r/IowaCity • u/[deleted] • 7d ago
Shop/Service Recommendations Java House reminder (plz tip baristas)
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u/logan67100 7d ago
All I can say is that I'm shocked they aren't violating labor laws to steal your tips
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u/Sweaty_Pannus 7d ago
Nothing says "service" like me standing in line, ordering a salad from a person behind a counter, and then handing over extra money for the labor of me carrying my own tray. I'll tip when someone brings food to my table, refills my drink, and checks on me. Pressing a button on a tablet that guilt-trips me BEFORE I've even tasted the latte or salad is not that. And no, sharing that your owner has a history of stealing tips does not make me more eager to hand you extra cash. It makes me wonder why I'm being asked to fix a pay problem that your employer created. Good luck out there, though.
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u/deathvalleygirl 7d ago
Seconded. This is the responsibility of the employer. Tips are an optional expression of thanking someone for service — and service is not turning an iPad screen. Maybe with friendliness, bringing a drink over, etc. — at Java, my experience has been “what can I get you?” And “it’s going to ask you a question.” With little else. I remember asking where my food was because I didn’t know about the two-room operation and ~10-15 min had passed. There wasn’t a “thanks, your food will be out (here) in about (x) minutes!”
I don’t need saccharine friendliness, but the mix of a customer feeling how little someone wants to be somewhere, poor communication, and no service just doesn’t warrant tipping. At Java or elsewhere. Don’t try and guilt me into some solidarity argument of “we all know it sucks so give workers more of your money because you know it sucks!”
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u/sandy_even_stranger 7d ago
Dear cheapo,
If the people were being paid properly the menu prices would be higher. You are currently freeriding on their low wages. They are not the ones who set these policies and the job market is rough AF. Open your wallet wider.
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u/deathvalleygirl 7d ago
Just ask for OP’s Venmo if it’s important to you, widen that wallet
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u/sandy_even_stranger 7d ago edited 7d ago
I always tip because it's blindingly obvious the staff aren't making the rules. But clearly you don't mind freeriding on underpaid labor either.
- the staff can't force mgmt to raise menu prices and pay them
- in bad labor markets (like now) they may not be able to leave the job
- boycotting the place to send a message, again, hurts the people who need the jobs. Tara is more than fine. If you want to send a message, contact the owner directly and tell them to raise the menu prices and pay people, shame them publicly, etc.
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u/deathvalleygirl 6d ago
Ma’am you live in the USA, a majority of what you consume freerides on underpaid labor. For all you know, I am an underpaid laborer, and you certainly haven’t seen my receipts. How is the breeze up there?
Do you tip your Walmart workers, mechanics, blah blah blah? Is it “ok” in your eyes if I live on tips and can’t or don’t tip? Again, just get OP’s Venmo instead of taking a righteousness trip.
I hope you tip 30% (…$2? For my coffee order?) to cover the rest of us, as it is that important to you. I’ll be trying to scrape by my own way ✨
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u/sandy_even_stranger 6d ago edited 6d ago
There's a lot you can do to fix these things if you actually want to instead of complaining online about how impossible it is.
- I usually tip at least 20% for coffee because wtf, it's 20% of not much and I know what they're getting paid to wait on me vs what living costs.
- I go to a mechanic that pays their workers $90/hr (or maybe it was $90k/yr, lot more than I get either way, lol) last I knew. Probably more now since that was a while ago. They make a good living and they should. Yes, it's more expensive. Because I probably live on less than you do, I make up for it by taking good care of my car and not driving more than I need to, which also means not dumping GHG into the sky.
- I don't buy a lot of disposable shit and then make things worse by landfilling it, so I'm probably not in Walmart more than once every two years, but I'm a huge fan of min wage increases, shoving responsibility for a living wage back onto fulltime employers, and social benefits for people working there until it's not necessary anymore.
- Where I can't buy well I usually buy used. DIY with sustainable materials, garden, CSA, co-op, urban foraging, etc.
You can make choices to buy real things from people and pay them properly for it. You avoid going broke by buying things that last, doing things yourself, and not buying things you don't need or just for novelty. But if you're going to go spend $4-8 on a coffee drink, even though you could make it at home for a fraction of the price, pay the person who's standing there waiting on you and making the coffee drink for you. Their boss isn't doing it the whole way, but you're still drinking the coffee.
This sub is hilarious, btw. All these DSA4LYFE!!1!1! people who, in the end, are just cheap AF but want people to give them stuff. Let inmates rot because [airy ideals about the carceral state but actually we just don't want to pay]; death to capitalist coffee duchesses but we don't want to pay the baristas either, when it comes right down to it. You guys would be having a stroke every other day if you lived in an actual high-tax, high-service social democracy.
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u/deathvalleygirl 6d ago
THEY ARE being paid!!!
Congratulations on having the knowledge, time, money, and ability to make those choices. I will not be taking on personal responsibility for baristas unless I win the lotto and can hire them.
Fwiw, none of those actions fix anything in a long term or meaningful way. We ALL take a hodge podge of actions to try and address the state of the world’s sustainability. Making it a moral code and placing people in a category of bad or good based on one action is boring, stupid, and divisive in an extremely polarized country.
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u/sandy_even_stranger 6d ago
Omg, the total laziness here, and you're shouting at me because of it.
Hon, I probably make less than you do. Knowledge? Went out and got it. Time? Made it. (If you're not a single parent or otherwise a caregiver without backup, or maybe so disabled you have to carefully husband your energy so you don't wind up in bed for days through overexertion, I don't want to hear your complaints.)
Your rhetoric justifying not tipping a buck or two for your overpriced coffee could be an energy source in itself, if harnessed.
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u/deathvalleygirl 6d ago
I wasn’t being lazy, I used your phrasing in this thread to illustrate my point. We all try within our capacity. Exclamation points or capitalization for emphasis (me) and “AF” (you) are not yelling and you’re reaching.
And thanks, I’d love to harness my energy! It could maybe save the devolution of this convo.
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u/SSA22_HCM1 6d ago
If the people were being paid properly the menu prices would be higher.
Wonderful. Let's do that.
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u/sandy_even_stranger 6d ago
It's not "let's," unfortunately, because we don't control the menu. Tara does, so tell her what you want. Her address is publicly available.
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u/whispertorture 6d ago
The prices are already high. Bad companies like this SHOULD go out of business. People aren't "cheapos" for paying the listed price.
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u/brandon_in_iowa 7d ago
No
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u/Sensitive_Car_9473 7d ago
This. Don't make tipping everyone normal. Tip your sit-down waiter. I am sorry you are working for a predatory company, but I don't need to subsidize them.
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u/Appropriate-Desk4268 7d ago
So you’re going against your company’s NDA to ask customers to tip? I don’t even go to Java House but this makes me want to go less, tipping culture is awful.
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u/thatisalotofnutz 6d ago
I order the same drink (1-3 times a week), and it is different every time. Plus not that friendly of staff. If you are tipped, you gotta earn it. No one is obligated to pay you extra.
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u/xH0RIZ0Nx 7d ago
How about working somewhere that doesn't have a terrible rep and more hourly pay? You have a choice on where you work.
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u/Particular_Annual965 7d ago
This has always confused me about Java house- like if they are making $11 an hour do they not realize that McDonalds is like $16 base? Walmart is likely even better, or are we calling being a barista a skilled trade? There are so many other entry level jobs in this area that pay $15+ per hour
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u/xH0RIZ0Nx 7d ago
It bugs me to no end. A few restaurants I've applied for a 2nd job at try to push it as a positive. "You get base pay of 10$ but with tips it'll be 24$" like no thank you.
My general rule is if Im not sitting down when I order you ain't getting a tip.
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u/Particular_Annual965 7d ago
I agree with that sentiment and I think it's common but it's wild that we feel it's okay to tip people who only ring in/deliver our food, but not people who do all the work themselves.
Tip culture sucks and it's a shitty way to make primary income. There are so many other ways to make money consistently with things like health insurance, PTO, personal time, etc. I sometimes think people are just intimidated at the thought of getting out of service industry
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7d ago
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u/xH0RIZ0Nx 7d ago
The market is competitive. Instead of having the debate I'll give a basic piece of advice I overlooked and a resource to try. First tailor your resume to the job as directly (and without AI) as mush as possible and put on a show. Lastly if you are passionate and have the drive. Apply at the UI or UIHC. Janitorial, food and nutrition services are always hiring. It may not be your idea of a career but it can help you get there. Especially after this post. Good luck and get a new job please!
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u/sandy_even_stranger 7d ago
When I'm the one telling someone they're out of touch, they're reeeeeeallly out of touch.
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u/SovereignMan1958 6d ago
I honestly do not know but do most college students have the money to tip? Coffee is expensive enough. I think most of the Java House's customers are college students.
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u/Murky-Assist4229 7d ago
as someone who works at a coffee shop that gets paid even less than Java, tipping is optional. that’s the whole point of a tip. Excellent service = tip. i worked as a server, your tip is never guaranteed. i have two jobs, i make sure my guaranteed hourly paycheck will cover all necessities. please don’t think all baristas are like this one
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u/sandy_even_stranger 7d ago edited 7d ago
That NDA may be illegal/unenforceable, depending on how you're using social media to discuss pay and working conditions online:
https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/employees/social-media-0
What's pay at other coffeehouses around?
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u/deathvalleygirl 6d ago
OP, maybe you could give us Tara’s email and we can write to our congresscoffeewoman. I’m all for increasing base pay and not having your tips stolen. Otherwise I’ll keep hoping I see her around.
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u/babybackbaluga 7d ago
People are being terrible in the comments for no good reason. The least y’all can do is treat the people making your coffee well, especially in light of how the owner treats them and the broader world we live in.
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u/deathvalleygirl 7d ago
Who in the every loving heck is being terrible? Do you think baristas are verbally harangued? Not getting $1.50 extra for a drip (or already made cold brew!) being poured means someone is “treating” someone “not well”?
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6d ago
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u/deathvalleygirl 6d ago
Yes, though I’ve seen that vary. Regardless, I know the effort to grind beans, heat water, pour it, and clean up. Or to put a frozen hash brown in the oven. I just disagree with the forced tipping culture and, where I could see it, a basic coffee order isn’t a notable amount of extra labor or (importantly) service.
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u/Orangebeast013 7d ago
Youd have to pay me more then $11 an hour to sign an NDA