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Posts by convex  

Joined: 25 Nov 2009 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 28 Nov 2011
Threads: Total: 20 / Live: 2 / Archived: 18
Posts: Total: 3928 / Live: 746 / Archived: 3182 		From: Wroclaw
Speaks Polish?: un poco...wait
Interests: aviation

Displayed posts: 748 / page 22 of 25
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convex   
1 Mar 2010
Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

That would appear to be the position.

Tips are considered income in the US. What is absurd is to expect waitstaff to earn minimum wage plus tips and expect McDonalds employees to earn minimum wage.
convex   
1 Mar 2010
Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

laws shmaws. there are lots of laws convex. countless times I would work a shift and everyone would belly up to the bar to eat and drink while the waitress sat on her hands for the night, resulting in her literally going home earning maybe $12-$14, far below min. wage.

Right, and that is illegal. If you don't decide to pursue legal action when you're getting screwed over, hey, fair enough. The law and the number to call is posted everywhere that minimum wage is paid.

I've also heard about making up the deficit but it doesn't have a sound legal basis.

The employers are responsible for ensuring that the employee is earning at least minimum wage per hour. Tips must be reported. I think if you ask most service staff if they're willing to trade a no tipping policy for minimum wage...well, you probably wouldn't have too many people chose the set wage.

Fuzzy, as a bartender, would you rather work for tips, or minimum wage? What is more beneficial to the average waitstaff?
convex   
1 Mar 2010
Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

Waitstaff in America are on a different pay-scale.

It is illegal in the US to go home with less than federal minimum wage. If the difference is not made up in tips, the employer must close the gap. That's the law. Check out the DOL link.

Now, question remains, did you ever receive total compensation in a pay period that ended up being less than minimum wage?
convex   
1 Mar 2010
Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

Nobody will ever tell you about going home with ten bucks

Let me just ask a quick question here, do you think that most waitstaff make more or less after taxes than a minimum wage job? Would you be happier at a set wage without tips?

Just a little side note, legally, all tipped employees have to make at least minimum wage.

dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.pdf
convex   
1 Mar 2010
Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

Yes I did, and I also know that no one forced that person into that line of work. I also know that quite a few of my friends in Austin go home at night with well over the minimum wage. I also know that roofers don't have to pay 15%. Road crews also don't pay 15%.
convex   
1 Mar 2010
Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

Everyone understands the system. Good service=Good tip. Crappy service=No tip. I have no shame about that at all. You're right, quite a few times, bad service is a result of bad management. Understaffing, etc.

Thing is, I don't only not tip, I don't return. If you're working at a crappy place, go find a better job. That's how it works in other industries, it shouldn't be different in hospitality. And just to put it out there, I tip ridiculously well.
convex   
27 Feb 2010
Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

OK. Admittedly, I am a moron for continuing this, but, forget the fact that I have worked in the service industry for 5 years, from waitress, bartender, to food and beverage manager of a 4 star hotel, and you just "talked" to some people and eat in restauarants... how do you explain the fact that this system allows wait staff to work on salary of one dollar per hour? Or takes taxes on 15% of gross sales?

Here is the problem for me, you're talking about a service fee, we are talking about a bonus for good service. There are restaurants that throw on a service fee now. It's transparent and taxed. Problem solved right? Just post on the door that there is a 15% service fee.
convex   
27 Feb 2010
Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

Dont get me wrong i love US service just that after a while it becomes ohh so tiresome and false. Tips should be earned not expected.

I couldn't agree with you more, which again is why I tip for good service. I like good service. In the US, fake or not, I get good service. The glasses are full, the food comes out in the correct order, that's what I'm paying for. I tip appropriately. I would much rather have that than someone that is getting paid on a non performance basis to just shuttle plates from the kitchen to the table and to maybe collect the check. Chop 30% off the price of the meal, and I will gladly pick up the food from a window. Alternatively, that 30%, I'll gladly pay it if the glasses are full, and the food is delivered on time.

You took that line from Resevoire Dogs hey?

Wow, now that I think about it, I might have. Time for another viewing.
convex   
27 Feb 2010
Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

Its expected in America thats wrong imo.

It's their job to make you want to come back. I can grill a damn fine steak at home, but I pay these people plenty of money for an hour of work. $20 = glasses full, good attitude, and good all around service.... is that too much to ask? Would you rather have some ****** service that just works for minimum wage?

Europe for good service only........

Regardless of where I am, I tip for good service only....
convex   
27 Feb 2010
Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

When you look at a menu in US, teach yourself to automatically add 15% to the prices - it belongs to your server. Tipping for good service is above that.
Admittedly, I don't know how it is in Poland, but in US some tourists, most notably Canadians, are especially loathed by the local service industry. Weather it's for ignorance or penny pinching - it really does not matter.

It's a messed up system, the automatic taxing of presumed tips. Don't blame the Canadians. The majority of Americans work in the service industry, change the laws.

I tip really well for good service, I have no shame in not tipping at all for bad service. I would never, ever, tip just because it is "expected".
convex   
17 Feb 2010
Life / Feeling ashamed of my Polish heritage. [237]

Flat tax, the Slovaks figured that one out. You earn money, you pay taxes. Get rid of deductions, you streamline the system. Just a flat clean 19%.
convex   
17 Feb 2010
Life / Feeling ashamed of my Polish heritage. [237]

Actually I used neither. Forgive me for not treating the forum like an essay

All in favor of "I is" or "I's", please speak up.
convex   
17 Feb 2010
Life / For all the black people living in Warsaw, where do you get your hair cut? [39]

Say you drive a VW, would you take it to a Fiat dealer to get work done? Probably not. Why? I'm sure the Fiat mechanics know how to work on a transmission, they probably also know how to replace a timing chain, but they probably don't do it as well as the VW guys.
convex   
17 Feb 2010
Life / Feeling ashamed of my Polish heritage. [237]

Look at UK/US premiers who just love going to war and lying to their populace...

Yea, Poland is definately already there.
convex   
15 Feb 2010
Real Estate / Apartments too expensive for Poles living in Poland [54]

On the note of Polish mortgages, isn't Poland one of the lowest mortgage takers in Europe? it may have changed but I doubt it.

It does seem low, but growing rapidly.
hypo.org/Content/Default.asp?PageID=202

The following seems to make perfect sense as well:
housingfinance.org/uploads/Publicationsmanager/Poland.pdf

The mortgage debt to GDP ratio is only 4% and the mortgage debt per capita only ZL937 (US$ 256). The low take-up has been related to the relatively high mortgage interest rates, a low demand for long-term, market-priced, loans in circumstances of economic uncertainty, and low housing affordability as a result of low household income and high mortgage rates and construction costs.

It kind of brings together what Avalon has been saying, and what I've been saying :)

I think there will be a huge boom in housing if it becomes more affordable.
convex   
15 Feb 2010
Life / 3 reasons why you hate Poland. [1049]

i hate poland cause they call security or the police when i'm just a bit dosing off or rocking myself in a pub, even though i'm conscious, how does that sound for freedom

Is there anywhere that you can go to sleep in a pub? Is that accepted anywhere?
convex   
15 Feb 2010
Real Estate / Apartments too expensive for Poles living in Poland [54]

I also think this is normal for young people at most times.

Young people yes, but established working middle class?

I think that people here are still not used to having this option yet.

As long as the planning is done with common sense, it shouldn't be a problem. For some reason I see huge housing estates with inadequate connections to the cities..
convex   
15 Feb 2010
Life / 3 reasons why you hate Poland. [1049]

the truth is they don't care much about other people

I don't seem to have a problem, and I know quite a few people on this forum that lead full lives with lots of Polish friends. I think just like anywhere, it's what you make of it.
convex   
14 Feb 2010
History / Polish-German alliance. [489]

Less people means concentration of wealth and less burden on the infrastructure, sounds like a win win...
convex   
14 Feb 2010
Real Estate / Apartments too expensive for Poles living in Poland [54]

Germany has quite a low percentage of home ownership I believe, as renting is far more common there. The French also rent, but if I remeber rightly, there's some sort of social housing scam that's universally accepted there.

We're talking about the half that have mortgages. The percentage of their income that goes to pay the mortgage is much lower than that of Poland.

Scandinavia is an odd example - unlike Brits, living in a flat there is normal and accepted practice for families. The success of commie block building there is one reason that I think property prices are quite low - as well as having far more land than they know what to do with.

With regards to living in a flat, most of Europe thinks that way. Regarding the blocks up north, they're of better quality than the low rise blocks that are being built here :)
convex   
14 Feb 2010
Real Estate / Apartments too expensive for Poles living in Poland [54]

From the site:

Most affordable homes are in private developments. Usually, a percentage of all houses or apartments in a private development are made available to be sold as affordable homes. These are sold at a discount to other houses and apartments in the development.

That usually works, but building low income estates usually doesn't
convex   
14 Feb 2010
Real Estate / Apartments too expensive for Poles living in Poland [54]

The is going to be a new EU law/regulation that will force EU countries with substandard housing to build more social housing, especially in rural areas that have been ignored in the past.

It's a good idea in theory, in practice, you will end up with ghettos outside of the cities. Do you know of any successful government run low income housing projects?

What is so wrong about looking after the people who gave you life and kept you until you reached adulthood.

There's nothing wrong with that, as long as you have the space to do it.

What happens when these "concrete blocks" have to be replaced?

When do they need to be replaced? Panelaks aren't collapsing around us.
convex   
14 Feb 2010
UK, Ireland / Warning to British people visiting Poland!! Don't get drunk and smash the place up! [447]

I honestly haven't heard of any such organ harvesting and if I google it with Poland nothing comes up but I generally don't know anything about this subject.
What makes you say it is rampant?

Haha, you actually googled "organ harvesting poland" because of that post? Did you search for baby smuggling too? I bet you have a weird search history :)
convex   
14 Feb 2010
UK, Ireland / Warning to British people visiting Poland!! Don't get drunk and smash the place up! [447]

it's not the thing - the thing is called 'izba wytrzeźwień' ('sobering clinic') -most of these have gone but some cities kept them - I think Kraków is one of these

i stand by organ harvesting. you know how rampant of a problem it is here. don't try to pretend that organ harvesting doesn't happen here all the time. and baby smuggling too.