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Hi hookedcook.

I think the most intelligent thing to do is to explain the "birds and the bees" of the U.S. Hospitality industry to you.

Firstly, you country is split into"right to work" States and non rigjt to work States. Wash State, for example is Not a right to work, minimim wages are over$10./hr, and this is what most servers earn. In right to work states, a "tipping wage"is in place which is much lower than the min. wage, and can be as low as $2.50/hr. I, along with many other people, have difficulty understnding this, and a whole lot of contempt for the State govt s and the lobbyists who made this happen.

The second thing you have to acknowledge is that in the U.S. , a tip is expected to be a percentage of the entire bill. Now, as hard as a server works, they can never be responsible for the entire dining experience. In several states it is illegal to make the server share tips.

So, you can drive a car with a hole in the oil pan for a while, and tell everyone they're full of crap that you need to change your oil regularily, look at me, I can drive it without oil and it runs! But sooner or later, the engine will sieze up and the head will warp and crack.

What Im trying to tell you is that the hospilality industry is one of the largest, and that tourisim and hospitality is one of the major drivers in any State--or country for that matter, economy. Yet, it seems no State or even fed govt gives a turd about how the hospilality industry is run, or if is sustainable. No other country that Im aware of, expects diners to tip their servers 20% of the dining bill, and every non-US diner has serious issues with paying a 20% tip.

Hope this gives you some insight....

 

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Not quite the same..... You'd freak out if you knew what a taxi license costs, and what insurance on the vehicle costs, let alone fuel and minimal maintenence.

But back to restaurants. I'm sure by now you've talked to hundreds if not thousands of Europeans, Aussies, Asians, etc. They all get really p. o.d when the get "conned" into paying 20% tips. I mean violently upset. First question they always ask is "why can't these Americans pay their employees a decent salary?".

But for close to one half of your States govt's to extend their middle finger to minimum wage regulations and get suckered by lobbyists with their "tipping wages", how long do you think this can go on? 20% is the norm now, can you forsee a time when this will crawl up to 25%? Will fine dining survive, or will take ot food quality improve dramatically?

 

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License to operate a taxi in the city of------. Every city is different, with the largest cities charging the most, many on an auction basis. Next time you're back home, ask the taxi driver what it costs in his city. The cities earn big bucks this way, food trucks pay a lot too. Insurance on a taxi is much, much higher than a regular car. When I lived in S'pore the gov't slapped a 300% importbduty on each car, and then a license on top of that.

Getting back to food, or restaurant related topics. My city, Vancouver, charges businesses 433% more in property taxes than the residents, I'm paying more tax for a 900sq ft shop than the guy
with a two story home and a 120 x33 ft lot. Then there's yearly business license fees, health inspection fees, rent, and utilities, and then the regular stuff.


Overhead is a nasty word, its what makes a taxi driver charge you what he does, and a restaurant charge what they do. If you want to live in a world with no taxes, try the African countries, not much of a lifestyle or infrastructure (or clean water for that matter) but there's no taxes.

A bit of trivia for you though. Many of the posters on this site have their own businesses, or are aware of overhead costs. Your posts are somewhat....refreshing...

 

[foodpump]

Mmmm....300$ tip for a $200 meal. Wonder if she bought a round of cokes for the kitchen?