Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Washington > Seattle area
 [Register]
Seattle area Seattle and King County Suburbs
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-02-2012, 11:04 PM
 
Location: Spokane County, Washington State
12 posts, read 38,888 times
Reputation: 11

Advertisements

My spouse works as a restaurant waiter / server.

I worked through an employment agency as a temporary office clerical employee.

We lived around and worked in the city of Seattle for 13 years.

Opportunity arrived late 2009 as a potentially prosperous job offer to DH in the California Inland Empire wine country. Well, that job offer fell through during our move down here

It’s been a struggle for us ever since just trying to make ends meet in this State, and there’s not even any nearby bookstores to keep me company

I have been pondering moving back to the Puget Sound Region, however, how are the cities there (Seattle, Bellevue, etc.) holding up economically since the minimum wage went up?

Did restaurants dramatically cut their wait staff?

When it comes to gratuity, do customers still tip their server well, say at least 15-20% of sales?

And what about office clerical temp jobs? I remember there always being job assignments open in Bellevue. Could this probably still be the case? And how about in downtown Seattle?

Is it true that business is slow all around up there?

Anybody else in a similar situation move back? Did you feel remorse or happiness?

Last edited by Sleepless from Seattle; 02-02-2012 at 11:44 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-02-2012, 11:13 PM
 
Location: Greater Seattle, WA Metro Area
1,930 posts, read 6,524,729 times
Reputation: 907
IMO, which is totally anedoctal, things seem to have rebounded nicely around here. On the rare occasion I go into Bellevue to shop or eat it seems nearly impossible to get a parking spot or a reservation. Nordstrom is always hopping, people seem to be carrying plenty of bags around. Lots of real estate development starting to happen again.

Other than that, I can't answer your questions...but did want to comment on tipping 30%. People do that? I usually do 20% and I know plenty of people who never do more than 15% so I can't answer to whether that has changed or not!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2012, 11:18 PM
 
9,618 posts, read 27,289,641 times
Reputation: 5382
I too thought that 15-20% was the standard tipping protocol.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2012, 11:59 PM
 
Location: Spokane County, Washington State
12 posts, read 38,888 times
Reputation: 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by texastrigirl View Post
...but did want to comment on tipping 30%. People do that? I usually do 20% and I know plenty of people who never do more than 15% so I can't answer to whether that has changed or not!
EDIT: Spouse just got home and corrected me on that. I guess it seemed so much more to me compared to the chump change he receives for tips / gratuity here in the California Inland Empire.

DH is an excellent and very attentive waiter / server. He receives many 5-star complements, but unfortunately those don't pay the bills.

Thank you for tipping
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-03-2012, 07:40 AM
 
Location: US Empire, Pac NW
5,003 posts, read 12,337,043 times
Reputation: 4125
For temp workers and waiters huh? Well I would say the minimum wage hike hasn't impacted business yet. So I think that is still possible. To be honest I don't think the recession impacted here much in that regard. For temp office work, there's bound to be stuff. Amazon is hiring, so is Boeing. So are lots of smaller tech firms.

I've been to inland empire California before. Get out of the desert. Come back.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-06-2012, 12:36 PM
 
Location: Arvada, CO
13,827 posts, read 29,862,778 times
Reputation: 14428
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sleepless from Seattle View Post
I guess it seemed so much more to me compared to the chump change he receives for tips / gratuity here in the California Inland Empire.
LOL, I waited tables for 6 years in the IE, and never thought I got chump change (wondering if SEA is really that much better {I turned down a job in Kirkland back in the day}), I was a bomb server to boot. I'm glad I'm not in that business anymore, and don't ever plan on returning. Be glad that you aren't in one of those states that lowers the minimum wage for tipped employees.

If you want to move back to Seattle, just save up and do it. What's the worst that could happen? You'd be back in Seattle........

BTW: my standards for tipping:
20%+ for really good (a good sign is refilling/bringing new drinks without asking for them)
15% for average
10% for crap service
__________________
Moderator for Los Angeles, The Inland Empire, and the Washington state forums.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-06-2012, 06:05 PM
 
9,618 posts, read 27,289,641 times
Reputation: 5382
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Aguilar View Post
LOL, I waited tables for 6 years in the IE, and never thought I got chump change (wondering if SEA is really that much better {I turned down a job in Kirkland back in the day}), I was a bomb server to boot. I'm glad I'm not in that business anymore, and don't ever plan on returning. Be glad that you aren't in one of those states that lowers the minimum wage for tipped employees.

If you want to move back to Seattle, just save up and do it. What's the worst that could happen? You'd be back in Seattle........

BTW: my standards for tipping:
20%+ for really good (a good sign is refilling/bringing new drinks without asking for them)
15% for average
10% for crap service
An argument I've had forever with my sister is what amount the tip is based on. Taxed or untaxed. She tips 15% of the untaxed amount. I make it way more complicated than I need to. For average service, I take the sales tax (which is 9.5-10% depending where you are in the Seattle area), double it, then subtract 10% of that amount, so if the bill is 30 dollars before tax, and the tax is three, double that is six, subtract 10% of that, and the server gets 5.40.
I know I'm crazy, that's not the point. When you tip, do you tip on the bill before or after sales tax is added?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-06-2012, 06:57 PM
 
Location: WA
4,242 posts, read 8,761,477 times
Reputation: 2375
Move the decimal point to the left and double that amount. Round up if you need to.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-06-2012, 07:11 PM
 
Location: Arvada, CO
13,827 posts, read 29,862,778 times
Reputation: 14428
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ira500 View Post
An argument I've had forever with my sister is what amount the tip is based on. Taxed or untaxed. She tips 15% of the untaxed amount. I make it way more complicated than I need to. For average service, I take the sales tax (which is 9.5-10% depending where you are in the Seattle area), double it, then subtract 10% of that amount, so if the bill is 30 dollars before tax, and the tax is three, double that is six, subtract 10% of that, and the server gets 5.40.
I know I'm crazy, that's not the point. When you tip, do you tip on the bill before or after sales tax is added?
I do it on the total bill including tax. Sales taxes are reflective of the environment(s) we live in, so that's why I do it.

I'll add in one more level, I just ate out.
-17%ish, a round number between whatever 15% and 20% is, for above average service, without the preemptive drink strikes.
__________________
Moderator for Los Angeles, The Inland Empire, and the Washington state forums.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-06-2012, 07:56 PM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,346 posts, read 80,658,912 times
Reputation: 57356
For decent service I'll do 1.5 times the tax, which is about 15% of the meal
cost. More or less depending on the service.

We currently have about 5 agency temps in my area of the building. Lots of projects going on, not permanent so temps are brought in to help out. I expect that to be the trend as business picks up, but people lack confidence enough to add positions.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Washington > Seattle area

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:12 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top