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Halloween Jack posted:It's that last thing. Do you mean I should ask their catering manager what tip is appropriate? I agree with dino. but I don't think you owe anyone an apology. If their policy is to set up and they're not doing it because you're a bad tipper- that's their gently caress up. Either way, a nice phone call to the manager is in order. She can set everyone straight about the policies, including, if necessary, her delivery guys.
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Nov 19, 2013 01:17
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Halloween Jack posted:Understanding that this is a touchy subject, I would like some advice on tipping for catering delivery. I get catering delivered for work most Mondays and Tuesdays. I think a percentage can get really excessive if you're making huge orders. If I was in your position I'd just give the delivery guy twenty to twenty-five dollars. Having delivered pizzas for a long time and managed a pizza place; I'd (and generally the kids that worked for me) would get a tip like that keep half and then split the rest with the inside workers who actually made the food. I never forced the tip sharing but most people shared on their own. I'd be happy cause a ten dollar tip on one order was pretty good and the insiders would be happy because they got acknowledged and a couple bucks in their pocket that the wouldn't have had.
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Nov 19, 2013 01:30
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To clarify, I've been tipping 15-20% in the past (with one exception, see below). I can only use registered vendors and pay with a purchase order, so whenever I use a new caterer I explain to them that I'm going to add the tip to the amount on the PO so that they can pay the deliveryman. I work at a sprawling medical center where parking is a hassle. Many caterers won't enter the building for a simple lunch delivery, many more can't figure out where to go with a lot of handholding, and there are a precious few caterers who know the territory and will deliver anywhere. My last Tuesday caterer was like that, and they would be there, drop off the food, and be gone without me even seeing the deliveryman, and I would email a PO to the manager, so gratuity just never came up. We ended up changing caterers because their base prices are significantly higher and the attendees wanted a change. I've had caterers who would deliver to the room and/or set up last time call me to come down to the front door and get the food, but I don't think that was because the 20%+ tip from last time wasn't enough.
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Nov 19, 2013 02:31
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Ahh, I see. I've in the smae situation only on the other side as the manager. Give the manager a call, tell him/her your concerns and if you would like it set up or plates or anything thats different from the norm. If you're routinely spending 2-300 every week the manager will work with you and if he/she competent will educate the delivery person. Being that it's the same day every week you could probably end up always having the same delivery person and that would cut out some of the hassle. And FYI from the delivery persons point of view delivering to hospitals/med centers is the biggest pain in the rear end. No one is ever where they are suppose to be. It's impossible to find correct room, etc. Getting a driver or two that are the ones who bring your order all the time will make their lives easier also.
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Nov 19, 2013 06:13
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Halloween Jack posted:To clarify, I've been tipping 15-20% in the past (with one exception, see below). I can only use registered vendors and pay with a purchase order, so whenever I use a new caterer I explain to them that I'm going to add the tip to the amount on the PO so that they can pay the deliveryman. As a current full time messenger and an occasional part time (former full time) pizza delivery driver, I would agree with brick cow on tipping like 20-25 bucks, maybe even only 10-15 for the Jimmy Johns drivers. If you are a solid steady customer I don't feel like you should need to continually tip excessively for big orders, unless the order is super complicated or the driver has to set up a bunch of stuff (not just setting it out on the table, but like warmer trays and poo poo). However, I'm assuming that even though you are ordering probably several dozen sandwiches or box lunches or whatever, that what you really get in terms of 'effort' are 3-5 big bags. Even if a driver comes in and sorts/sets it out, it's really not worth more than about 20 bucks. And honestly the cheapskate in me says it's not even worth that much, but the delivery driver in me silently giggles when someone pays me 20 bucks to do about 15 minutes worth of 'work'. The only real consideration is the amount of time it takes to get in and out and off to the next delivery. So if you make the driver wait for more than about 10 minutes to pick up the food or it takes like 30-40 minutes to get in/set up/out of the building because of security issues or whatever then maybe want to kick in another 5-10 bucks or something. edit - I also agree with trying to get a regular driver but it might not be easy if they run a lot of drivers or have a lot of part time people. TMMadman fucked around with this message at 07:05 on Nov 19, 2013 |
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Nov 19, 2013 07:01
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bottles and cans posted:I started my new job today. A seven hour shift in an office, and I got out at 5 PM. Guys, I didn't exactly have it bad at my old job at the hospital, I was paid something like 12$ an hour ($10 base, plus evening and weekend differentials), had employer health insurance, dental, retirement fund and paid earned time off (to the order of 4 hours per week worked).
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Nov 19, 2013 07:02
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Wroughtirony posted:In group therapy, (what? don't pretend you're surprised) I've learned to just not mention work stuff and to shut my mouth when anyone else does. When I talk about what I do (did) people either compare themselves and feel bad, or it turns into an intervention, which is pointless. Around here, group therapy is a pitcher of beer and kamikazes for $6.
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Nov 19, 2013 17:55
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Also, interviewed with one of the big wine/liquor distributors in Manhattan, and they loved my poo poo, so I might end up doing data analysis for 3400+ wine portfolios in NYC. Depends on where the other offers end up.. and that they actually become offers. Limbo sucks.
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Nov 19, 2013 17:57
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If you can get into the booze industry I say go for it, everyone I know who is in that industry is enjoying it. In Australia anyways.
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Nov 19, 2013 20:56
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bowmore posted:If you can get into the booze industry I say go for it, everyone I know who is in that industry is enjoying it. It's the same in the states as best I can tell. Granted, I really only talk to craft brew people, but I don't think I've met any who aren't totally jazzed about their jobs selling/brewing beer. Dunno if liquor and wine are the same, but I imagine so.
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Nov 19, 2013 22:50
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feelz good man posted:A lot of people don't realize how demanding kitchen work is though which makes me laugh when other people in the office complain about "the pile of dishes" or something dumb when there's 3 plates in the sink. I'm becoming really fond of people whining about office work. Its just so precious  . Also, going home when people say they aren't feeling good while I still have burns on my arms that I worked through.However, I was able to request off and now I'm only working 3 days Thanksgiving Week, two of them fully paid with holiday pay  one of them is thanksgiving.
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Nov 20, 2013 03:25
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Warmachine posted:It's the same in the states as best I can tell. Granted, I really only talk to craft brew people, but I don't think I've met any who aren't totally jazzed about their jobs selling/brewing beer. Dunno if liquor and wine are the same, but I imagine so. As a pretty regular weekday bar patron, I have noticed that beer and liquor reps seem to be pretty relaxed and happy dudes. Even the the ones who have to service taps while in business causal seem pretty cheerful about getting covered in beer spray.
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Nov 20, 2013 04:26
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5 years ago I got a job washing dishes in a country club to see if I could make it in the restaurant business. Moved up over the years, passed on a salary position so tomorrow I could get in near the ground floor of one of the hottest restaurants (groups) in town (James Beard circuit). Gonna get some butchering experience, high volume, and even more upscale experience than what I was doing. Pretty drat excited.
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Nov 20, 2013 06:17
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slimskinny posted:5 years ago I got a job washing dishes in a country club to see if I could make it in the restaurant business. Moved up over the years, passed on a salary position so tomorrow I could get in near the ground floor of one of the hottest restaurants (groups) in town (James Beard circuit). Gonna get some butchering experience, high volume, and even more upscale experience than what I was doing. I remember when you first joined us, I think I was in culinary school at the time or had just graduated. You've always been one of my favorite GWS sucess stories. 
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Nov 20, 2013 12:47
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Wroughtirony posted:I remember when you first joined us, I think I was in culinary school at the time or had just graduated. You've always been one of my favorite GWS sucess stories. Aw thanks that means a lot to me as I've always looked up to you as well as many others (TB, Worldmaker to name a couple). It's been a hell of a ride.
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Nov 20, 2013 20:11
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Wroughtirony posted:I remember when you first joined us, I think I was in culinary school at the time or had just graduated. You've always been one of my favorite GWS sucess stories. Aren't the GWS success stories about those of us who managed to get out? 
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Nov 22, 2013 17:51
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Did a tasting menu for 17 last night (and there was only one lactose intolerant person, who I was told of two days ago). Everything went off without a hitch and the guests went apeshit for everything. I managed to take a couple of lovely photos: 1 - Duck Fat Seared Scallop, Champagne and Peach Gastrique, Micro Arugula with Galliano Vinaigrette. 2 - (no picture) Smoked Black Cod Cioppino, Jicama and Apple Slaw  3 - Palate Cleanser - Lemongrass & Lime Sparkling Water Shot (that's a fruit brunoise floating in the shotglass and a citrus sugar rim)  4 - Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, Spiced Maple Cream, Rosemary Scented Root Vegetable Chips  5 - Coffee Braised Short Ribs, Brown Butter Mashed Yukon Golds, Balsamic Onion Frites. I subbed in some roasted potato for the lactose intolerant person. 6 - (no picture) - Salted Caramel Ice Cream, Shortbread Crumble, Cherry Compote, Kettle Corn Tuile. The lactose intolerant person got raspberry sorbet, compote and a fruit salad. We do dinners like this once a month or so and we rotate the responsibility around the brigade. I'll probably get to do another one in a couple of months.
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Nov 22, 2013 19:07
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And now we do the dance of slow-as-gently caress holiday week. Nine days off. I might go mad.
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Nov 22, 2013 22:14
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Dimloep posted:And now we do the dance of slow-as-gently caress holiday week. Nine days off. I might go mad. Trade you. It's Thanksgiving time in the bakery, and I may just learn to sleep in my truck.
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Nov 22, 2013 22:54
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Dimloep posted:And now we do the dance of slow-as-gently caress holiday week. Nine days off. I might go mad. I will also trade you. It's a slow week, I'll still probably work 50hrs, then the holiday party binge begins.
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Nov 22, 2013 23:46
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Dimloep posted:And now we do the dance of slow-as-gently caress holiday week. Nine days off. I might go mad. I figured I was gonna get the whole week off, but got 3 days somehow.
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Nov 23, 2013 00:06
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Yeah, we're a hotel-conference center combo, and we're used pretty heavily for training for the company that owns us (and most of the city). This week and last were mind-searingly busy, so I'm looking forward to a short break before the $10K piece of business sometime in December, plus whatever else we have going on. Like the wedding on New Year's Eve.
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Nov 23, 2013 00:14
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Liquid Communism posted:Trade you. It's Thanksgiving time in the bakery, and I may just learn to sleep in my truck. A standard truck bed with a cap will hold a full-size futon with room for a rubbermaid tub of clean clothes, another of dirty clothes, a cooler, and lot of liquor. Get a cap that you can lock from both inside and outside.
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Nov 23, 2013 01:17
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I work at a combination bar/restaurant/bowling alley/pool hall/arcade/ping pong/laser tag place. We book A LOT of Christmas/holiday parties starting pretty much right now. We have one kitchen and one bar. It gets crazy. 9-10 hour nights are fun.
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Nov 23, 2013 08:24
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I had my third interview. Someone who was supposed to be there wasn't, so it got cut short halfway, with the promise to call me back in a day or two for the finale. I am 99.99% sure they want me, I was even told I'd be 'wasted' as a busser and they want me as a server, and got the lengthy mandated company spirit spew about what it means to be a server. Corporate, but I don't care, if it's busy and I'm making hundreds a day I'll take it. Especially since the holiday is about to start; I'll miss Thanksgiving, but Christmas and New Year's are right around the corner.
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Nov 23, 2013 08:29
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Third interview for a server or, maybe, busser job? What the gently caress kinda place are you interviewing for?!
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Nov 23, 2013 11:48
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Maybe this isn't the right place to ask, but how badly does a restaurant get screwed when you use those restaurant.com coupons? Example: my corporate perks group at work sells me a coupon for $25 worth of food for a $3 fee. I go to the restaurant, and as long as my bill is at least X, they take the coupon and knock $25 off my bill. How much money does the restaurant get back? I'm assuming that they aren't made whole, but Restaurant.com must send them something, right? And maybe the corporate perks program kicks some money to Restaurant.com?
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Nov 23, 2013 14:05
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Squashy Nipples posted:Maybe this isn't the right place to ask, but how badly does a restaurant get screwed when you use those restaurant.com coupons? Nothing back. They usually pay to have coupon/groupons/poo poo like that. They generally figure those great coupons so that they come out even. Ie no profit. The idea of a good coupon is to entice people in who then become regulars and pay normal rates. Even if the person with the coupon always uses that coupon he/she will bring in someone with them and they might become loyal customers who pay at regular rates. It's a dice throw they make and if their food/atmosphere is good enough it works. The other side of the coin is giving out too many coupons; looking at pizza hut and KFC especially 5-7 years ago, coupons were all over the place and if you said you lost yours or if you didn't have it, they still give you the coupon deal. (This actually still works at pizza hut. Or find an expired pizza hut coupon thats 5 years old, they'll still honor it 99% of the time. pizza hut tangent ended.) Anyway, too many coupons devalues your food, customers see that if coupons are everywhere that must be the real price and only suckers are paying full price. So a question is how much do you have to buy to get $25 off? I'm going to guess $100.
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Nov 23, 2013 14:55
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A typical restaurant.com deal (without a promo code) is a $25 coupon for $10, with a minimum spend of $40. A lot of places mandate that it must be $40 on food, so they can still break even after you order a couple drinks. That said, several times a year they'll have deals where you can get $10 coupons for $2, $25 for $3, and $50 for $5 (or thereabouts). Personally, I'll use them for new places, but that's about it. A guy I know will stock up on coupons for places he visits regularly, and I've noticed a couple times a server or bartender roll their eyes after they recognize him, and see him using a coupon. They try to be subtle about it, and I don't think he's noticed, but eh.
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Nov 23, 2013 15:14
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Shooting Blanks posted:Personally, I'll use them for new places, but that's about it. A guy I know will stock up on coupons for places he visits regularly, and I've noticed a couple times a server or bartender roll their eyes after they recognize him, and see him using a coupon. They try to be subtle about it, and I don't think he's noticed, but eh. Why do the servers care? Does he not tip for the full amount?
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Nov 23, 2013 15:16
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Rurutia posted:Why do the servers care? Does he not tip for the full amount? I didn't notice his tip, frankly, but I know from going to bars with him that he's usually a good tipper. I don't know why that particular server or bartender cared, maybe the owners were tired of their relationship with restaurant.com and the staff picked up on it?
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Nov 23, 2013 15:33
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$25 off of a $40 ticket is crazy. Forget what I said about breaking even. No restaurant runs at a 60% profit. I know nothing about restaurant.com; these coupons are limited, yes? Like only 100 per month or something? I have a restaurant business plan kicking around waiting for me to act and there is a portion dealing with 50% coupons but they're very limited to new customers and occasionally to established long term customers. And: Having waited tables for a long time, people that get huge discounts, or free meals because they're friends with the owner or had a previous bad experience or whatever are a huge toss-up to servers. Some feel as if they only have to tip the amount on the bill and others tips extra generously. I think it works out even in the end but when you get a night with three hundred dollar meals that are comped and they all leave you nothing it's very disheartening. And you remember it.
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Nov 23, 2013 15:39
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MisterOblivious posted:Third interview for a server or, maybe, busser job? What the gently caress kinda place are you interviewing for?! When I tried to work for a good specialty coffee shop I had to do 3 interviews before I got rejected.
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Nov 23, 2013 16:21
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MisterOblivious posted:Third interview for a server or, maybe, busser job? What the gently caress kinda place are you interviewing for?!
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Nov 23, 2013 16:43
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Squashy Nipples posted:Maybe this isn't the right place to ask, but how badly does a restaurant get screwed when you use those restaurant.com coupons? brick cow posted:I know nothing about restaurant.com You wrote a really long response for someone who had no information about what the person was asking. Did you just want to inform everyone of your opinions on coupons in general?
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Nov 23, 2013 21:05
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29.5 hours of work (couple different jobs), 2 hours of sleep, then 20 more hours of work. loving ENERGY DRINKS gently caress YEAH. I've drank more espresso in the last 24 hours than I have in the rest of my life combined. vv Nice. Did not know. Naelyan fucked around with this message at 00:11 on Nov 24, 2013 |
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Nov 24, 2013 00:04
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Naelyan posted:29.5 hours of work (couple different jobs), 2 hours of sleep, then 20 more hours of work. loving ENERGY DRINKS gently caress YEAH. I've drank more espresso in the last 24 hours than I have in the rest of my life combined. Pro-Tip: Consume Grapefruit Juice with your caffeine and the caffeine lasts longer. Grapefruit juice stops your liver from processing the caffeine out of your bloodstream for several hours. Or something like that.
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Nov 24, 2013 00:10
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brick cow posted:$25 off of a $40 ticket is crazy. Forget what I said about breaking even. No restaurant runs at a 60% profit. I know nothing about restaurant.com; these coupons are limited, yes? Like only 100 per month or something? I have a restaurant business plan kicking around waiting for me to act and there is a portion dealing with 50% coupons but they're very limited to new customers and occasionally to established long term customers. Well, it's not a $40 ticket - it's $40 on food. The hope is that the guests or group will have a drink or two each to at least make up the loss on the food. And liquor margins are often well above 60%, depending on what's being ordered. That's a good point about being stiffed on huge discounts, the two times it happened with my friend, they may not have recognized him, they may have just gotten stiffed by the last table that used a coupon. These coupons are limited, but I have no idea to what extent. For the coupons in your plans, how would you distribute them? That's the biggest problem with giving discounts to new customers, recognizing them and marketing to them effectively while not giving coupons to your regulars. It's a problem that restaurant.com, groupon, livingsocial, etc. have partially solved, but not fully.
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Nov 24, 2013 00:37
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Splizwarf posted:A standard truck bed with a cap will hold a full-size futon with room for a rubbermaid tub of clean clothes, another of dirty clothes, a cooler, and lot of liquor. Get a cap that you can lock from both inside and outside. I had a cooking gig which involved me living in my car at the job site for a month. You can sleep pretty comfortably in the back of a 2003 Subaru outback if you fold the seats down and are about a half-foot shorter than I am. 
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Nov 24, 2013 03:47
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infiniteguest posted:You wrote a really long response for someone who had no information about what the person was asking. Did you just want to inform everyone of your opinions on coupons in general? I took the question to be more about these kind of deals in general than specifically restaraunt.com. So, I amend: I've worked with similar situations and thats how they were. Shooting Blanks posted:Well, it's not a $40 ticket - it's $40 on food. The hope is that the guests or group will have a drink or two each to at least make up the loss on the food. And liquor margins are often well above 60%, depending on what's being ordered. I live in Ut  h, so I don't don't automatically assume drinks. A lot of times here a forty dollar ticket is just food. That is a good point though.It's covered below but to answer your question outside a wall of text: I think giving coupons to regulars is fine as long as it's limited and done in such a way as to hopefully have them introduce new customers. Like a "buy one get one" deal where it's suggested they bring in a friend who hasn't tried your food yet. Here comes a long bit about targeted marketing, feel free to skip if you're not interested. It's a quick service place so it'd be a little bit different with a sit down or fine dining restaurant. First step is to generate a mailing list that is just outside of your core customer base. For fast food in a populated area it would be anywhere >4 miles away from the store. I'd go with 4-6 miles for the initial mailing. Send each of those residences (depending on population density you may have to split this up so you don't do them all in the same month) a fantastic deal, something like "Hey come try us, get a free sandwich with the purchase of fries and a drink." The whys for this step: Fries and soda are massively marked up so this should at least cover food cost. Get new customers and the deal is so good they won't have a perceived value of your food below it's normal cost. And you get keep the returning coupons, you now have a list of people who have tried your food. I think target mailings are better than coupons in circulars or newspapers for the reason that they do give you this list. Second step. You take your initial address list and split it by coupons that were returned and those that were not. Fort those that were not you wait three months then send them another pay for "fries, drink get sandwich" coupon. If those don't return, wait another three months send out the coupon again and those that don't come back, you just write them off and stop sending them stuff all together. For those that do come back they get resorted into a second list of customers. For the ones that did come back, a month later you send them a coupon like "Did you like our food? Introduce us to a friend. Buy one meal get one free." This is also the step you would start off with electronic coupons for "likes" on social media. Repeat this a few month then assemble a third list of these coupons that have been used. The whys: Creating a loyal customer base that are hopefully bringing in new customers. Third step. Track your three lists. The first being those who haven't used any coupons. After a couple tries you quit contacting them. The second being those who only used the first coupon. If they don't respond to the "buy one get one" coupon after a couple tries they get shifted back to the first list. The third being the loyal customers. They now get a coupon only every other month and it alternates between "buy one get one" and "fries and drink for a sandwich" as a reward. As long as these coupons continue to come back they keep receiving them but when they peter out they get shifted to the first list. The whys: To reward loyal customers and build further loyalty and again to hopefully build a larger customer base. Fourth step: Analyze the return numbers, generally coupon return is so low 1-2% that it is more beneficial to lose or break even and gain new customers than not. However if you're having a huge number of returns then you stick with the same customer base until the new customers are generating enough income that more coupons can be financially justified. (it's different with coupons like restaurant.com that people pay for, those returns are generally in the 90s%) When you can handle the loss of expansion then send out more intial coupons in a radius 6-8 miles and repeat at step one. Then repeat all these steps until the cost of mailing reaches an equilibrium with returns. It really depends on your food, atmosphere, how you're perceived by the community, when this will happen but it's generally when you've reached a radius of 8-10 miles. People don't like to go too far for fast food. The whys: New customers, expansion, loyalty etc. Also (if not immediately apparent) you cull the lists because mailing is expensive and if you keep sending things to households who don't want them you actually end up creating animosity toward your brand. TL;DR: In a life long ago I used to run the numbers and develop marketing/coupon strategies. Now it's a thing I sperg over and it bores most people to death.
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Nov 24, 2013 04:17
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