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Jenise
FLDG Dishwasher
42706
Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:45 pm
The Pacific Northest Westest
Redwinger
Wine guru
4038
Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:36 pm
Way Down South In Indiana, USA
David M. Bueker
Riesling Guru
34412
Thu Mar 23, 2006 11:52 am
Connecticut
Sam Platt
I am Sam, Sam I am
2330
Sat Mar 25, 2006 12:22 pm
Indiana, USA
Jon Peterson
The Court Winer
2981
Sat Apr 08, 2006 5:53 pm
The Blue Crab State
Dale Williams
Compassionate Connoisseur
11173
Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:32 pm
Dobbs Ferry, NY (NYC metro)
Bill Spohn
He put the 'bar' in 'barrister'
9550
Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:31 pm
Vancouver BC
Bill Spohn wrote:When the restaurant is doubling their cost on the wine, is seems odd to add another 20% just for opening it properly.
On food, sure - they assembled it and created something new from the components and the served it.
Wine - any moron can operate a corkscrew (and many wine waiters fall into that category, believe me) and we handle our own pouring, so why is pulling a cork (and usually screwing up the decanting) worth significant money. $40 to pull a cork = around $500/hour. Nice work if you can get it.
Redwinger
Wine guru
4038
Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:36 pm
Way Down South In Indiana, USA
Bill Spohn wrote:When the restaurant is doubling their cost on the wine, is seems odd to add another 20% just for opening it properly.
On food, sure - they assembled it and created something new from the components and the served it.
Wine - any moron can operate a corkscrew (and many wine waiters fall into that category, believe me) and we handle our own pouring, so why is pulling a cork (and usually screwing up the decanting) worth significant money. $40 to pull a cork = around $500/hour. Nice work if you can get it.
Bill Spohn
He put the 'bar' in 'barrister'
9550
Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:31 pm
Vancouver BC
Redwinger
Wine guru
4038
Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:36 pm
Way Down South In Indiana, USA
Bill Spohn wrote:I'd probably tip generously on the food total without wine and add on $20 for corkage on the wine. It takes approximately the same time to decant a $1,000 bottle as it does a $50 bottle. By what twisted rationale is the former worthy of 20 times the gratuity?
Redwinger
Wine guru
4038
Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:36 pm
Way Down South In Indiana, USA
wnissen wrote:There is a certain lack of correlation between the price of menu items and the labor required to serve them. That's why servers dislike split plates, hot tea, and dessert, and conversely love pricey main dishes.
However, the most expensive item on the menu is usually only twice the price of the cheapest, three times at the outside. With the wine in question selling for nine times the price of the cheapest wine on the list, some tip adjustment is required. 10% on the wine is fine. And I say this as someone who has left a $120 tip for dinner for two on several occasions, when the service merited it.
Bill Spohn
He put the 'bar' in 'barrister'
9550
Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:31 pm
Vancouver BC
Redwinger
Wine guru
4038
Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:36 pm
Way Down South In Indiana, USA
Bill Spohn wrote:That was more or less my thought, Mark.
If I brought a $400 bottle of wine in with me (and I have, every once in awhile) and got it served for a $20 corkage fee, in what strange universe would the fact that the restaurant had provided the wine and was thus also making at least a $200 profit on it justify a higher service fee than for the bottle I brought myself?
One other comment on gratuities. Many, perhaps most, seem to view them as a given, unrelated to quality of service, which was the original rationale for them. I have seen people given horrid service still tack on 20%. Makes no sense to me. If I get bad service, I give a reduced, or no tip, and I often tell the server (and possibly the owner, if it has been really bad) why.
My restaurant clients tell me that they would rather hear one angry customer telling them how their staff had screwed up than have 20 go away pissed off but silent, never to return, and he'd never know there was a problem.
Bill Spohn
He put the 'bar' in 'barrister'
9550
Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:31 pm
Vancouver BC
Keith M
Beer Explorer
1184
Sat Jan 06, 2007 2:25 am
Finger Lakes, New York
Mark Lipton wrote:However, I think that an interesting guideline to use would be to tip whatever their corkage fee is. The idea here would be that the restaurant has priced the costs of their wine service when they establish a corkage fee (of course, that's a tad disingenuous since many restaurants price it punitively, not on a strict cost basis) so that's a guideline.
Bill Spohn
He put the 'bar' in 'barrister'
9550
Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:31 pm
Vancouver BC
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