Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

bgillander

macrumors 6502a
Jul 14, 2007
791
759
The raise I can see. But tips? I've never, ever, tipped at a retail store. That's just...weird. Maybe it was a throw-away negotiation request that they thought they could just say "okay, we'll take away the tipping request to get this deal done", but it stuck anyway. Like "We want the letter "M" stricken from the alphabet" or something else ludicrous.
Technically, striking the letter “M” from the alphabet isn’t the insane request, the getaway car is! ;) I always loved that old Steve Martin “Hostages” joke! Thanks for the memory!
 

bgillander

macrumors 6502a
Jul 14, 2007
791
759
If a teen (or anyone else) is working, they deserve a wage commensurate with their work. If a teen (or anyone else) is goofing off, they need to learn how to work before they get a good wage.
I think you are mixing up cause and effect. For the most part, people don’t get paid crappy wages because they goof off, if anything, they goof off because they get crappy wages. I’ve never known an employer to pay an employee less if they felt they were goofing off, as they would just let them go.
 

MacWiz_007

Suspended
Jan 10, 2023
675
1,929
🇺🇸
As I mentioned earlier in the thread it was literally and *explicitly* meant as a living wage. Nearly the exact wording FDR used (I also posted that earlier in the thread). You folks who think it isnt either had crap history teachers or didnt pay attention in class
Nearly the exact wording and the exact wording are two different things. You can think, in your mind, that the minimum wage is supposed to be a living wage all you want, but that doesn't make it so. If it were, it would be called living wage, and not minimum wage. To think that the government could make minimum wage a blanket living wage for all Americans, regardless of where they live, is the most nonsensical notion I've ever heard. You are incorrect, period. Anyway, we can agree to disagree. I've labored on this topic long enough.
 

MacManiac1

macrumors regular
Sep 7, 2017
120
167
Pittsburgh
These Apple people are not demanding all customer's tip them... nor for Apple Inc. to tip them. I suspect that in service to some customers, some of those customers offer them a tip in appreciation. Apparently, they can't accept any such tip right now. They are apparently wanting that policy to change. If a customer offers them a tip, they want to be able to take it.

This is not about seeking a tip for a simple transactional service like selling a phone. But maybe someone spends 30 minutes to teach someone how to solve some problem or how to use some app features, etc. And that 1+ person objectively wants to give them something for good service. I'm not sure "we" should be passionately against it. That's between customer seeking help and the person delivering the help they want/need. Some customers might want to tip. That's THEIR business.

Someone comes in with all of their (subjectively priceless) data apparently lost. An Apple representative is able to figure out that its not really lost and helps them recover it. It's not hard to see that panicked customer perhaps wanting to reward the help with more than just a "thank you."

No one would ever be forced to tip- just as it is in all transactions. But if some customers want to tip for good service, that's not exactly an unheard of, insane or greedy concept. Those in industries where tipping is "normal" would even argue that the potential of getting some tips motivates employees to try even harder to deliver outstanding service... to EVERYONE (because even those purely motivated by tips doesn't know until AFTER they deliver service whether they get a tip or not).

If it's not mandatory to tip, I don't personally see anything wrong with this want at all. When my hot pizza is delivered on time in a little while by someone with only the skill of driving, I'll likely give them a few dollars. If my car won't start and someone pulls over to give me a jump to get me rolling again, I'm very likely inclined to give them something for their time & trouble too. If someone spends some service time at an Apple store teaching me how to do something I can't figure out, it's not like I would naturally NOT be moved to tip for good service either. Is pizza delivery or broken down car help and in-person tech help/services so different that only the former should be OPTIONALLY tip-able? I don't feel that way.
But the tip doesn’t go to the person who was great at helping you - it would go into a pot and divided by number of j he ours worked. So some dead beat employees would get the tip money.
 

lkrupp

macrumors 68000
Jul 24, 2004
1,922
3,948
This tipping bull hockey is becoming more and more annoying. The guy that hands you your burger over the counter wants tip. In my neck of the woods almost every fast food joint now offers a tip option when paying. A tip for someone who simply takes your order, never comes to your table, hands you your bag at the drive through window? Really?

I suspect, though, that this demand is part of a long list of negotiable demands that will be dropped during the give-and-take with Apple.
 
  • Like
Reactions: monstermash

AgentOSX

macrumors regular
Sep 4, 2017
170
392
Hollywood
OK, since you've visited stores some days and never seen it, clearly it doesn't happen. I have never visited an Apple store that is closed, so they must be open 24/7/365. Since I've never seen one closed, they must never close. :rolleyes:

I visited an Apple store with a beyond-warranty issue and full expectation of having to pay a LOT to deal with it. It was 100% clear to me that Apple did not have to do ANYTHING about my problem. However, the manager learned about the situation and chose to address it anyway. I was so impressed- shocked actually- with the service that I felt compulsion to pay something. I actually pulled the wallet out wanting to pay, fully expecting to pay. Nope. No charge. It impressed me to no end. If I could have tipped for service beyond expectations that day, I would have tipped and still felt just as good about the whole situation.

I 100% do not believe this is about tipping on simple purchase transactions. I doubt any shopper EVER feels any compulsion to PAY MORE than ask for anything Apple sells. Well, there's 5 or 10 guys around here that probably would LOVE that. ;)

I suspect this is about SERVICE, which is a whole other thing that happens at Apple stores, delivered by Apple employees. Sometimes, that service is above and beyond. Sometimes it is data saving. Sometimes it can seem towards "miracle worker." And I have ZERO doubt that sometimes SOME people getting such "did I lose everything?" worry relief and/or service that seems beyond expectations are motivated to want to tip the person who helped them.

When I was in college I worked for an electronics retailer. I was new and did not know that a certain printer could not work with a Mac (no drivers for Mac) and I sold both to a customer. Customer had to find out that there was no way to make that printer work with that Mac after they got home. When I learned that I had made that mistake in pushing them together, I proactively "fixed" the problem with a phone call-refund & replacement sale and then I did an unusual thing: delivered the printer to their home and hooked it up for the customer. There was NO obligation to do that. It was before retail delivery is as common as it is now.

That customer was massively impressed with the "house call"/"tech support"/"total solution" and wanted to give me cash for going above and beyond. I couldn't accept (company policy) but there was also no policy to go above and beyond, deliver, setup and confirm that it was all working together. I was not paid extra for the time spent there getting that setup either. It was simply me trying to make up for my own mistake on my own time, on my own dime, etc.

I didn't demand a tip, expect one, hint for one, etc. but that customer was so impressed they simply wanted to tip... as I do myself when someone goes out of their way in service to me.

I have a relative who works in a hospital and medical staff there are often offered tips for excellent patient care, family accommodations, etc. Ever think of medial people in the tipping business? Neither had I. But there it was, regularly, also revolving around potential tippers wanting to reward those offering service above and beyond.

People go a little out of their way for me, come to my aid on their own, chip in some help when needed, etc, I generally wish to reward their good deed. I don't feel that is wrong or that they aren't deserving for helping me out. Again, my pizza delivery guy tonight is paid a salary by the big, national brand for which he works. I tipped him for timely delivery of hot pizza. Battery died in the car and some stranger offered to give me a jump so I could get it going. I wanted to tip them too. I can appreciate service and sometimes it is so good I want to pay them something more than whatever their employer pays them.
Your post is defined by your first paragraph: just silly.

And the fact remains that never has anyone wanted to tip at an Apple Store.

The Genius Bar is not that sort of bar.

When there is a screen at checkout that lists tips, yes of course they are trying to make you tip. You opting for zero negates success but not the effort, meaning the checkout system is set up to tip as s default. And it is ridiculous.

As for you fixing your mistake, the only thing you got right was fixing your mistake. You shouldn't be paid to fix your mistakes.
 

bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
15,931
2,150
Lard
I think you are mixing up cause and effect. For the most part, people don’t get paid crappy wages because they goof off, if anything, they goof off because they get crappy wages. I’ve never known an employer to pay an employee less if they felt they were goofing off, as they would just let them go.
I work with quite a few people, around 150.

They goof off because they don't have the discipline to do their job correctly. Others do the job because they want their name to mean something positive.

If it was easy to terminate them, we probably wouldn't have anyone employed in many places.
 

ender78

macrumors 6502a
Jan 9, 2005
602
353
Reddit users love spouting that FDR line from 100 years ago like it matters now.
Minimum wage is the minimum wage employers are allowed to pay you in the USA, it's not intended to be a living wage. If it were, it would be called living wage and not minimum wage.

Your former president FDR, the one who introduced the minus wage did not agree.

“It seems to me to be equally plain that no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By "business" I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level-I mean the wages of decent living.”​

 

monstermash

macrumors 6502a
Apr 21, 2020
822
884
Your former president FDR, the one who introduced the minus wage did not agree.

“It seems to me to be equally plain that no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By "business" I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level-I mean the wages of decent living.”​


And look where that got him. Dead!
 
  • Like
Reactions: MacWiz_007

ender78

macrumors 6502a
Jan 9, 2005
602
353
You are not supposed to be able to live on a minimum wage job. Those jobs are for high school and university kids working part-time, or if you are a stay-at-home wife and babysit when you have free time for a bit of extra income.

Most people who are on non-service jobs that pay $16.55 don't get tips, such as security, cachers and seasonal fruitpickers.

As I replied to another poster, that was not the original intent.

Quote from former US President

“It seems to me to be equally plain that no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By "business" I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level-I mean the wages of decent living.”​

 
  • Like
Reactions: redbeard331

MacWiz_007

Suspended
Jan 10, 2023
675
1,929
🇺🇸
Your former president FDR, the one who introduced the minus wage did not agree.

“It seems to me to be equally plain that no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By "business" I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level-I mean the wages of decent living.”​

Right, he was referring to factory/sweat shop wages, or lack their of. Again, minimum wage came about to stop the low wage practices that factories/sweat shops were getting away with at the time, which it accomplished by making them pay a "minimum wage" to everyone. Where in this quote does FDR say that the minimum wage would equal a living wage? Also, please explain to me how FDR planned to pay a blanket minimum wage that would equal a living wage to all Americans, whether they live in downtown Chicago or out in the middle of nowhere. I'll wait...
 

NY Guitarist

macrumors 68000
Mar 21, 2011
1,585
1,581
You are not supposed to be able to live on a minimum wage job. Those jobs are for high school and university kids working part-time, or if you are a stay-at-home wife and babysit when you have free time for a bit of extra income.
That's just a neo-liberal trope used to rationalize under-paying workers.

Speaking of wage theft, why don't customers get a discount when using self check-out?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: redbeard331

ender78

macrumors 6502a
Jan 9, 2005
602
353
Right, he was referring to factory/sweat shop wages, or lack their of. Again, minimum wage came about to stop the low wage practices that factories/sweat shops were getting away with at the time, which it accomplished by making them pay a "minimum wage" to everyone. Where in this quote does FDR say that the minimum wage would equal a living wage? Also, please explain to me how FDR planned to pay a blanket minimum wage that would equal a living wage to all Americans, whether they live in downtown Chicago or out in the middle of nowhere. I'll wait...
And how is flipping hamburgers that different than sowing in a factory? The "living wage" is a term that has come to more common use recently as a result between of a gap the minimum wage and the living wage. Living/Minimum wage can be adjusted locally.
 
  • Like
Reactions: redbeard331

MacWiz_007

Suspended
Jan 10, 2023
675
1,929
🇺🇸
And how is flipping hamburgers that different than sowing in a factory? The "living wage" is a term that has come to more common use recently as a result between of a gap the minimum wage and the living wage. Living/Minimum wage can be adjusted locally.
The federal minimum wage cannot be lowered locally, without the Feds stepping in. Of course it can be raised but that's not the point here. California cannot all of a sudden decide to pay a $1.50 an hour minimum wage, or whatever you want to call the wage. You're getting off topic. The federal minimum wage (remember your FDR references?) is the "minimum" employers across the US are required to pay people. This is like talking to a brick wall I swear. Flipping burgers and sowing in a factory are no different in that they are both jobs, and both jobs are required to pay the federal minimum wage. Again, a living wage and the federal minimum wage are clearly two different things. I just wish some people would admit when they are wrong and move on. But no, their narcissism won't allow that. You have a nice day now!
 
Last edited:

ender78

macrumors 6502a
Jan 9, 2005
602
353
The federal minimum wage cannot be lowered locally. Of course it can be raised but that's not the point here. California cannot all of a sudden decide to pay a $1.50 an hour minimum wage, or whatever you want to call the wage. You're getting off topic. The federal minimum wage (remember your FDR references?) is the "minimum" employers across the US are required to pay people. This is like talking to a brick wall I swear. Flipping burgers and sowing in a factory are no different in that they are both jobs, and both jobs are required to pay the federal minimum wage. Again, a living wage and the federal minimum wage are clearly two different things. I just wish some people would admit when they are wrong and move on. But no, their narcissism won't allow that. You have a nice day now!
To be clear I am arguing that wages need to go up.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MacWiz_007

monstermash

macrumors 6502a
Apr 21, 2020
822
884
That's just a neo-liberal trope used to rationalize under-paying workers.

Speaking of wage theft, why don't customers get a discount when using self check-out?

Because there is extra value in not having to deal with some dippy cashier that can barely form a coherent sentence and speak without mumbling.

I'd pay extra for self-checkout, if they were charging extra.
 

GizmoDVD

macrumors 68030
Oct 11, 2008
2,603
5,038
SoCal
To be clear I am arguing that wages need to go up.
To be clear, I as a consumer do not intend to pay much higher prices for EVERYTHING because a uneducated 30+ year old decides that burger flipping is their career and they DESERVE a 3 bedroom apartment and somehow to support all their kids.

That's rubbish and won't happen. Go get a better job if you want to get out of the minimum wage race. if not, enjoy roommates or your childhood bedroom.
 

sdf

macrumors 6502a
Jan 29, 2004
863
1,169
Imagine you buy a brand new Apple Product at an Apple Store and an Apple Specialist hits you with this...
On the other hand, it seems pretty reasonable to tip a couple bucks for a good/helpful Genius appointment.

Not sure how they'd do that since you generally don't pay after.
 

NY Guitarist

macrumors 68000
Mar 21, 2011
1,585
1,581
Because there is extra value in not having to deal with some dippy cashier that can barely form a coherent sentence and speak without mumbling.

I'd pay extra for self-checkout, if they were charging extra.
Maybe you should pay more... like a tip. ;)

The grocery store I use has 6 check out lanes that have been replaced with self check out. One person and some machines replacing a number cashiers while I do ALL the labor. I want a discount.
 
  • Like
Reactions: redbeard331
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.