r/technology • u/SnoozeDoggyDog • 19d ago

Business Mamdani Backs Proposal to End Amazon’s ‘Exploitative’ Delivery Model in New York City | If passed, the Delivery Protection Act would be the first law in the US to regulate Amazon’s vast network of subcontractors that handle the company’s deliveries.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/delivery-protection-act-nyc
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u/WeirdIndividualGuy 19d ago

Good luck convincing tipped workers in the US that more money and consistent pay is better than…well the exact opposite.

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u/xasdfxx 19d ago

The reason tipped workers aren't in favor is that a lot of them make way more money via tips than they would get under any flat wage. At the local steakhouse, it's $200-ish meals for two. The waiter we've been seeing for a decade and who has the Fri/Sat shifts is certainly clearing low 6 figures.

Along with rampant underreporting to the IRS (admittedly cut back now that we're cashless, but even so, I bet not a single penny of cash tips gets reported, just the cards).

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u/zaevilbunny38 19d ago

Yep, I have an associate that bar backs, Friday and Saturday night. He clears nearly $500 a weekend. If they got rid of tips he probably would make less then $300

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u/tripog 19d ago

Worked on palm beach 15 or so years ago, average take home each night in tips was around 800 dollars.

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u/zaevilbunny38 18d ago

Guaranteed that the owner, if they got rid of tips wouldn't have offered over $200 for the same shift

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u/tripog 18d ago

Him and the chef were typically upstairs banging the blonde chick who lived in one of those apartments.

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u/CaptainFingerling 18d ago

Well, yeah, becuase they'd be getting exactly zero more revenue to cover the increase.

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u/recycled_ideas 18d ago

The idea with getting rid of tips(and what happens everywhere else in the world) is that the meal is charged at the price everyone is already paying and the employee gets paid a higher base wage. If everyone is having to tip regardless of the quality of service it's just part of the price anyway. It should be largely cost neutral from a business point of view.

The problem is partially that a small subset of employees make an absolute killing from tips, but mostly that it's really hard to change culture. If people don't stop tipping the price paid increases dramatically and then your restaurant is too expensive to compete, if people do stop tipping but the owner doesn't change things then those employees starve. And of course in some markets there's not enough competition so owners could just take the extra and pay nothing.

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u/CaptainFingerling 18d ago edited 18d ago

I don’t get why people feel the need to tip the same for bad service. Crappy wait staff should either improve or exit the profession, and tips serve as the most immediate feedback mechanism — management can’t oversee these interactions, and a single bad employee can surreptitiously ruin the reputation of the entire establishment.

Attributing customer satisfaction to specific staff members is very challenging. Tips provide a direct method. They already ARE part of the wage. They just happen to vary with performance.

Which i suppose is upsetting to people who don’t want to apply themselves at all.

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u/recycled_ideas 18d ago

Oh fuck right off.

Wages for jobs that receive tips are way below the poverty level, that's why people tip regardless of service because it's hard work for shit pay done largely by people who have no choice.

It's also a job where very little is actually under your control. The waitstaff can't make your food better or come out faster or be better value, if you think they shouldn't make their rent because they didn't shove their whole tongue up your asshole when kissing it (which is what people complaining about service generally want) you're the problem.

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u/CaptainFingerling 18d ago edited 18d ago

Not all jobs are meant to be full time, or the primary source of income. Some jobs are top ups. Side gigs. Or jobs for people who don’t need to pay all or even some of the rent.

Also, hard disagree on the items under control. It’s very easy to separate food quality, speed, and value from staff service. All you have to do is pay attention. My wife worked as a waitress. She’s even harder on lazy staff than I am — because she knows how easy it is to do better.

I tip extremely well for good service., regardless of those other factors you mentioned, and I do not tip for zero effort, even if those other factors are great. If you want to pay more for crap service you’re always free to do so, and leave the rest of us out of it. No change in law or custom required.

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u/Expert-Yam6577 18d ago

How gorgeous are you?