Quote:
Originally Posted by UbinTook
That very well is true, the definition of "service sector" can also include mid to high level professional positions that are compensated well beyond sub or sub minimum wage. I hadn't recognized the sidetrack and point you were making, I was focused on poker dealing where that type of base/keep what you earn is in fact more often the norm.
I guess this is where I differ in opinion from the mainstream. I believe it would be possible to simply pay poker dealers a fair wage, and then have them go through the same sort of merit and reward processes that other service (and non-service) professionals go through.
You're on Bravo or some other tracking system, and your supervisor knows how many hands per down you get in, he knows what the feedback from customers is, he knows if you show up on time or always beg people to cover your shift, he himself has seen you deal, etc. and then he simply pays you what you're worth -- you know, like everyone else on this planet who doesn't get tipped as the primary portion of their paycheck.
I don't begrudge dealers for
wanting to get tipped. I just don't believe that it's the only model that works, or that it somehow must be the best way because that's what we do now.
It all reminds me of the
Monkey/Ladder/Banana story. It's,
"Hey, this is what we do!" so it's got to be right.
---
I fully understand the tacit agreement to pay your salary, and as member of polite society, I keep up my end of the bargain. I'm not an extravagant tipper, and I'm not a deadbeat. Truth be told, all the Phoenix dealers (except those
new to CAZ, where I don't get to very often any more) have probably dealt to me and I've probably tipped you in an unremarkable fashion. I'm just another face in the crowd throwing a buck here, two bucks there, and a red-bird when more than a couple barrels of them change hands.
I just don't like this discussion hinging on obvious falsehoods, like it's the only way to do it, or that the rake would have to be vastly higher then the current rake+tip, or that no tips = bad dealers, or the amount of tips paid is somehow insignificant.
This thread won't change the world. Sure, there's the chance that somebody, somewhere, reads this and then opens their room with different policies, but the city of Las Vegas isn't going to move away from the tipping culture as a result of this.
Until then, keep tipping a buck or two here and then and figure out for yourselves what you want to do when you win a jackpot or cash in a tournament.
The dealers who like to post that we're
wrong for having thoughts about anything other than the status quo are doing themselves a disservice. They're only further disenfranchising people who care enough about the subject to engage in lively debate on it.