Al Roker - Taxi driver snub was racially motivated

[Kutnupe14]

I don't have the link handy, but they found the taxi driver, who is Bangladeshi. He says he just didn't see Roker. On the other hand, he has a record of skipping black passengers. He was fined for that, and now he stands to receive a bigger fine a suspension of his license.

I don't know why people are picking sides. Was any of you there in NY? There is just too little information.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/cabbie-snubbed-al-roker-repeat-offender-article-1.2444738

 

[hoosierdoc]

was it ever stated which race the driver was?

Edit, just saw above.

Curious... are there tipping differences between races? Could this simply be seeking a better tip and not racism? I suspect racism has nothing to do with it.

 

[Kutnupe14]

was it ever stated which race the driver was?

Edit, just saw above.

Curious... are there tipping differences between races? Could this simply be seeking a better tip and not racism? I suspect racism has nothing to do with it.

More than likely that's exactly what the cabbie was doing.... but there is an inherent bias (maybe not reaching the level of racism) in the act of the preference of a white client over a black one.

 

[hoosierdoc]

More than likely that's exactly what the cabbie was doing.... but there is an inherent bias (maybe not reaching the level of racism) in the act of the preference of a white client over a black one.

Well, I suspect he wanted the next client, not specifically a white one. Obviously who knows except the cabbie. I bet it would be fun to sit around at a bar with a bunch of cabbies and learn about how they select their customers.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I found this

Everything You Don't Know About Tipping - Wait But Why

 

[bingley]

How does these 1,000 waiters ascertain that a certain person is Jewish rather than your generic white, or someone is a foreigner from Canada rather than a Minnesotan who talks a little funny? I don't think I can tell. Or is this just a chart of the prejudices of 1,000 waiters?

 

[hoosierdoc]

hard to say for sure. I can tell when some people are a particular religion, but not all. that chart for the most part goes along with what I've heard from those in service industries. Not sure about the smoker part though. It seems like there's some overlap among people.

 

[indiucky]

The sweet lady at the quickie mart who makes my breakfast every morning always asks if I want mayonnaise and I always say no...Finally one time I said to her, "Just because I am a poor white redneck and drive a 25 year old truck does not mean I like mayonnaise." She got flustered until she realized I was joking...It's now become a running joke between us and she does it deliberately....She ain't racist against white folk...I just think she has a good sense of humor....

Something sadly lacking in this day and age...

 

[17 squirrel]

How does these 1,000 waiters ascertain that a certain person is Jewish rather than your generic white, or someone is a foreigner from Canada rather than a Minnesotan who talks a little funny? I don't think I can tell. Or is this just a chart of the prejudices of 1,000 waiters?

Most likely there long curly hair hanging on the sides of there faces. Maybe the last name on there credit cards ending in burg or stein.

 

[Timjoebillybob]

I standby my belief that he's had a sheltered life if he's never heard that before.

Why? I never heard most of them until my mid 20s when I started dealing in a casino.

And I should have posted "no reply" rather than answer. Do you find it strange that pizza drivers would like to deliver to black neighborhoods?

I found this

Everything You Don't Know About Tipping - Wait But Why

I've got a question, all my early years in life 10% was considered a good tip, then it went to 15%, now according to that article under 17% is considered a poor tip. When did it change and why?

hard to say for sure. I can tell when some people are a particular religion, but not all. that chart for the most part goes along with what I've heard from those in service industries. Not sure about the smoker part though. It seems like there's some overlap among people.

How does these 1,000 waiters ascertain that a certain person is Jewish rather than your generic white, or someone is a foreigner from Canada rather than a Minnesotan who talks a little funny? I don't think I can tell. Or is this just a chart of the prejudices of 1,000 waiters?

When they have a yamaka or kippa or that hat they wear in fiddler on the roof it's kind of obvious, a star of david iffy, I used to talk to a christian pastor who wore one rather than a cross.

 

[femurphy77]

You've lived a sheltered life.

I standby my belief that he's had a sheltered life if he's never heard that before.

Army Brat. FAR from sheltered, just never heard that one before. But I have heard how you peepo are, you know, GIFTED! (It's hard to do a lispy german accent in type)

 

[femurphy77]

Interesting chart, I noticed the coupon users are down on the low end. I wonder if that's due to the fact that they are tipping based on the actual bill vs what it would have been without the coupon? We go to Applebees late evenings on Friday nights occasionally for a snack. We've been at work all day, running around afterwards and decide to go get an appetizer. We typically also only drink water with our restaurant meals so we get out the door under $15.

We know the wait staff is hard working and that we are occupying valuable real estate and in spite of our small order we still like to receive the same attentive, friendly service we get with a large meal or large group. We base our tipping for these visits on a full meal order so that the waitress/er receives fair compensation for their time regardless the size of our order UNLESS.

We went to the Applebee's in Camby a couple of weeks ago and ordered beer pretzels and water and the waitress, with a distinct attitude in her voice said; "That's all your getting?" She never returned to our table once, including delivering our order, while we were there. We finally flagged her down to pay out and when she returned to get the receipt signed I told her that her tip would have been $7 instead of $1 due to her attitude and lack of service. She just turned and walked away.

 

[HoughMade]

...Curious... are there tipping differences between races? Could this simply be seeking a better tip and not racism? I suspect racism has nothing to do with it.

As I have never waited tables or done any other job which traditionally involves tipping (um...lawyers will take tips, thank you), I have no idea what the tipping proclivities of different races are.

I have heard, however, that Canadians are horrible and Europeans make it a moral issue to not tip claiming that the restaurant should just pay more (ignoring that good waitstaff make a lot more money in total than what they would if the restaurant paid what the Euro-stiff claim they should).

However, I can confirm, based upon my wife's explanation of what happens at "Mom's night out", that women are cheap to the point of epicness. As I hear it, the last 1/2 to full hour is spent haggling over who had what and how to tip. First of all, it seems that these women have never tumbled to the phrase "can you split up the check".... with a better choice being "I'll get this one, next one's on you." Sure, there will always be someone whose turn it never seems to be, but who cares? Are they your friend or not? But I digress.

The tipping. The collective "Moms" seem to think that 10% is just find and 12% is like Frank Sinatra at the Rainbow Room.

For all you little leaguers out there, here is HoughMade's, never get your food spit in tip calculator- it's based on the principle of 20% and round up.

Example. On a $72.00 bill, 10% is $7.20, so double that to $14.40, then round up (always up, never down) to $15.00. It's a good tip, but not extravagant like a desperate horndog looking for something after the shift.

 

[indiucky]

I standby my belief that he's had a sheltered life if he's never heard that before.

Kut I was a bus boy from 15-19 in a hotel dining room and I had never heard that black people don't tip well....

I'll tell you a funny story...This took place in the late 70's/early 80's and I have always been a fan of blues music...Borderline obsessed with it actually...The two kings of the kitchen, Chef Reid and Tom were two retired army cooks who ran the kitchen with an iron fist...The busboy was always kind of the mediator between the kitchen (mostly black folk) and the hostess/waitresses (mostly middle aged white women folk)....For whatever reason I got along better with the kitchen staff, more because of the gender rather than the race I believe...The waitresses just seemed "catty" for lack of a better word...

One day I was walking through the kitchen and Chef Reid had not put on his Chef uniform yet and was wearing a bad a$$ vintage B B King T shirt....As I was walking by I casually mentioned that I am a huge B B King fan and that I loved his shirt...

He and Tom began laughing their butt's off....I mean talking over each other...Mocking the fact that a 15 year old white boy could even know who B B King is much less be a fan....I mean they were holding each other up they were laughing so hard...I started getting red in the face and finally just blew up at them....

"Well I can &&*&**&^ tell you this....If it wasn't for folks like Big Mama Thornton, Robert Johnson, B B King, etc...Elvis would still be driving a ^&&%% truck in Memphis and Rock and Roll would not only be dead it would have never %^%^&& been BORN!!!!!"

Dead silence...

Tom looked over at Chef and said "If that little cracker comes through on them catalpa worms he says his papaw's got I say we take him fishing with us..."

Chef looked down at me (he was a big man) and said..."You all right kid...I am sorry I was making fun of you..."

The following Saturday I brought a bag of catalpa worms and we three went cat fishing down at the rock pit by the river...Chef drove in his big old Cadillac and I remember him putting B B King in the cassette deck and looking at me in the back seat.....

"B B King alright with you boy?"

"Yes sir..."

They were both in their 60's and I was a wet behind the ears 15 year old and I learned something that day.....Good music, a bag of catalpa worms, and humor can break down barriers....

I had not thought about that in years until you made me remember my bus boy days and I kept racking my brain trying to remember if any of the waitresses had ever said anything like that and that memory of Chef and Tom popped in my head....Age and Race aside they treated me as an equal from that day forward........

My dad is who had taught me that about the birth of rock and roll..He told me one of the great sins of his generation was that Pat Boone's version of "Blueberry Hill" out sold Fats Domino's version....Here is a taste of both....

[video=youtube;zyHcMYt3ixQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyHcMYt3ixQ[/video]

And here is the version with heart.....

[video=youtube;ywm9RhBI3Lk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywm9RhBI3Lk[/video]

 

[Kutnupe14]

As I have never waited tables or done any other job which traditionally involves tipping (um...lawyers will take tips, thank you), I have no idea what the tipping proclivities of different races are.

I have heard, however, that Canadians are horrible and Europeans make it a moral issue to not tip claiming that the restaurant should just pay more (ignoring that good waitstaff make a lot more money in total than what they would if the restaurant paid what the Euro-stiff claim they should).

However, I can confirm, based upon my wife's explanation of what happens at "Mom's night out", that women are cheap to the point of epicness. As I hear it, the last 1/2 to full hour is spent haggling over who had what and how to tip. First of all, it seems that these women have never tumbled to the phrase "can you split up the check".... with a better choice being "I'll get this one, next one's on you." Sure, there will always be someone whose turn it never seems to be, but who cares? Are they your friend or not? But I digress.

The tipping. The collective "Moms" seem to think that 10% is just find and 12% is like Frank Sinatra at the Rainbow Room.

For all you little leaguers out there, here is HoughMade's, never get your food spit in tip calculator- it's based on the principle of 20% and round up.

Example. On a $72.00 bill, 10% is $7.20, so double that to $14.40, then round up (always up, never down) to $15.00. It's a good tip, but not extravagant like a desperate horndog looking for something after the shift.

Shall I, or would somebody else like to do the honors? Lol

 

[jamil]

I standby my belief that he's had a sheltered life if he's never heard that before.

This thread is the first time I've heard that. Am I sheltered? Or do I just not have enough ****s to give about which demographic tips better?

I have never held a job where I should expect to be tipped. That's not "sheltered". That's simply a combination of choosing a different career path and being generally uninterested in trivial **** like that.

More than likely that's exactly what the cabbie was doing.... but there is an inherent bias (maybe not reaching the level of racism) in the act of the preference of a white client over a black one.

Well, I suspect he wanted the next client, not specifically a white one. Obviously who knows except the cabbie. I bet it would be fun to sit around at a bar with a bunch of cabbies and learn about how they select their customers.

Or, again having nothing to do with race, maybe the cabbie recognized Roker from TV and didn't want to soil his cab by having a smarmy, ass-kissing douche bag in his car.

 

[Arthur Dent]

How does these 1,000 waiters ascertain that a certain person is Jewish rather than your generic white, or someone is a foreigner from Canada rather than a Minnesotan who talks a little funny? I don't think I can tell. Or is this just a chart of the prejudices of 1,000 waiters?

A yarmulke tends to narrow it down a bit

 

[femurphy77]

Pat Boone did Blueberry Hill?

Damn, Kut's right. . .I DID lead a sheltered life!

And NO I didn't listen to PB's version and refuse to do so, that I may never find it in my head when those first few keystrokes of the one TRUE Blueberry Hill are struck!

 

[indiucky]

And NO I didn't listen to PB's version and refuse to do so, that I may never find it in my head when those first few keystrokes of the one TRUE Blueberry Hill are struck!

Trust me you will not EVER confuse the two...It's hard to explain but Pat (Who I am sure is/was a nice guy) just couldn't cut it and it is truly awful....

 

[Joe G]

I've got a question, all my early years in life 10% was considered a good tip, then it went to 15%, now according to that article under 17% is considered a poor tip. When did it change and why?

I hear ya.

I assume it's just crept up... like the burger flippers who now assume they deserve $15/hr for no additional service.

Servers are getting raises even if people didn't tip a higher % because food prices have been raising. The $5 burger is now almost $10. A coke is $2.50-4.00 now. I'm not debating prices... just saying that if someone was tipping 10% on a $5 burger and now are expected to tip 20% on a $10 burger that's one heck of a raise.