Who can afford to eat out anymore?

LOL.  Should we start a GoFundMe for DaveM?

My wife was a server at places like Sammy J Peppers, Browns etc. The servers have to tip out every shift based on the total sales they generated, I want to say %7. This %7 went to the bar staff, hostess, chefs etc.  So if a tables bill was $100 and they didn't tip, it would have cost her $7 to serve them. IMO this is a broken system but its where the tips are going in restaurants. I say pay the kitchen and bar staff more (skilled labour), servers can keep their tips and hostesses make minimum wage until they can move up to server status.

Mostly lurk on the site, but though I would post this time round... For a start, biases:

• Renter
• Don't eat out (make most food)
• Don't buy alcohol (make my own)
• Garden (make as much food as possible)
• Bike (2005 Knolly V-tach)
• Work in the non-profit sector (energy retrofits for low income households)

A few questions;

1. Don't tips get split between servers/cleaners/cooks/etc. If we are counting tips per hour, does your calculation need to include low customer times? When I go out and my restaurant bill is $100 and they want a 20% tip, I have a hard time justifying $20 worth of work. If a waiter has 5 tables and turns them over every 2 hours and if everyone did 20%, they would be making 50$/hr in tips alone. And many of our waiters f%%king suck. I agree with a living wage but I feel like everyone is making 40k working 20hrs per week.
2. From glassdoor, it looks like baristas earn ~$17 per hour. Over the past 20 years, wage growth hasn't kept up with inflation, especially for lower income households... Maybe we are finally seeing wages for lower income households start to catch up with higher income households??
3. Is the increase due to "profits and greed" or has the increase in land costs catching up with us? Housing prices underpin all costs, since everyone/business needs to live/operate somewhere

It is interesting, when people spending thousands on bikes complain about the cost of a restaurant meal...

Abolish the tipping system and let the wage problems sort themselves out as restaurants compete for staff.  Shittiest employers can pay everyone minimum wage and find out how well that works out for their business.

Handing over a tip so that some twit can ask me if I have plans for the rest of the evening while I sort out the bill needs to stop.

Our kitchen is the best restaurant in town!

We used to eat out maybe once a month, usually something we don't typically make ourselves, like sushi. With prices going up so much in the last few years we have been eating out less. Sometimes we take out food (or bring our own) and eat it in a nice spot like a park or beach.

As for tipping, I didn't grow up with that culture and my brain can't deal with fuzzy decision making. So I simply tip 15% at restaurants with table service and 0% at take out / order at bar type of places, and don't give it any more thought than necessary. The 15% automatically keeps up with inflation of the meal prices so there is no need to raise the percentage. I have no problem with overriding tip prompts on payment terminals.

I sort of sympathize with restaurant owners because with costs going up for rent, staff, ingredients, etc. it can't be easy to offer good value while keeping the quality of the whole experience high.

We have a new coffee shop opening in our area in February and it will be nice to have so I plan on going there regularly to support them and hopefully keep them in the neighbourhood. This is assuming their coffee is good and their staff are nice of course.

Is it time for a thread titled "Who can afford to ride bikes anymore?"

Posted by: syncro

Is it time for a thread titled "Who can to ride bikes anymore?"

Bikes are getting cheaper while food prices go up.  Who can afford not to ride bikes?  We can eat next year.

Exactly! When was the last time you saw BOGO on striploin?

Posted by: switch

McDonald's used to be a cheap place to eat - I doubt adults ate their because of the cuisine.  I just looked at their online menu and it's $15.79 for a Big Mac, fries and coke.  Seems pretty steep for bulk fast food.

Post ride a few weeks back it was either McDicks drive thru or pub. Went with 20 piece nugs and fries for almost $20.  The pub would've been $18-20 for burger/beer/fries Happy Hour Special LOL

Does this count as eating out? The most have done in terms of eating out for 4 years is variations of this. LOL

Our best eating out experience this year was at a campground last Spring. There was a large Middle-Eastern family at the site next to ours. They had been cooking the whole day and had a big feast at dinner time. Then the mom sent one of her kids over to bring us two plates of leftovers. After we finished we walked over to thank them and they promptly gave us another two plates. It was some of the best food I had this year.

Posted by: [email protected]

Our best eating out experience this year was at a campground last Spring. There was a large Middle-Eastern family at the site next to ours. They had been cooking the whole day and had a big feast at dinner time. Then the mom sent one of her kids over to bring us two plates of leftovers. After we finished we walked over to thank them and they promptly gave us another two plates. It was some of the best food I had this year.

When the weather gets warm our family tradition on Friday afternoons is to grab the kid from school and go to Alice Lake for a swim.  There are always large families making awesome dinners and me jealous.  This summer I invested in a little Weber because the food envy was killing me.

Posted by: Endurimil

Does this count as eating out? The most have done in terms of eating out for 4 years is variations of this. LOL

Maybe not technically eating out, but the best meals are at a picnic table without a doubt.