Are You a Large Tipper?                       #247

By Hank Silverberg 

The election is this Tuesday. I have written about it for the last several weeks and I'm pretty sure most people have already made up their minds who they will vote for or may have already voted early. So, this week I thought it was time to talk about a very debatable and controversial subject--tipping. 

A few months back my wife and I took a short trip down to Poplar Forest, Thomas Jefferson's vacation home in southeast Virginia. After touring the wonderfully restored mansion and learning all about Jefferson's use of slave labor to build it, we took a side trip to nearby downtown Lynchburg for dinner. 

We found a nice little restaurant with American cuisine. As we went over the menu the server approached us with her trainee and explained that in this restaurant, we did not have to leave a tip. She said the servers are paid higher wages than most so we wouldn't have to tip, but as a result the food prices may be a bit higher than we are accustomed to. 

And the prices on the menu at the R.A. Bistro were indeed a bit high, but maybe that is simply the difference between low-cost suburban Central Virgnia where we live and a downtown urban location in tourism-driven southeast Virgnia. I had an 8 oz. sirloin with some side dishes and my wife had a pasta dish. We paid $97.50 for an excellent meal in a good atmosphere with great service. No tip. 

It once again brings up the subject of just what a good tip is and how to calculate it.   

First, there is no law or rule that you must tip your server. But waiters and waitresses are paid poorly and many of them need tips to pay their bills. 

In Europe, where serves make much higher wages, no tips are allowed. Here the decision is usually how much? Will it be 15%, 18% or 20%?

You can debate that, depending on service and the size of the party. But one thing that really irks me is when they suggest how much you should tip on the bill, and then it's calculated for you. Sometimes this is even done on a little computer that sits on the table where you can pay directly.

The calculation is usually done on the entire bill, including the sales tax. That's NOT how it should be calculated.   

You pay based on the cost of your meal, before the tax. Yes, I know, it's probably going to change the tip by maybe 50 cents or a buck. But I am not going to tip on a tax.

Another observation: most restaurants pool tips when they are put on a credit card. All the servers then get an equal share, no matter how good or bad they are and no matter how many people they have served. But we want to tip our server based on their service, not their co-workers'. So, when possible, we leave them cash. And we hand it to the server so that it's not picked up by anyone else. 

But I have to say restaurants should follow that bistro in Lynchburg and do it the European way. Pay the servers a living wage, and skip the tips altogether.  

I know some people in the hospitality industry are going to be annoyed by my comments. But don't blame the customers. Blame management for poor pay. 

Oh, and one more pet peeve. Those tip jars by the cash register at the sandwich or coffee shop: you get paid to make me that sandwich or coffee. I am not leaving a tip. If you are not getting paid what you are worth, then complain to the management. Remember, there's a worker shortage.   

The Trouble With Recycling

My wife and I are good recyclers. We religiously put cardboard, paper, glass and plastic in the recycling bin in the kitchen and then transplant it to the big bin supplied by our garbage pickup company. We put it on the curb every Sunday night, and we have done this for more than three decades. 

But now there is word that it may be futile. A new report from Greenpeace https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GPUS_FinalReport_2022.pdf    says the vast majority of the 51 million tons of plastic produced in the U.S. each year is not recycled. Only about 2.4 million tons actually gets reused in some form. The report says much of the plastic sits in landfills across the country and is eventually incinerated.  

Part of the problem: reprocessing the plastic that includes many different types of chemicals can actually be toxic for workers at recycling facilities. 

The 40-page report from Greenpeace

(Plastic Mountain)

says paper, glass, cardboard and metal are recycled at much higher rates with greater success. But the plastics are loaded with different types of additives, like dyes and colorants and all have different melting points.  

China used to take 70% of the world's used plastic. but that changed in 2018 because of processing problems there. Other countries like Malaysia and Vietnam followed China's lead. 

Those in the garbage business say contamination of recyclable material is a big problem. One solution may be separation at the source; in other words, individual bins for paper, carboard, metal, glass and plastic, but very few homeowners and fewer industries do that. And the trash companies simply put them all in the same truck bin anyway.  

https://abcnews.go.com/US/greenpeace-report-finds-plastics-recycling-dead-end-street/story?id=92123958

The price of separating recyclables by type can be exorbitant, and small operators won't do it. 

Recycling still remains a viable business when it's done right, but it appears good intentions have not produced good results. If you can recycle, please pay more attention what goes into the bin and inquire with your garbage company on whether they actually recycle it or just dump it at the landfill.  

Snitch Line Shut Down

A year ago, right after taking office, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin set up what he labeled a "tip line" for parents to report what he called inherently "divisive practices" in the schools. It was a follow-up to his campaign attacks on the alleged use of Critical Race Theory curriculum in Virgnia schools, even though such curriculum did not exist. He wanted parents to send him any incidents where they felt their fundamental rights as parents were being violated. 

(Virgina Governor's Mansion) 

Reporters kept trying to find out for weeks what "tips" the line was getting, and there was even a Freedom Of Information request filed by NPR and other news organizations to reveal what "tips" came in from the line. 

But a spokesman for the Governor says the tip line was quietly shut down in September because there was "little or no volume of responses."  

As for the Freedom Of Information request, the Governor's office eventually handed over 350 emails his office received from the public regarding the schools. Many came from a Special Education advocate arguing that the state had failed those students, a few complained about local mask mandates still in effect in some school districts, and a number of them had praise for teachers. Then there was one from a high school student complaining about discussion of the epic poem Beowulf. That student said all the teacher wanted to do was talk about the book being sexist because it portrays the warriors as men and not women.   

There was apparently nothing about Critical Race Theory curriculum or anything else that got parents fired up enough to call the tip line.  

The Governor has since moved on to other issues, like traveling around the country to support other Republicans running for office, which I wrote about last week.   

Dumbest Quote of The Week!

You probably remember Sarah Palin. She was the Governor of Alaska who later ran for vice-president on the Republican ticket with Senator John McCain back in 2008. 

Many have said her selection for that role was the precursor for the destruction of the old Republican party and the onset of the party's new crazy and dangerous right-wing ideology. 

Well, Palin is running for Congress to represent Alaska right now, even after losing a special election earlier this year. She gets this week's dumbest quote with this comment. She made it to the right audience though, on right- wing network Newsmax.

Palin was talking about some of the issues in the midterm elections coming up on Tuesday.   

"White suburban women, we want a change and we want to get back on track and we want safety for our kids." 

The comment in context implies that women of color don't care about their kids. Now, in fairness to Palin, she was specifically asked about a Wall Street Journal article and data alleging that White women are swinging more Republican. But the quote shows you where her mind goes. 

I suspect Democratic Congresswoman Mary Peltrola, who beat Palin in the special election in August, will beat her again on Tuesday, but you never know.  There are actually 12 people on the ballot in Alaska, and some folks are pushing Santa Claus as a write-in. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/watch-sarah-palin-suggests-only-white-suburban-mama-grizzlies-care-about-the-safety-of-their-cubs/ar-AA13MeLn?li=BBnbfcL

 (Your comments and suggestions are welcome) 

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