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Permalink Reply by Jay Caragay on July 1, 2009 at 5:07am

More great examples why our "profession" is still considered by the public to be a "school job".

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Permalink Reply by illudereludere on July 31, 2009 at 3:39am

Economic Stimulus

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Permalink Reply by illudereludere on July 31, 2009 at 3:41am

Ok, so to tone it down some, make it seem more professional-like, what kind of sign would you put up on your tip jar?

Jay Caragay said:

More great examples why our "profession" is still considered by the public to be a "school job".

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Permalink Reply by Paul Yates on July 31, 2009 at 4:54am

I am reminded of something I once read. The writer held that the origin of the word "tips" was actually an acronym, and was used by a restauranteur. The word stood for "To Insure Proper Service".

Me, I think a picture of my daughters, and "College Fund", might be practical... :)

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Permalink Reply by Jay Caragay on July 31, 2009 at 5:14am

Quite frankly, I'm against the whole tipping jar thing. I'd prefer it went away. Especially since baristas are paid higher than servers who make an hourly wage lower than minimum. Although, if baristas were willing to work for $4.35 per hour...

That said, I don't handle tips. That's strictly between the customer and the barista. We do have a tip jar but it is small and discreet. No signs of any kind. In fact, placing those cutesy signs you see on so many tip jars is cause for immediate termination.

If the idea is to push our craft into a noble profession, there's nothing less noble than being a person holding out your hands for alms - and the tip jar sign is the most pathetic method of holding out your hand.

illudereludere said:

Ok, so to tone it down some, make it seem more professional-like, what kind of sign would you put up on your tip jar?

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Permalink Reply by Mike Spence on July 31, 2009 at 10:48am

I recently saw a sign at Cutter's Point coffee that was creative - they had a fake fish on a stick in a bowl (so the fish head was sticking out) and a sign that said something like "this is a tip fish - it only lives in money - please don't let it drown"

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Permalink Reply by Astro! on July 31, 2009 at 12:34pm

To Insure Promptness

Every time you don't tip a child gets a mullet.

Paul Yates said:

I am reminded of something I once read. The writer held that the origin of the word "tips" was actually an acronym, and was used by a restauranteur. The word stood for "To Insure Proper Service".

Me, I think a picture of my daughters, and "College Fund", might be practical... :)

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Permalink Reply by illudereludere on August 1, 2009 at 4:20am

You work in the US? Four something is pretty tiny. How come your servers are paid less? Do baristi earn more than the servers? If so, by what percent more? That is quite incredible to know.

Jay Caragay said:

Quite frankly, I'm against the whole tipping jar thing. I'd prefer it went away. Especially since baristas are paid higher than servers who make an hourly wage lower than minimum. Although, if baristas were willing to work for $4.35 per hour...

That said, I don't handle tips. That's strictly between the customer and the barista. We do have a tip jar but it is small and discreet. No signs of any kind. In fact, placing those cutesy signs you see on so many tip jars is cause for immediate termination.

If the idea is to push our craft into a noble profession, there's nothing less noble than being a person holding out your hands for alms - and the tip jar sign is the most pathetic method of holding out your hand.

illudereludere said:

Ok, so to tone it down some, make it seem more professional-like, what kind of sign would you put up on your tip jar?

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Permalink Reply by Donna King on August 2, 2009 at 10:29am

We used to have "Tipping - Not Just for Cows" which worked okay for us - we are in a rural community - then we changed to "Good Karma Jar" which seems to work better!

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Permalink Reply by Dustin DeMers on December 8, 2009 at 5:45pm

Wow, its probably good your not into tip jars, cause im not sure id want to tip you anyway.

Jay Caragay said:

Quite frankly, I'm against the whole tipping jar thing. I'd prefer it went away. Especially since baristas are paid higher than servers who make an hourly wage lower than minimum. Although, if baristas were willing to work for $4.35 per hour...

That said, I don't handle tips. That's strictly between the customer and the barista. We do have a tip jar but it is small and discreet. No signs of any kind. In fact, placing those cutesy signs you see on so many tip jars is cause for immediate termination.

If the idea is to push our craft into a noble profession, there's nothing less noble than being a person holding out your hands for alms - and the tip jar sign is the most pathetic method of holding out your hand.

illudereludere said:

Ok, so to tone it down some, make it seem more professional-like, what kind of sign would you put up on your tip jar?

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Kettyle on February 23, 2010 at 2:39pm

I hope you pay your baristas a livable wage.

Jay Caragay said:

Quite frankly, I'm against the whole tipping jar thing. I'd prefer it went away. Especially since baristas are paid higher than servers who make an hourly wage lower than minimum. Although, if baristas were willing to work for $4.35 per hour...

That said, I don't handle tips. That's strictly between the customer and the barista. We do have a tip jar but it is small and discreet. No signs of any kind. In fact, placing those cutesy signs you see on so many tip jars is cause for immediate termination.

If the idea is to push our craft into a noble profession, there's nothing less noble than being a person holding out your hands for alms - and the tip jar sign is the most pathetic method of holding out your hand.

illudereludere said:

Ok, so to tone it down some, make it seem more professional-like, what kind of sign would you put up on your tip jar?

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Permalink Reply by Shawn Steiman on February 23, 2010 at 3:32pm

I agree with Jay. And yes, I've been on both sides of the bar.

Tipping is supposed to be a reflection of a service rendered, whether in a cafe or a restaurant. Yet, don't we want and expect these servers to always be giving us their best talent and skill? Why should a customer pay for something a worker is already supposed to be doing?

Moreover, what is the standard for tipping? In a cafe, it is usually a small bill or two and the leftover change. In a restaurant, it is a vague 10-20% of the bill (in the US) that is determined by the whim of the tipper. What consistent message can a consumer possibly be conveying?

In a cafe, does the money garnered via tips increase the barista's income to a living wage? Per hour, my guess is that tips, spread across a team, are not adding leaps-and-bounds to the income.

The onus of the living wage should be placed upon the establishment. If a proprietor can't supply a living wage to an employee, then perhaps there shouldn't be an employee. Honestly, no business should be taking advantage of the public's unwillingness to pay the true cost for a product. Tipping only encourages this behavior.

For the record, as the system stands with tips being an integral part of some wages (restaurant servers, for instance), one can't abolish tips. I support it, though, and then increase the server's wages.

Jay makes a good point about the position of a barista. Asking for tips is no different than asking for free money. Where's the elegance and respectability in that? If the coffee industry wants to be taken seriously and admired, then we must do things that earn that respect. It is up to us to convince the consumer that we have something to offer them and that what we offer costs more than what they thought it did.

Sorry for a bit of the disorganization here. I don't have too much today to write a more coherent discourse.

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