Should parents of US KIA's pay Federal income taxes?





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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Occupy Ruby Tuesday's


My wife recently started waiting tables at Ruby Tuesday's.  Thanks to a freind who needed maternity leave, my wife was able to get her foot in the door.  Even though we are not "in" a recession, times are hard, and jobs are scarce, so we are thankful.  But, apparently times are hard enough for people to cut back on tipping, but not on going out to eat.

Tipping used to be a "science" that was taught in school.  I remember doing word problems in math in gradeschool that involved figuring the proper tip.  Either our liberal schools have quit teaching that, or our liberal citizens have adopted an "Occupy" mindset, and feel service is their right, not something they should pay extra for.  Or perhaps its both.

Like CS's observations on the type of voter that lives in a house that displays the American flag, my observation of the type of voter that tips generously tends to support my theory that conservatives are just better citizens than liberals.

The other night, my wife had the privilege of waiting on a large party; seventeen people, two adults and fifteen children.  They came in at 11pm, and stayed until 12:30.  One of the adults paid for her meal and four of the children.  The other adult paid for her meal and one child's.  The other ten children paid for their own meals.  That is admirable, but it created a lot more work.  Work that should have been rewarded with tips.  For the whole party, my wife earned her wages ($2.14/hr, times 1.5, $3.21, not counting the other tables she was working at the same time) plus the exorbitant amount of:

                                                                       $13.10.


The total bill for the meals was over $225.  The behavior of the customers was below the expectations of polite society.  So, for putting up with rudeness, for putting up with the extra work of twelve separate bills, for  putting up with having customers after closing time (the restaurant closes at midnight on weekends), my wife was shorted $20.65.  And, out of the tips she did receive, she had to tip out to the hostess, who seated these rude customers at her table (gee, thanks), and the bus boy, who had to help clean up after these children.

I won't go into any demographics about this group of people, other than two "adults" and fifteen "children", but I can be 99.44% certain they supported Mr. Obama.  And I can also be certain that they had a feeling of "deserving" treatment they didn't earn.  And, I can assume that the oldest among them had been cheated by the Department of Education of Jimmy Carter.  And I know that that Department cheated them on purpose, in order to create Obama type voters.

Rules for tipping:

Wait staff15% - 20% of the total bill before taxes (Note: some restaurants now suggest tipping after taxes because servers thenselves tip out on the after tax amount).
Wine served with dinnerThe safe recommendation is to tip 15-20% of the total bill, including alcohol, even for expensive bottles of wine. However, we've seen some restaurants say it's OK to tip around 10% for expensive wines.
Bartenders15% - 20% of the tab; or, $1 for beer or wine, $2 for mixed drinks.  Ideally, pay your bar tab before leaving for your table.  
Order at frontIf you order at the front and food is delivered to your table, it depends.  If, once you've ordered, the seating and decor compare with a standard, sit-down restaurant, tip 5%-10%.  If the food is delivered to your table only as a convenience, tipping is not necessary.

When the wife and I were able to afford dining out, we always tipped generously, for two reasons.  We feel we should reward the people who make our experiences enjoyable, and, we always took at least one small child with us that the waitresses would ooh and aah over.  And I believe in rewarding people with good taste.

But since we have fallen on Obamic times, we no longer go out to eat.  Not because we couldn't occasionally scrape together enough cash for a meal, but because we are unwilling to pay for something we consider a luxury.  Eating at a restaurant is a luxury; no one has a right to it.  So if you are going to go out and eat, remember that those people aren't your mothers; they are there to earn money, not babysit you and your kids.

8 comments:

  1. I'm not surprised brother. I used to do armed security in Jacksonville and had many a run-in with that demographic group who could not follow the rules and were always surprised when I pepper sprayed em, used my PR24 on em, and then held em for the JPD!

    As far as tipping goes, I overtip if the service is good and being polite and courteous to the waiter/waitress is a gimme. I taught my kids the same thing. Sir, Ma'ma, yes, no, please and thank you go a LONG WAY!

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  2. Amen, Gunny. When I used to frequent the bars, I always overtipped. Putting up with my drunk ass should cost me money.

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  3. Tenth,

    I tend to have three tipping levels. Most of the time I leave 20% and round up. There is the infrequent occasion when I get poor, lackadaisical or inattentive service - then I usually leave substantially less. I have had the rare occasion when I got downright rude service when I left a note and only paid the bill. That hasn't happened in years though.

    Also I never hold the actions of the kitchen or management against the server.

    I'll have to keep an eye out to see if the knuckleheads with the Obama stickers tip less. Since they only give to charity with someone else's money - I wouldn't be surprised if they were bad tipper's as well.

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  4. Tenth,

    The only scale I've ever used was in my head based on the service the server provided. I didn't blame the server, if my damn steak was cooked to taste like leather. I simply and nicely told her the stake was way overcooked and requested another one. The amount of the bill has never played into my equation either. Probably, because I suck at doing math in my dumbass head! So, if I received good service from the server; they got a good tip. Even if, I had a burger, fries and a coke that the meal was probably under $10; I most often tipped $10. Flash back to my not better days; during my drunken, ignert ass, not the nicest guy to be around day's, I was never rude to the young lady assisting me to reach the level of alcohol poisoning! I flirted like hell, they flirted back at end the end of my self-destructive night; more times than I can remember I tipped my waitress $100. I was making good money then, she was making $2 and hour and had to deal with my nerve racking ass all night and she damn will deserved $100 just for that! If I'd had some Xanax; I would have given her a couple of those also for a tip due to dealing with my lousy as all night! Bottom line; I don't do %. If they do a great job; they deserve more than a fixed 15-20%. They work just as damn hard to bring you a $10 burger meal as they do to bring you a $40 steak dinner. I did not deserve their good service; they provided it to me and I can't stand a cheap ass!

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  5. Ditto here with good service. I usually go the 20% route or better if the service is good and the server is polite.

    Please tell the lovely Mrs. Tenth to avoid teachers at all costs. They are CHEAP by any definition. They will run her around all night, always demand seperate checks, and then leave pennies.

    As you already know, most teachers are liberals. Nuff said.

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  6. Amen, Dave. As a young man (up til 35 or so), I frequented bars where attractive women would disrobe. I often was asked by these young ladies why I always just sat at the bar. My response was the girl behind the bar was the only one in there that had anything I NEEDED. And it was not unusual for those young ladies to pour me in a cab at the end of the night and pay my way home, because I always tipped well. If I only had a hundred dollars, I didn't go out. If I couldn't afford to tip, I couldn't afford to drink.

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  7. You could probably ask 10 different waitresses from 10 different resturants which customers are the most rude, obnoxious, slave-driving non-tippers and get the same answer from all of them.

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  8. Tenth,

    Your last two sentences says it all!! HN's description of teacher's (LMAO) says it all!! Please tell Mrs. Tenth; I'm sorry she never had the pleasure of putting up with my obnoxious ass and missing out on a good tip!

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