"Tip" Of The Iceberg

“It seems like No matter where you look, everyone expects tips these days,” says Utah State University student Keaton Nielson. “Even the employees at Starbucks that literally push a single button and then hand you your coffees have a tip jar.” According to the U.S. Department of Labor, nearly eight million Americans work completely or partially for tips. With such a wide array of jobs that expect gratuity along with new rules or standards of how much to give, many consumers find themselves wondering when they should tip and how much to offer.

It’s rumored that the word “tips” is an acronym that stands for “to insure promptness.” Whether or not its timely service we’re hoping for, we all notice great service and the not so good as well. “Service is at the heart of the customers experience,” says Justin Hamilton, owner or Hamilton’s Steakhouse and Café Sabor. “People remember foremost how they were treated and how they felt.”

Currently in the United States, it’s illegal to require or enforce patrons of a business to tip unless stated before hand such as a note on your restaurant ticket that carries the disclaimer, “15% gratuity added on to parties over 10 people.”

Many wonder why the United States doesn’t include gratuity in totals such as other countries have started doing. According to CNN Money, including the tip promotes sub par service because servers know they will be compensated the same either way. Perhaps it would be possible to observe the difference between somebody who styles hair at a set wage and somebody who styles hair works for tips.

In some jobs, tips make up all of workers income. Many people are shocked to realize that several states including Utah do not require restaurants to pay their servers minimum wage. This is especially true for non-chain establishments. The Department of Workforce Services of Utah estimated that waiters and waitresses around Cache Valley are making as little as $2.13 an hour plus whatever they make in tips. After state and federal taxes, that wage of $2.13 is almost non-existent. “I think that sometimes people don’t realize that whatever I make it tips is all I get,” says Abbey Mckay, a local waitress at an upscale eatery. Mckay also said that she’s required to tip a certain percentages to a bartender for making her drinks, a table assistant and the food runner on whatever she makes. Other servers from different restaurants also noted this.

It’s pretty common knowledge that your suppose to tip servers but what about other jobs? Perhaps you’re planning on heading off on a cruise over the upcoming spring break. Some cruises include tips in the cost of your ticket but most require you to tip the individuals that open doors for you, attendant to your room and the list goes on. What about the next time your driving through Oregon; how much do you give to the person pumping your gas? Tip experts suggest that if you’re unsure, plenty of knowledge is available online. Tipping.org offers every job from the pizza delivery person to the people who help out at your wedding, and what to expect, or what’s expected anyway. As for the presumptuous tip jar, experts say that you’re never expected to tip in that circumstance. That is, unless you desire to.

References:

CNNmoney:
http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/tipping/
http://money.cnn.com/2003/05/15/commentary/everyday/sahadi/index.htm

Tipping.org
http://tipping.org/tips/us.html

Statistics:
National: www.dol.gov/
Local: jobs.utah.gov/

Hamilton's Steak and Seafood:
hamiltonssteakhouse.com/

Press Releases to Stories

Smitten by Skinniest Macbook

By David Pogue, New York Times

Published January 17, 2008

(http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9902E4DF133DF934A25752C0A96E9C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2)

Two days after Apple released the exciting Macbook Air to its current line of laptops, the New York Times was one of the first to pick up this press release and wrote an article to introduce the new innovations to the world of computers (http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/01/15mbair.html).

The editorial begins talking about Mac Convention, Apple’s annual release of its exciting new products and updates for the year. Though four major products were unveiled and talked about briefly, it seems like the majority of the attention is stolen by their last creation, the thinnest laptop on the market: the Macbook Air.

The editorial essentially rehashes Apple’s press release of the Macbook in using lots of the specifications and touches on its worthy advancements. As always, the NY Times gives it its personal quirky touches and helps even the less savvy computer readers the ability to relate and still understand the significances Macbook Air is bringing to the table of electronics.

The article provides a basic outline of the pros and con’s the editor suggests are noteworthy. It starts with the greatest feature consumers might find attractive and then follows with what the writer feels is its major drawback. It’s challenging to detect bias in this article based on this tactic. Like a good news writer, he presents things fairly and addresses the questions that most people are probably wondering giving a very neutral position. However, the ending gives you the sum of his findings stating that if you’re into the latest and greatest, and willing to pay for it, its well worth the money.

Apple Introduces Macbook Air

By Peter Cohen, MacWorld

Published January 15, 2008

(http://www.macworld.com/article/131583/2008/01/macbookair.html)

Those who know anything about Apple know that they’ve got a loyal band of followers. Some are so dramatic that they’ve actually created a magazine to cover all of Apple’s bases. I picked up this article because it was probably the first official article written on the Macbook Air. This was literally written hours after Apple released its official press release. MacWorld is a magazine that offers an online version and a monthly printed copy. This article was taken offline.

To say that this article holds bias would be putting it mildly. It’s clear that this article was written for computer junkies but still manages to maintain simple, layman terms for the rest of us. Within the first lines, the article gives us its best features, the price of the different models and the earliest date in which you can order it. Towards the end, MacWorld also covers something that doesn’t seem related to the rest of the article. Though it was briefly mentioned in the NY Times article, MacWorld praises Apple on its desire to “go green,” especially with this product.

It’s clear that this piece lies squarely on the Apple release because the only information they have is exactly what Apple has told them. Obviously the prejudice is clear in that nothing negative is even remotely touched on. You can sense that the article was written by excited enthusiasts that echo kids on Christmas Eve. They don’t have anything new to offer but just want to talk about how thrilling everything is while making assumptions and predictions. You can see a “sign of the times” based on this websites openness because the site allows people coming across the article to discuss and give comments.

MY ANALYSIS:

It’s clear that I picked a topic or company that I enjoy. Initially I went to Apple’s website and connected myself to their PR department in their search engine. It was nice that Apple had easily accessible press releases that were detailed yet concise, and well laid out. It was especially nice that toward the end of the press release, Apple gave two names to contact for questions or more information.

After finding the release, I wanted to find stories from forums that contrasted themselves and gave a wide look at how a release is used. The New York Times was one of my first picks based on its professionalism and higher level of journalistic standards. Though I wasn’t sure whether or not NY Times had ever picked up the story, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had. It’s apparent that they used many excerpts from Apple’s press release but didn’t have to weigh too heavily on it. It’s always impressive when a writer can take tedious and sometimes rather mind-numbing computer facts and spin it into an informative, entertaining piece. No direct quotes were given or used.

The second article I discovered was actually obtained using the search engine Google. The article found in MacWorld failed to bring new information from Apple’s release but offered a concise alternative to the rather lengthy breakdown of the new product.

I would imagine that when it comes to new technology you have to use the company’s press release heavily. It’s something that has exact dimensions and has a limited consensus. Both used the release as a “target” but truly became divided when it came to actually providing the information in a way that people would want to read it.