[murphmitch]

Originally Posted by midwife

There is a reason that half the nurses I know (probably over half) are obese.

Yah, I love the fruit and the coffee. Usually try to avoid the rest. I don't think I would blame anyone's obesity on this though. It doesn't happen that often and the people who indulge the most are eating badly more often than just work.

Boy, nurses week was just full of bad stuff though.

Back to the tipping - I always try to tip 15% at restaurants unless the service is terrible. I had no idea that wait staff were paid such a poor hourly wage or that they were taxed by the IRS based on tips. Sorry to say, I never thought about the hotel maids. I'll have to remember that in the future though.

[SoulBliss]

In California, I've never known a waitress/waiter who worked for less than minimum wage plus tips. Usually it's a higher wage than minimum, by a couple dollars at least, plus tips.

[midwife]

Originally Posted by murphmitch

Yah, I love the fruit and the coffee. Usually try to avoid the rest. I don't think I would blame anyone's obesity on this though. It doesn't happen that often and the people who indulge the most are eating badly more often than just work.

Boy, nurses week was just full of bad stuff though.

Back to the tipping - I always try to tip 15% at restaurants unless the service is terrible. I had no idea that wait staff were paid such a poor hourly wage or that they were taxed by the IRS based on tips. Sorry to say, I never thought about the hotel maids. I'll have to remember that in the future though.

No, it is not the only reason (I said it was a reason, but I can see how it could have been interpreted that way---obesity is definately quite complex). But our unit is a walking heart attack zone. We always have a ton of junk food on the unit. Today there were 2 dozen donuts, bagels and cream cheese, chocolates, hard candies, sodas, chips & dip, chocolate cake....this is not unusual. Plus all the signs up: a free cinnabon for nurses during healthcare week, punch and cookies at a hospital wide meeting....It is a symptom of so many things that our society throws cheap sugar laden food at nurses....as though it makes up for poor staffing and being underpaid....but that is a whole other issue.

Back to tipping, I gave the barbers who cut my boys' hair $5 tips each yesterday....one for dealing nicely with a sleepy little guy and one for dealing nicely with a slightly surly mid-schooler.

Soulbliss-Be grateful you're in a union state. WY and UT are so called "Right to Work" states. That means you have the right to work for crap wages(especially "Women's Work") or not work at all. And the legislators who give us these laws are the worst at tipping. We are supposed to be grateful they deigned us with their presence.

One of the operators I worked with a few years ago came back from a vacation in Hawaii and was SHOCKED to find out that EVEN the waitresses were unionized. I had to tell him that in many places out east and on the west coast people don't like being treated like crap so they don't put up with it.

[nelie]

I don't think its always a union thing. My mom was a waitress for quite a few years in CA. She was not part of a union (I actually am not aware of a waiter/waitress union in CA and I've known a few waiters/waitresses in CA). She made above minimum wage AND made a lot of money from tips.

As for tipping, it really depends for me. I don't always know when a tip is expected on the unusual items. I don't really believe in tipping at places like coffee shops but I've also never been a regular and things I order are pretty simple (iced tea, hot water and a tea bag).

For movers, I think they should be tipped as well as some delivery people. I also try to offer drinks for them too. Last delivery I had, the delivery charge from the store was waived and the delivery guys took 4 hours putting together my exercise equipment (it was an involved set up). We ended up tipping the delivery guys because they did an awesome job.

Haircut/manicure they should also be tipped. Last time I got my hair cut, a separate girl shampooed my hair than the girl that cut it. The girl who did the shampoo gave me the best shampoo of my life so she got a tip but that was the first time that has ever happened.

For things I'm not sure about, sometimes I check tipping guidelines just to see. I do think if someone goes above and beyond, they should get a tip. For restaurants, it is part of the cost of the meal to tip at least a basic amount. If I get bad service, then tip would probably be slightly less than 15%. If I get really bad service, well I probably have to be really unhappy to give a really bad tip. I think its only happened once or twice.

techwife - your sales tax must be low. When I lived in CA, it easy to calculate the tip because double the tax was 15-16% of the bill.

[SoulBliss]

Originally Posted by nelie

I don't think its always a union thing. My mom was a waitress for quite a few years in CA. She was not part of a union (I actually am not aware of a waiter/waitress union in CA and I've known a few waiters/waitresses in CA). She made above minimum wage AND made a lot of money from tips.

Same here...Never known of or been in a Union for waitresses in California.

It's not necessarily your own union. Sorry that is hard to explain. But being in a Right to Work state as a whole puts labor at a disadvantage. That is why they get away with underpaying and not enforcing the labor laws. I've had my problems with the unions, but where I've lived that they are strong, Labor in general does better because they do fight to keep the employers in check. My ex worked at a non-union mine in a heavily unionized area and did better than the guys at a union mine in a different area that was the only union mine there. His old employer still had to compete and watch themselves so they wouldn't get in trouble. And, the politicians pay better attention when they have a bloc of voters to deal with. Our politicians really don't have anything to worry about.