For whatever reason, this cracked me up.
Dear Server,
You sucked. Phllbbtt!!!
Sincerely,
Rysler
When I worked for a major frou-frou coffee chain in Canada, tip jars were officially against company policy: if a customer offered us a tip, we were obliged to decline and say something like “Satisfying customers is reward enough!” or something equally nauseating. Still customers tried to tip us, and it would have been a greatly appreciated supplement to our minimum wages. Now that I no longer work there, the chain permits tip jars (not that I’m bitter!).
As a coffee connesseur (as opposed to humble barista) I can empathize with wanting to tip. I want my drink done right, and it takes skills to make it right. There’s a huge difference between a good latte and a bad latte - and there’s an even huger difference between a good double-tall low-fat decaf dry vanilla cappuccino and a bad one. (Really there is: Decaf espresso often turns out nasty; the lower fat content in milk makes it harder to make foam, therefore ‘dry’ (ie all foam, no milk) is particularly difficult with skim; etc.) I feel this is different from a fast-food place: once a hamburger is assembled, there’s not much difference between a good one and a bad one.
Having said that, I do agree that fast-food places should have tip jars.
Rysler: if your drink is bad, ask them to re-make it. We had one guy come in all the time that wanted a single short espresso - and he meant short. If it wasn’t short enough, or was too bitter, he would ask us to make it again, and he’d keep asking until we got it right. It’s in the store’s best interest - if you know they’ll make your drink again until they get it right, you’ll keep coming back to the store. And customers (the nice ones, anyway) usually acknowledge that they’ve been a pain by tipping (if permitted). Finally, I was always happy with the feedback on my work - and I learned how to make a damn good single short espresso !
You make some good points, cowgirl. When I was observing the coffee shop of my amigo, I saw customers who asked for a drink remade, and the (always humble <g>) baristas never took offense, and in fact, seemed to be joyfully challenged by having to make the perfect drink.
As someone without the cajones to ask for a do-over, I amused myself by learning all the different ways a skim milk over ice with hazelnut syrup could be made.
cowgirl – Actually, the lower the fat content, the easier it is to get a firm head of foam in milk. Occassionally, we’d get a batch of whole milk which just refused to produce a good head of foam, and we’d cheat by scooping some skim on top.
From http://www.coffeegeek.com/guides/frothingguide/milk :
But there is a difference in quality depending on the barista, and a good barista I will reward. I remember someone gave me a $5 tip on one of the first espressos I pulled because I had done a good job on it. An espressos needs a good layer of crema, it shouldn’t be too watery (over-pulled), and must be served immediately. If anyone lets my espresso sit around for a minute, they don’t get a tip.
And a good barista knows this. Sometimes we don’t get the pack quite right, or the grind needs adjusting, and we pull an espresso that’s much too diluted, or with hardly any crema. A good barista should dump it and start again and get it right – many don’t.
I haven’t been behind a coffee bar in seven years, but there is a level of skill, detail, and care for the final product that deserves at least a small token of appreciation.
If you’re going to complain about baristas, why the heck do we tip bartenders on pints of beer, then?
boggle Why would anyone not want their change??
Ever since the grocery stores in my area got Coinstar machines (www.coinstar.com ), I just put all my change in a jar and cash it in once a month or so. I usually cash in anywhere between 20-50 bucks a month in change, seriously.
Even before then I’d either roll it up and take it to the bank or hang onto it in a big jar. Was always fun taking all the change I’d saved up over a year or so and buy myself a luxury item I might not have otherwise been able to justify spending my budgeted cash on.
I suppose it’s not a big deal to those with alot of money, but I’ve never been so rich that I really didn’t want 20-50 bucks of my hard-earned cash so much as to want to just throw it away. Heck, I can buy myself a good book or two a month extra with that!! (and frequently do just that. 
)
Don’t those machines only give you like 88 cents to the dollar? Your bank will give you 100 cents to the dollar.
They take 8 cents out of every dollar’s worth of coins…however, I don’t mind paying the “service charge” to not have to roll them all up and haul em to the bank (I do all my banking online or via ATM). This way, I just bring em with me to the grocery store during a regular shopping trip. =)