Which job is more physical?

Wiz had a thread on tip gambling a $20 tip with the cocktail waitress, and a comparison was made between the waitress and a dealer, with expectations towards receiving a tip. That got me thinking about the two jobs. I'm not trying to start a war, but should a dealer role expect the same type of tip frequency as a cocktail waitress?
How about total tips received for a shift?

I voted for the cocktail waitress cuz I used to wait tables and it was pretty physically draining. Sometimes your just go, go, go for hours on end non-stop. People don't realize how hard it is to be a server. It looks easy but you have a lot of responsibilities and have to act quickly and remember a lot of stuff. I've never really cocktail waitressed but I'm sure it's almost as hard as waiting tables.

And I have to confess that I rarely tip when I play games. I know that it's one of the Wizards top 10 commandments but I never understood why I have to tip them. I know he says that it's cuz they just make minimum wage but it just seems weird. If I had to tip every time I play then it would make me want to quit playing because those tips could get really expensive over the long run. That's the only commandment I don't agree with.

The cocktail servers definitely work physically harder. Dealing jobs require constant focus and there are high negative consequences to mistakes so they are challenging in a different way. In casinos where drinks are free I think the waitresses get a lot more tips. People are feeling generous towards the waitress because they are getting somethinig "free." The only dealers that have an expectation of a tip every hand are poker dealers. They also keep their own tips in most places which they have in common with the cocktail waitresses, unlike table game dealers.

What is fair or should be expected is a different question. Tipping generally has a very low correlation with the amount of work being performed. Does the fancy restaurant waitress serving your $200 dinner work 20 times more than the one serving your $10 breakfast? Same thing with parking valets or bellman. The tip amount has more to do with the type of clientele and tradition than with the difficulty of the job.

Quote: HotBlonde

And I have to confess that I rarely tip when I play games. I know that it's one of the Wizards top 10 commandments but I never understood why I have to tip them. I know he says that it's cuz they just make minimum wage but it just seems weird. If I had to tip every time I play then it would make me want to quit playing because those tips could get really expensive over the long run. That's the only commandment I don't agree with.

I'm probably not going to convince you to change your ways but if you can't afford to tip you probably shouldn't be gambling. I admit I would feel better about tipping if I got better service. It is a rare table game dealer that increases my enjoyment by being pleasant and showing some personality. When I do encounter one I tip more and feel great about it, but I know this makes no sense because the tips are pooled.

Poker players are some of the cheapest people in the casino but generally everyone will tip at least $1/pot. If those grumpy old nits can cough it up I think you can too.

My vote goes to the cocktail waitress.

I agree with Hot Blonde about tipping dealers. Why do we have to tip them? The casino should pay them more than minimum wage. If nobody tipped, the casino would be forced to pay them more, or nobody would want to be a dealer. Just playing a negative expectation game is enough- we shouldn't also subsidize their wages.

For the record, I do tip dealers, but always feel like I shouldn't. On the other hand, I always tip cocktail waitresses $2 p/beer; and waitresses at a restaurant get 15%-25%.

Waitresses may be paid less than the usual minimum wage, in which case tipping is clearly called for. Dealers are always paid at least the minimum wage.

I don't subscribe to the school of thought that you should always tip a certain %. The main factor for me is whether I feel I'm getting good service and good value (sure the waiter doesn't cook it, but he has a choice in where to work), and whether my tip matters.

So I generally tip more in smaller establishments, and especially more if they offer better than fair value (on gambling, booze, food... anything). If in a larger establishment and it didn't provide fair value, I don't feel obligated to tip more than the change, or anything at all if service was less than satisfactory.

Quote: MakingBook

Just playing a negative expectation game is enough- we shouldn't also subsidize their wages.

Great point.

When I read on a thread on here about the "expectation" to tip the person who gives me a hand pay on a slot machine it really aggitated me. If I'm required to have a person hand me my money why in the hell does that mean that person deserves a tip? For what? Giving me my money? Absolutely ridiculous.

And I worked in the service industry from the age of 19 to the age of 31 so tips were a big part of my income. But you've got to draw the line somewhere, honestly. It reminds me of an episode on Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry David was at a hotel and there was something wrong with the air conditioner or something and he called the front desk and they sent a mechanic up who fixed it and then stood there afterwards and expected Larry to tip him.

Also I was at a friend's house once when the cable guy came over to do something and when he was leaving she told him to wait a second and she went and got some money and gave him a 5 dollar bill. Tipping the cable guy? My cousin works for DirecTV and he told me that they're not supposed to accept tips. But that cable guy accepted it and went on his way. When I used to bag groceries at a grocery store I was told that we were not allowed to accept tips and would not accept them after helping people with their stuff to their cars when they'd offer to tip me. And oftentimes when I check into a hotel room I opt to carry my own luggage to my room so I don't have to tip anyone.

I always tip a waitress and only tip a dealer
if they haven't been a jerk. Many of them
are rude and distant, not a good attitude
if you expect tips.

If you tip a "good" dealer, aren't you also tipping the "jerk" dealer an equal share? I'm assuming they share tips (at least that's what I'm told).

Quote: MakingBook

If you tip a "good" dealer, aren't you also tipping the "jerk" dealer

He's costing them (good dealers) money and they usually know
it. If you read the dealer forums, the good dealers
know they're carrying the pissy dealers and they
resent the hell out of it.