April 24, 2008

ValleyViewpoints

Three lions live in Twin Creeks area

Editor,
I am responding to the article written by Jeanne Carbone, regarding the mountain lion sighting last week. I am an Almaden resident and live in the Twin Creeks community. There are at least three [mountain] lions in the area. We get sightings every month or two.

Two weeks ago a lion was spotted in the backwoods in Twin Creeks, running across a meadow. Approximately six to eight weeks ago, our "resident" lion appeared with two cubs in tow. I say resident because she has been spotted quite often in our community.

I just wanted to send a note to say thank you for the article, and to let you know that there are definitely at least three lions in the New Almaden/Quicksilver area.

I have my camera with me almost always, and am always on the lookout for a photo!

Aaron Lawe
Twin Creeks Community

Almaden resident uncomfortable about tipping

Editor,
I must admit that I feel uncomfortable about this business of tipping. It probably started innocently enough. On top of the regular bill, some reward was made to a server for excellent service. This could have been called topping, but the word tipping got established.

But somehow, this practice got changed from an option to an entitlement at the suggested level of 10 percent. Then in a process that still amazes me, the serving industry re-educated the consuming public that now 15 to 20 percent was expected. How did we allow this to happen? Some restaurants have an automatic 18 percent tip for groups over a certain size. Perhaps it spread from there. Maybe a mandatory 25 percent tip is in our future if we let it happen.

Europe used to be a tip-free paradise, but with the infestation of millions of American tourists, many of whom were carriers, the curse caught on there too.

The premise that the tip should be some percentage of the original bill seems to me to be faulty and unfair. I see no correlation between the basic cost and the quality of service and with menu prices increasing, the tip automatically increases. Chances are that many of these tips are not reported to the IRS. Servers at lower-cost establishments under the above rule unfairly get fewer tips.

I would like to present an example of unfairness: My wife and I occasionally eat at the Mandarin Gourmet, a full-service restaurant with good food at a modest price. The service is superb. Lunch usually costs about $18. A 15 percent tip would be about $2.70. As a matter of fairness for the excellent service, I usually give $5.

My wife and I grew up in the Depression and it left its mark. We tend to be quite frugal. To combat this habit, we occasionally splurge. Two Sundays ago, we had the brunch at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in the glass roof Garden Room. The price per person is $68. The service is semi; you fill your own plate with the many fine foods there. The server only keeps your fruit juice and champagne glasses filled and removes finished plates. This requires little effort and a server can take care of many tables. Because of the high price of the basic brunch, the server can expect a usual tip of $25. Thinking of the excellent service at the Mandarin and their $5 tip, the servers at the Palace should be getting about $3. I compromised on a $10 tip. When our server saw this, he brought my credit card slip back and asked if there had been a problem. I said "no" and he was clearly upset.

I have decided to abandon the practice of giving a percentage of the bill and am going instead to an absolute scale, usually about $5.

As consumers, we should band together and while going back to the optional tip may to be too much of a stretch, we should try at least to regain the beachhead at the 10 percent tip level or give up tipping on a percentage basis.

What do other readers think?

Bob Boydston
Almaden Valley

Let the Almaden Times hear from you. In order to be considered, letters must be signed by the author or come with the full name, address, and a phone number (which will not be printed).

Send letters to newsroom@timesmediainc.com, or via mail to:

The Almaden Times Weekly
1310 Tully Road, Ste. 107,
San Jose, CA 95122