Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Unionized Maryland Apple Store Workers Request 10% Raise and Option to Accept Customer Tips
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I know they are setting low thresholds for tips now, but Apple devices are already expensive enough without adding tips to the amount.
Cannot wait to see the videos of Apple Store employees crying about how the customers are not giving them the customary 20% tip, and without it they cannot pay rent or buy food. Or the ones where they refuse to help customers who don't pre-select tips during check-in.
Cannot wait to see the videos of Apple Store employees crying about how the customers are not giving them the customary 20% tip, and without it they cannot pay rent or buy food. Or the ones where they refuse to help customers who don't pre-select tips during check-in.
Sorry but I think that asking for a tip at checkout cheapens the workers at the store. They stop being an agent of the company that employs them and instead become an agent to themselves. If the employees feel they are being underpaid, they can look elsewhere for work.
It also cheapens the customer who already pay a premium for Apple products by asking them to pay more on their way out.
And to answer your first question, bring a $20 bill with you to the store, place it in the palm of your hand, and discretely hand it to them when you shake their hand on the way out. I for one don't feel that tipping for retail products is right, but if you do, you don't need ApplePay to do it.
I don't deny there are lots of shady unions that are corrupted. But also asking to screw ALL unions, means letting the corporations do whatever they want and good luck expecting anything positive to happen for workers. lol
I thought they were suppose to be giving us tips... geniuses.
Lots of positive things happen for employees, with no union involvement. Lots and lots!
But if people don't like it, they're welcome to start their own businesses. That's how all the corporations people love to hate got started. Be sure to invite the unions in ASAP!!
Not sure what country you are from, but as someone who was a waiter and worked for tips in the USA, it's the fairest system around. If you are good, you make great money. If you are not, you may leave the job for something else or just be mediocre. You definitely don't make as much and don't deserve to.
Is it fair to pay the same wage to an employee who never meets deadlines, always has an excuse, comes in late, leaves early, as someone who's always on time or early, always meets deadlines, never has excuses? NO it does not. People who do more should be paid more. Otherwise, where's the incentive to do anything?
The point was about retail in general, not just Apple.
But if it makes you happier: who works the retail side *10*-4 when teens are in school and everyone else is at their primary job?
Also FWIW the second easiest Apple store for me to get to is open 24hrs/day
You want a tip for being disinterested, having dirty hair and staring at your phone while 'helping' me? Nope.
Plenty of people work nights as their primary job.
As for teens...our child's school ends at 2:20, not 4:00.
My wife’s a HS teacher, kids can end at different times based on class schedule and after school activities, I picked a general time in the right range. Most schools end around 330 FWIW
That said I think you may be missing the main point my dude. Retail jobs are full jobs, for that matter if a teen is working they deserve a full wage.
However not less than federal min wage, and I dont believe many if any states allow below their state min wages (Outside of farm work and waiting tables, which have their own exemptions for a lot of labor regs). Min wage should be a living wage, as it was intended.
Not true.
Federal FLSA allows employers to pay a youth minimum wage of not less than $4.25 an hour to employees who are under 20 years of age during the first 90 consecutive calendar days after initial employment.
Tipping culture is becoming outrageous lately, in SoCal I see tipping options beginning to be normal starting at 20%, 25%, and 27%.
20% tip option for a coffee you go and pour behind you?
I don’t see this happening at apple, however, maybe some Kim dog commission or increasing commission will do for employees.
20% tip option for a coffee you go and pour behind you?
I don’t see this happening at apple, however, maybe some Kim dog commission or increasing commission will do for employees.
Eh, fair enough, you are technically correct. Of course to keep that wage as a static you’d have to violate FLSA since you arent allowed to displace higher wage workers to hire folks at the youth rate and you can only pay them the youth rate for 90 calendar days max no matter age at which point their pay has to rise to the regular min wage. So for seasonal work it applies but for year round work it’s not really applicable.
Tips are fine in restaurants and hotels (hospitality industry) and certain services BUT when you start expanding it all over and especially at places like Apple it's a joke. A way for corporations to pay low wages and force customers to foot that bill. Pay fair and honest wages and give a reason for employees to feel worthy and excited to work. Enough of maximizing profits at all costs.
Ah, but this demonstrates that youth workers are not seen as equals AND that min wage can't really be considered a "living" wage.
No, what it demonstrates is that conservatives in the house didnt consider youth workers as equals in 1996, just under 60 years after the original act passed, and forced that provision into the ‘96 updates to pass them. You know, the same folks that have spent most of the last half century and more keeping min wage from being the living wage it was originally.
Not everyone is cut to be their own boss. Corporations should not have a free pass to do whatever they want. There is a reason labor laws and other advancements were put in place decades ago. Child labor, extreme hours, work safety, etc. Again, I am just advocating for a fair system.
And it’s worth remembering, for all the faults unions can have, that safety regulations are mostly written in union blood. Most of the workplace protections we take for granted today came out of union bargaining
All the other people exempted from FLSA min wage are not considered equals either...
If a teen (or anyone else) is working, they deserve a wage commensurate with their work. If a teen (or anyone else) is goofing off, they need to learn how to work before they get a good wage.
In businesses or industries where the individual's attitude, proficiency and execution contributes greatly to my satisfaction, safety, and overall enjoyment of the experience or service rendered, I'm all for tipping.
An Apple employee that spends an hour with me fixing an issue easily falls into that description. In such cases, I would gladly offer a tip.
Having said that, I feel this level of service is an integral part of the Apple brand experience and contributes to customer loyalty. Asking for tips, even at the customer's discretion, takes away from that. In cases where the employee has literally gone to grab you a cable or a phone case, it just comes off as tacky.
An Apple employee that spends an hour with me fixing an issue easily falls into that description. In such cases, I would gladly offer a tip.
Having said that, I feel this level of service is an integral part of the Apple brand experience and contributes to customer loyalty. Asking for tips, even at the customer's discretion, takes away from that. In cases where the employee has literally gone to grab you a cable or a phone case, it just comes off as tacky.
Technically, striking the letter “M” from the alphabet isn’t the insane request, the getaway car is!
I always loved that old Steve Martin “Hostages” joke! Thanks for the memory!