This week, Adam, Norm, and Will talk about restaurant and public bathroom etiquette, visits to new art exhibits, and our recent adventure borrowing and inspecting a spacesuit from The Martian.
One Day Builds
Adam embarks on one of his most ambitious builds yet: fulfil…
Show And Tell
Adam recently completed a build of the royal St. Edwards cro…
Making
Viewers often ask to see Adam working in real-time, so this …
One Day Builds
Adam and Norm assemble a beautifully machined replica prop k…
One Day Builds
One of the ways Adam has been getting through lockdown has b…
Making
Adam unboxes and performs a quick test of this novel new hel…
Making
When Adam visited Weta Workshop early last year, he stopped …
One Day Builds
Adam tackles a shop shelf build that he's been putting off f…
Show And Tell
Time for a model kit build! This steampunk-inspired mechanic…
One Day Builds
Adam reveals his surprise Christmas present for his wife--a …
re: Tipping.Obviously you guys are Americans, in America, talking about food service in America, where there is a recognised way of doing things, but it seems so strange to me. Tipping in the UK really is more of a thank you for good / exceptional service, rather than something I always expect to do. If it’s been an enjoyable experience then a reasonable percentage / rounding to nearest £5 / £10 seems acceptable.
On a recent trip to Australia, there was a look of confusion from some of the locals when I asked what sort of tip was appropriate – tipping is just not done there apparently, (or the guys I was with are total #*#!)
Talking so much about cataloging and documenting the Martian suit parts makes me hopeful for another Adam Savage exploded view poster!
Absolutely agree that everyone should work food service, or retail or something along those lines.
Just so they have the experience of being on the other end of bad tippers, Must Have Fresh Coffee people, and so on. It really changes how you view the world for the rest of your life, in my opinion.
If I’ve learned anything from working retail its that people who act entitled usually aren’t, and those who are actually entitled really appreciate the extra service.
I totally get the “gallery” thing. I’ve been to a couple that look down on people who just come in to look. On the other hand I’ve found that most really like having the extra people coming in to look at the art. From a sales standpoint a fuller looking art gallery justifies the prices on the art. So go look at some art people.
Can’t wait to see the suit build.
Have Sean warm up his 3D printers. I can bet he is gonna be busy helping on that suit. Can’t wait to see it.
… and here I thought I was the only one in the world who still had an old grey Zoom recorder!
9 Good Reasons To Abolish Tipping
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/17/abolish-tipping_n_5991796.html
here’s the photo that frank texted!
My way of tipping is to always tip the server at least $10, no matter what the bill may be.
How can they not be rebooting Movie Magic with Adam Savage? Adam’s enthusiasm for the art would make anybody excited.
Tips are the lifeblood and I remember the near mutiny we had when management said tips were getting pools and divvied up equally for a short time.
Norm has is a segue master, but I’m waiting for the day it can be executed cleanly.
— Fingers crossed Norm! —
One thing that was missed in the conversation about tipping was maids at hotels. I worked at a hotel/casino in Nevada in the housekeeping department and I learned through that experience that the people who make up rooms at hotels work harder than almost anyone I know. I have worked many physically demanding jobs and making up hotel rooms was by far the hardest. Typically a housekeeper has about 25min to make up a room and in that time they have a list of about 20 things to clean or check. In an 8 hour day most experienced housekeepers are assigned about 20 rooms to clean. Most make around minimum wage and work part time hours with no benefits.
A lot of people don’t think about tipping a housekeeper because you rarely interact with them, if you even see them at all, many more people experience working in food services at some point than in hotel housekeeping, and tips for housekeepers are never included as an option on your final hotel bill. After working in housekeeping I now always tip when I stay at a hotel. I just don’t feel right not doing it.
As above, tipping hotel maids is often the most direct way you can truly enact some trickle-down economics. I’ve spent a lot of time in Japan where tipping is considered rude, I’m told because it’s implying that the service could have been better if only the server could have been more motivated by money. It’s a double-whammy because I’ve always had exceptional service everywhere and I’ve wanted to tip generously.
I spent a handful of years as a prop master, then went on to owning/running an art gallery in LA for a few years, my kind of episode! I will ad a note on visiting galleries – it gives the sitter a chance to discuss the art with people, which is often what they want to do. So, even if you don’t want to purchase anything, you are still usually a welcomed guest. Or you should be, at least.
I meant “add” not “ad”…
It is quite interesting to hear about american tipping as an european. As far as I am concerned tipping is normal but mostly to the next round number. If the service is great of course the tip will be much bigger. Of course the tipping “culture” is very different. The service personal gets paid appropriately as far as I know an the tips are just a bonus. Sometimes it sounds quite insane to tip 20-25% of the bill.
this is what i was referring to when i texted adam ” we have the football”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_football
heh, the combination of franks ‘inconspicuous’ face, your off the rails excitement photobomb and ‘i have the football’ is hilarious!
i share the other non-americans’ sentiment regarding tipping, but then, it’s a whole different system with different contextual conditions, different social handshakes around it, and so on. it ought to feel strange.
I find it SO ironic that Adam savage, one of the most liberal democrats on the planet is complaining about people whining about entitlement. Talk about the kettle calling the pot black.
I can’t wait till Adam starts his build and does it in such a way that we all can build along with him.
Am Australian, can confirm there’s no tipping here. Every now and then you go into a store or take away shop that will have a tip jar on the counter for any loose change that the staff generally seem to use for their Christmas parties, but that’s it.
I’d like to see Adam build one of the suits from Pacific Rim, especially if he can make the helmet lens fill up with water on command.
Adam,
Hope you one day decide to throw together a Gemini suit. I listened to this in the shop the other day and found it to be pretty informative, I knew there were multiple revisions, but it was quite the process to develop America’s first EVA suit!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coJkp4LB7hQ
hey guy’s, if you talk about stuff (like the airplane part) can you include the links in the posts please?
This makes listening much more enjoyable 🙂
thanks
And it’s kinda sad that most of the exhibits etc are not in europe :'(
I don’t even think that Mythbusters ever got to europe :s
Someone I know used to deliver Chinese food somewhere in CA. He told me his territory covered a city with lots of expensive homes and an adjacent city with just middle/lower class homes.
You’d think he got more tips from the folks living in the better off city but no. He got better tips from people that were seemingly not so well off while the better off people generally gave less tips.
I wonder if there’s anyone that keeps track of how much tip one gets and the value of the house he/she delivered food to. That will be an interesting social science experiment.
Tipping cultures are always terrible. I’m very happy to live in an area where that’s not done.
The weekly feature that was on Kitchenette about restaurant stories is now over on Wonkette. Here is a link: http://wonkette.com/author/c-a-pinkham. New stories are posted on Monday mornings at about 11:00.
I know in the previous episode Adam said that he was NOT going to read comments anymore unless I’m recalling that wrong but I had a quick question regarding Adam and Props I was hoping you guys could cover in a future podcast.
What is happening with all the props, set pieces, blue-print sketches ect, from the Mythbuster’s Show? I think from a fan standpoint seeing a bunch of those items auctioned off to the fans would be a really interesting idea and make a bunch of fans really happy. It could be a fundraising event if you guys wanted or at a makers fair or create a Tested/Busters event around it.
Thanks you for taking time to read this comment.
I live in the UK so i don’t tip. Never have never will and fail to be shamed into it by the yanks.If you have a shitty job why do i have to put my hand in my pocket. Better yourself and get the job you want so you don’t have to “beg” for money. Everyone is trying to get something for nothing nowadays. Why do i have to fit your bill? Paying for good service is another thing altogether. Service charge inc!
This tipping culture is a pest indeed. Allows stingy restaurant owners to pay almost nothing to their employees with no benefits and expecting the customer to pick up the slack. Also this saves on the tax due and makes the food industry so lucrative for the owners. Price things correctly and pay what’s due. I am not the beneficiary that enables workers exploitation. I try to only go to places that include gratuity on the check already.
We have been building Martian props on the RPF since the trailers were released, maybe you could pop in and share a little with us at the rpf adam, if you dont mind, I have recieved your help before when building your toolbox and appreciate it, I’m sure it would be a sticky in a nanosecond if you could help provide any references. Thanks again for the podcasts guys
Will, where did your HD580’s go?
Aussie here, and similar rule applies to the UK. I can’t stand the American way of wage where the lack of pay is made up by peoples generosity. Your working day and bread you take home shouldn’t be dependent on a random persons idea of generosity.
In Australia people understand what the working wage is and it is set. Tipping is for people who go out of their way to give you something you didn’t expect or for making you evening easier (however this is for dining service, you don’t tip the baggage handler, or help desk attendant, etc. Usually you’d also only tip the taxi driver and pizza boy to save time digging through change or breaking notes). The price you pay in AUS is to cover the cost of the service or product you are procuring, if that cost doesn’t cover costs of your employees then you need to up your price, rather than advertise a false one.
On that note AUS also has laws in place to prevent industry screwing over the bus boy, and false advertising where is tip is expected but not mentioned. Minimum wage is worked out to be the minimal cost of living a reasonable existence, rather than reasonable minus 20% for which they’ll have to beg.
Oh s**t! I read this back and it sounds very political, it isn’t meant to be. Just a very bridged summary.