Tipping the grocery carryout kids.

$5 is a bit much unless you are provisioning for a yacht then $10/20 would be more like it.
I usually tip $1-2 depending on how many bags I have and how heavy.

I tip $1 per bag. Generally this is in the $5 range.

I tip more during the holidays and end of school year. I see the same young people generally when I shop and I like for them to feel appreciated for their hard work. $10 or $20 twice a year gets me a big smile and a happy "thank you."

I tip $1 for every $100 that I spend.

If they do a good job and exhibit courteous behavior, I throw in an extra buck or two.

we usually tip 1

Does anyone know how much the young people are paid?

i was told once but can not remember. but if they work an 8 hour day they can make bank even if people only tip 1 a cart especially if they are friendly

SO is this the "norm"? I'm always asked in the states if I want help out to my car and I always say no. Between the girls and myself we have enough people to load the car. Would I be disrespecting the workers if I do it myself? I worked as a cashier and bagger for a long time in H.S. and I'm VERY picky about how I load my bags AND how I load them in my car so things don't get broken or squished. LOL! I'm a little OCD that way.

I've only ever tipped a buck no matter what. I'd rather wheel my own cart and do it myself though.

SO is this the "norm"? I'm always asked in the states if I want help out to my car and I always say no. Between the girls and myself we have enough people to load the car. Would I be disrespecting the workers if I do it myself? I worked as a cashier and bagger for a long time in H.S. and I'm VERY picky about how I load my bags AND how I load them in my car so things don't get broken or squished. LOL! I'm a little OCD that way.

The STX norm is,
Cost U Less, bring your bags or grab some boxes from the box bin. About the only store you can take the cart out of the store.

Plaza Extra & Pueblo, The cart doesn't get past the checkout. If it's more than you can carry, they dolly it out to your car. Tip

Does anyone know how much the young people are paid?

A friend recently inquired with the owners of Plaza and she was told minimum wage.

Grocery bagging is one of the few jobs available to high schoolers. I think it's a credit to them that they want to make an honest living and learn customer service skills.

I never buy a full cart of groceries, but sometimes tip just to keep them motivated.

Grocery bagging is one of the few jobs available to high schoolers. I think it's a credit to them that they want to make an honest living and learn customer service skills.

I never buy a full cart of groceries, but sometimes tip just to keep them motivated.

Yes. This is why I tip well. I have read that $1 per bag is the accepted amount but I also think it is a personal choice. Either way I tip to motivate young people for a good honest job and so that they know every job has its moments of reward.

Good to know! Thanks Sky!

In the states, klpmtm, often baggers are not allowed to accept tips. On STX it is expected even if all they do is bag groceries at the checkout. It is how they make money.

Again, good to know. Just curious, is the minimum wage the same there as it is on the mainland? I know the federal minimum wage is being debated on to get an increase.

I usually only tip a dollar. If I can carry it out, I do, but it is nice to have them dolly it out. They are very sweet usually. I shop so frequently for a family of five, that it adds u in a weeks time. I always shop at the same stores, so the kids are used to seeing me. They never seem offended by $1, and are always eager to help me. I am always appreciative of the help, since it can be so hot at times, it is really nice to have the help!

I usually carry my own bag and dump the few items in. I feel guilty so I sometimes tip even if I bag. But I'm usually in the express line.

minimum wage here is 7.25 it is the federal minimum wage. so if they only get a buck a cart that is much more than servers start out at. do they claim their tips?
in the states they are not supposed to take tips.
if you get into a certain lane at pueblo, you can take your own cart out to the car

It seems to my memory that in the states if you allow an employee to accept tips as wages you pay them the minimum tipped wage which is $2.13 an hour like restaurant servers. So this is why they don't allow baggers to accept tips, because they pay them and are taxed for them at standard minimum wage. I'm curious if anyone knows better.

I can say that the $2.13 an hour hasn't changed since I was in college in 1989. I tip restaurant employees extra well too.

Don't begrudge the buck or two. A little goodwill goes a long ways especially on island.

Most states have a tipped wage. But out here in Cali they don't. The servers get the state minimum wage which is now $10/hr and set to go up next year and the year after that. It will eventually get to be approximately $15/hour. The businesses (especially restaurants) are having a conniption over here. The servers are unfortunately ignorant of what is going to happen in the restaurant industry. Many restaurants are looking to use iPads on the tables so that people can order their own food. The restaurants will just have just a couple of food runners to serve what is in the kitchen and all servers will be let go. Either that or the cost of food is going to skyrocket and people won't tip at all when they go out to eat. The thought is, who's going to tip a server when they are making just as much as recent college grads working in their field.

That is why I was asking. I was curious to see what the USVI does for their minimum wage.

I just did a Google search and found that servers in California must be tipped the server minimum wage of $9.00 per hour.

Servers for quick and casual service restaurants are going to be replaced by order devices in the states. It is a matter of time.

However STX is typically 20 years behind the states in such things. I enjoy tipping grocery carry-out kids and servers on island much more. They really appreciate it and they know who you are. It is a small island.

It is also ridiculous to expect someone to work for a minimum wage set 30 years ago. Even $9.00/hour is ridiculous. It is just another sign of how the wealthy control the world.

You should all read this as to why service will not go away:

Restaurant Watches Old Surveillance And Shares Shocking Results On Craigslist

2004:

Customers walk in.

They gets seated and are given menus, out of 45 customers 3 request to be seated elsewhere.

Customers on average spend 8 minutes before closing the menu to show they are ready to order.

Waiters shows up almost instantly takes the order.

Appetizers are fired within 6 minutes, obviously the more complex items take longer.

Out of 45 customers 2 sent items back.

Waiters keep an eye out for their tables so they can respond quickly if the customer needs something.

After guests are done, the check delivered, and within 5 minutes they leave.

Average time from start to finish: 1:05

2014
:
Customers walk in.

Customers get seated and is given menus, out of 45 customers 18 requested to be seated elsewhere.

Before even opening the menu they take their phones out, some are taking photos while others are simply doing something else on their phone (sorry we have no clue what they are doing and do not monitor customer WIFI activity).

7 out of the 45 customers had waiters come over right away, they showed them something on their phone and spent an average of 5 minutes of the waiter's time. Given this is recent footage, we asked the waiters about this and they explained those customers had a problem connecting to the WIFI and demanded the waiters try to help them.

Finally the waiters are walking over to the table to see what the customers would like to order. The majority have not even opened the menu and ask the waiter to wait a bit.

Customer opens the menu, places their hands holding their phones on top of it and continue doing whatever on their phone.

Waiter returns to see if they are ready to order or have any questions. The customer asks for more time.

Finally they are ready to order.

Total average time from when the customer was seated until they placed their order 21 minutes.

Food starts getting delivered within 6 minutes, obviously the more complex items take way longer.

26 out of 45 customers spend an average of 3 minutes taking photos of the food.

14 out of 45 customers take pictures of each other with the food in front of them or as they are eating the food. This takes on average another 4 minutes as they must review and sometimes retake the photo.

9 out of 45 customers sent their food back to reheat. Obviously if they didn't pause to do whatever on their phone the food wouldn't have gotten cold.

27 out of 45 customers asked their waiter to take a group photo. 14 of those requested the waiter retake the photo as they were not pleased with the first photo. On average this entire process between the chit chatting and reviewing the photo taken added another 5 minutes and obviously caused the waiter not to be able to take care of other tables he/she was serving.

Given in most cases the customers are constantly busy on their phones it took an average of 20 minutes more from when they were done eating until they requested a check. Furthermore once the check was delivered it took 15 minutes longer than 10 years ago for them to pay and leave.

8 out of 45 customers bumped into other customers or in one case a waiter (texting while walking) as they were either walking in or out of the Restaurant.

Average time from start to finish: 1:55