives the usual he is a cheap s.o.b. but if he gives more he is creepy! So is $1099.99 ok but $2000 not? Where is the tipping point where generosity becomes creepiness? It isn't the amount anyway, it's the scale...paying off the mortgage to him, might be the equivilent of a $100 tip for some other people. And I'm fairly sure she likely wasn't the only sexy waitress who ever served him. (Besides, she likely would have to take out a new mortgage to pay the`taxes on the gift). If someone is moved to show appreciation of efforts made to make life happy for him and he can afford it, more power to him. I think both of these examples simply show a generosity of spirit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerben42 Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Sounds to me like waiters urgently need a labor union. $3 an hour sounds like slavery to me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aberlour10 Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Isn't there in the USA the statutory minimum wage by +- $ 6,50 ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helene_t Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Isn't there in the USA the statutory minimum wage by +- $ 6,50 ? Amazing. I earned the equivalent to $13 per hour by cleaning offices during my hischool years 25 years ago. Must have gone up a little in the meantime. Btw it was considered a low salary for unskilled work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke warm Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Isn't there in the USA the statutory minimum wage by +- $ 6,50 ? not for wait staff... i believe most get about $2.50/hr. plus tips... if the job is one where there are no tips, min wage applies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codo Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Isn't there in the USA the statutory minimum wage by +- $ 6,50 ? Amazing. I earned the equivalent to $13 per hour by cleaning offices during my hischool years 25 years ago. Must have gone up a little in the meantime. Btw it was considered a low salary for unskilled work. Wow, here it is quite common nowadays to pay around 10 €/hour for cleaning. 25 years ago it had been around 3 or 4 €. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PassedOut Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Richer countries can afford higher wages than the US. Over time we may catch up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoAnneM Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Ever wonder why everything is so expensive in San Francisco? Waitstaff, by city law, earns the same minimum wage as everyone else in SF, which is $9.79. On top of that employers must provide medical benefits. This has so angered many restaurant owners that many show a "medical benefit surcharge" as a separate amount on the check, hoping you won't include it on the tip. I have mixed feelings about this, the Bay Area has a very high cost of living and housing, especially, is very expensive. Still, the restaurants are always busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 I'm confused. Why is a monster tip from someone who can afford it creepy? I bet the cocktail waitress didn't think it was! Why should people only give generously to charities, many of which waste a good deal of it or skim off the top anyway? I don't understand the logic that says it's ok to give a bunch of millions to an organization but not over some undefined limit to an individual.Seems a really wealthy person is caught in the middle..if he gives the usual he is a cheap s.o.b. but if he gives more he is creepy! So is $1099.99 ok but $2000 not? Where is the tipping point where generosity becomes creepiness? It isn't the amount anyway, it's the scale...paying off the mortgage to him, might be the equivilent of a $100 tip for some other people. And I'm fairly sure she likely wasn't the only sexy waitress who ever served him. (Besides, she likely would have to take out a new mortgage to pay the`taxes on the gift). If someone is moved to show appreciation of efforts made to make life happy for him and he can afford it, more power to him. I think both of these examples simply show a generosity of spirit. Because a lot of people, including me, think there is some scale between the size of the bill and the size of the tip. There is little, if any, relationship to the person's financial statement and the tip. Some of the richest people I've ever known were miserly SOB's that would haggle over a $.50 increase in a dry cleaner's rates, I've tipped up to 30-40% when the service was flat out great, or the staff did something really, really out of the ordinary. Like when a waitress went across the street to get a Starbucks for my daughter (I don't remember why). Sure they were slow, but it was pretty cool. Clearly there's a Q.P.Q. here. I have no problem when George Foreman comes into a steakhouse and tips 100% of the bill. $500 bill + $500 tip - wow - thats generous. Excessive, but generous. I think its very odd when people flaunt their wealth and give gigantic tips for no apparent reason. I also think this is why some of the most exclusive clubs have a strict 'no tipping' policy. Otherwise, things would turn into a circus. Where is the tipping point where generosity becomes creepiness? The tipping point is when your bill is presented or when the valet brings the car to you. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdonn Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Sorry if no one liked my story, it seemed on topic to me. I've never seen to many buzzkills in one thread. But I certainly don't find anything creepy about it. Whoever implied he did it because his waitress is hot, maybe he did it because she opened up to him about her trouble making mortgage payments? I hope if I let some teenagers wash my car for $5, and one starts telling me about his family's trouble making mortgage payments and I'm dumb enough to believe it, Phil wouldn't think I'm creepy for tipping $20 just because it goes over his arbitrary 100% threshold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PassedOut Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Ever wonder why everything is so expensive in San Francisco? Waitstaff, by city law, earns the same minimum wage as everyone else in SF, which is $9.79. On top of that employers must provide medical benefits. This has so angered many restaurant owners that many show a "medical benefit surcharge" as a separate amount on the check, hoping you won't include it on the tip. I have mixed feelings about this, the Bay Area has a very high cost of living and housing, especially, is very expensive. Still, the restaurants are always busy. Yes, the SF restaurants are busy anyway. In my opinion, a good business person can always succeed working within a set of laws that help workers, so long as all direct competitors must follow the same laws. A problem that US businesses face in international competiton is that we compete with businesses from nations in which the government takes responsibility for the people's health care. Most US businesses could compete more effectively if the US government followed suit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helene_t Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 A problem that US businesses face in international competiton is that we compete with businesses from nations in which the government takes responsibility for the people's health care. Most US businesses could compete more effectively if the US government followed suit. I don't think it matters much. In Denmark I got a higher pre-tax salary than I would get elsewhere, partly because the health care is financed by taxing income, so employers pay less taxes and can afford to pay high salaries while employees pay high taxes and demand high salaries. In NL it's similar except that the mandatory health insurance is not called "tax", but what's in a name ... In UK I get a lousy salary but pay less taxes, I suspect this is partly related to more taxes (or whatever they call it) being payed by employers. US health expenses are extreme, which is probably (among other factors) related to the fact that it's a rich country and health care is what economists call a luxury commodity, i.e. rich people spend a higher fraction of their income on it than poor people do. For some reason, U.S. employers pay their employees' health insurances directly instead of paying it via a general tax, or via higher gross salaries subject to higher income tax. Of course the way the burden is shared between high-salary workers and low-salary workers has some implications, but other things being equal I wouldn't expect it matter much how it is implemented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Sorry if no one liked my story, it seemed on topic to me. I've never seen to many buzzkills in one thread. But I certainly don't find anything creepy about it. Whoever implied he did it because his waitress is hot, maybe he did it because she opened up to him about her trouble making mortgage payments? I hope if I let some teenagers wash my car for $5, and one starts telling me about his family's trouble making mortgage payments and I'm dumb enough to believe it, Phil wouldn't think I'm creepy for tipping $20 just because it goes over his arbitrary 100% threshold. Josh, I didn't ever say 100% was my threshold. I simply used George Foreman as an example of someone being generous within acceptable limits. I would go so far to say that my personal line between being generous and being weird depends a lot upon the amount of the bill. If a dot.com zillionaire took his staff to a resort for a week and tipped the hotel 100% of the bill I would find that a little strange, wouldn't you? I have no problem with you tipping someone $20 for a carwash. Hell, if its for a charity, give them a blank check. What seems to be happening in this discussion is that people are confusing the concepts of 'service' and 'need'. If the waitress' daughter needs an operation, then, sure, help her out. Pay It Forward - I get it. But this has nothing to do with how quickly she brings you your meal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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