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Discussion Boards => Off-Topic => Topic started by: countrygirl12 on August 11, 2014, 09:39:53 am
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I recently saw an article where in one of the states where they forced an increase in Min Wage the restaurant has a line at the bottom of the receipt above or below the Tax line that says:
Minimum Wage Fee. .35 cents
It was a story on Yahoo. The restaurant owner said he could not afford to pay the employees the increase he was forced to give so he is passing the buck on to the customers. I know to some .35 is not a big deal and to others it is. People were yelling if you cannot afford an extra .35 then you don't need to be eating out. But I disagree with that line of thinking.
So the question being asked was would you continue to eat at a restaurant that had a .35 Min Wage fee added to the bill? They will get the increase one way or another. Most will increase menu prices.
Me personally...I probably would not eat somewhere that done this. I pretty much don't eat out anymore anyway. I also think if one business does this the rest will follow suit including Walmart, grocery stores and every where else.
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I saw this story also...on TV. I believe employers simply pass on such increases in product or service price increases, many not as open about it as this. That is the problem. In the long run, it adds to the cost of living no matter. This employer just
decided to be open and upfront, probably delaying having to print new menus with price increases on them. I think the business has a comparatively small customer base who go there regularly and know the business owner and many of the employees. Therefore, they don't mind the relatively small increase. I wonder what would happen if the "add-on" was more like $1.00????
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That's not a very good idea. People will rebel against another line item on their bill. Just raise the prices a little and no one with think anything of it.
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Not to sure about minimum wages... But if you increase it, the product will eventually increase also.. I don't expect it to earth shattering but it could be good to match the product for being overpriced.. Back then gum and coffee, used to be like 10 cents and minimum wage used to be very low... Now store candies are like $1.29 and coffee is around $1- $2. But minimum wages also increased since then to w/e it is
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I agree with you on this one, you can call me cheap if you want, but he can't afford to pay his workers neither can I....I just like to get a meal out every now and again...I think a tip should be left up to me if I wanna give one or not and should not be hounded if I don't....I'm just as poor as they are or even poorer.....I make a few cents above minimum wages myself and no one tips me....
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That's just the cost of doing business. Restaurant jobs pay poorly, they get no benefits and most are part time. If he can not cover an extra $100 a week to meet the minimum wage, then maybe he needs to not be in business. The prices around here are going up because of the cost of getting the foods, with the drought and the cost of fuel. Several companies (chains) in my area already were paying the employees more than minimum. Some of these owners are beginning to find out it is cheaper in the long run to pay employees a little more with a little respect. You save the cost of so many new hires and training time. Happier employees treat your customers better. The charge on the receipt is going right into the hands of the employer.
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In a way I think its a bunch of bologna but I do believe a lot of business owners are barely hanging on - but anyway I would not worry about .35 being added although the prices of eating out and buying food are already so high.
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It will keep going, one way or another....same price for food but now a 6oz container instead of the 9oz....it's everywhere!
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I saw this story also...on TV. I believe employers simply pass on such increases in product or service price increases, many not as open about it as this. That is the problem. In the long run, it adds to the cost of living no matter. This employer just
decided to be open and upfront, probably delaying having to print new menus with price increases on them. I think the business has a comparatively small customer base who go there regularly and know the business owner and many of the employees. Therefore, they don't mind the relatively small increase. I wonder what would happen if the "add-on" was more like $1.00????
Yes the increase will be passed on to the customer. And although it is only .35 at this one restaurant. Eventually his food prices will increase or this fee will. Everyone is effected but a lot of people can't see that. EVERYONE will get an increase in pay. Not just HIS staff. So when everyone raises their prices it eventually gets down to the customer pays more too.
So raising min wage to $10.10 an hour which is what a lot are crying...or the idiots that work at McDonald's screaming they want $15 an hour (lol at that) - if people who had NO skills are paid $15 an hour then people who go to college and get an education and have actual skills are going to want $30 an hour. I know you can't live on part time hours making min wage. But most of these people who are crying still have internet, cable, smoke, buy lotto tickets, and other luxuries that they should be doing without. It's called living within your means.
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I agree with you on this one, you can call me cheap if you want, but he can't afford to pay his workers neither can I....I just like to get a meal out every now and again...I think a tip should be left up to me if I wanna give one or not and should not be hounded if I don't....I'm just as poor as they are or even poorer.....I make a few cents above minimum wages myself and no one tips me....
I disagree with saying anything bad about him because he "can't afford to pay his workers". A lot of businesses are barely surviving. To force them to give everyone a raise and then say if you can't handle it you deserve to close your doors is not right. In the end he will get rid of dead beats and others will work harder for the money they are getting.
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That's just the cost of doing business. Restaurant jobs pay poorly, they get no benefits and most are part time. If he can not cover an extra $100 a week to meet the minimum wage, then maybe he needs to not be in business. The prices around here are going up because of the cost of getting the foods, with the drought and the cost of fuel. Several companies (chains) in my area already were paying the employees more than minimum. Some of these owners are beginning to find out it is cheaper in the long run to pay employees a little more with a little respect. You save the cost of so many new hires and training time. Happier employees treat your customers better. The charge on the receipt is going right into the hands of the employer.
You think he should go out of business because he is forced to pay workers with NO skills more than they are worth? That is a little harsh. Most people do not grasp the over head that goes along with the hourly wage of every employee. It costs much more than a mere $7.25 or whatever the employee makes per hour for each employee. Plus all the costs that go along with running a business. Everyone seems to think if you own your own business you are rich. That Walton family - yeah they are rich. But most business owners are barely making it themselves.
And the .35 is not going directly to the owner. It will go back into the business. If it is printed on his receipts he can't very well hide the money.
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In a way I think its a bunch of bologna but I do believe a lot of business owners are barely hanging on - but anyway I would not worry about .35 being added although the prices of eating out and buying food are already so high.
Very true. I know a man that had to close his doors back when the economy first tanked. I just happened to stop in to make a purchase on his last day in business. I had no idea he was closing up. I mentioned something about why all his lights were out. And he told me it was his last day. He had tears in his eyes and it was really sad. His grandfather had started the business. And he felt like he had let his grandfather and his father (both who are deceased) down by having to close. He told me he could close his doors now (then) or keep going and lose everything he had. So as hard as it was to make the decision he was closing his doors. A lot of people are having a hard time. Not just the people making min wage. There are people making $10 to $12 an hour who are only working 10 or so hours a week so they are struggling as much as the ones making min wage. Fact is right now about everyone is having a hard time.
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It will keep going, one way or another....same price for food but now a 6oz container instead of the 9oz....it's everywhere!
True. And this is sneakier because people do not realize it has happened. lol.
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I applaud this businessman for showing the public what they are voting for. If more people realized what the cost of the good / service is by itself and had additional line-items for every tax or regulation that was imposed on them by the government, the people would realize what they were actually paying for. I would much rather have a business owner be upfront with his costs than to try hiding those costs by raising menu items or skimping on quality and / or portions. If I saw a restaurant doing this, it would probably make me want to go there more often, since by that very act the owner shows me that he is an honest businessman and so I'd feel as though everything he does was done in the same fair and upfront manner.
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That is true. I remember when obamacare was first forced on businesses a while back Papa Johns said they would have to increase the cost of a pizza by 50 cents. Every pizza would be 50 cents more. People are not stupid and they see the increase in menu prices. At least this guy is being honest about why. I have also noticed McDonald's has increased prices. I didn't really notice until recently but several of the Dollar Menu Items are more like $1.20 now. And I think it is called a Value Menu now. lol. I don't eat out that much any way. Very rare.
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That's not a very good idea. People will rebel against another line item on their bill. Just raise the prices a little and no one with think anything of it.
Disagree. I actually think it was great idea. Raising menu prices also adds the costs of updating said menu, signage, etc., but in this case, the owners have actually created value in the form of free publicity/advertising. People claiming to rebel against a $0.35 line item fee, probably wouldn't have eaten there in the first place.
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Probably not, but the point in the article on Yahoo was "would you eat at a place that does this"?
Is this particular place does it then more and more will follow suit. Just like the tip jars. One or two were doing it and now almost every where you go there are tip jars. I ate at a mexican restaurant a while back and while tips are expected to be left on the table for the waiters (and now that I think about it they are all men lol) there is a tip jar by the register. I assume that is for the one who runs the register???
At any rate, I expect this to happen more and more. And like someone else pointed out - by doing this the people see that there will be extra cost. Not to mention the food prices will also go up. And changing the menu board is not as hard as you would think. It is just little magnetic stick up numbers. That or they just charge you more and when the customer complains they say oh that price is wrong. lol
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That is a total crock to do that, I hope people quit going there and drive them out of business
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That is a total crock to do that, I hope people quit going there and drive them out of business
What is the difference in doing this and in just raising the menu prices?
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I don't have a problem if they put that on my bill. Just as long as the food is great. The key for me is "great". If the food is mediocre I just don't see the point. I know I have some family members who are working in restaurants. I would like them to get paid for what they do.
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Minimum wage and the cost of living are related in way more complex ways than the employer simply passing on the cost to the consumer. When you pay people more they spend more and that has an effect on the economy as well. Most people making minimum wage will spend their increases locally and will help a local economy.
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The added labor costs will always be added to the consumer in one way or another. Whether it's added the prices of products or added as a separate minimum wage charge as mentioned in the OP.
Could some businesses absorb this cost? Probably but why would they would they can just pass on the added cost to the consumer. After all, this kind of increase is barely noticeable in small increments passed on to the consumer.
Just my three cents...
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At any rate, I expect this to happen more and more. And like someone else pointed out - by doing this the people see that there will be extra cost. Not to mention the food prices will also go up. And changing the menu board is not as hard as you would think. It is just little magnetic stick up numbers. That or they just charge you more and when the customer complains they say oh that price is wrong. lol
The point I was making was that costs money to print new menu's and signs, not that it was hard. Other than fast food restaurants, I don't see menu boards used all that often. If the restaurant used one, than it wasn't that big of deal.
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minimum wage,,,,, nasty topic. I worked for a major department store for 17 years. when i started I made 5.25 an hour and when I left i made 8.12. I liked my job and did something different everyday,,, that was why I stayed. The new people that they would hire was almost making as much as me when they were hired but I could not get a raise. The store had a wage freeze and no one was getting any raises. :( Eventually they closed our store even tho it was one of the better stores in the corporation. So I just retired from there. Had enough years in so that was my way to go.
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At any rate, I expect this to happen more and more. And like someone else pointed out - by doing this the people see that there will be extra cost. Not to mention the food prices will also go up. And changing the menu board is not as hard as you would think. It is just little magnetic stick up numbers. That or they just charge you more and when the customer complains they say oh that price is wrong. lol
The point I was making was that costs money to print new menu's and signs, not that it was hard. Other than fast food restaurants, I don't see menu boards used all that often. If the restaurant used one, than it wasn't that big of deal.
I may be wrong but I thought the menu boards at McDonald's and Taco Bell and the like were that simple to change. Maybe not.
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I don't know how resturants pay their waitresses, but in our state they don't even make min. they make about 2.50 more or less an hour. they have to depend on the tips. Plus a few years ago the government added another tax on them. they have to pay the government 8% of what ever the tab is. So if they are only tip 10% of the tab, they don't make any money. I know because I had a part-time job working as a waitress. Also work as a part-time employee at a large retail until I went into management and had to drop the waitressing. Now some of the large places pay a lot better, but they then take the tips and put them in a jar so everyone gets piece of the pie.
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At any rate, I expect this to happen more and more. And like someone else pointed out - by doing this the people see that there will be extra cost. Not to mention the food prices will also go up. And changing the menu board is not as hard as you would think. It is just little magnetic stick up numbers. That or they just charge you more and when the customer complains they say oh that price is wrong. lol
The point I was making was that costs money to print new menu's and signs, not that it was hard. Other than fast food restaurants, I don't see menu boards used all that often. If the restaurant used one, than it wasn't that big of deal.
I may be wrong but I thought the menu boards at McDonald's and Taco Bell and the like were that simple to change. Maybe not.
We're not talking about McDonald's and Taco Bell here. This is a restaurant where the waiter/waitress comes to your table, hands you the menus, takes your order, etc. There is no board to change. If you change prices, you need to order new menus, which would be an additional cost.
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That's not a very good idea. People will rebel against another line item on their bill.
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That's not a very good idea. People will rebel against another line item on their bill. Just raise the prices a little and no one with think anything of it.
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I don't know what to think about that I know my sister and I ate out and gave a really good tip but she left cash on the table and the bill was charge an extra $4.00 and it didn't say anything on the receipt about that. This has happen now three times and at different places. Tips where meant for people who are doing there jobs right and with a good attitude so charging the customer for there raise is wrong I think they should pay the minimum wages anyway especial chain Restraunts.
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I don't know how resturants pay their waitresses, but in our state they don't even make min. they make about 2.50 more or less an hour. they have to depend on the tips. Plus a few years ago the government added another tax on them. they have to pay the government 8% of what ever the tab is. So if they are only tip 10% of the tab, they don't make any money. I know because I had a part-time job working as a waitress. Also work as a part-time employee at a large retail until I went into management and had to drop the waitressing. Now some of the large places pay a lot better, but they then take the tips and put them in a jar so everyone gets piece of the pie.
The federal minimum wage for people that are tipped starts at $2.13/hr. as long as the person's tips added to their wage meets the minimum wage for non-tipped workers; however, if a person does not get that much in tips, their employer is supposed to increase their hourly wage accordingly. It is just assumed that they will be tipped, so the government includes the tip along with their hourly wage as the server's total income. Note that that is only the federal minimum wage, although different states have different minimum wages which may be more than the federal limit. For example, I believe that CA doesn't have a separate minimum wage for tipped-workers meaning they'll be paid the same minimum wage as non-tipped workers. Also more and more, restaurants are getting away from tipping in general, paying all of their workers at the same level of employment the same wage. This actually helps increase employee morale as servers won't complain that they were given fewer tables as someone else (and thus made less in tips), and the employees wages will be much more stable instead of being based on the whim of the customer.
Also you were slightly incorrect in saying that the government taxes 8% of the total tab... The government assumes the server will receive (on average) at least 8% of the tab in tips, so 8% of the tab is added to the taxable income of the server; however the taxable income reported is different than the amount taxed since different tax brackets will assess a different percentage of the taxable income as the tax that must be paid. For example, if a person gets $100 in tips and they are in the 15% tax bracket, then they'll only have to pay $15 in taxes. Additionally, since the government will only hold the server responsible for 8% of the tab as what they earn as tips, if the server gets tipped 10%, then the difference (eg 2% of the bill) doesn't have to be reported, so the server gets to keep that money tax free (technically, the server is supposed to report all of their tips as a part of their taxable income, but because the government will only investigate further if the tips reported as income fall below 8%, a server could just report only 8% and be fairly safe from not being audited). Thus in your example when you say that if they get 10%, they don't make any money is completely false; they get their minimum wage plus tips (only some of which are taxed at their appropriate tax bracket). I do know that some restaurants will also withhold a certain percentage of the tab and report those withholdings on the server's W2 at the end of the year so that the server doesn't have to keep track of the tip-income for themselves. Although doing that means that the server will be out that money in the short-term, after completing their taxes, the server should get most of that withholding back (except for what is actually needed to pay their income tax). Finally, the taxable tip-income is only on the amount of the tips that that particular server actually keeps. Thus if the server also gives some of their tips to the busboys, maitre d', etc. they should subtract that amount from the tips that get reported to the IRS.
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I think that that is just a poor way to handle it.
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I think that minimum wage is in place for positions/jobs that don't need the skills developed through specialized training and further education. They meet the needs of an economy. I think that it is only natural that we will see a rise in costs, for everything, when we raise the minimum wage. Some people have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars, sacrificed four years of their lives, and worked really hard so that they could get a higher paying job. Raising the minimum wage, exorbitantly, threatens to undo all the basic precepts people have about higher education. Why should we go to school when we can make a decent wage washing dishes. If there isn't a big gap for all of the extra hard work...why go to school? I think restaurants are crazy for charging more to cover minimum wage with a silly little extra charge at the bottom. They should just raise their product prices and I would not go to a restaurant like that.
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while personally I understand the reasoning, I believe populations in general don't argue as much about a small increase in prices as they do about a blatant add-on to their bill. its an out of sight out of mind thing I think
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It's really expected and nobody should be surprised about it.
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wow that is a shame that ain't no money
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I'd rather go to a restaurant that adds a simple $0.35 to the bill than one that automatically adds gratuity to your bill.
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I saw that same story. They went about it the wrong way because no one likes to be told they have to pay extra to supplement the employees paycheck. As usual, they should have just increased the prices on meals as they usually do. No fuss.
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I think that minimum wage is in place for positions/jobs that don't need the skills developed through specialized training and further education. They meet the needs of an economy. I think that it is only natural that we will see a rise in costs, for everything, when we raise the minimum wage. Some people have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars, sacrificed four years of their lives, and worked really hard so that they could get a higher paying job. Raising the minimum wage, exorbitantly, threatens to undo all the basic precepts people have about higher education. Why should we go to school when we can make a decent wage washing dishes. If there isn't a big gap for all of the extra hard work...why go to school? I think restaurants are crazy for charging more to cover minimum wage with a silly little extra charge at the bottom. They should just raise their product prices and I would not go to a restaurant like that.
I agree with you on min wage does not need to be increased. Esp not to $15 an hour. But it irritates me when people insult people who did not go to college. Or when people insult adults who are working at a job like McDonald's. There are people who are doing the best they can. Not everyone could afford to go to college. Not everyone could get $100,000 plus in loans to go to school. Seems to me the person working for min wage and no debt is in better shape than the person who went to college and has over $100,000 in school loans.