Pet Peeves: Aka Things That Make You Go "Gah!"

[Laura Holt]

13 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

Speaking from experience back in the day (Baskin Robbins) the owner of our store didn't understand he was supposed to cash out the tips left on CCs and give them to us.

Didn't understand or did and didn't care?  Either way what a totally sucky thing for the owner to do!

[annzeepark914]

I haven't been to an Olive Garden in several years. The only item I get is their Eggplant Parmigiana. The restaurant I went to served crispy eggplant with a very good marinara. It was better than Italian restaurants' Eggplant Parm. Maybe each restaurant is different?? MrP914 gets the zuppa Toscana which is delicious. We need to go back & see if it's as good as it used to be. 

[Laura Holt]

1 minute ago, annzeepark914 said:

I haven't been to an Olive Garden in several years.

The one near us closed years ago.  It was one of my Mom's favourites and we always had a nice meal when we went there.  I found it odd to see that it was the butt of so many jokes on sitcoms.   I never quite understood why.

[nokat]

35 minutes ago, Laura Holt said:

Didn't understand or did and didn't care?  Either way what a totally sucky thing for the owner to do!

I'm pretty sure they understand about tips, and get greedy.

[PRgal]

1 hour ago, Laura Holt said:

The one near us closed years ago.  It was one of my Mom's favourites and we always had a nice meal when we went there.  I found it odd to see that it was the butt of so many jokes on sitcoms.   I never quite understood why.

Probably because it’s just about as “Italian” as Pizza Hut is.  Or as “Chinese” as, oh, I dunno, Panda Express.  I think Olive Garden pulled out of Canada some some 20 years ago.  

[BlueSkies]

24 minutes ago, PRgal said:

Probably because it’s just about as “Italian” as Pizza Hut is.  Or as “Chinese” as, oh, I dunno, Panda Express.  I think Olive Garden pulled out of Canada some some 20 years ago.  

I remember being a teenager and eating spaghetti and meatballs at Olive Garden and finding it delicious.  I guess my standards are higher now.  I watched this commercial and almost wanted to throw up

 

 

I thought the point is to make the food look appetizing.  Lol 

[mbaywife123]

Mr. Mbay and I usually tip 20% at sit down full service restaurants, but we rarely go out to eat.

My favorite tipping moment was when on our 5th wedding anniversary we stayed overnight at a local casino and dined in the posh steakhouse for dinner.

The waitress and entire staff went above and beyond when they learned (from the front desk) that is was our anniversary.

The bill was around $200 (this was 18 yrs ago) and we left a $100 tip.

When we got back to our room there was a Thank You note from the restaurant manager along with a nice bottle of champagne.

I will never forget it as it was a wonderful evening!

 

[annzeepark914]

That OG ad didn't entice me but I don't eat those types of food items any way. I've been to supposedly good Italian restaurants that were disappointing too. One thing I learned from some interview with a chef is that if the marinara is sour, they've used cheap tomato paste. 

[Bastet]

6 hours ago, Laura Holt said:

I found it odd to see that it was the butt of so many jokes on sitcoms.   I never quite understood why.

In some areas it might be a good option (I ate there once abut 20 years ago, for a meeting, and it wasn't terrible, just okay, but nothing I'd ever choose again on my own), but in many it's a bland, Americanized, pre-made version of Italian food in the midst of much tastier authentic, house-made offerings from local restaurants.  That it's probably the most successful and widespread of such chains is likely why it's the go-to name in mocking in TV shows -- greatest relatability.  Like Red Lobster (which used to be owned by the same corporation) for seafood.

[SuprSuprElevated]

DH is Italian, and he enjoys Olive Garden, not because it's authentic like his mama made (I never found her cooking to be all that, lol), but because he just likes it. I don't imagine anyone thinks they've clicked their heels and stepped into Tuscany or Calabria when they dine at OG. I too have eaten at local, "authentic" Italian restaurants and been left to wonder what was so great about it.

 

[nokat]

4 hours ago, Bastet said:

In some areas it might be a good option (I ate there once abut 20 years ago, for a meeting, and it wasn't terrible, just okay, but nothing I'd ever choose again on my own), but in many it's a bland, Americanized, pre-made version of Italian food in the midst of much tastier authentic, house-made offerings from local restaurants.  That it's probably the most successful and widespread of such chains is likely why it's the go-to name in mocking in TV shows -- greatest relatability.  Like Red Lobster (which used to be owned by the same corporation) for seafood.

This sounds like Taco Bell in southern California. So much better Mexican food to be had.

[Spartan Girl]

12 hours ago, Laura Holt said:

The one near us closed years ago.  It was one of my Mom's favourites and we always had a nice meal when we went there.  I found it odd to see that it was the butt of so many jokes on sitcoms.   I never quite understood why.

I know there are more authentic and probably better Italian restaurants, but dammit I still love Olive Garden. Sue me.

[Laura Holt]

Just now, Spartan Girl said:

I know there are more authentic and probably better Italian restaurants, but dammit I still love Olive Garden. Sue me.

Same.  If I had a chance I'd go again, especially if they still have the all you can eat soup, salad and breadsticks on the menu!

[nokat]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

I know there are more authentic and probably better Italian restaurants, but dammit I still love Olive Garden. Sue me.

We like what we like. I don't have any judgement.

[oliviabenson]

1 hour ago, Laura Holt said:

Same.  If I had a chance I'd go again, especially if they still have the all you can eat soup, salad and breadsticks on the menu!

They have it! 

[Suzn]

I want to stand up for Olive Garden, too. It may not be authentic but I love most of the food.  My favorite authentic local Italian restaurant is a small cut above, but is also more expensive.  I haven't eaten in a restaurant since the pandemic and use curbside service, which Olive Garden does very well.  I like their special of an extra entrée for the next day.  

[KittyMom4]

17 hours ago, nokat said:

When I got my new licence, they asked if I wanted it to say veteran.  Some people like it, and I don't.

Same. For me though, my resistance to being thanked or called a "vet" comes from never having served during a war time. I got out right before Desert Storm and my entire unit went right after I left. I feel guilty if someone thanks me because I basically sat in an office and helped new arrivals to the base fill out paperwork and directed them to their barracks, chow hall and duty location. I'm glad for my time and am proud to call myself a Marine, but don't thank me for serving.

[nokat]

51 minutes ago, KittyMom4 said:

Same. For me though, my resistance to being thanked or called a "vet" comes from never having served during a war time. I got out right before Desert Storm and my entire unit went right after I left. I feel guilty if someone thanks me because I basically sat in an office and helped new arrivals to the base fill out paperwork and directed them to their barracks, chow hall and duty location. I'm glad for my time and am proud to call myself a Marine, but don't thank me for serving.

I chose to serve. Desert Storm happened right before I left. My husband was flight line and went to Saudi so wasn't in much danger. I was PMEL, so in a lab.

[Laura Holt]

17 minutes ago, nokat said:

1 hour ago, KittyMom4 said:

Same. For me though, my resistance to being thanked or called a "vet" comes from never having served during a war time. I got out right before Desert Storm and my entire unit went right after I left. I feel guilty if someone thanks me because I basically sat in an office and helped new arrivals to the base fill out paperwork and directed them to their barracks, chow hall and duty location. I'm glad for my time and am proud to call myself a Marine, but don't thank me for serving.

Expand  

I chose to serve. Desert Storm happened right before I left. My husband was flight line and went to Saudi so wasn't in much danger. I was PMEL, so in a lab.

My uncle served over 30 years but, from my point of view, he was lucky.  He served during peace time and aside from a few years in France spent his whole career in various bases all over Canada.  He often talked about how he joined up to avoid "going down the mines" and while he was proud to serve it was never because he wanted to end up on a battlefield somewhere.  Lots of good reasons to make the military your career - and for him it was the chance to get out of a small town and to give his family a good life.

[JTMacc99]

There is exactly one place where "peeves" about this website should be aired: 

Primetimer Feedback

If you do not like the way something works here, or have helpful suggestions on what would make the experience more enjoyable, this is BY FAR the best way to be heard.  

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, Laura Holt said:

My uncle served over 30 years but, from my point of view, he was lucky.  He served during peace time and aside from a few years in France spent his whole career in various bases all over Canada.  He often talked about how he joined up to avoid "going down the mines" and while he was proud to serve it was never because he wanted to end up on a battlefield somewhere.  Lots of good reasons to make the military your career - and for him it was the chance to get out of a small town and to give his family a good life.

This is like my dad. He joined the Air Force to avoid ending up at the foundry like most of his friends. The Air Force was great to him. They put him in Intelligence and sent him to Yale. He did end up going to Korea as a translator because Yale taught him Chinese. When he got out he got the G.I Bill which allowed him to go to Pen State to finish his education.

[TattleTeeny]

My peeve is figuring out a tip. I'm bad at math and not about to pull out my phone to do it. My "system" is round up the bill to an even amount. Then figure 10% of it. Then bump that up the the nearest "10 number." Then double that. 

(E.g., bill = $56.14 > $57.00 > $5.70 > $6.00 > tip = $12.00.)

Unless a server did everything wrong and was an asshole about it, I don't care. 

[Ohiopirate02]

8 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

My peeve is figuring out a tip. I'm bad at math and not about to pull out my phone to do it. My "system" is round up the bill to an even amount. Then figure 10% of it. Then bump that up the the nearest "10 number." Then double that. 

(E.g., bill = $56.14 > $57.00 > $5.70 > $6.00 > tip = $12.00.)

Unless a server did everything wrong and was an asshole about it, I don't care. 

You can also just move the decimal to the left one to quickly figure out 10%.  I do that, round up to the nearest whole dollar and multiply by 2 to get 20%.  Last dinner I had out was $46.00, 10% is 4.60, round to 5, multiply by 2 to get $10.

[Bastet]

8 hours ago, nokat said:

This sounds like Taco Bell in southern California. So much better Mexican food to be had.

Just among the food trucks alone, never mind the restaurants! 

[annzeepark914]

Re: Taco Bell, I sent them a msg to *please* bring back the Tostada. I loved that & would have guacamole & sour cream added. 

[TattleTeeny]

35 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

You can also just move the decimal to the left one to quickly figure out 10%.  I do that, round up to the nearest whole dollar and multiply by 2 to get 20%.  Last dinner I had out was $46.00, 10% is 4.60, round to 5, multiply by 2 to get $10.

I feel like that's what I am doing. Don't confuse my system now, haha!

[Bastet]

58 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

I feel like that's what I am doing.

Yeah, you just add a step -- you round up the total, then calculate 10% of that, round up that 10% figure, and double it.  The other way is to calculate 10% of the actual total, round up that number, and double it.  That's generally what I do.  Or sometimes, in the $46 example, I'd just round it up to $50, and tip ten bucks.

Edited July 25, 2023 by Bastet

[PRgal]

I don’t think I had my first taco until middle school.  Though we had non-Chinese food, it was usually burgers (McDonald’s or Harvey’s, mostly.  Also went to Pickle Barrel, but that’s not exclusively a burger place) or fake Italian.  Or at Town & Country buffet for the prime rib (which my grandmother loved).  We’d go to a fancy buffet for Easter sometimes too.  I don’t even think I had tacos or any kind of Mexican with my family at all until I was an adult!  These days, it’s mostly local places/food trucks for tacos. 

[Ohiopirate02]

20 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

I feel like that's what I am doing. Don't confuse my system now, haha!

I hate doing math so I get it.  The last thing I want to do after a boozy dinner is math which you don't have to do.  Just move the decimal point once to get 10%,  make it a nice round number and double it.  I also do not tip on the tax.  Most of the establishments I frequent price on the dollar which makes figuring out the tip easier.  No .95 or .99 bullshit. 

There's one of my pet peeves, prices with random cents.  I have never once thought I was getting a steal because an item was priced at $14.95 or $14.99 instead of $15.00.  In my head, I see fifteen bucks and plan accordingly.  

[Laura Holt]

20 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

There's one of my pet peeves, prices with random cents.  I have never once thought I was getting a steal because an item was priced at $14.95 or $14.99 instead of $15.00.  In my head, I see fifteen bucks and plan accordingly.  

I do this too but if my husband buys something all he seems to see are the numbers before the decimal point.  I know it's not always a huge difference in price, but it is a difference and marketing people are well aware of it.

Edited July 25, 2023 by Laura Holt

[nokat]

2 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

My peeve is figuring out a tip. I'm bad at math and not about to pull out my phone to do it. My "system" is round up the bill to an even amount. Then figure 10% of it. Then bump that up the the nearest "10 number." Then double that. 

(E.g., bill = $56.14 > $57.00 > $5.70 > $6.00 > tip = $12.00.)

Unless a server did everything wrong and was an asshole about it, I don't care. 

My peeve may be adding it into the bill.  I remember when it was a choice.

[JTMacc99]

42 minutes ago, Laura Holt said:

I do this too but if my husband buys something all he seems to see are the numbers before the decimal point.  I know it's not always a huge difference in price, but it is a difference and marketing people are well aware of it.

I think we talked about this somewhere in Everything Else not too long ago.  For anybody who is interested in going down a rabbit hole, do an internet search for "psychology of pricing". There are so many fascinating studies about how people feel about prices and how those feelings translate to behavior.

Things like it is known that some people see $14.99 as $15 and some see it as $14, and it has to do with whether or not the person is (generally speaking) a numbers/logic person. So a numbers person sees $15. 

There's also so much information about things like how usage of a product over time is materially different between a person who pays $600 up front for something as opposed to a person who chooses to pay $50/mo.  

12 minutes ago, nokat said:

My peeve may be adding it into the bill.  I remember when it was a choice.

I generally accept that tipping is part of the transaction in many or most places I buy food and drink. And while I can do the math in my head, I also carry around a computer in my hands at all times these days, so I just fire up the iPhone to do the work for me.

But I ran across my first really, REALLY annoying tip situation the other day. I ordered take out from a neat place that makes its own pastrami and corned beef. The big sandwich with a side of fries was like $18 plus tax. When I got to the store, they flipped the little payment device towards me. I'm used to seeing suggested tip amounts at this point. But what I wasn't used to seeing was my three choices of 20% Good, 30% Great, 40% The Best.

I mean, yikes. It's bad enough to put those amounts up on the screen for full service, but for take-out to throw that in front of me?

My gut reaction was to not leave a tip at all, because that's obnoxious. But I did hit the "other amount" and leave a more appropriate amount for the kids working there. 

[nokat]

1 minute ago, JTMacc99 said:

I think we talked about this somewhere in Everything Else not too long ago.  For anybody who is interested in going down a rabbit hole, do an internet search for "psychology of pricing". There are so many fascinating studies about how people feel about prices and how those feelings translate to behavior.

Things like it is known that some people see $14.99 as $15 and some see it as $14, and it has to do with whether or not the person is (generally speaking) a numbers/logic person. So a numbers person sees $15. 

There's also so much information about things like how usage of a product over time is materially different between a person who pays $600 up front for something as opposed to a person who chooses to pay $50/mo.  

I generally accept that tipping is part of the transaction in many or most places I buy food and drink. And while I can do the math in my head, I also carry around a computer in my hands at all times these days, so I just fire up the iPhone to do the work for me.

But I ran across my first really, REALLY annoying tip situation the other day. I ordered take out from a neat place that makes it's own pastrami and corned beef. The big sandwich with a side of fries was like $18 plus tax. When I got to the store, they flipped the little payment device towards me. I'm used to seeing suggested tip amounts at this point. But what I wasn't used to seeing was my three choices of 20% Good, 30% Great, 40% The Best.

I mean, yikes. It's bad enough to put those amounts up on the screen for full service, but for take-out to throw that in front of me?

My gut reaction was to not leave a tip at all, because that's obnoxious. But I did hit the "other amount" and leave a more appropriate amount for the kids working there. 

And then you are feeling obligated.

[Laura Holt]

1 minute ago, JTMacc99 said:

But what I wasn't used to seeing was my three choices of 20% Good, 30% Great, 40% The Best.

Oh wow!  Talk about trying to put you on the spot!  What I notice in a lot of places now is that 20% is now the lowest tip amount given.  I can remember when 15% was pretty much the base tip and 20% was what you left if you were feeling generous (but not Richie Rich generous).  And it wasn't that long ago.

[Quof]

My standard tip for a table service restaurant in the US is 20 %, and I'm annoyed that it has crept into every every commercial exchange:  No, I will not tip at the self-serve frozen yogurt shop.  You literally could not provide me with less service

I recently went to a restaurant in NYC and was directed by a sign to seat myself.  There were no paper menus, just a QR code on the table to scan with your phone. Fine, that has happened a lot since covid and there are usually paper menus available if you prefer.  In this place, you placed your order through the QR code too, no server came to explain any specials, or see if you had any questions.   Since it was table service, I felt obligated to add my usual 20% when I ordered.  Eventually a runner brought my food to the table, then disappeared.  There was no water offered, but there was a stand with pitchers and cups where customers served themselves.  No one asked how my food was, in fact I don't think I spoke to any employee at all.  Hell, if I order something at McDonalds that needs to be made fresh, they'll tell me to sit down and they'll bring it to my table.  Had I paid after the fact, that would have been a 0 tip.  

[TattleTeeny]

I hate the QR code menu thing. I want to see it all at once, not zoom in and out, damn it.

[Laura Holt]

I haven't noticed that yet.  An advantage of living in a small town I guess.  I wouldn't be happy about paying ahead of time with tip that's for sure.  I mean unless the service is truly horrendous I always tip at least 20% but even if we all know that tipping is part of the meal unless they roll it into the price upfront it should still be at the end of the meal not before. 

[emma675]

25 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

I'm used to seeing suggested tip amounts at this point. But what I wasn't used to seeing was my three choices of 20% Good, 30% Great, 40% The Best.

Oh, that's obnoxious. Like they are using psychological manipulation to get bigger tips.

I have a question. If you order to go and get out of your car to go inside the restaurant to pick it up (meaning, not curbside), do you typically tip and how much? I do, but I worry that it doesn't go to the people who actually did the work, the cooks. I didn't have a server, no one brought it out to my car, it was literally the cooks and maybe one person who packed it up. But maybe I'm wrong?

Tipping and haggling are two of my biggest peeves.

[Ohiopirate02]

3 minutes ago, emma675 said:

Oh, that's obnoxious. Like they are using psychological manipulation to get bigger tips.

I have a question. If you order to go and get out of your car to go inside the restaurant to pick it up (meaning, not curbside), do you typically tip and how much? I do, but I worry that it doesn't go to the people who actually did the work, the cooks. I didn't have a server, no one brought it out to my car, it was literally the cooks and maybe one person who packed it up. But maybe I'm wrong?

 

It depends on the restaurant.  Some have their waitstaff box up your to go orders while also serving tables.  Others have their kitchen staff or hosts do it.  I only tip at the places where the people making $2.13 an hour plus tips are the ones responsible for my order or when the packaging of my order is complicated.  I do not tip at my local pizza joint where they only have to slide my pizza into a box and the owner is usually the one who hands it to me at the window.  

[peacheslatour]

I rarely go out but I always tip 20% at sit down restaurants. Deliver drivers get 15%. I don't go to fast food or Starbucks.

[Mondrianyone]

51 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

But what I wasn't used to seeing was my three choices of 20% Good, 30% Great, 40% The Best.

Since I am a delightfully charming person who can make everything that comes out of my mouth sound like I'm joking, even if I'm not, I would've said, "Wait, I don't see an option for Lousy. Am I missing it?" Smiling sweetly the whole time. You'd be surprised what you don't get punched in the face for if you say it the right way.

Seriously, talk about presumptuous.

[Bastet]

56 minutes ago, Quof said:

There were no paper menus, just a QR code on the table to scan with your phone.

I would have to decide whether to walk back out and go someplace else, flag someone down, or entertain myself by sitting there waving my flip phone over it to see if someone would come over and tell me that wasn't going to work and offer me an actual menu.

Even if I had a smartphone, I'd want a damn menu.  Even a relatively small menu is larger than anything I'd want to scroll through one little phone screen at a time.  And then scroll back up when I'm done, try to find the things I'd been considering, compare dishes to each other, etc.  Nope -- I want to do that with my eyes, not my finger.

[Quof]

As I said, any restaurant I have been to that had a QR code menu also had paper menus if you wanted one. (it made sense in the early days of Covid, customers were reluctant to touch menus and staff were constantly "sanitizing" them)

Except perhaps Black Tap Burger, on 35th Street in Manhattan. Yeah, I'll name and shame.

Edited July 25, 2023 by Quof

[meep.meep]

2 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

I think we talked about this somewhere in Everything Else not too long ago.  For anybody who is interested in going down a rabbit hole, do an internet search for "psychology of pricing". There are so many fascinating studies about how people feel about prices and how those feelings translate to behavior.

 

But I ran across my first really, REALLY annoying tip situation the other day. I ordered take out from a neat place that makes its own pastrami and corned beef. The big sandwich with a side of fries was like $18 plus tax. When I got to the store, they flipped the little payment device towards me. I'm used to seeing suggested tip amounts at this point. But what I wasn't used to seeing was my three choices of 20% Good, 30% Great, 40% The Best.

 

For takeout, that's highway robbery.  I might tip that high for sit down service if it was really exceptional.  But all they did was make a sandwich and put it in a bag.  15% would have been a lot.  I try to tip in cash these days to get away from this situation.

We did talk about pricing within a month or two because I had to point out that Apple now does the 99.99 thing with their pricing.  My new iPhone is two months old.

[Ohiopirate02]

I honestly don't care about restaurants using QR codes for their menus because I've already been on their website/Google/social media inspecting their offerings before sitting down.  I have already narrowed down to 2 or 3 entrees (at new places), and randomly choose which one when my order is taken.  Unless said new eatery is famous for something, and then I have no need of the menu.

[PRgal]

3 hours ago, Laura Holt said:

I haven't noticed that yet.  An advantage of living in a small town I guess.  I wouldn't be happy about paying ahead of time with tip that's for sure.  I mean unless the service is truly horrendous I always tip at least 20% but even if we all know that tipping is part of the meal unless they roll it into the price upfront it should still be at the end of the meal not before. 

The hair place I used to go to had a 20% standard and that was in 2015 or 2016.  That was the first time I saw 20% as the base.  

[nokat]

My current peeve is mosquitoes. I opened my door, and two flew in.

[EtheltoTillie]

2 hours ago, nokat said:

My current peeve is mosquitoes. I opened my door, and two flew in.

They hover there waiting!  So annoying!

[partofme]

8 hours ago, nokat said:

My current peeve is mosquitoes. I opened my door, and two flew in.

I sprayed my legs with off on Sunday and still got bit on my leg!  I guess mosquitoes like poison now.

Edited July 26, 2023 by partofme

[StatisticalOutlier]

20 hours ago, emma675 said:

Oh, that's obnoxious. Like they are using psychological manipulation to get bigger tips.

Um, like they're using psychological manipulation?

Quote

If you order to go and get out of your car to go inside the restaurant to pick it up (meaning, not curbside), do you typically tip and how much? I do, but I worry that it doesn't go to the people who actually did the work, the cooks.

THIS IS WHY TIPPING IS A RIDICULOUS SYSTEM.  Food service employers?  Pay your own goddamn employees, and charge customers a price that covers it.  Like every other business.

19 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I only tip at the places where the people making $2.13 an hour plus tips are the ones responsible for my order or when the packaging of my order is complicated. 

I disagree with tipping because the packaging was complicated--that's their job, and sometimes it's hard and sometimes it's easy. 

But you're right: there ARE people whose pay is based on receiving tips, and they're called "tipped employees" by the IRS.  And many of them DO make $2.13 an hour.  But nowadays, everybody is becoming a tipped employee and the public doesn't understand the difference.

The Chicago city council is considering eliminating the "sub-minimum wage" for tipped employees.  That will result in a $6/hour increase in tipped employees' hourly pay, and paid for by the employer and not via tips, so I'm (in theory) in favor of it. 

However...people.  People aren't going to understand this.  Currently, tips that waiters receive serve only to take the burden off their employers to pay them minimum wage.  Tips that counter-service employees receive are all gravy--they're already paid at least minimum wage.  That's why I don't think they should be tipped, or at least any tipping should be completely independent of tipping customs for sub-minimum wage waiters, and correspond to tipping employees at Best Buy, for example.

What should happen is that when waiters become "regular" employees, tipping should become optional, because the rationale for tipping (to make up for the sub-minimum wage they're paid) is no longer there.  But you know nobody's going to understand that, and will continue to tip 20% at table-service restaurants.  Plus, the restaurant will have to raise its prices to make up for the $6/hour extra they're having to pay the waitstaff, and people will be tipping even more because they base the tip on a percentage.

The waitstaff will benefit greatly, which I generally don't have a problem with at all, except when it's based on people's ignorance.

20 hours ago, Quof said:

In this place, you placed your order through the QR code too, no server came to explain any specials, or see if you had any questions.   Since it was table service, I felt obligated to add my usual 20% when I ordered.  Eventually a runner brought my food to the table, then disappeared.  There was no water offered, but there was a stand with pitchers and cups where customers served themselves. 

I think you need to adjust your definition of "table service."  Typically the differentiator is whether you order at the table and pay for your meal afterward, or order at a counter.  But now we have an evil hybrid--QR code at your table.  What you need to know is whether the employees are paid as "tipped employees," with a base pay that is less than minimum wage.  I would bet a bunch of money that at this place, they're not, in which case they're no different from employees at Taco Bell.  Is there a custom of tipping them 20%? 

Quote

My gut reaction was to not leave a tip at all, because that's obnoxious. But I did hit the "other amount" and leave a more appropriate amount for the kids working there. 

I disagree that it's obnoxious.  It's resisting the psychological manipulation (by a computer, no less), and until everybody resists, people's wages in this one segment of the economy are going to continue to be dependent on how their skin color matches up with a customer's bias (could be good, could be bad), whether their big tits are attractive to a customer, the customer's mood at that moment, etc.

I freely admit that employers aren't necessarily paragons of fairness when it comes to paying their employees, but it has to be better than letting the whims and biases of individual customers determine people's pay.

18 hours ago, Quof said:

As I said, any restaurant I have been to that had a QR code menu also had paper menus if you wanted one.

But you also said customers place their orders via the QR code.  Those of us without smartphones don't have that ability. 

FWIW, Costco now has you order your $1.50 hot dog and soda via a kiosk, but the other day I saw someone go to the counter and have the person ring up his order and he paid cash.  But until I saw that happen, I assumed that if you didn't have a credit card, you just couldn't order. 

And one more thing about pricing.  It drives me crazy when I end up paying less than I expected.  If I take an item to the register that has a price tag of $24.99 on it and there's some undisclosed discount that brings it down to $15.99, at first I'm happy but then I'm mad because I was willing to pay $24.99. The store has given up $9 that I had "agreed" to give them. 

How many sales did they lose because someone saw $24.99 and didn't buy it, but would have if they knew the price was $15.99? 

Discounts are a way of driving sales, and when I paid $15.99 for something I was willing and expecting to pay $24.99 for, the discount served no purpose whatsoever.  Except for the store to lose money it would otherwise have earned.  And, ironically, to make me mad.

I think this feeds into why tipping irritates me so much.  Set a price for your goods based on your costs (including the wages YOU pay YOUR employees), tell the customers that price, and if the customer chooses to buy, they pay that price.  I just don't see what's wrong with this system.

P.S.  I told you not to get me started.  😀

Edited July 26, 2023 by StatisticalOutlier