Tip Jar at Subway?

[laurie31]

Wow - I feel out of the loop! I've never seen one of these, and we love Subway

Having said that, it reminds me of a story I read about a Preacher's Kid (PK) who was with his parents at a Christian retreat at Ridgecrest in N.C. He and some of his buddies wanted change for the vending machine but their parents said no. So they put out a jar on the registration table labeled "CFU" and lo and behold, people put change in it! They were thrilled! Until his dad found out that CFU meant Cokes For Us! If I remember right, they had to put all the money in the offering

Laurie

 

[Dopey Sharon]

Originally posted by nsyncraider17
especially when we have to make each customer's ice cream individually.

Yeah, but that's your job.

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

I don't tip at fast food places. Tipping is out of control IMO. I just wish places would add a service charge and be done with it.

 

[Amberle3]

Originally posted by nsyncraider17
But, I don't think it's unreasonable to have the tip jar there, especially when we have to make each customer's ice cream individually.

I know this is going to come off the wrong way, but oh well...

Come on now. The guy at the McDonald's drive through has to pour each cup of coffee individually too. Does that mean he deserves a tip?

I'm sorry, I just don't feel any compulsion to compensate someone who gets paid a full wage (unlike full-service restaurants where they're paid a partial wage) for doing their job adequately.

I mean it's not like you're atually MAKING the ice cream are you? Churning it out by hand, adding things at the customer's request (I'd like extra chocolate chips in my mint chocolate chip please). Aren't you just transferring it from container to cone? Doesn't it take less than a minute to do that?

 

[MosMom]

Actually, at cold stone they take it out and you add any of your choice of toppings and then they hand grind it all together on a cold marble slab. It looks like it takes some muscle to do it but they are still paid a full wage.

 

[TDC Nala]

personally I consider it bad taste to ASK for a tip.

 

[MosMom]

personally I consider it bad taste to ASK for a tip.

I couldn't agree more

 

[katerkat]

Gosh, I make minimum wage and if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be able to watch the movies you rent. No one ever tips me! And do you know how many fingernails I've broken getting the lockboxes off the movies?

 

[NatureBoyChris]

This practice makes me sick. I have been a server at a restaurant while I am paying my way through school. I get paid 2.13 an hour and I bust my butt to give the best possible service I can. If anyone has every been a server they know how stressful and demanding this job can be. Don't get me wrong, I know that working out a counter can be stressful as well. The fact is though, if you get a rude customer you deal with them for maybe 5 min, where I would have to deal with a tough customer for atleast 30 min. I think it is out of control. These employees make at least minimum wage, most make more. If they want tips so bad, become a server. One poster made a great point saying where will this stop. Will we have to tip the cable guy for hooking up the cable, the dentist for cleaning our teeth. I know that these counter jobs can be very low paying. But they can also be very easy and simple jobs. Anyway I just think that these tip jars are tacky and it makes the place of business look that way as well.

Chris

 

[nsyncraider17]

I mean it's not like you're atually MAKING the ice cream are you? Churning it out by hand, adding things at the customer's request (I'd like extra chocolate chips in my mint chocolate chip please).

Actually, it is. We make all of our ice cream in the store, and then make each customer's creation to order. I understand that that's our job, but I'm guessing that most people who do give us tips do it as a nice gesture because they feel that we go above and beyond ice cream scoopers at most ice cream stores, are especially friendly, grant special requests and whatnot. If you don't think we deserve a tip, then simply don't give one.

 

[tidoublegger]

Originally posted by tidoublegger
Well, in defense of the tipping cups...my DS, 18 works at an icecream shop. He lives in an apartment and makes minimum wage working there. People in the small college town he works in leave tips and they all split them at the end of the day. This may amount to an extra $5 for each of them. Considering how little these kids are paid, tips help supplement their income. Obviously tips aren't mandatory, but there are those who appreciate the hard work these kids do. I went out to visit him one day and there was a street fair. We got slices of pizza at one of the booths. My son, who doesn't have 2 nickels to rub together, tipped the guy $1. He did this because he can appreciate the fact that they work hard and are underpaid. Maybe you all don't agree, but I wouldn't belittle them...tips are optional, not required.

No one is *making* anyone leave a tip. It's optional folks! If you think it's undeserved, unnecessary, tacky, etc. just don't leave one!

 

[Krisu]

My DS has a part-time job at Subway and was surprised when I told him about this! Since they are individually owned I would speak to the manager. I would not expect my DS to get tips (nor would he) above what he is making. This is not a waitstaff position.

 

[kellib36]

I think the tip jars are an extension of the charity jars that we USED to see everywhere where someone (usually a child) needed a transplant or something and needed donations. I also think those are getting pushed aside. Sad....I haven't seen one of those for a while, and I"m not sure I'd notice them now, since I've put on blinders to these types of things nowadays.

jmo, Kelli

 

[MeanLaureen]

Originally posted by nsyncraider17
Actually, it is. We make all of our ice cream in the store, and then make each customer's creation to order. I understand that that's our job, but I'm guessing that most people who do give us tips do it as a nice gesture because they feel that we go above and beyond ice cream scoopers at most ice cream stores, are especially friendly, grant special requests and whatnot. If you don't think we deserve a tip, then simply don't give one.

Customers are also paying a premium price for your icecream since it IS hand mixed by the employees there to the customers request.

You have missed the point that you applied for a job to do just that. If you do not want a job that involves specialty customer service, you could always work somewhere with a more limited, straightforward service responisibility, like taking tickets at a movie theater. But those jobs can be quite redundant and I think you would prefer your job at Cold Stone because you get to "mix it up" a bit (all puns intended )

My employees can spend up to 20 minutes helping customers individually in my store - whether it's helping a blind person find what they need, reading cards to a customer who never learned to read, finding a last minute wedding present and completing the gift for the customer right down to sticking the signed tag on the gift wrap. They never expect tips for this because it is their job.

If we are going to start tipping for labor involved in getting the product for the customer - how about the employees that spend countless hours unpacking pallets of merchandise, or the truck drivers who brought it to the store, or the dock workers who put it on the truck... it could go on and on.

If you are working at minimum wage and you are saying that you need tips to survive... you need to look elsewhere for employment. Right now the job market (at least retail) is in your favor and the majority of the stores where I live are paying around $7 entry level sales - and I'm not in a high income area.

I think it is an absurd idea that the consumers are now supposed to (well, optional but getting out of hand) supplement employees income with a tip for 60 seconds worth of work that they are already being compensated for at or above the national minimum.

Question for those accepting tips for a non full service waitstaff position - are you declaring them on your taxes like the full service waitstaff does?

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

Originally posted by MeanLaureen
Customers are also paying a premium price for your icecream since it IS hand mixed by the employees there to the customers request.

You have missed the point that you applied for a job to do just that. If you do not want a job that involves specialty customer service, you could always work somewhere with a more limited, straightforward service responisibility, like taking tickets at a movie theater. But those jobs can be quite redundant and I think you would prefer your job at Cold Stone because you get to "mix it up" a bit (all puns intended )

My employees can spend up to 20 minutes helping customers individually in my store - whether it's helping a blind person find what they need, reading cards to a customer who never learned to read, finding a last minute wedding present and completing the gift for the customer right down to sticking the signed tag on the gift wrap. They never expect tips for this because it is their job.

If we are going to start tipping for labor involved in getting the product for the customer - how about the employees that spend countless hours unpacking pallets of merchandise, or the truck drivers who brought it to the store, or the dock workers who put it on the truck... it could go on and on.

If you are working at minimum wage and you are saying that you need tips to survive... you need to look elsewhere for employment. Right now the job market (at least retail) is in your favor and the majority of the stores where I live are paying around $7 entry level sales - and I'm not in a high income area.

I think it is an absurd idea that the consumers are now supposed to (well, optional but getting out of hand) supplement employees income with a tip for 60 seconds worth of work that they are already being compensated for at or above the national minimum.

Question for those accepting tips for a non full service waitstaff position - are you declaring them on your taxes like the full service waitstaff does?

Excellent points.