[mwhitfield]

I don't think that was the expectation, not sure where you read that into it. The two examples he gave were for the bar in the lobby and a total bill that would be mainly food. This is presumably a Drafthouse or one of the similar places that have full waiter service at your seat.

[sokoloff]

> On Christmas Day a family bought over $100 worth of tickets and food two days after Christmas.

> The tip? $2.00.

How else would I read that? If it was $85 in tickets, $10 in served items, and $5 in tax, that’s a 20% tip in my book, but the author (a career politician) would like you to read it as a 2% tip.

[bnralt]

He also says it was during "a movie night for kids," and the author thinks people should be paying for normal movie theater stuff, like popcorn:

>You want to see Spider Man? You desperately want to bring your kids to Encanto or Sing 2? And you want your popcorn, food, and drinks? Cool. But if you don’t tip...

If someone is taking their kids to a movie night, I wouldn't expect them to tip for tickets, popcorn and soda. And if there's a theater where the workers get upset that you don't tip them for those, I'd expect people to avoid it and go to a normal theater.

[sokoloff]

If someone brings popcorn and soda to our table, I expect to/do tip for it.

[bnralt]

I don't think I've ever been in a movie theater other than restaurant/theater hybrids (where tables have specific waiters) where this was done. But either way, the author says he was working the bar (which sounds more like a bar/concession stand hybrid), not serving tables.

[alistairSH]

The Alamo Drafthouse chain of theaters, of which there is at least one in Austin and one in the DC suburbs, has table service. And, if I remember correctly, the bar is set-up like a normal pub bar (and separate from non-alcohol concessions). So, you can order a drink in advance of seating, as you would at a a pub (where you'd normally tip the bartender) and you can order drinks at your seat.

It is a bit strange/confusing that the author didn't clarify, as very few theaters serve alcohol at all. And most that do don't have a stand-alone bar or table service, just beers at the concession counter.

[brendoelfrendo]

In all the dine-in theaters I've been at, the tickets are purchased in the front of house, and the check delivered in the theater is for food only. In that case, he made a really poor choice in how to explain this as the $100 receipt shown in the article would be for food only.

[mwhitfield]

Tickets are 10-15 dollars, the assumption here is that bill is mostly food.

[irrational]

$10-15 per person (closer to $15 in my experience). This was a family. If there were six of them, that would be $60-90 in tickets.

[alistairSH]

...a family bought over $100 worth of tickets and food...

I'm not sure how this theater is arranged. My local theater serves beer/wine and some heavy snacks. But, it doesn't have table service. Just the typical counter service. I've never tipped and always assumed the counter staff is earning at least minimum wage (no different than buying a latte at Starbucks).

The few times I've gone to a movie theater with table service, the tickets and food/drink were separate bills - tickets purchased in advance of the showing and food/drink ordered during previews/ads. The food bill would be tipped like any other restaurant with table service.

[Cd00d]

I was a Starbucks barista for a year (2000), and customer tips were an important part of my take home.

I think most people think like you, because at the time I calculated my average tip was 5 cents per customer, but that still raise my hourly to something I could almost afford to live on (I think it took me from $6-something to about $9/hr).

I wouldn't consider getting a latte and not tipping after that experience.

[alistairSH]

Ugh, not sure why you're getting downvotes for relating a personal anecdote that's relevant to the topic. This forum is weird.

I hate that minimum wage is so far below living-wage in many places. But, I'm also loathe to tip everybody in a customer-facing job. Where do I draw the line? I'd much prefer (and would happily vote for) a $15 or $20 minimum in my region (DC metro).

[Cd00d]

I'm not sure why either - super curious.

I was trying to add to the discussion with my experience.

I will add, the role of barista has changed at Starbucks in the last 20 years. When I had that job, pulling a good shot and foaming the milk properly was something that I took a lot of pride in - I approached it as a skill. As I was leaving the company was moving to essentially push-button espresso machines, removing any sense of craft from the barista.

It makes perfect business sense, as the company goal is the same quality of drink no matter time/place/barista, but to me just pushing buttons wasn't interesting or fun.

Honestly, I loved that job! People come in, and you give them the thing that makes them happier and helps them feel better. I had regulars with a nice rapport, and I worked 5a to noon most days and was able to hike or golf in the afternoons. I was living rent free as a house sitter, which made the finances work out.

[Simon_says]

Wow, I've never even considered tipping at Starbucks.

[sokoloff]

Interesting. I tip at Starbucks always but almost never at Dunks.

I have no fully acceptable-to-me rational explanation for this arbitrary-seeming difference. I can concoct a backwards justification, but I very rarely go to either, so I haven't had to unravel this mystery.

[6gvONxR4sf7o]

Those arbitrary-seeming differences are everywhere once you try to justify who gets tips and who doesn’t. Pretty much every justification of why tips are great applies to jobs that don’t get tips, and vice versa.

[ashtonkem]

Part of the issue with tipping culture is that there's a grey area between the "obviously tipped" and "obviously not tipped" roles. This grey area creates space for companies to pay tipped wages, but customers to also not tip because they didn't think about it.

[alistairSH]

In most states (not sure if it's a federal law), tip-earners are guaranteed to be "topped up" or "made whole" if their tips don't bring them to the normal minimum wage.

That minimum is still too low to be livable in many areas, Texas included, but that's a separate, albeit related, problem.

[0xffff2]

I only ever worked a tipped job in California, where there is no separate tipped minimum, but it's a very common refrain from service industry workers commenting online that this "top up" happens far less often than you would think.

[ashtonkem]

Not surprising. The entire point of a tipped minimum wage is to make labor cheaper. Given the scope of wage theft in America, I’d actually be shocked if top up payments were regularly honored.

[alistairSH]

Sadly, I’ve heard the same. That’s wage theft. And a good reason to do away with tipping and start paying wait staff a real living wage.