What is the best chain fast food restaurant?

[payn]

Iirc from the news, service fees were used in some in cities that passed increased minimum wage or other requirements to indicate to the customer that it wasn't that they were charging "more for the food" but because "the city is making us". As if the customers don't realize that the usual charge isn't just for the food, but also for the employees (and not paying them dirt hopefully).

I can imagine some places wanting to put the extra costs of inflatoin or whatnot off as a service fee instead of, for example, preinting new menus.

In any case, I'm guessing that the paying of the employees is pretty much always passed on to the customers. It's just a matter of how much extra profit for the owner that passing on is mingled with.

I want the practice squashed because I know folks will play a game of "they make us do these fees" while also increasing the prices of the food.

 

[R_J_K75]

Iirc from the news, service fees were used in some in cities that passed increased minimum wage or other requirements to indicate to the customer that it wasn't that they were charging "more for the food" but because "the city is making us". As if the customers don't realize that the usual charge isn't just for the food, but also for the employees (and not paying them dirt hopefully).

I can imagine some places wanting to put the extra costs of inflatoin or whatnot off as a service fee instead of, for example, preinting new menus.

In any case, I'm guessing that the paying of the employees is pretty much always passed on to the customers. It's just a matter of how much extra profit for the owner that passing on is mingled with.

AFAIK in NY wait staff is paid a minimal wage, under minimum wage, and it is expected that the difference will be made up in customer tips. I'm sure you are correct that the customer always bared the brunt of the wait staff cost in some way, but I think that owners exploiting that to increase profit is unethical if they are not passing that profit onto the wait staff.

 

[Mannahnin]

Red Wine Vinegar sounds good, never thought of that I'll have to try that next time I make sauce. You have to play to the room, if they don't like them hot then you have a harder job to make them tasty as opposed to face melting. When it comes to making my own wings I'm my worst enemy, I don't like wings to be super-hot or spicy but it's hard to find that line sometimes.

I always season my wings ahead of baking them. I season them with olive oil then put them in a 350-degree F oven for 30-45 minutes. Then I sauce them.

Yup; I normally season them, oven-bake them crispy and then toss in sauce to coat.

 

[R_J_K75]

Yup; I normally season them, oven-bake them crispy and then toss in sauce to coat.

I own a Ninja toaster oven, they are great for making wings. Takes less than 2 minutes to heat and you can bake probably about 15-20 wings at a time in about half hour, them air broil them for about 2-5 minutes to crisp them up. I barely use my oven anymore. They are great for re-heating food and a ton of other things. I have one of their air fryers too but almost never use it. I highly recommend them as they are very versatile.

https://www.ninjakitchen.com/zidSP101

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

AFAIK in NY wait staff is paid a minimal wage, under minimum wage, and it is expected that the difference will be made up in customer tips. I'm sure you are correct that the customer always bared the brunt of the wait staff cost in some way, but I think that owners exploiting that to increase profit is unethical if they are not passing that profit onto the wait staff.

Quick elaboration on these points-

1. There is a minimum wage, and a minimum "tipped" wage. A worker eligible to receive tips can be paid $2.13 an hour less than the minimum wage. However, if they do not receive that amount (or more) in tips, the employer is required to make that amount up.

2. "Service charges" are tricky, and there are different state laws regarding them. I can't comment on all of them, but the important takeaway is this- unless you are in a very small number of states (such as New York), there is no requirement that service charges go to staff. That's right; not even the service charges that get added to large parties. So in most places, you literally will have no idea where the service charge is going, and it might just be going straight to the restaurant's owners to do whatever they want with it.

 

[R_J_K75]

1. There is a minimum wage, and a minimum "tipped" wage. A worker eligible to receive tips can be paid $2.13 an hour less than the minimum wage. However, if they do not receive that amount (or more) in tips, the employer is required to make that amount up.

Im not familiar with the actual law in NYS, but I didn't know that employers are required to make up the difference, which may or may not be the case here.

2. "Service charges" are tricky, and there are different state laws regarding them. I can't comment on all of them, but the important takeaway is this- unless you are in a very small number of states (such as New York), there is no requirement that service charges go to staff. That's right; not even the service charges that get added to large parties. So in most places, you literally will have no idea where the service charge is going, and it might just be going straight to the restaurant's owners to do whatever they want with it.

I should have worded my post a little differently. I understand that owners have overhead, have to pay staff, etc. and of course make a profit. I should have said..."but I think that owners exploiting that to increase profit is unethical if they are not passing SOME of that profit onto the wait staff."

When you go out to dinner you're paying for convenience, the food and the overall experience. I always make sure I have enough money for the food, drinks and to leave a good tip and a cab or Uber if I've drank too much. Otherwise, I don't bother going out to eat if I have to worry about affording it, but I only go out to eat at a "fine dining" establishment maybe 3-4 times a year.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

California there is only one minimum wage, no special "discount wage" for tip earners

 

[Bohandas]

California there is only one minimum wage, no special "discount wage" for tip earners

That's as it should be. I don't know why so many other states do it differently

 

[Clint_L]

That's as it should be. I don't know why so many other states do it differently

I think it’s the same across Canada. Minimum tipped wage sounds like just another way to exploit already low paid workers. Here in BC the minimum wage is $16.75, which is still well below the minimum living wage of around $23 (i.e. how much you would actually need to earn to live independently in an average Canadian city). In Victoria most businesses start at $20 for an entry level job at McDonalds, Walmart, etc.

A recent change has been that the same minimum wage applies regardless of age; there used to be a lower minimum wage for those under 18.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I've almost never reduced a tip for service in the US, it really has to be clearly intentionally crappy service from the actual wait staffer and at an expensive restaurant for me to consider reducing a tip.

I’ve done it once. Left a penny tip after an hotel’s Easter brunch because of the way we were treated at the end of our meal.

Back in the late 1980s, I invited 3 friends to the brunch, and we got the last reservation slot. It wasn’t big- a single room about the size of a medium-sized restaurant- but it was nice. We had a good time up until we noticed we were the last table, and decided to get our desserts.

We came back to the table, and found it had been bussed. Not only that, the ladies’ purses had been picked up and taken to the register.

To be 100% clear, we were never out of their sight. We were clearly visible at the dessert table from the register, and our table was in an unobstructed straight line between those points. We were 15-20’ away from our table at most.

They had not asked us to speed up or leave, and obviously, the food was still on the buffet. They just cleared our table and took our possessions.

I talked to the person in charge, who told me the buffet had ended. I replied nobody had told us, the food was still out, and we were clearly visible at the dessert table. I informed him we’d been there just over an hour, and if they didn’t want people eating as late as we were, they shouldn’t have had reservations available for the time we booked. I demanded the return of the purses, fresh beverages, and the utensils & napkins needed to eat our desserts. I paid the bill- including the penny tip- while they did so.

Why a penny? Because I wanted them to know I was pissed off at our treatment AND that I hadn’t forgotten to tip.

I never went back to a holiday brunch at any hotel in that chain ever again.

(FWIW, my usual tipping practice is 15-20%, and 25% for special events with above average service. And I’ve tipped over 100% at least once as well.)