Fazoli's the Anti-tip Movement WTF

Beyond Saving
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Fazoli's the Anti-tip Movement WTF

 So I have some time to waste waiting for my room at the hotel. There is a Fazoli's across the road and I figure what the hell, haven't been to Fazoli's in probably a decade. It is obviously a fairly new building, and I was a little dismayed that I couldn't find a seat with a power outlet- who the fuck builds a restaurant without power outlets near several seats when every asshole and their great grandmother has electronics on them? Fortunately, the employee working front of house pointed me towards the only booth with a plug. +1 for me, fuck everyone else.

The food is pretty much as Iremember, passable mediocre semi-italianish with greasy addicting breadsticks. Hey, for $5 you can't complain. What confuses me is the half-assed service. Before it was like every other fast food joint, get your food at the counter and hit the station for your drink and accessories. Now they bring your food to you, clear your plate and bring more of those no doubt cancer causing breadsticks, but you still have to refill your drink. It seems really odd to me, either have a server, or just have me do everything. Is there really anyone who goes to fazoli's for the service? I doubt it, we all show up for the cancer sticks.

Then all the tables have a little sign saying "Leave your plates. But don't leave a tip." I thought that was odd. After all, I did get some service, why shouldn't I leave a small tip? I thought to myself that maybe Fazoli's paid higher than average for fast food wages- a quick search showed that they only pay $8-9 per hour. Why does the employer give a fuck if I tip their employee? It is one thing to not ask for a tip, but to actively discourage it seems odd to me. Why wouldn't you want your employees paid more at no expense to you? Screw them.

If, if a white man puts his arm around me voluntarily, that's brotherhood. But if you - if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that's not brotherhood, that's hypocrisy.- Malcolm X


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I'm speculating, but if

I'm speculating, but unwanted complications may arise if customers leave tips:

  • Resentment may build among workers if some pocket more than others 
  • The rest of the staff may demand a tip-out
  • They would have to report the extra earnings and adjust taxes accordingly
  • Customers who feel they have to tip will feel more free to complain about the quality of food/service.  Active discouragement of tipping allows them to lowball their standards.

 

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Never heard of the

Never heard of the restaurant. Weird name.

It's possible that the people cleaning the tables aren't necessarily the people who served you. I could easily see problems arising with someone picking up someone elses tip. The fast food industry doesn't have the same structured environment as an actual restaurant, where each server is assigned a section. At least not in my experience.

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We had one in my area during

We had one in my area during the 90's. however it faded away by the end of 2000. There are none left in the Orlando area.

A lot of places now do this "we serve you" "we clean up after you". Several of them are Burger Fi, Eden Fresh, Chipolte, Moe's and Panera to name a few. They pay a higher average wage to the worker, but I'm not sure if it is a better business model.

 


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Hmm, personally, I use tip

Hmm, personally, I use tip as a measure of quality. I always tip generously unless the service is bad, in which case I probably won't tip. So, the mentality of someone tipping, then complaining about the service seems really weird to me. 

Also, I know some places split their tip evenly among all the employees. They could do that...

None of the potential downsides are greater than the extra money. The only way this makes sense, imo, is if the employees are paid more to offset the extra income from tips. Since Beyond has indicated this is not the case, the only conclusion I can come up with is shitty management.  

Our revels now are ended. These our actors, | As I foretold you, were all spirits, and | Are melted into air, into thin air; | And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, | The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, | The solemn temples, the great globe itself, - Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, | And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, | Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff | As dreams are made on, and our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. - Shakespeare


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 Well yeah, I imagine it

 Well yeah, I imagine it would be logical to share the tips, or have some kind of rotation so that everyone has a chance to serve and earn tips. Or perhaps do what a lot of deli counters/coffee shops do and have a shared tip jar. I would think that solutions could be found easily. And if anyone isn't earning enough tips and quits, who cares? With the wages they pay, they are probably hiring 365 days a year anyway and being the only fast food place that gets tips would be a huge competitive advantage over others in terms of being choosy with employees. 

The only logical answer I can think of is they are afraid people will go elsewhere if they feel like they have to tip, or that tipping is expected. Which might be a good reason not to ask for tips (such as a tip jar) but I think explicitly telling people not to tip is unnecessary. Most people probably wouldn't anyway. But if an employee makes $8 over a whole day off a few customers, that adds 10% or more onto their pay. As it is, I ignored the sign and left $2 under my plate, so hopefully the good folks at Fazoli's are getting a few bucks everyday and just don't tell their employer or the government about it. I can't be the only one with the urge to not follow directions, right?

If, if a white man puts his arm around me voluntarily, that's brotherhood. But if you - if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that's not brotherhood, that's hypocrisy.- Malcolm X


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I used to wait tables during

I used to wait tables during my youth and some places pooled the tips. Those with the higher "task level" got more. Those who busted tables got less.

Other places it was keep what you get but then we had assholes who would steal from a table after the guest left.

Personally I think doing away with tips is a better setup.

 


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digitalbeachbum

digitalbeachbum wrote:

Personally I think doing away with tips is a better setup.

Not for the server, or any regular who leaves good tips. Who exactly is it better for?

Sure, stealing happens, but not so often anymore since many places have cameras set up. Any employee stealing is going to get caught. Had that happen at one of my regular bars a couple of months ago. Bartender thought a tip was stolen and they looked at the tape, sure enough, a $20 tip was scooped up by a patron, who is no longer welcome at any bar in town.

If, if a white man puts his arm around me voluntarily, that's brotherhood. But if you - if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that's not brotherhood, that's hypocrisy.- Malcolm X


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i haven't actually been


i haven't actually been inside a fazoli's since like 2002 (i think i've done drive-through a couple times since then, at my wife's request). i never really did like them. the only thing i used to like was the peppery chicken alfredo but its sauce was so damn watery. i personally hate it when any place offers unexpected service . i would be really put off by servers at fazoli's, because i wouldn't know the protocol, wouldn't know what degree of service to expect, and thus would feel awkward. actually, beyond, your revelation about the place has assured i will probably never go there again. i would much rather just do everything myself.

although, now that i think about it, i think they always did bring you more breadsticks, but there was never any question of tipping.

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As the minimum wage climbs,

As the minimum wage keeps climbing ($15?), perhaps customers will start tipping less or stop tipping altogether; and Fazoli's is just ahead of the curve.

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Some might, but since the

Some might, but since the majority earns minimum wage, the opposite is more likely. I won't tip anyone anything if I'm barely making enough to pay the rent. I generally won't eat out at all, but every now and then it's nice to have a real meal, so I will sometimes.

If I'm getting paid enough to have a disposable income, however, I'm likely to tip even if the service wasn't great. I'm likely to tip above the standard calculation if it was great service. Of course I'm still unlikely to eat out, because I can afford good food and I don't mind cooking, but everyone has lazy days.

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zarathustra wrote:As the

zarathustra wrote:

As the minimum wage keeps climbing ($15?), perhaps customers will start tipping less or stop tipping altogether; and Fazoli's is just ahead of the curve.

I will tip 20% if service was good. 8% if it sucked.

What bothers me is some of these places which have tip jars out and they don't even do shit. I refuse to leave a tip for a person who works behind the counter and only takes your order.


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 Bad service is one thing.

 Bad service is one thing. But in places like fascist Japan their society as a majority does not tip because they do not have our pay gap. Tipping in America might make some a living,  but it is mainly used by business as an excuse to aviod paying livable wages. Tipping is a scam, not in the intent, but in our current bullshit slave wage bisiness mentality.

 

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Brian37 wrote: Bad service

Brian37 wrote:

 Bad service is one thing. But in places like fascist Japan their society as a majority does not tip because they do not have our pay gap. Tipping in America might make some a living,  but it is mainly used by business as an excuse to aviod paying livable wages. Tipping is a scam, not in the intent, but in our current bullshit slave wage bisiness mentality.

 

Nice to see you jump right back in to spouting shit you know nothing about. The minimum wage in Japan is less than $6/hour and the cost of living is higher than the US. But while they can't afford food, I'm sure the poor in Japan are comforted that their boss isn't all that rich either. The reason they don't tip in Japan is cultural, not a purposeful economic choice. Tipping is pretty much an American cultural thing.

Meanwhile, I guarantee my tipped bartender makes more working three nights a week than you would working 70 hours a week at your new job.

If, if a white man puts his arm around me voluntarily, that's brotherhood. But if you - if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that's not brotherhood, that's hypocrisy.- Malcolm X


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Fascist Japan? That's rich

Fascist Japan? That's rich coming from a fascist American.

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Vastet wrote:Fascist Japan?

Vastet wrote:
Fascist Japan? That's rich coming from a fascist American.

Sarcasm is word that even a moron like you can google.

The point is that tipping inables a slave wage mentality under our current corporate slave wage mentality. Japan does not tip because they have a much better attatude about pay.  You are an idiot if you think I was seriosly calling Japan a fascist state.  And exactly how is America a fascist state?  Our GOP certainly would love a Christian theocracy, but that is not law or even the majority mindset.

 

 

 

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Brian37 wrote: Vastet

Brian37 wrote:

Vastet wrote:
Fascist Japan? That's rich coming from a fascist American.

Sarcasm is word that even a moron like you can google.

The point is that tipping inables a slave wage mentality under our current corporate slave wage mentality.

So getting pay based on your performance is a "slave wage" mentality? Huh, I guess I've been a slave all my life.  

If, if a white man puts his arm around me voluntarily, that's brotherhood. But if you - if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that's not brotherhood, that's hypocrisy.- Malcolm X


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Brian37 wrote:Sarcasm is

Brian37 wrote:
Sarcasm is word that even a moron like you can google.

That's rich, considering you're too stupid to google anything.

Brian37 wrote:
The point is that tipping inables a slave wage mentality under our current corporate slave wage mentality.

Lmfao even when you have the tiniest fraction of a point, you obliterate your own argument with ignorance and hyperbole.

Brian37 wrote:
Japan does not tip because they have a much better attatude about pay.

No. Like Beyond said, Japanese people don't tip because tipping was never part of Japanese culture. It's actually insulting to them if I recall correctly. Implications of bribery and dishonour. It has nothing to do with the economics of Japan.

Brian37 wrote:
You are an idiot if you think I was seriosly calling Japan a fascist state.

You've said much dumber things than that. I'd be an idiot if I didn't take the random stupidity you spew seriously.

Brian37 wrote:
And exactly how is America a fascist state?

I called YOU a fascist, not America. I could call America fascist, but until it has a dictator it wouldn't be strictly accurate.

Brian37 wrote:
Our GOP certainly would love a Christian theocracy, but that is not law or even the majority mindset.

Only an uneducated buffoon who doesn't know what fascism is could assume it requires a right wing theistic position to create it.

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Beyond Saving
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 I am still traveling

 I am still traveling around, today I tried Smashburger, a place I've never been to, and they had a similar setup to Fazoli's, except they had a tip jar at the counter. Glassdoor reports typical fast food wages ($9/hr) and a Google search was able to confirm that tips were split among all workers each shift based on hours worked. I have been unable to find anywhere online suggesting how much in tips a typical Smashburger employee might receive during a shift.

The service I received was excellent, Lisa even bothered to learn my name, a first for me in a fast food joint. I was offered extra BBQ sauce, she came around to check the quality of my food, and said thank you on my way out, all with at least the appearance of not despising her job. I forgot to tell her that she is a slave for making a few bucks more than the Fazoli's employees next door. FWIW I am more likely to go back to Smashburger, but in reality I probably won't go to either one as soon as I get home and can cook myself.

Anyway, I am really curious how many people tip, how much it adds to wages and whether there are any adverse effects on customer traffic. The people there before me threw a dollar and change in the jar. My guess would be maybe 5% of gross revenue, which if I remember correctly the rule of thumb in fast food is around $50,000 in revenue per employee. So that would be $2,500 per employee in tips per year. Maybe $1.25/hr give or take, but there are a lot of guesses in that and Google hgas failed.

If, if a white man puts his arm around me voluntarily, that's brotherhood. But if you - if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that's not brotherhood, that's hypocrisy.- Malcolm X