Calgary Customer Service....what happened?

[RougeUnderoos]

Okay so I was out for drinks the other night and had great service. The bill came to about 60 bucks and I followed the advice I've read in this thread and tipped exactly 20 cents. The response was less than stellar, believe me, so all you guys who say that it's 20 cents now, are you sure you know what you are talking about?

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by JimmytheT

Is it wrong for someone who gives exemplary service, to expect a gratuity. That is the incentive, there is an incentive to provide good service if you expect a good gratuity.

Which is why I tip very well if I recieve exemplary service. I want them to know that I apreciated the good service and I hope that it motivates them to continue giving it. If I don't get good service I dont tip well and in fact there have been a couple times I have not tipped at all - although I always feel bad about it after, go figure.

[HOOT]

The amazing this is that the homeless still have the balls to ask people for change...how about you make your own ****ing change and find yourself a job. Sorry to inconvince you to have to work full time but we all know there are jobs out there for ya....figure it out!

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by HOOT

The amazing this is that the homeless still have the balls to ask people for change...how about you make your own ****ing change and find yourself a job. Sorry to inconvince you to have to work full time but we all know there are jobs out there for ya....figure it out!

I can definitely see where you are coming from but I think a large majority of homeless people have mental illness and holding down a job is extremely difficult for them. It's a sad thing and unfortunately I don't see the homeless problem ever going away.

[Engine09]

The amazing this is that the homeless still have the balls to ask people for change...how about you make your own ****ing change and find yourself a job. Sorry to inconvince you to have to work full time but we all know there are jobs out there for ya....figure it out!

Have to feel bad for those who are unstable and cannot get things together, but a lot of those people are not in that boat.

I almost told some kids to ###### off last month. 2 of them with stupid clothes on, leather wristbands and band tshirts asked me for change while I was walking down 17th and just finished passing by 3 help wanted signs.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by HOOT

The amazing this is that the homeless still have the balls to ask people for change...how about you make your own ****ing change and find yourself a job. Sorry to inconvince you to have to work full time but we all know there are jobs out there for ya....figure it out!

Many of them do have jobs.

[Oxygen-Supply]

Originally Posted by fredr123

I feel bad for the 15 year old kid too. It's a completely unfair situation to be in and I place the blame squarely on management. If they can't find ways to make their business work without offloading all their problems onto some junior high kids, then we may be better off with one less MacDonald's or Taco Time in the city.

Sorry don’t want to name the building. But I will say we are a very big destination spot in Calgary. We can’t just shut our doors, so the service gets cut back.




Tipping.

My question is why people are tipping for fast-food. My friend makes $30 a days in tips at a very slow Tim’s.

My brother works at a burger king and makes $10 a day in tips.

[trudinator]

I used to work on a cruise ship and "tipping" was always a major topic for us. Not the tips we got ourselves but how and who we tipped when we went out during our time off. We were from all parts of the world, some people never tipped and some people tipped a lot, we would always get into deep discussion on who should get tips and who should not. Be a waiter in a country that does not believe in tips and you will be grateful for any tip you get here in Calgary!

But yes I agree service has gone down which is a direct result of lack of labor. Again after working on the ship I have been diligently trained to always provide top notch costumer service even when not work, as a Carnival cruise line employee you must always represent yourself as an employee happy to help guests even if you are on a beach in your time off. So just take the time to appreciate those who are still trying to provide excellent customer service. This could be by tipping or just smiling and being a good customer.

[RougeUnderoos]

What are the labor laws re: age in this province. There was a kid working at Sport Chek this weekend and he looked like he was about 12. He wasn't particularly interested in us and he didn't appear to know anything about the product, but he was quite interested in getting his employee ID# on the price tag. It was the highest priority and the first thing he asked about.

[SpitFire40]

I find it hard to tip more than $3 for anything I order. This Chinese place get's pretty ****ed sometimes, but the way I see it... There are 4 or 5 Chinese places in this area, you should be lucky i'm even ordering $40 worth of food from your restaraunt if anything.

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

What are the labor laws re: age in this province. There was a kid working at Sport Chek this weekend and he looked like he was about 12. He wasn't particularly interested in us and he didn't appear to know anything about the product, but he was quite interested in getting his employee ID# on the price tag. It was the highest priority and the first thing he asked about.

Employment of Persons Under 18

Under 12 is a no go. For ages 12-14 inclusive a permit is required to employ such persons except in certain limited occupations:

An adolescent may be employed without a permit from the Director of Employment Standards in any of the following occupations:

1. delivery person of small wares for a retail store,
2. clerk or messenger in an office,
3. clerk in a retail store*,
4. delivery person for the distribution of newspapers, flyers or handbills, or
5. certain occupations in the restaurant and food services industry; however, there are special rules.

* "Retail store" includes outlets such as video stores, grocery stores, department stores, convenience stores and farmers' markets, but does not include movie theatres.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by SpitFire40

I find it hard to tip more than $3 for anything I order. This Chinese place get's pretty ****ed sometimes, but the way I see it... There are 4 or 5 Chinese places in this area, you should be lucky i'm even ordering $40 worth of food from your restaraunt if anything.

Who are you tipping, the delivery guy or someone at the restaurant?

I'd say you are running some risky business by stiffing them if you are a regular. An extra 3 or 4 more dollars might be the difference between ginger beef and ginger beef with added spit.

[Ducay]

Like many, Im not an idiot who tips 20% for crappy service. What does that say to the server if they give terrible serive and still get 20%? You think they are going to strive to give better service?

Crappy service gets ~10% to an even number. I have no qualms about rounding down to an even dollar.
If the service is great, then I tip 15-20%. Tips were created to encourage good service, and I try to continue this trend.
I refuse to tip at clubs, stupid bar girls expect to make $2 on a drink that takes 2 seconds to pour. Plus I know they are going to make waaayyy more than they deserve anyway.

Cab tips are another story, I usually give a decent tip...I mean, unless they do something terrible, usually a cab ride is a cab ride is a cab ride.

[JohnnyFlame]

The service thing has been in decline for so long it's worthy of being a course to be studied somewhere. Used to be there were longtime employees who knew where stuff was even if it was nowhere near them in the store. Plus you could expect good and actual personal service.

Those days passed long ago.

Nowaday's frankly I'm amazed if they get the order right or if they even have a clue what's right on their own aisle.

And now even the crap service is gone because they can't even find the crap employees anymore. Don't know as I miss them that much --You are just as likely to find stuff on your own. I like the self checkout things now and I think they should go in this direction. With the quality of the help being dang near ZERO anyway replace them all with computers and we can do self serve!!!!

[RougeUnderoos]

Oddly enough, and vaguely related to this topic, today's Calgary Herald came with a magazine called "Come Home to a Career in Atlantic Canada".

Stories include "New Brunswick: Explore New Opportunities Back Home" and "PEI: Small Province, Big Job Prospects".

It has a picture of a welder on the cover.

[FlamingLonghorn]

Ah tipping if you come to a bar I work at and don't tip you can expect that I will do my best to ignore you the rest of the night. Maybe I make more money than I should, but when I get people who do tip me then I sure as hell put them in the front of the line when they come back for drinks in front of nontippers. And if you tip like **** at a place you are a regular eater at you are a moron. Just watch the movie Waiting and see what they can make sure goes out to your table...

[FlamingLonghorn]

Originally Posted by fotze

So then why do bartenders ignore the good tipper if they happen to not look like a chachi?

I don't know I definitely wouldn't discriminate based on looks. If they give you ****ty attention don't tip or go elsewhere. I am a guy. I am also a guy who could give a crap about how hot a chick is when she walks into my bar. In fact there's nothing I hate more than hot chicks thinking they deserve special treatment.

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Sowa

Ah tipping if you come to a bar I work at and don't tip you can expect that I will do my best to ignore you the rest of the night. Maybe I make more money than I should, but when I get people who do tip me then I sure as hell put them in the front of the line when they come back for drinks in front of nontippers. And if you tip like **** at a place you are a regular eater at you are a moron. Just watch the movie Waiting and see what they can make sure goes out to your table...

Awww... those 4 hours of "work" getting too hard to actually bring a guy a drink because he doesn't tip you after getting gutted with a ridiculous mark up on a drink that probably costs like 30 cents to make?

Before you go there, I don't (or at least I try my very best) go to clubs. When I do, I usually tip, but man you have to realise that people are spending a ridiculous amount just to be there.

Plus in a bar, you also should be a bit more sympathetic because people aren't expected to just tip the bartenders, but also the following:

1) Some person who TAKES MY MONEY AS COVER: I don't even think I need to get into how ridiculous this is. The fact that bars even charge cover is seriously a scam. I don't know what's worse, the fact that people don't feel their getting bent over by paying cover or the fact that the person feels they deserve a tip for extending their arm, pinching their thumb and index finger over your bill, and then placing the bill in a cash register.

2) Coat Check: Because Calgary can get to -40,people wear jackets. Hey! I guess that's the perfect opportunity to rip people off some more! And if you don't tip, I guess I don't go get you your jacket for like 30 minutes.

So seriously, I don't think you... or any servers for that matter... are going to get a lotof sympathy. Because for as many people like me that hate having to spend like $40 on tips for extremely menial tasks, there's two idiots willing to shell out cash.

Complaining about a low wage is ridiculous, because at the end of the day tips for an average server or bartender at an even moderately popular venue work out to AT LEAST $100 over a 4 hour shift, which is $25/hour...

to bring people food... or drinks... or take people's money.

Sorry but I think you should serve everybody equally, and then just take the money without expectations.

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by Sowa

Ah tipping if you come to a bar I work at and don't tip you can expect that I will do my best to ignore you the rest of the night. Maybe I make more money than I should, but when I get people who do tip me then I sure as hell put them in the front of the line when they come back for drinks in front of nontippers. And if you tip like **** at a place you are a regular eater at you are a moron. Just watch the movie Waiting and see what they can make sure goes out to your table...

What do you make per hour as a wage? Do you get a % of sales or anything like that? The reason I'm asking, and feel free not to answer, is whether your employer is expecting your customers to supplement a meager wage or whether you're just that jerky bartender who keeps ignoring me.

[FlamingLonghorn]

Originally Posted by fredr123

What do you make per hour as a wage? Do you get a % of sales or anything like that? The reason I'm asking, and feel free not to answer, is whether your employer is expecting your customers to supplement a meager wage or whether you're just that jerky bartender who keeps ignoring me.

I make $4 an hour which is less than minimum wage....