4 ms·

The owner retains the right to refuse service.

jodrellblank 18y ago
So there is a price, but it's secret? Sounds like the same scam as tipping to me. Get me there and I will pay/tip over the odds out of fear, guilt, social pressure. But I will try to avoid going as putting that hassle and discomfort on me doesn't make for a pleasant customer experience.
- jorgeortiz85 18y ago
  You only feel guilty if your first instinct is to cheat the system.
  - jodrellblank 18y ago
    No, you're wrong there. I feel guilt at all sorts of unreasonable things, but that's not the point - if paying "too little" is "cheating the system" then there is not only a minimum price, but also a socially set unwritten price where the people around will label me a cheat - and hiding the price from me then making me pick an acceptable price when i'm particularly weak at judging social situations is annoying.
- lsb 18y ago
  Once you've been to the UK, and experienced the blazé waiters and bartenders, you realize why being paid by tips is so important for good customer service. It's probably terrifying to be paid $3/hr + tips, which is common, but that's a big incentive to being nice.
  - jodrellblank 18y ago
    I live in the UK. The thing about tipping is that he cost of tipping is a small addition to the bill of an unknown socially set common percentage depending on place and culture which I don't enjoy guessing. But the cost of not tipping or tipping too little is incalculable and potentially completely disproportionate to the situation, and potentially long term. Hence, however much you explain the ideal of tipping being a kind of feedback, ensuring prompt service, etc. I will never not tip well, so it will never work like you idealise. There is no way to differentiate a poor tip due to bing a cheapskate, one due to misreading the socially accepted norms, an unjustified poor service complaint or a valid poor service complaint. The whole tipping system works against the customer. Just tell me you're adding a set % to the bill and if the service is no good I'll vote with my feet and not come back... Remember the scene in Monty Python's life of brian? "how much for this?" "20" "ok" "no you have to haggle - offer me ten" "how about 10?" "ten for this? Are you mad it cost me twelve!" etc.
    - chaosmachine 18y ago
      As long as the server is working under the belief that quality service = bigger tip, the system works in favor of the customer. Whether that belief is rational or irrational is of no consequence.
    - jerf 18y ago
      Do tipping customs vary widely within the UK? In the US, as far as I know they are quite stable across the country so it doesn't stress me out. If I traveled to another country, I would consider learning the tipping customs to be just another thing I need to learn, along with the electric system voltage and whether or not to shake hands. But if it varies widely within the same country, I could see how it would annoy you.
      - deleted 18y ago
        [deleted]
      - jodrellblank 18y ago
        Do tipping customs vary widely within the UK? _blink_. I don't know. I've been going to the same barber for a decade, but I don't know if tipping is customary for haircuts in the UK, either in cities or in small towns, or in that establishment. Maybe next time I ought to ask.
  - critic 18y ago
    Are you sure it's tipping? How come the sales staff in some supermarkets in the US are nice, even when they don't work on commission and tips? Perhaps it's a combination of many factors: tips, commission, weather, culture, religion and guns that makes Americans nice (For the record, I'm not religious)
- inerte 18y ago
  Still doesn't need to have a price. If a homeless man comes in an order a coffe, and pays one cent, the owner will remember his face. Next time, the owner might refuse the service. Or if he orders a coffe, then another, and the most expensive sandwich, I think the owner will ask if he has some money to pay. If the novelty wears off, he can start charging people again, and maybe retain some costumers who just went there to check if the no-price thing was true.

So there is a price, but it's secret? Sounds like the same scam as tipping to me. Get me there and I will pay/tip over the odds out of fear, guilt, social pressure. But I will try to avoid going as putting that hassle and discomfort on me doesn't make for a pleasant customer experience.

jorgeortiz85 18y ago
You only feel guilty if your first instinct is to cheat the system.
- jodrellblank 18y ago
  No, you're wrong there. I feel guilt at all sorts of unreasonable things, but that's not the point - if paying "too little" is "cheating the system" then there is not only a minimum price, but also a socially set unwritten price where the people around will label me a cheat - and hiding the price from me then making me pick an acceptable price when i'm particularly weak at judging social situations is annoying.
lsb 18y ago
Once you've been to the UK, and experienced the blazé waiters and bartenders, you realize why being paid by tips is so important for good customer service. It's probably terrifying to be paid $3/hr + tips, which is common, but that's a big incentive to being nice.
- jodrellblank 18y ago
  I live in the UK. The thing about tipping is that he cost of tipping is a small addition to the bill of an unknown socially set common percentage depending on place and culture which I don't enjoy guessing. But the cost of not tipping or tipping too little is incalculable and potentially completely disproportionate to the situation, and potentially long term. Hence, however much you explain the ideal of tipping being a kind of feedback, ensuring prompt service, etc. I will never not tip well, so it will never work like you idealise. There is no way to differentiate a poor tip due to bing a cheapskate, one due to misreading the socially accepted norms, an unjustified poor service complaint or a valid poor service complaint. The whole tipping system works against the customer. Just tell me you're adding a set % to the bill and if the service is no good I'll vote with my feet and not come back... Remember the scene in Monty Python's life of brian? "how much for this?" "20" "ok" "no you have to haggle - offer me ten" "how about 10?" "ten for this? Are you mad it cost me twelve!" etc.
  - chaosmachine 18y ago
    As long as the server is working under the belief that quality service = bigger tip, the system works in favor of the customer. Whether that belief is rational or irrational is of no consequence.
  - jerf 18y ago
    Do tipping customs vary widely within the UK? In the US, as far as I know they are quite stable across the country so it doesn't stress me out. If I traveled to another country, I would consider learning the tipping customs to be just another thing I need to learn, along with the electric system voltage and whether or not to shake hands. But if it varies widely within the same country, I could see how it would annoy you.
    - deleted 18y ago
      [deleted]
    - jodrellblank 18y ago
      Do tipping customs vary widely within the UK? _blink_. I don't know. I've been going to the same barber for a decade, but I don't know if tipping is customary for haircuts in the UK, either in cities or in small towns, or in that establishment. Maybe next time I ought to ask.
- critic 18y ago
  Are you sure it's tipping? How come the sales staff in some supermarkets in the US are nice, even when they don't work on commission and tips? Perhaps it's a combination of many factors: tips, commission, weather, culture, religion and guns that makes Americans nice (For the record, I'm not religious)
inerte 18y ago
Still doesn't need to have a price. If a homeless man comes in an order a coffe, and pays one cent, the owner will remember his face. Next time, the owner might refuse the service. Or if he orders a coffe, then another, and the most expensive sandwich, I think the owner will ask if he has some money to pay. If the novelty wears off, he can start charging people again, and maybe retain some costumers who just went there to check if the no-price thing was true.