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263 Comments
- Louis11, on 10/12/2007, -7/+395"She left 31 diamond rings?
Who the hell carries that around."
I think a better question is, who the hell forgets they are carrying 31 diamond rings? - nixonrichard, on 10/12/2007, -26/+297Okay, this doesn't have much to do with the article, but at what point in time in our society did tipping stop being a "gratuity" and start being a requirement. The whole point of a tip is to thank someone for great service . . . a job well-done. Now, even if your meal sucks, took an hour to get to you, and the waiter never came back to fill your water, you're STILL expected to tip 15% . . . it's like a tax. If you have 8 or more people, it IS just a tax. Also, when ordering pizza, I would always tip for delivery . . . that was back when delivery was always free. Now most pizza chains charge $2 for delivery AND they expect you to tip. If you are already having to pay for service, why should you have to pay for that service again?
Now, in the case of cabs, I usually tip a few bucks, but it's not something that's expected (where I live). It's something you do if you get great service. I have a feeling in this case the cab fare was 11.70 and she paid $12 cash. Maybe she only had tens and two ones (obviously she had hundreds). The point is, it really grinds my gears when tips are ALWAYS expected regardless of the quality of service. - 8177, on 10/12/2007, -12/+232She left 31 diamond rings?
Who the hell carries that around. - siszam, on 10/12/2007, -9/+217It was probably her change she let him keep. She wouldn't want to dirty her elite hands by taking her dimes from a cab driver, don't ya know.
- dpcamp, on 10/12/2007, -6/+214i would have given him more than 100 bucks for 31 diamond rings!
- LonesomeFighter, on 10/12/2007, -22/+178who the hell tips 30 cents? wait, let me rephrase. Who the hell carries 30 cents in change?
- aurrea, on 10/12/2007, -5/+157I would have found 30 diamond rings and returned them....
- JimXugle, on 10/12/2007, -6/+126Glad to hear that there's /someone/ in this world with a shred of human decency.
- Popdmb, on 10/12/2007, -7/+83This woman sucks. She's either one of those faux snobs down in the financial district, or a real snob on Park.
Most New Yorkers will give a buck or two on the eleven dollar cab. I'm so glad it was this woman caught being a cheapskate. It'll knock her down a few pegs in her social circles, which is probably her worst nightmare. - ontain, on 10/12/2007, -2/+53yep. the real questions is how could a jeweler forget to take the 31 rings.
- simpleid, on 10/12/2007, -2/+49How does a story like this break? Did she call a newspaper and tell them story? If so how do they know it's legit? Did he do it? Do people over hear this stuff?
I don't understand how stories like this break. I'm not making any judgment here don't get me wrong, I'm only passively thinking out loud.
Good person though, nice to have humble people on this planet. :) - Nocturnal, on 10/12/2007, -1/+45@8177
Jewelers often carry a lot of merchandise. Here in Hawaii some jeweler got robbed at gun point at a bowling alley for over a million dollar worth of jewelry. - r00tus3r, on 10/12/2007, -15/+45Honesty should be its own reward. We shouldn't do good simply because we expect to be rewarded for our good deeds, and the fact that this story is so popular highlights a lot about what is wrong with society today.
- Mudcrutch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+27"what kind of jeweler cant afford her own car?"
it is common for many people in cities (especially NYC) to not have a car. and even when they DO have cars they take cabs a lot. (Seinfeld is actually a pretty good reference for this) - mandarin, on 10/12/2007, -13/+40Shes a jeweler, boneheads. Read the article before you start yelling about who carries 31 rings around.
- Quickdood, on 10/12/2007, -12/+36$100 for 31 diamond rings!!! Lets say they are cheap diamond rings which I would consider a ring which is worth about $1000. That means he returned at least $31,000 and she gave him less than a one percent reward for the value of the rings. If some guy returned to me $31k worth of property which I left behind, not that I would ever be that stupid, I would take him out to an expensive restaurant and at least give him $1,000 maybe more depending on how long it took him to track me down.
- tpaine, on 10/12/2007, -10/+34@ nixonrichard
Tipping became a requirement when the service industry started paying their employees minimum wage. Besides if you have ever spent time in europe then you know the benefits of a service industry based upon tipping. If you have to wait an hour for crappy food then send a message, tip 10 or even 5%. How much more annoying would it be if despite the horrible treatment you receive from your waiter he/she will still get paid the same and thus have zero incentive to treat you well. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -10/+32Cheap assed bitch.
- pbaehr, on 10/12/2007, -7/+29@RamTech: This story is basically proof that that expression isn't true. If it was she wouldn't have gotten her rings back. The universe has no concept of karma.
- JAshbaugh, on 10/12/2007, -5/+25Poor people believe in karma or that "theirs" is coming. Rich people believe they are invincible and beyond such pleasantries.
Nonetheless, i can't wait till I'm rich. - nixonrichard, on 10/12/2007, -9/+29It seems a lot of food service people took offense to the comment about tipping. Just to let you know, I am not opposed to tipping. I am more than happy to tip 15-20% at a restaurant when the service is good. I don't like being REQUIRED (by company policy or social pressure) to tip regardless of service. If all you do is take my order and hand me a cold plate of food, that service is not worth 15% of the cost of the meal. The REAL problem is when you get excellent service, you only tip about 5% more than when you get crappy service because the 15% is expected, so a tip, which is supposed to acknowledge good service, does very little to differentiate between great service and crap service.
For those who mentioned Europe as an example of why tipping should be expected, may I offer Japan as an example of why it should not. Excellent service, reasonable prices, and no expectation of a tip. - chicagodj, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19All cab rides unless the cabbie was rude or performed his service improperly deserve a tip.
We got a bunch of cheap people on digg. - logic, on 10/12/2007, -5/+21@rstarr - Have you thought about getting a job that actually like, pays you?
- falstaff, on 10/12/2007, -3/+19That last tenth is often called stealing, though, so....
- Nexxis, on 10/12/2007, -8/+23I think you are all missing the point of what nixonrichard was trying to say.
Tipping is fine, and should be done every time if the service deserves it. The problem is that many servers today could really care less and basically ignore the patrons, leaving them without water, not checking back to see if things are ok, or placing orders incorrectly and blaming everyone but themselves. This does not deserve 15-20%, not even close. To be honest, 15% is a bit low for service that was good, it has been replaced with 20-25%, but you should still have to EARN it. I served for years and coming to the table/bar with a piss ass attitude does not earn you a tip. You are a server, coming from the word service, without service you should not be paid. You deserve you $2-$3 an hour until you learn that.
Proof that tips are now expected rather than earned. They now put out tip jars at places like McDonalds and Subway. Banging keys on a register is not service, it's your job. - Valarauka, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15Actually Osman is most definitely a Muslim name, not a Hindu one.
- rohcky, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16Damn, that description is hard to read!
- catalysis, on 10/12/2007, -8/+22Just because you sell jewelry doesn't mean you're rich.
- rstarr, on 10/12/2007, -16/+30@nixonrichard
When you wait tables for a living and you are paid a whooping 2.50/hr you look at things a different way. Tips are all we make, there fore you are paying us, 15% is like minimum wage. If we sucked, give us minimum, if we did ok, give us more. But most servers do not make hourly at all and therefore a tip IS expected because that is it, we make nothing else. I have no idea for cabbies and the like, but as a server thats it, your tip is not a little something extra to make you feel good, it's all we get, a measly 15% for putting up with a kitchen that speaks another language, managers who will fire you on a whim because tons will take you job, and sometimes going into work to make literally less money after subway fare and something to eat. Not to mention dealing with your kids and cleaning up after them. Just remember, it's all we get, you're not going above and beyond with your 20%, you're being fair for a job well done and shouldn't be viewed as if you're doing us such a favor.
Edit: Everyone else beat me to it.
Crap. - pu-z, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15" If you have to wait an hour for crappy food then send a message, tip 10 or even 5%. How much more annoying would it be if despite the horrible treatment you receive from your waiter he/she will still get paid the same and thus have zero incentive to treat you well."
If the situation is like you mention, I never tip. Nothing. I live in Norway. Up until 10 - 15 years ago, noone tipped the waiters at all, unless there was exceptional service. The service was usually good and the waiters get ok salaries. Not lawyer salaries but a decent good living, with increase for long employment. Now, the service is much, much worse and the waiters all expect to have a tip.
Example from a business luch: The food was bad, I complained and they came back with the same food (complete with a bitemark from where I left it) so I didn't dare to eat it. The beer was bad, the swedish waitress really rude and the service was so slow I had to leave before the last dish since I was way, way late for a meeting. When she got to me with the payment terminal, she says "I punched in 15% tip for you". I get pissed off, take the terminal, cancel the payment and punch in an amount exactly down to the last cent with a hard press on 0 for tip and swipe the card. Naturally she gets pissed off.
Oh, by the way, my GF is a waitress at a posh restaurant and it sucks. The wages have gone way down after all the tipping started, since there were periods where waiters would make 200 - 300 USD AN HOUR on tipping in the popular restaurants in the summer. The tip is supposed to be shared with the kitchen crew, but the waiters never do so they were reduced in pay an the kitchen staff was increased. Since then, the crazy tipping has gone down and the waiters are left with slightly above minimum wage. - pbaehr, on 10/12/2007, -7/+19Yes, we tip for ridiculous things in the US. I'm pretty strongly opposed to it, but you can't just stop without looking like a dick.
- griz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14Possibly not hers. They could have been property of a business she works for. I'm sure Loomis drivers don't make $7 million/year.
Still, I'm sure it could have cost her more than her job if she lost them. She should have asked him what he was out in time and cab fares and covered that and then tacked on at least another $100. - truspark, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Restaurant owners used to pay their servers in the US but too many were getting paid "under the table" (no you know where that term comes from) for giving their customers free drinks and food. This being the time before electronic cash registers the owners decided to allow the practice and let their servers get paid from the grift as opposed to per diem. It worked out well for everyone at the time -the customer got something for free, the waiter got paid a decent wage and the restauranteur got a loyal following. Now that the practice is virtually non-existent due to digital watchdog technology I say we go back to the restaurant paying for their servers since we customers don't get anything extra for our dollar.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13I lost my wallet once here in NYC. It was full of cash and credit cards. I got it back in the mail 3 days later. The return address was "new york cabbie." My wallet, YoYoMa's cello , these diamond rings. Cabbies are an honest bunch. As far as all of this tipping discussion... If you ever find yourself thinking "what's up with tipping?" chances are you are a cheap and miserable bastard. (what did you expect from a bartender?... salary $15 a night)
- diulei, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15"Yes, we tip for ridiculous things in the US. I'm pretty strongly opposed to it, but you can't just stop without looking like a dick."
Yea, I agree. I hate tipping - but I'm a good tipper. Ironic. - LocalScope, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15@rstarr and nickisgod,
While I understand that people in the service industry make less than minimum wage this doesn't change the fact that tipping used to be a sign of appreciation and now it's required. I would rather have the business up the prices and pay their people a decent flat rate than to say here is the price of your meal and now please pay the service help too. I almost always tip as I know its standard, but I wont hesitate to give a low tip or none at all for ***** service. - halavais, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12It's New York. Keeping a car in the city is dumb (though I do it). And it does seem that this happens at least once every couple of months; someone leaves behind either finished jewelry or loose diamonds in a cab.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15The passenger was Jewish. Kinda adds to the stereotype.
- tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13(I'm from the UK so I guess well placed to counter the stuff about Europe)
Over here, there's no distinction between minimum wage for waiting staff, and anyone else. And a lot of waiting staff get better-than-minimum wage anyway (in decent restaurants, I'm not talking McDonalds here). So tipping over here is above and beyond what their wage is. They're never going to get underpaid, but a tip is a good incentive to work that extra bit harder.
The feeling I get in the US (and I apologise if I'm wrong, but this is what it feels like) is that waiting staff are underpaid because restaurants can expect customers to make up the rest of wage. It seems like a cop-out. It seems that the burden of paying staff is shifted onto the customers conscious. Thats seems unfair to me. In Europe, we tip (10-15% is the 'norm' here) for excellent service, but have *no* hesitation in not tipping if it doesn't deserve it. In the US though, I feel as though I'm depriving that waiter of a living which to me isn't deserved, no matter how bad the service is.
After that long and rambling post, my point is, tipping should be an additional incentive for excellent service, not just a sly method for underpaying staff in the first place. - diggernaught, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13They valued the rings at 30k so generally a proper reward for finding goods is about 5%-10% of thier value. $100 is weak.
- josegutz, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12Least she could have done is give him a quickie...
- monergism, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10As an ex cabbie there are a few ways "we" got paid. Most of us leased our cabs for ~100 a day or something. Depends on the city. Anyway, once we get over the expense (gas + $100) we start making money. You can make good money and tips help.
It's a blue collar job and after 9/11 I had to quit due to the drop in airline use. - hmalik, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12I wish our media also covers this story as "Islamic honest" and show viewers that Quran also teaches Muslims to be honest other than terrorist. Please dont take me wrong, but unfortunately whenever a muslim did something wrong, it is attached directly to Islam but if someone did something good, no one gives credit to Islam. This thing pisses me off.
- emcp, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13I agree that the 30 cent tip is ridiculous, but I'd need more information before criticizing her for the $100 reward. The article never says she is rich. My sister worked for a jeweler years ago after college, and several times she transported jewelry around, but she was still living paycheck to paycheck. This could have been some 25-yr old woman that couldn't afford a lot more than $100, especially if she's about to lose her job!
Granted, if she is rich, she sucks. - griz, on 10/12/2007, -4/+121/10th of "Bubba" in prison is still not good.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Yes it does. All my jewish friends are bad tippers. They laugh about it.
- TheUngod, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11Shall we call her Mrs. Pink?
I hope some of you get that reference... - stevenb, on 10/12/2007, -7/+15Why must she give him any kind of reward?
Did you guys ***** READ what he said? He doesn't believe in pegging himself up on the board with other people's money or property.
HE IS A ***** GOOD PERSON. NOT A SELFISH, WHINY SELF-CENTERED ***** PRICK like most of the rest of America when it comes to their financial gain.
I think her giving him $100 to cover his lost fees while he tracked her down was more than sufficient. Too many people believe they are owed things these days.. and it's not even right. :( - mxpx720, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8considering that shiat is all marked up at 75+ percent.... i hope she rots in hell
- cocoamix, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9This cheap bitch needs to be outed, if for no other reason than for people to know not to buy a diamond ring from a heartless cheapskate who forgets bags of diamond rings in cabs.
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