Tipping

[jas007]

7 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

It is getting out of hand in the US

Funny story for anyone interested:

 

Almost three years ago, I was stuck in the USA because of COVID, but travel restrictions to Thailand were finally lifted, my lease was just about up, and I wanted out of there ASAP.

 

I was in a rented condo and had purchased some things.  A couch, coffee table, dining table and chairs, a nice recliner, a big TV., a computer desk, etc. I sold my stereo equipment - that was easy, because I buy good stuff in the first place.  But no one wanted the other stuff in the apartment, even for free.  My friends there had enough of their own junk, I guess. Stuff I paid over $8,000 for I couldn't give away. 

 

I ended up calling 1-800-GOTJUNK.  They came to haul away the stuff and it cost me $680.  When it came time to pay, they had one of those payment apps on an IPAD.  In addition to the $680 charge, there was a button for a tip.  Not thinking, I pressed 10% almost automatically.  So I paid a $68 tip to give the people $8000 with of like-new stuff. 

[save the frogs]

11 hours ago, jas007 said:

I ended up calling 1-800-GOTJUNK

there's charities that take furniture in my neck of the woods.

and they have trucks and pick up for free.

but funny story. 

 

[jas007]

3 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

there's charities that take furniture in my neck of the woods.

and they have trucks and pick up for free.

but funny story. 

 

I suppose I could have found someone if I had bothered to look, but, as I said, I wanted out of there ASAP.

 

Another time, when I was in the same city, I needed to get rid of some junk and a car.  For the junk, I found someone on Craigslist who was looking for "donations for charity."  I'm sure that was a scam, but I didn't care. Some people showed up and I gave them everything they could manage to take, for free.  

 

As for the car?  I put an ad on Craigslist.  I sold a car worth thousands for less than $1000.  Ten seconds after I posted the ad, my inbox was filled with offers. I must have had 50 responses in one minute. I sold the car to the first guy whose response I opened . They couldn't get to my place quick enough. 

 

I was out of there that same day.  

[save the frogs]

11 hours ago, jas007 said:

They couldn't get to my place quick enough. 

 

I used Facebook Marketplace to get rid of my crap.

Some stuff I sold, but it's very time-consuming so I gave some stuff away for free.

 

And when you give stuff for free, some people will resell it. They're pro scavengers who make a side hustle with Marketplace. One woman I gave sth away to came to pick it up in a Mercedes ..

 

[Yellowtail]

4 hours ago, FruitPudding said:

 

Easily with tips.

 

They were making 15,000-20,000 (including tips) when I first arrived back in 2009.

 

Thai massage too, down Sukhumvit. It's pretty easy to get that even without happy endings. They'll make 50k plus if they do happy endings. 

 

Hell, where I live I saw an advertisement for a barista in a little gas station coffee shop offering 13,000-18,000 a month......and I live almost an hour from Sukhumvit, not far from the edge of Bangkok.

I doubt very much typical wait-staff in Bangkok are making 25K a month with tips. Perhaps at high end or very busy tourist places, but that is certainly not the rule. 

 

Happy-ending massage joints sure, but I thought we were talking about restaurants. How many customers a day does the average massage gal get? 

 

Minimum wage for a full-time employee in Bangkok is B11,160++. 

 

4 hours ago, FruitPudding said:

From my experience they just bring food when it's ready without trying to serve the whole table together.

 

Often someone is sitting there 10 mins (maybe longer) without food while others eat.

In the US? No, that is absolutely not typical. 

4 hours ago, FruitPudding said:

Why should society expect you to pay more regardless of service standards?

You said: "I understand the concept of wanting to tip, but being socially expected to do it is just dumb.". When I asked why, you answered:  "Why should society expect you to pay more regardless of service standards?" which does not answer the question. 

 

The whole concept of tipping is to reward good service. Tipping the same regardless of the quality of the service is stupid. 

4 hours ago, FruitPudding said:

Many people feel obliged to leave something regardless of service standards and American restaurants often demand a tip, I think.

That there are weak people that feel obliged to leave something regardless of the quality of service is ruining the whole concept. 

 

And no, it is not common that restaurants in the US compel tipping, but many do when you have a large group. Again, this ruins the whole concept.

4 hours ago, FruitPudding said:

There's a lot of social shame not leaving a tip in the West.

 

Makes no sense. 

 

I feel no shame when I am poorly served and leave no tip, nor do I look down on people that don't tip.

 

People that tip poor service are stupid, and it's not fair to the hardworking staff the provide good service. 

 

[jas007]

2 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

 

I used Facebook Marketplace to get rid of my crap.

Some stuff I sold, but it's very time-consuming so I gave some stuff away for free.

 

And when you give stuff for free, some people will resell it. They're pro scavengers who make a side hustle with Marketplace. One woman I gave sth away to came to pick it up in a Mercedes ..

 

I'm sure that's true.  Professionals.  And don't forget the scam artists.  They'll answer an ad and pretend they're "out of town" and can't pick up the item immediately, but they want to buy whatever you're selling, no questions asked.  They'll even send you the money and you can refund any excess, once shipping charges are calculated.  Every single one of those guys is a scam artist.  

[Yellowtail]

29 minutes ago, jas007 said:

Funny story for anyone interested:

 

Almost three years ago, I was stuck in the USA because of COVID, but travel restrictions to Thailand were finally lifted, my lease was just about up, and I wanted out of there ASAP.

 

I was in a rented condo and had purchased some things.  A couch, coffee table, dining table and chairs, a nice recliner, a big TV., a computer desk, etc. I sold my stereo equipment - that was easy, because I buy good stuff in the first place.  But no one wanted the other stuff in the apartment, even for free.  My friends there had enough of their own junk, I guess. Stuff I paid over $8,000 for I couldn't give away. 

 

I ended up calling 1-800-GOTJUNK.  They came to haul away the stuff and it cost me $680.  When it came time to pay, they had one of those payment apps on an IPAD.  In addition to the $680 charge, there was a button for a tip.  Not thinking, I pressed 10% almost automatically.  So I paid a $68 tip to give the people $8000 with of like-new stuff. 

I got in stuck in the US for about five months with covid. Took my wife and boy, they got out and I didn't.  stayed at a Hampton Inn in Norco, CA. 

 

I had a bunch of crap stored at a buddy's house. He was remodeling so I sold almost all of it on eBay, and netted about $7K while I was there...

[Yellowtail]

7 minutes ago, jas007 said:

I'm sure that's true.  Professionals.  And don't forget the scam artists.  They'll answer an ad and pretend they're "out of town" and can't pick up the item immediately, but they want to buy whatever you're selling, no questions asked.  They'll even send you the money and you can refund any excess, once shipping charges are calculated.  Every single one of those guys is a scam artist.  

Drag it to the curb and put gratis sign on it. If that doesn't work, put a $50 sign on it and someone will steal it. 

[jas007]

3 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

I got in stuck in the US for about five months with covid. Took my wife and boy, they got out and I didn't.  stayed at a Hampton Inn in Norco, CA. 

 

I had a bunch of crap stored at a buddy's house. He was remodeling so I sold almost all of it on eBay, and netted about $7K while I was there...

I still have stuff in storage in the US.  The largest POD storage container they make, filled.  Maybe I'll be back there someday. Maybe not. In that case, my brother's little girl can fool with it.  In the meantime, it's costing me $219 a month.  I can't sell the stuff though, as it's too valuable. 

[Yellowtail]

32 minutes ago, jas007 said:

I still have stuff in storage in the US.  The largest POD storage container they make, filled.  Maybe I'll be back there someday. Maybe not. In that case, my brother's little girl can fool with it.  In the meantime, it's costing me $219 a month.  I can't sell the stuff though, as it's too valuable. 

Just give it to your niece and be done with it.

[jas007]

11 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Just give it to your niece and be done with it.

She already has access.  But she seems to live in an alternate universe and wouldn't understand the value right now.  She's not even 30 years old and doesn't understand. She has a good job with an internet startup and lots of money.  But no sense. Some of the artwork in that container needs to go to Sotheby's or Christie's in NYC for auction.  Somewhere in all that junk, there's a hardware wallet with some Bitcoins. 

 

I won't be around to find out what happens, eventually, and maybe that's a good thing.  In a few hundred million years the earth will be burned to a crisp anyway, as the sun expands.  

 

Did you ever see a simulated picture of the Milky Way, with and without Planet Earth? 

[FruitPudding]

2 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

I doubt very much typical wait-staff in Bangkok are making 25K a month with tips. Perhaps at high end or very busy tourist places, but that is certainly not the rule. 

 

They do down Sukhumvit. Not high-end places, just your typical Irish/English/American/Sports pubs.

 

My EX did this work for a decade and still has friends in the bars.

 

2 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Happy-ending massage joints sure, but I thought we were talking about restaurants. How many customers a day does the average massage gal get? 

 

'Non happy ending' massage staff in Bangkok generally get 200 per massage. If each customer tips 100, then it doesn't take that many customers for them to hit 25k a month, probably around 3-4 customers a day (bearing in mind they work 6 days a week).

 

My EX could get around 6 customers a day, but in non-tourist areas, she'd get no tips. However, in tourist areas 100 was a normal tip.

 

Her cousin does happy ending massage in Phuket and makes 50k plus.

[FruitPudding]

3 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

In the US? No, that is absolutely not typical

 

No, in Thailand that is my experience. 

 

You were, I think, comparing service in Thailand to the US. 

 

I'd be surprised if Thailand compares. 

[Yellowtail]

3 minutes ago, FruitPudding said:

 

No, in Thailand that is my experience. 

 

You were, I think, comparing service in Thailand to the US. 

 

I'd be surprised if Thailand compares. 

I said: "Service is usually good, and meals generally come out at the same time in the US."

 

You responded with: "From my experience they just bring food when it's ready without trying to serve the whole table together.

 

Often someone is sitting there 10 mins (maybe longer) without food while others eat."

 

The service in Thailand does not compare. 

 

 

 

[Yellowtail]

21 minutes ago, FruitPudding said:

 

They do down Sukhumvit. Not high-end places, just your typical Irish/English/American/Sports pubs.

 

My EX did this work for a decade and still has friends in the bars.

For every "typical Irish/English/American/Sports pub" there are probably 500 restaurants where the staff make next to nothing on tips. Again, I thought we were talking about typical restaurant wait-staff, which you claimed make 25K.

21 minutes ago, FruitPudding said:

'Non happy ending' massage staff in Bangkok generally get 200 per massage. If each customer tips 100, then it doesn't take that many customers for them to hit 25k a month, probably around 3-4 customers a day (bearing in mind they work 6 days a week).

 

My EX could get around 6 customers a day, but in non-tourist areas, she'd get no tips. However, in tourist areas 100 was a normal tip.

 

Her cousin does happy ending massage in Phuket and makes 50k plus.

Six two-hour massages day, six days a week? 

 

I thought we were talking about typical situations, not about busy tourist shops. Again, for every massage joint in a busy tourist area, there are 500 normal shops. 

 

 

 

[FruitPudding]

49 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

For every "typical Irish/English/American/Sports pub" there are probably 500 restaurants where the staff make next to nothing on tips. Again, I thought we were talking about typical restaurant wait-staff, which you claimed make 25K.

 

25k including tips is typical for areas like Sukhumvit, Silom, etc. etc. where staff are tipped reasonably well.

 

In areas where they don't get tips, they just earn their basic salary.

 

This whole thread is about tipping. What's hard to understand?

 

I am not talking about areas with just Thai customers, cos they won't get tips.

 

49 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Six two-hour massages day, six days a week? 

 

I thought we were talking about typical situations, not about busy tourist shops. Again, for every massage joint in a busy tourist area, there are 500 normal shops. 

 

I certainly didn't say "six 2 hour massages." I said my EX does up to 6 massages a day. There are one hour massages available too, you know.

 

And I said they generally get paid 200 baht per massage - and with a 100 baht tip - they don't need that many to get 25k a month, just 3-4 customers a day, 6 days a week.

 

And yes, it is "typical" for massage staff to work 6 days a week, as with bar staff, and restaurant staff, too.

 

Try working on your basic math and reading comprehension.