Meep! Just cleaned off the bbq for the upcoming grilling season.
3 black widows, 5 miscellaneous spiders. I so have the heebie jeebies! They're all deaded now thanks to the bbq lighter (long handled thingy that shoots awesome flames).

What's given you the heebie jeebies lately?
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 21:31, 44 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

The amount you're expected to tip in the US

(Bazongaloid, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 21:46, Reply)

Well, we did learn on grocery delivery
it's nothing as the drivers aren't allowed to accept tips.
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 21:54, Reply)

But I'm massively against tipping for the sake of it
and I have never ever tipped a barman in my life, and yet according to the smug sounding prick who mods the forum of that website you linked to, this makes me a bad person.
(Bazongaloid, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 21:56, Reply)

Nah, doesn't make you look like a prick.
If you're from a country that's not used to tipping, then you're really not expected to. But if you feel obligated to then that's when you ask a "local" what's expected.

For me, it's all about assimilation. It just.....is....now.
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:13, Reply)

You can thank the taxation laws for that.
Waiters are allowed to be paid less than minimum wage, and are expected to earn at least 10% of what they sell as tips and are taxed on that. Giving a waiter less than 10% actually costs him money for the privilege of serving you.

I can point you to www.waiterrant.net and steer you toward the archives for many discussions of this very subject.
( Wanderer, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 21:59, Reply)

Then why don't they quit and get a minimum wage job?
I'm willing to bet its because they make more than 10% on the majority of customers. I don't tip unless I feel that I have had exceptional service as I know plenty of people working in minimum wage jobs that don't ever have the opportunity for tips. I knew a girl who worked in Pizza Hut who made more in tips than her wages.
( Peej, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:14, Reply)

Because then it would just be someone else in that job.
If the laws were changed so that tipping was eliminated you'd get higher restaurant prices and worse service. Is that desirable?

Look, usually the difference between a 15% tip and a 20-25% tip is maybe five bucks. If you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to eat at a restaurant, especially if a difference of five to ten dollars is going to break you. If you can afford it, why bitch about it?

What I find objectionable are the tip jars starting to pop up at coffee shops and convenience stores, where the employees are paid at least minimum wage. Unless they're doing the same sort of effort that a waiter does for each customer, they don't deserve it. Waiters work pretty fucking hard- I remember all too well my days of serving tables. Believe me, they earn that couple of bucks.
( Wanderer, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:25, Reply)

Tipping is just not heard of in the UK,
therefore we're not used to it and don't agree with it - it's nothing against American culture, it's just "not the done thing" and you know how us Brits are - everything is proper and in its proper order and place.

Now, of course, I'm used to tipping and when I go to other countries I find it hard not to - and a lot of my American friends say the same thing.

I figure if you're on vacation here from a country that doesn't tip, you're not obligated to, and like I said above, if you do feel obligated to then just ask someone about protocol.
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:37, Reply)

When in Rome...
Personally I try to find out things about the culture of a place before I go there, and tipping is something that's a widely publicized difference between the US and elsewhere. The tipping guidelines you linked in that other site were pretty decent, I thought. It's really not difficult to grasp, yet many take it as a personal affront when they're expected to conform to this particular norm.

And yes, if you stiff a waiter because tipping just isn't done where you're from, and it ends up costing the waiter money, that is really a dick move. Sorry, but there it is.
( Wanderer, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:49, Reply)

I understand that,
but it's not a personal affront to the wait staff.
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:51, Reply)

I agree, it's not the waiters fault the US has such an appaling system
It's just astounding that collectively people accept it. There was an outcry in the UK when it was brought to peoples attention that companies were using tips to make up minimum wage, and the law was (or possibly is on the way to) being changed to stop it.
(Bazongaloid, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:52, Reply)

I think it's a dick move to not pay them at least minimum wage in the first place
I tip when it's required, but I'm not going to pay over the odds just because someone landed a shit job and needs me to make up his salary.
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:52, Reply)

That may be
but that's the way it's currently set up, and there isn't enough pressure on Washington to get the labor laws about waiting tables changed. The system is there and will stay there until the pressure is great for it to change. I don't see that happening soon.
( Wanderer, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 23:07, Reply)

Well I'm still not going to participate in it unless I feel it's necessary. You don't tip people at garages or in shops, so why should waiting staff be treated differently?
If they don't like it, fuck off and get another job.
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 23:18, Reply)

For many, that's the best job they can get.
Personally I learned another trade so I could get out of that racket, but for a young person without an education frequently that's all they can manage to get. The labor laws are written in such a way as to rape those who don't get good tips.

If a teacher complains that she's not paid enough, should she also be told to fuck off and find a better paying job? Or should she be compensated more? How about the guy who hauls trash? Should he too be told to fuck off? How about the cleaning crew at your office?

If no one waited on tables, who would serve you? How would the restaurants operate? Would they all become self-serve places like McDonald's? Would that be good?
( Wanderer, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 23:26, Reply)

Also, I take great offence at the assertion that
if I can afford it I shouldn't bitch, what a pathetic attitude to have. You're saying if you can afford to get ripped off then you should get ripped off, if you can afford to replace your stuff, you should't care if it gets stolen etc. etc.
(Bazongaloid, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:55, Reply)

Different circumstances.
Tipping is open and obvious. Standard is 15%, bare minimum is 10%, and anything more is rewarding good service. One should figure in a tip as part of the cost of eating at a restaurant.

Being ripped off is being deceived. You don't know that it's coming. Wholly different ballgame.

I stand by my statement: if tipping a waiter costs too much for your comfort, you shouldn't be eating at the restaurant. Restaurants are a luxury, not a necessity. If I'm so broke that five dollars is going to make a real difference to me, I'll go to a grocery store and buy food there.
( Wanderer, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 23:05, Reply)

It's not that you need a law against tipping
It's making it the law that minimum wage means minimum wage, not expecting the customer to make up the money you aren't prepared ot pay your staff.

In the UK we have minimum wage that you have to pay everyone, including waiting staff, and our restaurant prices aren't unbearable and the service is I'm sure just as good as the US.

I'm less against tipping in restaurants, especially for good service, it's tipping in bars that is ridiculous. The barman is paid to give me the drink I want, why should I pay him extra for doing his job?

And before you ask, yes, I have been a barman.
(Bazongaloid, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:44, Reply)

I see it from both sides.
I worked bar for about 6 years in the UK, and if someone bought me a drink it was a nice little bonus - usually the quid goes in the pocket (depending on policy). No big deal.

Here though, it's a different culture (what was the saying...two worlds divided by a common language?) and mentality. The majority of immigrants just assimilate...it is what it is..to me, it's no longer a big deal, it just is.
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:49, Reply)

This is the problem really
people just accept it without question.
(Bazongaloid, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:53, Reply)

On the flip side,
how do you feel about immigrants to the UK that try to change "how the norm" is?

It's swings and roundabouts.
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:55, Reply)

Immigration is central to "British" norms.
Look at curry, but I'm not suggesting that this should be driven by immigrants, I would expect people born and bred in the US to have the brain power to try and fix clearly broken systems.
(Bazongaloid, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:56, Reply)

Fair enough, but it is what it is.
Anyway, this thread had nothing to do with tipping. What about the black widows!
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:58, Reply)

I don't like spiders
in Australia I saw a Huntsman about 7 inches across (and that's a small one) run behind a picture frame. I made someone else take it outside and get rid of it.
(Bazongaloid, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:59, Reply)

Gayer
Pfft, I'd have shit myself and run out of the house screaming
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 23:04, Reply)

I was on my patio making
quite "yelp" noises....then when I turned the flame on I was THE TERMINATOR!
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 23:05, Reply)

Oh, and sorry - I know how you feel about animals,
but black widows are just fucking evil creatures
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 23:06, Reply)

I wouldn't hesitate in nuking it. They're toxic and shit. Very different to feesh.

( fuck shit up the best you never had, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 23:20, Reply)

The biggest case of the creeps lately
came when I fell on my back and tried to move and felt the broken bones in my ankle shifting.

I did manage to not scream or vomit, but it was a bad moment.
( Wanderer, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:01, Reply)

Oh, ow!
You ok?
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:14, Reply)

Heh. No, not by a long shot.
My ankle is swollen enough that I'm on orders to rest with it elevated for another week. They will then evaluate if the swelling has gone down enough to perform surgery to install a metal plate in my ankle.

Best case scenario: I will be able to walk on my own again in about three months. Until then I answer to the name of Peg Leg.
( Wanderer, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:17, Reply)

Jeez. I'm sorry.
I suffer chronic pain in my knees and hips, and so I can kind of understand what you're going through - especially when it's that bad that I have to use a wheelchair. Talk about feeling like a mong!
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:20, Reply)

Yeah.
The best part is trying to get in and out of the shower. I can't put weight on the injured foot, so I have to hang onto something and hop over the edge of the shower stall. Coming out onto the bathmat is fine, but hopping into a wet shower with a slippery tile floor is scary stuff.

I'm installing grab bars tonight, when my son gets home with them.
( Wanderer, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:27, Reply)

Grip bars are so all of the win.
When I moved into this place, I specifically asked for a downstairs apartment and mentioned my disability. They actually gave me a disabled (wheelchair user) persons apartment initially, but I asked for a regular one with slight modifications to the bathroom - I might be slightly crippled but I sure as shit wasn't taking an apartment from someone who needs it more than me.

They installed grip bars for me, and laid non-slip stuff in the bathtub so I could easily get in and out of the shower, all at no extra cost.
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:33, Reply)

The good thing is
that this is temporary. I'll install the grab bar on the outside of the shower, and when I no longer need it I'll patch the screw holes. Inside the shower I have two of those suction cup type grab bars, so they're not permanent either.

That said, it's pissing me off to go from being an active person to having to sit inside all day, especially just as the weather's getting nice. And it's pissing me off to have to ask people for help all the time when I'm normally the one helping everyone else.
( Wanderer, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:42, Reply)

I'm assuming you're in the US.
Whereabouts? Or are you a little further up beyond the border?
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:43, Reply)

Just do what the docs say.
That was part of my downfall. I spent too long fighting the pain before I succumbed to tests.....turns out I've had arthritis since I was about 12 and I'm now 35 and am still putting off the knee replacement surgery. Meh, while I can still walk for the most part (anything over a mile or standing in line requires a cane - Vegas, sometimes the mall etc requires a wheelchair) I'm going to continue putting it off.
I can always fish sitting down!
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:46, Reply)

I will do exactly as told, believe me.
When it comes to an injury to a joint, you can't be too careful. Doing anything that might possibly aggravate the problem can and probably will have lifelong repercussions in the form of joint pain and less than stellar performance of the joint.

Were it an elbow or a wrist or something, that would be bad enough- but an ankle that has to support your weight is a whole different matter.
( Wanderer, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:52, Reply)

Yup, and make sure
you get plenty of physical therapy afterwards.
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 23:03, Reply)

I'll find out what the therapy is
and then do it myself- I can't afford the extra treatment. It's not covered under my health care.
( Wanderer, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 23:08, Reply)

My regular doctor
has a therapy clinic, it's something like $25 a week up to 3 times a week and it's pretty good. Maybe you have something like that where you are?
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 23:11, Reply)

Not sure.
I went to the community hospital because of my minimal health coverage. I'm sure that after they slice me up and bolt me together they'll have recommendations.

In any case, I'm going to be following the doctors' orders to the fucking letter.
( Wanderer, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 23:18, Reply)

*flaunts free healthcare*

( weaver., Wed 24 Mar 2010, 9:21, Reply)

Just so I'm clear about this,,,
Americans who work in the service industry need to MTFU and spiders are either dead scarey or gay, depending?

Owt else I've missed?
( JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 23:36, Reply)