I haven’t been to a movie theater in a very long time, and I just found out that if I ever go again I’m expected to leave tips.
Well did they have a bar? Or cooks that make you dinner? Or wait staff that bring you your food? These are things we traditionally have tipped for, they’re just now in a movie theatre. Even if that wasn’t the case every service industry business owner will try to claim that their staff gets tips so they can justify lowering their wage and pass on the responsibility of paying their workers fairly onto the customer.
Sure, though the article says
On Christmas Day a family bought over $100 worth of tickets and food two days after Christmas.
which implies you’re supposed to take the cost of the tickets into consideration when calculating tips.
Yea his example lumped together tickets (traditionally not tipped) and drinks from the bar (typically tipped). I think that they made the mistake of trying to prove a point with an inaccurately large number, not that they actually expect to be tipped for the total price of tickets. Who knows.
The article writer doesn’t seem very believable in several other places too.
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In that snippet I quoted above he said the incident happened both “On Christmas Day” and “two days after Christmas”, as if he’s trying to figure out which one will evoke more sympathy.
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In the sentence before, he says “I once worked at our outside bar for five hours during a movie night for kids and left with $3.80 in tips… for the night.” Feels bad, but most parents won’t be slamming shots at the bar when they’re watching movies with their kids, especially if they have to drive them home later on. Of course the kids aren’t going to be buying from the bar. Some shifts are just slow.
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Then there’s this:
The benefit situation is no better. Workers get to see free movies when theaters aren’t busy, and get half off of meals purchased while at work. But that doesn’t help when you need to see a doctor or get a prescription (Thank you Obama for your Care).
Obama’s to blame, huh? OK, I see where you’re coming from…
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That’s why I don’t order anything at the theater. Either I eat before I go, or have a meal afterwards at a different place. Sometimes I just bring a small snack in my pocket if I know I’ll get hungry.
Some comments seem to miss the point of the article. Excessive hours, no breaks, long commutes, low pay (and low tips) are why some places are having trouble keeping staff. With profits soaring and exec pay ridiculously high, companies can certainly afford to pay better wages, hire more help, and offer benefits. But they don’t.
Also, don’t be an ass to the overworked, underpaid front line staff.
