Latest / World Ablaze with George Fontes / 8 - NEW YEAR SAME YOU AND TIP CULTURE

Transcript

8 - NEW YEAR SAME YOU AND TIP CULTURE · World Ablaze with George Fontes

0:00
Download Whiskey Hell Podcast.
0:02
We call attention to the mainstream media narratives weekly
0:05
in hopes that you'll have fun with how ridiculous the news really is.
0:09
We don't want to change your mind.
0:11
We just want to give you perspective so that you can choose more wisely
0:14
and be more aware.
0:15
Couple that with great craft beer, hilarious stories,
0:18
deep thoughts, and real conversations.
0:20
We know you're going to enjoy this.
0:23
Download Whiskey Hell Podcast anywhere you find outstanding shows.
0:30
Vodafone Business. Together we can.
1:00
At Birra Moretti, our passion for brewing has been transforming a few simple ingredients
1:17
into a beer of unmistakable quality and taste since 1859.
1:24
Birra Moretti, brewed with passion.
1:27
Get the facts. Be drink-aware. Visit drinkaware.ie.
1:51
Well, well, well. Happy New Year, Happy New Year.
1:53
and damn are we so glad to get 2023 behind all of us.
2:01
And that being said, I am going ahead and pop this cork and toast with you.
2:08
There we go.
2:09
And cheers to you.
2:10
And I'm going to have a little sip of this lovely champagne.
2:14
Here we go.
2:16
Mmm.
2:17
Great.
2:20
Again, Happy New Year.
2:21
and we're going to start the show with new year same you
2:25
like what does that mean it's always new you
2:28
right new year new you no this is new year same you
2:33
statistics have shown and studies have
2:36
been done I believe back in 2016
2:40
I say only 9% of Americans that make resolutions complete them
2:44
and in fact research goes on to show
2:49
that 23% of people quit their resolutions by the end of the first week
2:52
and 43% quit by the end of January.
2:57
So what's the phenomenon behind that? Well,
3:00
I'm going to give you my thoughts and opinions on this. Here's the thing.
3:07
As human beings,
3:08
we don't like change. Let's just be honest. Change
3:13
is hard. Making a resolution to become a different person or do something different
3:17
is. It's great. It's good to proclaim, but change is hard. And the problem is most of us enjoy
3:25
the comforts of the bubble that we have created. To get outside of that, to step outside the door
3:32
of the walls that we put up around us that make us feel safe, and to actually challenge ourselves
3:38
to do something better or different is hard. And we don't like that. You see, once we get into a
3:47
routine and we settle into what we feel comfortable with, most of us don't want to be challenged.
3:53
We tell ourselves we do, but most of us don't. And I believe that's why many of us fall short.
3:58
It's not that we don't want to change. It's not that maybe you don't want to be this new person.
4:03
It's just, it's a struggle. And the other problem that we have, especially in today's times,
4:09
is everybody wants things to happen now. Everything is instant. Instagram, Instapot,
4:15
instant coffee you get the idea everything's instant we don't like to put the work in most
4:21
people don't like to put the work in anyway and there lies the issue one of the issues
4:26
but i think there's something deeper some basic things like oh i'm going to vow to
4:33
change my hair color or you know the one that hardly anyone ever achieves lose weight
4:39
these are just common easy things uh that we can say we're gonna you know do
4:45
But, for example, losing weight goes back to comfort and habits
4:51
and the fact that we're comfortable with those habits.
4:54
The actual work that it takes to lose weight is hard,
4:59
and there goes back to what I said earlier about we don't really like change
5:03
because change is hard.
5:05
But how about this?
5:08
How about the fact that maybe sometimes the resolutions that we proclaim
5:12
that we're going to achieve aren't really what we want.
5:17
And this is one of the reasons I say New Year's Same You.
5:21
You're going to stay the same person because it's not just comfortable to you,
5:24
but you feel it's comfortable to everybody else as well.
5:28
They accept what you have become, even if it's not really who you are.
5:33
You've gone so long suppressing who you really want to be or really, again, are.
5:39
the person that you put in the closet and don't show to anybody because you don't want to make
5:46
others uncomfortable but you're miserable and you're not moving forward in life enjoying yourself
5:53
for who you are maybe it's time that instead of proclaiming some new you know goal like i'm going
6:03
run a marathon or I'm going to clean my closet out or whatever the hell it is. Why don't you take
6:10
a moment to really reflect on you, what you really, really want, what really makes you happy?
6:18
That can be a career, that can be a relationship, that can just be your existence, to be quite
6:23
honest And why not pursue that and really become who you are Because we only have as far as we know on this earth we have one life Why waste it Every year that goes by is a year you don go back or I sorry it a year you
6:40
don't get back, and you're never going to get that time back. Why sacrifice any more of your time
6:47
being something you really are not.
6:50
I say this year, in 2024,
6:53
be the you that you really are.
6:57
Not what people expect,
6:58
not what makes you comfortable,
7:01
but be the you that makes you happy
7:04
and makes you feel good about yourself
7:05
because that is the real you.
7:08
And in 2024, I say let's just be the real you.
7:14
No more bullshit.
7:15
No more hiding.
7:17
No more trying to live up to expectations.
7:20
Just be your fucking self.
7:23
And I say cheers to that.
7:26
And I will take another sip.
7:32
Okay, so the last show of 2023,
7:39
I was a bit criticized for being too political
7:41
and a little bit too hard,
7:43
but I'm not going to apologize for that.
7:46
listen, this show is really about things that affect our lives, you know, whether it be in the
7:52
USA or around the world. And unfortunately, hardcore politics and what goes on in the
8:00
political realm literally does affect us and it is a part of our lives. And choosing to ignore it
8:05
or try to brush it under the rug doesn't make it better. Trying to stay ignorant of something
8:12
is really not becoming a better human being,
8:16
nor is it making you a contributing member of this society.
8:23
So that being said, I'm going to dial it back for the second half of the show.
8:27
I'm going to talk about something that is a part of our culture.
8:30
I'm going to talk about tip culture.
8:32
Tipping really started as a way to reward for service,
8:37
basically became something that was the norm in the 1900s back in Europe
8:42
and it really had more to do with the aristocracy
8:44
and where they can gain more favor for better service from servants or providers.
8:51
And also was a way to, at the time, you know, get the inside info.
8:58
So it was more of an exchange for not just service,
9:02
but oftentimes to get that little inside info from the other,
9:08
about the competing aristocrats within your circle, for example.
9:13
It was really all for social status.
9:16
But all in all, it was really, again, you tipped for a good service,
9:21
or it was also incentive that if you tipped well and continued to tip well,
9:25
you would continue to get great service.
9:28
And you're raising the bar of expectation.
9:31
In turn, it did motivate those within a service industry
9:34
or providing services to provide a better service
9:37
because they knew they would be rewarded for it.
9:39
But fast forward into good old USA, the United States of America,
9:45
and, well, quite frankly, how the employers and corporations
9:51
were able to take advantage of tip culture to their benefit.
9:55
In the 1960s, U.S. Congress decided to pass something called a tipping credit.
10:02
and a tipping credit is really a way for the employer to offset their minimum
10:11
wage requirements to an employee okay and what that means for example in today's times i believe
10:19
the minimum wage is 725 now for anybody within um that has a job in an industry where tips are the
10:28
And a great example has always been a waiter, waitress, you know, in the service industry where mostly it has to do with restaurants or food service.
10:36
It was understood that you're going to get tips and they would assume that, well, you're allowed to.
10:45
Well, it wasn't assumed. It was more like they're telling the employer you're allowed to take into account that because the employee will be getting tips,
10:52
that it will help contribute to the minimum wage that they would need to earn.
10:59
So that allowed the employer to take what was called a tip credit.
11:04
For example, let's say Arizona.
11:09
So the combined amount of tips plus minimum wage that the employer is responsible for would add up to $1,385.
11:18
now $13.85 would be the combined of tips
11:24
plus whatever the minimum payment the employer
11:28
will make after their tip credit in the case of Arizona
11:31
the employer only has to pay $10.85 per hour out of that
11:35
because they're getting a tip credit of $3 per hour
11:40
which is what they estimate someone would make in tips
11:45
going to Delaware
11:48
it's a little more off putting
11:51
in the fact that employers
11:52
only require to pay
11:54
$2.23
11:56
an hour
11:58
and they get
12:01
a tip credit of $9.52
12:03
for the combined
12:05
tip and minimum
12:06
payment
12:09
from the employer
12:11
which will equal
12:12
$11.75 total
12:14
it's also important to note that there is in many states and also according to the minimum wage for
12:24
tipped employees definition and this is from the u.s department of labor that the definition of a
12:31
tipped employee by minimum tips received monthly unless otherwise specifies is more than 30 so
12:38
So if you as a tipped employee make only $30 a month in tips,
12:44
you will fall under the category of where an employer can apply the tip credit.
12:53
So even if there is a minimum wage for everyone else,
12:56
that in that particular state you in If the state allows an employer to take advantage of this tip credit situation here you won get that an hour plus tips No no You going
13:14
to get whatever the offset is from your employer, and then you're going to make up the difference
13:23
basically by the fact that they assume you're going to get X amount of dollars per hour in tips
13:29
anyway. Kind of bullshit. And really, this is why it's so important to tip people that work as a
13:38
waiter or waitress or, you know, anybody that really isn't a service industry, but where this
13:43
gets, and this is a whole conversation that I would like to dive into more. I think we need to
13:48
abolish this bullshit. I think the reality is, you know, don't put the burden on your customers
13:54
to make up the wages for your employees to provide a service that you in fact need for you to even
14:00
stay in business. You should be able to pay everybody a fair wage and allow them to keep
14:08
their tips, which honestly is the case in many states. For example, Alaska, California, Guam,
14:16
Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon. Now, Montana has something where if the business
14:25
with gross annual sales of over $110,000, they have to pay in $9.95 an hour. But the business
14:32
not covered by the Fair Labor Standard Act with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less only has
14:37
to pay in four dollars an hour okay but all in all the like uh california 15.50 an hour is a minimum
14:47
wage that's what everybody has to pay regardless even in the service industry and whatever you make
14:52
on top of that for your tips you keep so if you're um in the service industry in california for
14:57
example 15.50 an hour isn't anything for you to get by on believe me it doesn't pay for anything
15:02
in California. But at least you get that as a steady source of income to build upon your total
15:08
income with your tips. Now that makes it to where you can get ahead and you can add, let's say you're
15:17
making $100 to $200 a night. You're working three nights, you know, within that week, $200, $600
15:25
in tips plus whatever your $1550 is for those hours. Or you may even work a 40-hour schedule.
15:30
You're just in a really busy restaurant that's pretty well known.
15:35
And even if they just paid the minimum wage for 40 hours, you're still working, let's say,
15:40
it's a five days a week schedule.
15:42
You're getting $200 a night.
15:44
You're probably getting more than that.
15:46
But you're making an extra $1,000 a week just in tips on top of your $15.50 an hour.
15:51
This is just an example.
15:52
That's where it seems a lot more fair and easier for someone to get by and make a living
15:57
in that particular industry.
15:58
and believe it or not some people in the restaurant or many people in the restaurant
16:01
industries love what they do and they like being in that particular industry
16:04
but they shouldn't be penalized for that especially in a position where they have to
16:10
wait hand on hand and foot on you take whatever shit that they take from pretty much asshole
16:16
customers not everybody is you know many people i think are very respectful of others that are in
16:21
that position of being a server i mean hell i was a waiter i was a waiter for for uh for a few years
16:28
I worked at a Denny's and I'll just say that for you to get, get ahead, you really had to
16:34
put on the charm and hope, you know, bust your ass to make a living. Um, you know,
16:39
I was going to school at the time, so it wasn't really, you know, what I was going to build my
16:42
career on. But at the same time, I'll be damned if I was just going to make the minimum wage over
16:46
there. I would easily walk away some nice two, $300 a night easily, sometimes five, you know,
16:53
at a Denny's, which was pretty good. But just saying, you know, it's more palatable to be able
16:59
to make tips plus, not make up the difference based on what the federal government allows an
17:07
employer to do. And then that takes away from all your efforts, I believe. Okay. But let's fast
17:13
forward to where tip culture is being applied to areas that it doesn't need to be applied to.
17:18
for example service uh service at a fast food restaurant as in you know where it's really just
17:26
window service no one's waiting on you they're taking an order putting it in putting on a counter
17:29
you grab it there's nothing going on there drive-through okay let's take starbucks for as an
17:36
example i had some more time off over the holiday basically just because you know generally that's
17:41
what happens around that time and i got to get more drive-thru coffees you know and whatnot you
17:49
know that's how we all are we're on the go shopping and whatnot starbucks i can't get over the fact
17:55
that every time you go through a drive-thru now you place the order it's a fucking drive-thru
18:00
there's a person on a microphone you tell them what you want they're not waiting on any hand and
18:06
foot they're not coming to your table wiping your table down giving a glass of water chit chat and
18:10
none of that bullshit. Nothing, going anything above and beyond pressing a few keystrokes into
18:17
a system so that it tells the barista which coffee to make, and then they hand it to you.
18:24
But the first thing that they want to do when you pull out your debit card, credit card,
18:29
you know, whatever form of payment, is they want to, first off, ask you, oh, it's going to present
18:37
you an option. Choose the best one that fits you. As in, choose what tip you want to give us.
18:45
First off, you didn't do anything to earn a tip. You're not doing anything extra and you're not
18:50
even doing anything to where you have to interact with me the whole time. You're literally in a
18:57
drive-thru handing a coffee why why has it become acceptable for them to try to bully you into tipping
19:10
and make and in our culture we have we have a culture of tipping we're used to it right
19:15
we're used to giving tips for good service and whatnot but at the same time it's it's tipping
19:21
those who we know are working hard for us and that they're going out of their way to literally bring the food to the table.
19:29
Get me extra condiments extra napkins get me you know water spills They there to wipe it up Like there a lot that goes into receiving a tip at a sit down restaurant versus ordering a fucking
19:40
coffee at a drive-thru window and then having the balls to put the customer on the spot and making
19:47
it awkward. Look, the reason I went to drive-thru is because I want it fast. I don't really have
19:52
time to interact. Give me my fucking coffee and move on. You're not there to, to, to try to make
19:57
me feel guilty about whether or not I'm giving you a tip. And by the way, Starbucks kind of
20:03
unionized, I thought. They had some bullshit where they were going ahead and wanted to raise the
20:07
wages because they felt overworked and underappreciated. So they're making more money
20:12
now. And on top of that, they're trying to get you the tip for just handing something through a
20:16
fucking window. The madness has got to stop. And it's not just a Starbucks. There are other places
20:23
that have been doing this as well at a drive-thru. And if it's not a tip jar, it's literally built
20:29
into their payment system. Look, there's time and place. Let's realize where it applies and where
20:37
it doesn't. Okay. Firstly, the fact that people in a service industry have to rely on the tip
20:44
culture of America to even make a living is bullshit. And the fact that employers take
20:50
advantage of this old, you know, this old law and, and basically just, you know, shirk their,
20:59
uh, their, their, um, obligation to pay an employee a fair wage is also bullshit.
21:05
That person's working their ass off being, um, the customer facing person of your business.
21:14
and you don't even have the decency to give them at least the minimum wage,
21:20
which I believe no wager should be working the minimum wage anyway,
21:24
but you dare not even do that.
21:27
And then take the tip credit so that you can offset your obligation
21:32
by paying even less than minimum wage so that you pocket more money and more profit.
21:36
And then on top of that, that person is taxed for that tip
21:39
because now it's considered part of their income anyway.
21:42
I say that we have to change this rule big time. And I think we start holding the employers,
21:50
you know, responsible for it. Maybe we can do a tiered system that, you know, such as what
21:55
Montana does. Like if it's based on, you know, a restaurant makes X amount of dollars a year,
22:00
like less than 110,000. Okay, great. Maybe there's another tier, but at the same time,
22:05
at least, you know, there's, there is a tier and there's options and we know where we're at,
22:09
but to make it to where for example in arkansas you know it's it's supposed to be a combined
22:16
minimum wage plus tips of 11 an hour if you're in arkansas an employer gets a fucking tip credit
22:21
of eight dollars and 37 cents an hour what the fuck they only have to be obligated to pay two
22:28
dollars and 63 fucking cents an hour the employer because it's assumed that you're going to be
22:34
making $8.37 an hour in tips so that you can make a combined wage of $11 an hour? Well, fuck that.
22:42
That is some bullshit. So all I have to say, Starbucks, no, fuck off. Don't even try to guilt
22:51
me into tipping you. You're at a fucking window. You're not doing anything for me. I'm sorry.
22:57
You're not doing anything different than when I order, um, you know, musical equipment from
23:02
sweet water online and i talked to my rep i mean granted maybe they get a little commission but i
23:08
can order something on amazon for example i'm not pressured to tip the store i bought it from
23:13
what's the difference between that interaction and me going you know venti caramel macchiato
23:20
okay and they reply that'll be 5 75 or whatever and then i go to the window i pay hand over
23:27
the goods. I drive away. There's nothing more to it. Where do I owe you a tip?
23:35
I don't. I literally don't. If you don't like your wages, change it. Most of these jobs are
23:41
supposed to be there for interim anyway. And for those that do have to do those jobs for a living
23:45
due to whatever situation, I get it. I'm sorry. But you still don't get a tip for taking an order
23:52
at a drive-thru. And for those working in the restaurant industry at a sit-down diner,
23:56
I'm sorry employer
23:57
fuck you
23:59
pay them a fair wage
24:00
because you're making money
24:02
off of their back
24:03
and many people say
24:05
well you chose a job
24:07
in many cases yes that is
24:09
there's a lot that goes into the
24:10
to the job that someone has
24:12
you know
24:13
but at the same time
24:14
make it fair
24:15
don't let the
24:17
let's not let the employer
24:19
profit off the hard work
24:22
of that server
24:23
and then allow them
24:25
to take advantage of that server because the federal government says it's okay fuck that it
24:31
shouldn't be okay and it's not okay i say let's be good human beings let's treat everybody respectfully
24:36
and yeah let's do better you america i'm sorry let's abolish tip culture let's make that something
24:45
that we should do in 2024 and let's get rid of tip culture because tip culture is just nothing more
24:54
than a way for the employer to make more money off the backs of the hardworking American.
25:24
Hello, good afternoon, and you're very welcome to Live Line.
25:40
Coming up on the show today, now, I'm going to go straight to you,
25:43
Theresa, Youssef, Michael, that's not your real name,
25:45
who is a contractor, con artist, conservationist, a constitutional scholar,
25:49
also an influencer, Nicki Minaj fan,
25:51
And you want to talk about menopause.
25:53
Men's fashion.
25:54
Prosthetic limbs.
25:55
Live Line with Joe Duffy.
25:58
Conversations that go places.
26:01
RTE Radio 1.
26:02
Weekdays from 1.45.
26:04
Do you think I came up the Liffey on a donut with no sugar?