Tip Not Included

Imagine you're cleaning up your ice cream shop and in walk in two Secret Service men to surveil the joint. The year is 2015 and Hillary Clinton is running for President. The former Secretary of State is known to be a chocolate ice cream lover and heard about your establishment. She does in fact show up and not only orders ice cream for herself, but picks up the tab for other patrons, too. This scene really happened to Mikey Cole, the founder of Mikey Likes It Ice Cream, the world's first pop culture inspired ultra-premium ice cream brand. With three NYC locations (East Village, Harlem and Midtown), it's where homemade, artisan and all-natural ice creams are created. Hear this tale and more, on the latest episode of Tip Not Included as the irreverent Eric Levine is back behind the mic after too-long of an absence and welcomes, Mikey as his first post-Covid guest. Mikey relays that memorable meeting with HRC (where among other topics they spoke about prison reform) plus, recalls how he found his calling in making ice cream when he realized how it helped him get through a particularly difficult chapter in his life. He knew that if the cathartic effects of ice cream making could help him, it could surely help others. And thereafter Mikey Likes It Ice Cream was born. With his traditional milkman white uniform – accented with royal blue in a nod to NYC sports teams – Mikey believes that with all its ups and downs, life is like a roller coaster. And for Mikey, the important thing is, you don't get off. Before his chat with Mikey begins, Eric does what Eric does best. He gives his opinion. This time, he goes back to the show's roots and questions why a server would not be able to tip a cook or a dishwasher after walking home with $350 a night, with others making minimum wage, while the dishwasher is wearing a black garbage bag over his head like a uniform. Do you know why? Would you like to weigh in? If so, reach out to Eric on Instagram: @tipnotincludedpodcast or Twitter: @tipnotincl or Email: eric@tipnotincluded.com. You can follow Mikey on Facebook & Instagram: @mikeylikesiticecream and on Twitter: @mikeylikesitny. Visit: mikeylikesiticecream.com

Let's remember that a movement was fostered thanks to what happened in the hospitality industry.   Back in 1960, four young black men, who became known as "The Greensboro Four" had the courage to sit at a "Whites Only" lunch counter at a Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina. Woolworths refused to serve them so by the third day, hundreds showed up. Then it turned into thousands. Then it turned into a movement. A catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement which swept the United States.   Sound familiar?   While realization came that segregation was wrong, as soon as it hurt the economics of a business, things changed. Because it always starts in restaurants and retail since that's the common denominator among races and classes. It doesn't matter where you live or what you wear, but essentially everyone can afford a double macchiato at Starbucks.   On this episode of "Tip Not Included", Host Eric Levine is back to address the social unrest taking place today and questions "Where's The Beef"? while asking "What's Your Beef"?    Well, the beef has been growing for years, with windows, souls and backs being broken in the process. The beef is being shouted loud and clear across the country on racial inequality and racial injustice. Especially in the restaurant industry where its workers (along with convicts) make 30% below minimum wage.    Hey, it's not called "slave wages" for nothing.   So in this time where our society is being unmasked while we're being asked to don one, it's worthwhile asking how stunned you are -- without a stun gun -- that people are taking to the streets to voice their beef. Blacks, Whites, Asian, Latinos. Even vegans.   Contact Eric at: erictipnotincluded@gmail.com

Guess what's the only industry in the world - besides the restaurant industry - where people make below the minimum wage? The incarcerated! We're talking prisoners here who have steady work and no nasty customers sending back their orders.   Then why the restaurant industry? Where 40% of the employees are single Moms & Dads! There's no 401K in the restaurant industry. No IRA. Do you even know what they are? Had you had them, your money could have been invested in the market and have been given returns. You could have made a few extra thousand bucks. Legally. For doing nothing but just investing.    Take our advice and go into a brokerage house or your local bank and open up a Roth IRA which will give you tax free deductions and growth. Especially if you have young kids. You'll start saving and earning and come out with a wad of money at the end of the decade. Point is, you have to start planning ahead!  Remember that money equals freedom. Try liquidating that shoe collection. You don't have to buy Bobbie Brown. That Maybelline lipstick is good enough. You're going to kiss it goodbye anyway. Invest that money so you can dance on the street and not on a pole.   You'll feel better about controlling your destiny when you start controlling your money.   And while we're on the subject of destiny, take a lesson from those that wrote their own, by making comebacks. Henry Ford's first company went bankrupt and his second ended in disaster. Disney's first company went bankrupt too and faced some lean years before his eventual success. Sly Stallone was once homeless living on the floor at the Port Authority bus terminal and even sold his dog for a little cash to survive! And what about Oprah who was told she was unfit for television news?   They all have comeback stories. What's yours?   Contact Eric at: erictipnotincluded@gmail.com  

The 25 wealthiest families control $1.4 trillion. And count 10 seconds and Sam Walton just made $23,000! So who's really self made? Think about it. Some are given a pittance of yeast to make a loaf of bread, but are clever enough to make enough bread for a carb-fest to feed the entire population of Palm Beach, Florida (hey, weather's crappy in NYC now so our mind wanders south). Then, some are given a lot of yeast and can't even find their way into the kitchen. And how about those given neither yeast nor a rolling pin?   It's that last group that especially needs to be mindful of when to ask for a raise in their minimum wage jobs. Problem is, there's never really a good time. Sad part is that many middle managers are known to have gone up to 7 years without a raise. What does that do to someone's psyche? And what do they tell their families?   Times like that where one has to re-evaluate and perhaps switch gears. That's what Jahred Haynes did.    A career restaurateur, Jahred was a lifelong baseball player ever since he was a kid growing up in the Bronx. His wife tired of him screaming at the TV during games so she signed him up for umpire school in Florida. Armed with courage, confidence (and his cup!), he left his job supervising some 70 employees in a food chain outlet to pursue his dream.   On this episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine welcomes Jahred to the program to chat about his journey to his field of dreams, and more.   Contract Eric at: erictipnotincluded@gmail.com

So Starbucks is expanding its empire to place more of its trendy coffee shops in underserved (euphemism for "poor") neighborhoods under the ruse of creating more jobs. They plan to open or remodel 85 stores by 2025 in rural and urban communities, each complete with common event space.  Community groups will even get in the game to conduct training programs for employees, too.    As the SNL "Church Lady" would say "Now isn't that special"?!   The execs may say they're building their temples of overpriced joe for altruistic reasons. But wait. It's as if they're wanting to move one "people" off one addiction and on to another -- crack to caffeine. And how are the folk to get the money to pay for a double mocha frappuccino?    Nobody seems to be asking that question plus others like whether poor folks need a $5 cup of coffee to begin with. And what's going to happen to the local bodegas and coffee shops and diners -- traditional neighborhood gathering points being gentrified in the name of profits and masked under the umbrella of "doing good".    Don't let them fool you. Green is the color of the day here. Of Starbucks aprons, un-roasted beans, of envy and of course, money!   And speaking of green, say you save $20 a day over 40 years at 10% return on the market -- you've now saved $3,758,000. That's a lot of coffee pissed away in unkept Starbucks toilets.   Listen to Host Eric Levine opine on this Starbucks travesty plus hair-based discrimination and more.   Reach Eric at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

The bathroom attendant at the strip club makes $15 an hour wiping jizz off your pants but the guy serving chicken nuggets to your kids gets less than minimum wage.   Gee whiz. Or maybe, jizz whiz!   And those seated nail salon ladies make minimum cleaning the shmutz underneath well heeled clientele's toe nails but the kid busting his ass serving drunk frat boys at at Friday's doesn't. What gives?   Despite the unfairness, servers have dreams. And dreams do come true. Like those of Omar the Comedian, who joins Host Eric Levine on this episode of Tip Not Included.   Omar Thompson aka Omar the Comedian, and long-time Levine friend, saw comedy as a "high" from an early age. He's been at it for 16 years with some exciting projects in the works.   Yes he has talent, but he also has a bad-ass wife who supports his habit. She's a teacher, mother to their young daughter - and one on the way, and keeps the house working. A house with 6 bedrooms and an in-ground heated pool. Not bad for someone who grew up in the projects.   As a former server, Omar knows the importance of tipping. He also knows that treating the wait staff well will get nice things said about you to patrons and gig bookers.   Hear the conversation between Omar & Eric. You may be inspired yourself to get out of the restaurant biz and get behind the mic.   Contact Eric at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

Not only eating at McDonald's will kill you. So will working there. Hear about the two Peruvians electrocuted at their branch?   The golden arches has had its fair share of troubles over the years. Think Clinton who got too happy with an intern way back when and happy meals no longer held the same luster. Or when the company's CEO was axed for sticking his french fry into an employee's Egg McMuffin. No reports of course, whether it was first dipped in ketchup.   If an Assistant Manager did the same, you think he'd get off with the same severance? No chance. So, quit you say. It's just a stepping stone anyway which isn't a real job. But where's he to go? It has nothing to do with race or age. It's that we're all just playing under different rules.   And speaking of playing, over at Uber, they recently released a study indicating over 30,000 ride sharing customers were touched, fondled or sexually harassed. Does this mean you can now order condoms on UberEats? You just wanted to go to your job interview and the driver wanted to take you to third base.   On this, the milestone 40th episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine dives into the insanity in the workplace and reminds us that the richest poorest people around still have hopes and dreams. Hopefully, in the new year, they'll achieve them.   Contact Eric at: eric@tipnotincluded.com 

When you think about it, it's pretty scary! One out of 5 baby boomers can't retire. That means 20% of our population will have to work every single day until they pass away just to make enough money to pay their cable and put food in the fridge. Surely folks couldn't have envisioned spending their golden years working for minimum at WalMart -- hobbling over with their walker to aisle 13 for clean up.   On this episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine welcomes back Diversity & Inclusion Specialist Vinay Singh to give us a candid view of the present and future job market. The author of "Your Future in Pieces - The Brutal Truth: How Ageism and Income Inequality Are Destroying America" and the purveyor of risingmiddleclass.com, you may remember Vinay as the featured guest in episode 34.   With over 21 years in talent acquisition, Vinay knows a thing or two about the world of hiring (and firing).   As he points out, the vast majority of Americans having little to no savings, thus putting the American Dream on life support.    But all may not be hopeless.    Vinay recommends re-skilling and continuous education (or "re-education" as he likes to say which sounds like something you'd find in the gulag) since everything one learns today will be obsolete tomorrow.    Plus, Vinay wants us to re-think working in the gig economy which is just another word for a "freelancer" or "consultant". With no benefits, no sick leave and no prospects for career advancement, is that model really viable? You decide.   He also wants governments to consider setting CEO wages. Since worker salaries haven't moved up - if you factor in inflation and the rising cost of living, let's just say you're screwed.   Write to Eric at: eric@tipnotincluded.com  

If you've worked in the restaurant industry, you're no doubt able to complete the sentence: "You certainly know when it's time to replace a manager, when..."   In fact, you probably have multiple ways of finishing it off. As many ways as the reasons why managers have been finished off!    Let's see, how about you usually know when it's time to replace a manager when he's hiding from customers and staff in the office, watching porn or buying lawn furniture on Amazon. Or, when he's hitting on the cute new waitress (and in some cases, waiter). Or not lifting a finger when everyone else is busting their asses.   But hey, managers don't have it so easy though. They're underpaid and overworked. And working while everyone else is celebrating. They don't have Bernie and AOC shouting for their rights. Servers get tips and overtime. All a manager gets is pissed off. So, they succumb to their small penis syndrome.   On this episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine maneuvers through the brain of the restaurant manager and uncovers what he goes through, and its impact on employees. Since psychopaths make up 15% of bosses, and it has been documented that the effects of having a bad boss are akin to having PTSD, let's just say it ain't a pretty scene.   Contact Eric at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

Oh gross! You found a long orange hair snaking its way through your split pea soup. That can only mean one thing...That Donald Trump is your server!   But think about it? What could he say that could possibly make you lose your appetite? Picture this, you're sitting at a pricey French restaurant and he offers to decant your French wine with a little French tongue. What's wrong with that? He knows the French. He eats their fries all the time.   Or you're in a Rosita Mexicana. El Presidente walks up to the table and instead of carding you, asks to see your papers. That's legal, isn't it?   You can't escape the guy. He's at your favorite Chinese joint, pouring the tea and slapping tariffs on your bill. He's allowed. He has Rudy G backing him up.   Yes, that's Donald Trump the server. By all accounts, the greatest server who ever lived. Who has the biggest customer base since restaurants were invented.    So if Donald Trump was really your server, what would happen? Well, in the end, he'd be fired.   Contact Host Eric Levine at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

You may know (or even be) a 21 year-old working in the restaurant industry -- fast food or otherwise. One day their job will be replaced by a robot. A machine with no feelings, no sick days and no lame excuses why they were late for their shift.   The only thing in common these kids have with these pieces of metal is lube. Robots need lube to function and these kids are getting it up the ass -- screwed over (but at least with lube) by their employers who cut their weekly hours so they don't have to pay health insurance and other benefits for them.   Is that fair? Hell no. But what choice do these kids have? Without any skills (except for working a cash register), where are they going to get new jobs? Or jobs periods when robots take over.   For the moment, if you're young and have a steady restaurant job, about the best thing you can do is, well, hide the lube.   On this episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine broaches the topic plus shares news of the day.   Eric would love to hear from you. Email him at: eric@tipnotincluded.com  

We're not trying to tantalize you with our headline or to shock you with a provocative thought. We're merely stating a fact. A fact with which you can't disagree.   When you think about it, sex is what's selling menu items at restaurants across America since 70% of servers in the US are women and the lion's share of those buying meals and tipping are men. And many a woman server knows what sells and uses her charms to her advantage.   So who is responsible for this episode's headline (and truism)? None other than Rachel Siggers, a young woman who started her restaurant career at age 17, who has seen the seedy side of the industry, and spills the beans on what happens between server and customer on this latest edition of Tip Not Included with Host, Eric Levine.   It was the over sexualized environment of the restaurant industry, in fact, that lead Rachel to leave it. While she wore a mask when she waited tables and saw the money flow in, she eventually recognized that the biz didn't energetically jive with other elements in her life. For Rachel, the restaurant world was a step, something you do in the meantime, or as she says "the in between time" to get to where you need to be.   While Rachel got out, many women who stay are victims of sexual harassment from their co-workers or management, with the staggering statistic of 1/3 of restaurant workers saying they don't report such harassment  out of fear of losing an income-making shift or of retaliation. Eric shares some heartbreaking letters from those who have suffered in silence.   The take away: If you see something, experience something...Say something! Don't know what to ask or whom to turn to, then ask Miss Google.   Contact Eric at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

It's a sad but true fact that you may just find yourself at the diaper station at a fast food joint, changing your own diapers in between working the fries station.   At a break-neck pace, Americans are working well into their golden years at menial jobs just to put junk food on the table.   Do you think you can reverse your fortune?    Like that diaper station. Depends.   Will you start educating yourself on stocks and 401K plans? Will you start saving now instead of blowing your paycheck on yeezys at the Fly Club?   On this episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine is joined in the studio by Vinay Singh, a Diversity & Inclusion Specialist and Author. His book, "Your Future in Pieces - The Brutal Truth: How Ageism And Income Inequality Are Destroying America" is essential reading for understanding the sad truth what ordinary folks are financially facing.   Listen to the episode and understand what you can do now to avoid worrying later where to store your walker in the break room at Wendy's.   Email Eric at: eric@tipnotincluded.com.

Back in the day, fine dining establishments had dress codes to keep a sense of decorum. You know, men and boys were required to wear jackets and ties. They would even have spare ones available for those who didn't know the drill. Go to certain town clubs today in New York City and some still do.   But what about a dress code that oh so subtly calls for profiling based on what is commonly worn by one particular ethnic group?    Yes, there's the "No Shirt No Shoes No Service" trifecta. But what about a place like Bottled Blonde in Chicago's River North area that has a lengthy dress code which includes no denim and no Jordan's (in a city synonymous with the basketball legend), no flannel and no un-zippered shirts? The list goes on -- No v-neck shirts.  No cargo pants. No saggy pants. No acid wash jeans (do people still wear them?). No visible tattoos on neck, face or hands - that'll keep the prison crowd out.   Who's left? Just a bunch of Notre Dame pre-meds, we suppose. And that's just the way a place like Bottled Blonde likes it.   And it's not just in the Windy City. A bar in New Jersey bans oversized chains which we suspect is meant to keep out the descendants of all those who were once held in chains.    But back to the Second City where race relations are already overheated, there's another place going after camouflage and asking patrons' shorts be at least one inch past the knee. So now we have to start carrying a tape measure every time we go out?    On this episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine undresses how bars and restaurants use dress codes to exclude segments of the public from entering. Sure they're private establishments. But is it right? It is allowed? Is it legal, Judge Judy?   Write to Eric at: eric@tipnotincluded.com  

Oh, so you wear maxi pads you say?   Never mind, the Tampon Police don't discriminate. Girlfriend, they're out for blood. Your blood.   And believe it or not, this rubber-gloved mob are the same ones hiring you for your waitressing and sales associate gigs. They know your menstrual cycle. They may even know when you're pregnant before you do. Or at least, they'll know you're pregnant the moment you walk in the door when you're not yet showing.   Surveillance is everywhere. Apps and algorithms are everywhere. This means future and current employers can track your every move. And they do. On the job, hotels for example, track housekeepers through apps to control work flow which lets them know which rooms they've cleaned and how fast they've cleaned them. Too much time may mean nosing in guest luggage. Off the job, they know where you eat and where you hang out. Why would they want you on their health plan if you're always eating at McDonald's and spending too much time in a seedy part of town enjoying some risky behavior?    Oh, they know.   On this episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine explores the scary ways employers can keep track of employees (on and off the job) and the consequences it has for workers who are being coded into a corner.   Plus, Eric shares 10 fascinating facts about American workers today. Know who can't afford to retire? Eric shares that and more.    Email Eric at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

Have you noticed what a divided country we live in? Black and white. Rich and poor. LGBTQ and straight. Donald Trump and Elizabeth Warren (yes, if "Sleepy Joe" Biden continues to snooze, she just might be the Democratic nominee).   And then there's what we drink. Coke and Pepsi. Fanta and Sprite. And what about what we eat? Burger King and McDonald's. Fruit Loops and Cap'n Crunch.    But maybe the biggest divider we have in the USofA is something so foul that it's actually, well, fowl!. Yes, it's chicken. We're talking Chick-fil-A and Popeyes.   Think about it. It's not just about a difference in taste, texture and temperature. One is for white folks, the other for blacks. One is for condom-wearers. One is for those who pull-out. One is for a two parent home with kids eating balanced meals. One is for a one parent home (usually a single mother) where the kids eat whatever the hell they want.    About the only thing the two eateries have in common is their employees make minimum with no benefits and work their grease-smelling asses off.   On this episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine rips apart the chicken wars and shows that the fight between the two poultry giants is more than just social media, mascots and calorie counts.    Write to Eric at: eric@tipnotincluded.com.   Ya'll good?

Hey Shaneese and Darnell. Are you sure you want to use your real first names when you apply for that cashier position at Whole Foods?   Or you, Ebony. Don't you think it would sound better if you said your name was Emily when you went after that receptionist role at Accenture?   You don't think your name matters?   Think again.   On this episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine reveals the sad but true truth that job applicants have a 50% increase in getting a call back if they have white sounding names on their resumes.   Yes, it's about time you buy that Clorox and bleach out that name!   It's not only African Americans who face this kind of discrimination. Asian Americans are also confronted with the dilemma of keeping their heritage in tact in navigating the pitfalls of the labor force. That's why a Lee turns into a Leonard.   And what about those extra curricular activities. You see more and more inner city kids boosting their resumes with decidedly non inner city past times to mask their zip codes. Croquet anyone?   With 7.4 million jobs open and 6 million job seekers, the power is in the hands of Tyrone and Tia, Latasha and Laquanka and yes, even Wang Ming, to upgrade their lives. Provided they know how to work the system and change their identities.   Contact Eric Levine at: eric@tipnotincluced.com

You smell and your toes violate health codes, but we'll take you.   Think about it. Where else but in the restaurant industry can you get a job if you're an ex con, a drug dealer, an addict or on probation? Or if you've never heard the word "hygiene". Or, dare we say (shhhh) you're "undocumented"? Walk right in with your jeans lower than your ass, with your knock-off Tommy Hilfiger boxers exposed and we'll hire you. Yes, the restaurant industry is the one industry that takes in people with absolutely no skills - except for the skill of wanting to make a buck.   And for those that say the industry is racist? Yeh it is. But it's not nearly as racist as the industry you work in. Just ask yourself, what would happen if any of the above-mentioned undesirables walked into your law office, accounting firm or high end retailer to apply for a job? You know what would happen. You'd call security on speed-dial.   On this episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine points out the hypocrisy in hiring (and in our overall society) and raises important questions like who should we really be scared of? The Central American porter cleaning toilets and grease traps for minimum wage, or the angry disenchanted hate-filled misinformed white kid who has a gun permit?   Plus, as Levine illustrates, white is really the new Muslim. Perhaps immigration isn't our biggest issue. Maybe we should stop worrying about the mosque and start worrying about the Abercrombie & Fitch.   Contact Eric Levine at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

If you think you knew Host Eric Levine, think again. On this episode of Tip Not Included, Eric gets raw, emotional, and very personal as he shares his biggest business failure. Consider this. In 2003, he wrote a check for $21K to invest in an ice cream franchise. Seven retail stores, accolades up the wazoo, and millions of dollars later, Eric and his partners had to file for bankruptcy in 2007. As he relates, the experience left Eric feeling lower than what pittance was left in his bank account. But what goes down, must go up. The experience taught Eric some important life lessons which he shares with you on this latest episode. As Eric points out, failure should be looked at as a badge of honor because no great success was ever achieved without it. The "f bomb" (failure, that is), is just a step toward achieving your dreams, Eric believes.  Want to see someone's real character? Ask them about their own failures. You don't need to ask Eric though, because he openly shares them on Tip Not Included, AND in his book "Melted", which recounts how he lost millions in that ice cream business. In fact, the first 25 people that email Eric will get a signed copy of the book sent to them (include your name and mailing address in your email). Read it and learn from Eric's mistakes. Because at the end of the day, Eric is convinced, you shouldn't be afraid of failure. You should be afraid of mediocrity. Email Eric Levine at: eric@tipnotincluded.com  

Yes, they're all standing around in a circle ready to go. But the reality is, in today's restaurant industry, people are showing up, trying to get some kind of relief, but it just ain't coming.   Why? Because the deck is stacked against them. The restaurant industry - especially the fast food industry - used to be a transitionary one. Consider this, today, 40% of the workforce in the U.S. fast food field is 25 years and older with the average age being 29. And 26% of fast food workers in the USofA are parents. That's a lot of shoes to buy.   We tell all these folks to "just go to college" and get an education to get them out of the "circle". Oh yeh, but who's going to pay for it? As it is, 78% of blacks and minorities in America go into debt to pay for education. So, they, reason it's better to stay in the circle and try and make something come of it. Most figure it's better to shoot blanks and be poor than leave the circle and be destitute and in debt.   On this episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine addresses the hypocrisies in the restaurant industry, who's behind them, what's keeping people in that never-ending and joyless circle, and who needs to step up and break that circle so that all who enter it can finally let go.   Eric would love to hear from you. Write to him at: eric@tipnotincluded.com  

As the Gordon Gecko character famously said in the 1987 film Wall Street, "greed is good". Somehow, we have a sneaking suspicion that you don't agree.    Now, consider this, research shows that 80% of restaurant jobs provide poverty level wages, while up to 20% of the jobs in the industry provide a livable wage. You know which skin tone occupies most of those 20% worth of jobs, right? Hey, we know you're not okay with that either. Why? Coz we know you're sitting (or shall we stay standing on your feet all night) on the wrong side of that great color and pay divide.   On this latest episode, Host Eric Levine, explores the racial and economic inequalities (and yes, the greed) that exist in the restaurant industry which, by the way as he points out, is the second largest and fastest growing sector in the U.S. economy. Yes, Americans are a hungry (and an overweight) people. And you'd think that with nearly 1 in 12 Americans working in the restaurant industry, politicians and the left, and left leaning politicians would take it on themselves to address the sad truth that 7 of the 10 lowest paying occupations reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics are in the restaurant industry.   It's all masked as the "Gig Economy". But let's face it, your "gig" ain't all that fun. It's just code for avoiding paying minimum wages, benefits and vacation. It sounds so sexy if you're drinking lattes in Brooklyn, but if you're washing dishes in the Bronx, it's not so pretty.    Contact Eric Levine at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

Listen you guys who own and manage restaurants, don't think that offering your hostesses and female servers your dick and unlimited use of your Amex card is the kind of investment in your business they're looking for. Would you make the same offer to Jose or Marco? No! Then why do it to Cassandra?   On this episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine is joined in the studio by Stephanie Trevino, a woman who's worked across the biz for years and yes, has been offered "investment opportunities" that she's been smart enough to turn down. Like many, Stephanie stumbled into the restaurant world. With a broken tailbone and looking for a job where she needed to stand, Stephanie got her first restaurant gig as a hostess. Years later, and armed with a wealth of war stories, Stephanie, based in NYC, is now the Sales & Marketing Manager for an international restaurant chain.   In their sit down, Eric and Stephanie traverse the restaurant landscape, highlighting how women who want to start their own operations either need a power lesbian behind them or one of them is on their knees; paying for an overpriced taco (it's all about the glamour, dahling), and the lunacy of an industry that pays its employees 30% less than they should be paid and expecting customers supplement the rest.   And if you ever wanted to know which celebrities worked where before they became household names, listen in. Eric reveals the former employees for Lady Gaga, Chris Rock, James Franco, Jennifer Hudson, and more.   Plus, Eric asks you - what's your fear of failure? Think about it. Coz at the end of the day, as he correctly points out, you should be more scared of mediocrity.   Eric would love to hear from you. Contact him at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

You're in the middle of dinner and head to the can to take a dump. You're pissed off because your boss has been on your case all week for a screw up in accounting that has nothing to do with you.   You get yourself cozy on the toilet but can't get your boss out of your mind. Your bowels start contracting and you take the shit of the century. And it has your boss' name on it. The turd is so big in fact that when you flush, the whole toilet backs up and the shit water starts overflowing on floor. You high five it out of the men's room before your new Cole Haans get wet. You verbally abuse the restaurant manager for having sub-standard plumbing. You expect some kind of compensation. He says he'll comp you a dessert, and brings you a chocolate float since it's the first thing that comes to mind.   Welcome dear friends to the Purge Cafe. Where customers get away with all kinds of - pardon the pun - shit.   Homophobia, Racism and Sexism are all on the menu at the Purge Cafe. Want a side order of Xenophobia, perhaps? Coming right up.   On this episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine, sits down at the best table in the house and shares with us what it's like to work in this kind of joint. Lash out at someone outside of the Purge Cafe and you'll be taken to court. But inside the Purge Cafe, it's anything but PC, and anything goes.   Can you imagine working in an environment like that? Where customers seem to have the Health Department and ICE on speed dial, just in case? Well, it's pretty shitty.   Email Eric Levine at: eric@tipnotincluded.com  

Whether it's a fast food chain or an elegant restaurant with a sommelier pouring your vino, watch out people for a little stringy thingy.   You think a pube or two got there by accident?   Think again.   On the latest episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine talks "Servers Revenge" and highlights the myriad of ways Servers (and Chefs and Bartenders) get even with unruly and obnoxious customers. Not to mention "the ex" who walks in with way too much attitude and a new plaything.   If you over-patronize your server, as Levine points out, that decaf may be regular coffee, and that veggie burger probably came from Elise the Cow (and by the way, may have been kicked around before being put on the bun). That colorful cocktail you ordered? Well, that might have have a little added ingredient inside. Let's just say, the angrier the server, the more the phlegm. Or piss.    And don't be surprised that payback also happens among those working in a restaurant. How about the bartender who was so enraged at a chef that he swooshed said chef's drink glass with a grotty toilet brush before adding a little of his own pee (for added flavor, of course).    Which takes us back to pubic hairs and what else we find downstairs. There's a good chance you've eaten something that was touched by testicles . . . Guys in the kitchen probably find that a thing. In Levine's research, he found no food was touched by a woman's anatomical counterpart.    His fact finding continues though, and he'll surely be offering updates on future episodes.   To contact Eric Levine, write to him at: eric@tipnotincluded.com         -- 

Tipping. It's a power play. It's that dynamic that says "I have the money and you'll be my servant". It's that dynamic between server and servee, hooker and hookie that makes, um, strange bedfellows. And when you're going to pay after a roll in the hay, do you still have to tip if you can't find your sock? Even if it was one from a four-pack you bought marked down at Marshalls?   In this episode of "Tip Not Included", Host Eric Levine dissects this most complex of human rituals - tipping not the loss of a sock - and poses the question whether it's a modern day incarnation of the slave trade, or merely entrepreneurship at its best. Indeed, it's that centuries old practice that even baffles people with fancy degrees who probably never waited tables. And it's not hard to see why, especially considering who we tip and who we don't. We'll tip the Valet for parking our car, but won't tip the Vet for cleaning our cat's anal gland.    As Levine points out, tipping has sadly created a class divide between the tipper and the tippee that allows employees to shift the wage burden to customers and hides the real cost of dining.    So should we do away with tipping altogether? Listen in to the episode for that and more. Plus, Levine features the new segment "What I Hate About Being A Server" - voices from those waiting tables that you'll find shocking, funny and truly unbelievable.   Contact Host Eric Levine at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

Next time you're on the road and pass a Ford vehicle, think about the company's founding father. Yes, we're talking about good 'ol Henry.   He wasn't a perfect man and some of his views were vomit-inducing. But, what he did do is pay his employees $5 a day which, in 1914, was over twice the amount other auto makers paid their workers. Ford did so, in part, so his worker bees could ultimately afford the cars that bore his name and rolled off his assembly lines. Not bad either, that he reduced the work day from 9 to 8 hours.   Would Henry Ford be called a capitalist today? A socialist? Would Bernie, Elizabeth, Kamala & Cory, oh yes, and Beto, all support a guy like him? Who knows.   This is just one of the topics covered on this episode of Tip Not Included where Host Eric Levine welcomes back Server & Artiste, Telly Clemente for round two of a discussion that focuses on wages (below minimum wage we should add) paid to servers today. As Telly aptly points out, when a server gets some money in her (because most of them are women) pocket, it gives her a false sense of freedom since the majority of servers tend to blow their cash (mostly made off tips). These gals are really shooting themselves in their calloused feet.   With an absence of equity in an operation, what's a woman to do who waits tables and has to endure the sick jokes of her restaurant patrons? Well, for one thing, like Telly, they can start saving their dough. They can also pursue their other passions - as Telly has done and who closes the show with her singing prowess, giving us a number we can only imagine would be a tune even Henry Ford would approve of.   Contact Eric Levine at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

Have you ever walked into your favorite bookstore and wondered why there are no glossy coffee table books featuring raunchy "come-ons" that restaurant servers get from their customers? Hey, all you big publishing houses, are you taking notes here? We hope so, coz let's just say Telly Clemente has enough, what she calls "memorabilia" to fill countless pages for what could become a best seller.    Telly is Eric Levine's featured guest on this episode of Tip Not Included, and has been collecting notes and numbers written on napkins, receipts (and maybe Viagra boxes?) from men, women, and yes, even couples, inviting her to enjoy some behind closed-doors activities after the restaurant closes.   But Telly is one smart and confident young woman who can identify a player a mile away. As an artist and musician, she's obviously got more important things to occupy her time with than arranging a menage a trois with one (um, we mean two) of her customers.   Aside from Eric's conversation with Telly, he raises his usual thought-provoking questions like why you don't seem to see any white bus boys (and isn't bus boy a derogatory term to begin with?). Plus, he reminds us that anything really worthwhile is going to shake things up (and just for the record, leaving your server a message inviting you back to your place is not one of them).   You can reach Eric Levine at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

If you say you'd rather eat fish at that chi-chi restaurant that charges for ice cubes, you may want to think twice about your dining choices. While your patronage there may bring you bragging rights, it also may make you sick. A safer option just might be Red Lobster since they're the world's biggest purchaser of fish -- so you know what you're eating is always fresh.   This is just one of the golden nuggets that Host Eric Levine along with his guest, famed Attorney Peter Fields, lop out on the latest episode of Tip Not Included.   The pair also question why middle class white women don't tip on wine, why for bigger tips it helps for female servers to touch the shoulders of middle aged men, and, in this overly litigious society how every simple dishwasher who gets fired seems to have an attorney in his back pocket ready to sue!    Plus, Eric & Peter fling open the door on some of the most preposterous restaurant lawsuits, including the one where one disgruntled gentleman sued the fine dining pizzeria known as Papa John's for texting him too much, and the customer who sued Popeyes for giving him a spork instead of a knife. And then there was Subway who got sued for coming up short on its foot long. Hey, a porn star doesn't even get that much scrutiny!   For a conversation about as jaw dropping as R. Kelly's interview with Gayle King, this is one episode you won't want to miss!   Email Eric at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

Clearly, more needs to be done to reward women at the executive level which is still dominated by men -- some of whom have time on their hands to engage with with women in seedy strip mall joints for a rub & tug. And what of those women who perform those acts who themselves are victims of human traffickers, forced to work in those houses of horror masked as massage parlors? What of their rights? Do they get minimum wage? Do they get overtime? Do they get bonuses?   On this episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine raises those questions and poses poignant points about females in the workforce.   Crazy to think how in 2018, women of color represented only 4% of senior executives. We're talking about positions like CEOs and Vice Presidents. Compare that to white men at 68% and white women at 19%. In one study, 532 African American women were surveyed who earned their MBAs from 1977 - 2015. Only 67 made it to an executive level position.   Eric covers all that, plus opens the mailbag. This is one episode you're not going to want to miss.   If you'd like to contact Eric and have your message read on air, email him at: eric@tipnotincluded.com  

Nancy Beetstra returns to Tip Not Included for another kaleidoscope conversation with Host, Eric Levine.   A proud member of the Wounded Warriors team, Nancy questions how is it that that some 200,000 veterans transition to civilian life each year, yet have a lower employment rate than the national average? This, despite bringing loyalty, commitment and a strong work ethic to everything they do. Restaurant industry, are you listening?   Also, Eric reaches into the mail bag this week to answer some of your burning questions, like whether hidden cameras in the break room are legal (hmmm) and whether work-place dating needs to be reported (check your company handbook).    And then there's the walloping $1.5 million paid to a KFC employee for company failure to provide adequate breaks for pumping breast milk, a subject on which Eric opines. Let the good times flow . . .   To contact Eric Levine, email: eric@tipnotincluded.com

Host Eric Levine kicks off the month of March with news of the day, featuring stories you may not have heard. Or, were too afraid to pay attention to, like the one from the United Bodegas of America. They're fighting to sell pot once it's legalized in New York state. If they win and you're living in Gotham, probably best to invest in a gas mask.    And then there's the "Gig Economy" which Eric questions. After all, he says, "Five bullshit jobs don't equal one good job". Just ask the Chairman of Toys R Us who ran the company into the ground, leaving giraffe poop in aisle 13 next to the rector sets.   Speaking of big biz, what about Amazon pulling out of Long Island City? What was that all about? No kickbacks? Or, maybe they succumbed to the voices of a few radicals who know nothing about making a buck, leaving bodega owners to, well, resort to selling weed.   Contact Eric Levine at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

If someone walks into a bar wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat, can they be refused service? Does a baker have the right to refuse a client's request based on his own personal beliefs? And what about Amazon moving into Queens. Will it destroy the character of Archie Bunker's New York City borough? On this episode of Tip Not Included, Nancy Beetstra joins Host Eric Levine to discuss these and other topics. Nancy not only brings jello shots and lox into the studio but also a wealth of food-service experience. She grew up in the bakery biz, worked as a hostess at an IHOP, and even had her very own Caravelle Ice Cream joint - sprinkles and all. You'll be glad you listened to this episode if for no other reason than Nancy weighs in on why you should never complain to a restaurant server. Spoiler alert: You'll get a little extra "sauce" with your meal if you do. Contact Eric Levine at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

Would you sleep with a future boss to get a job? One Subway manager thought it was perfectly fine to ask his store applicants to do so. Perhaps he figured they were interested in checking out his footlong. The guy got axed for that. Not John Wayne Bobbitt-style. He lost his job, not his salami. On this episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine slices and dices that story, lights up the airways with news of how New York's Governor Cuomo is moving towards legalizing recreational marijuana, and how Starbucks is changing the course of human history by placing boxes in restrooms for used needles. Thankfully, now you don't have to make a mess mess next time you shoot up heroine with your double mocha frappuccino. Plus, Eric welcomes back Martin Chaddock for a volley of conversation including the cultural wars over religious roles in the workplace, age biased law suits, and the rise in retaliation cases. As a reminder, Eric advises all listeners to save, save and save their money - even if it's $50 a week. They'll be glad they did by the end of the year. Or at the end of their lives. Contact Eric Levine at: eric@tipnotincluded.com 

Can a sister order a Dominoes Pizza without being judged? Or call Ikea for help putting together a nightstand without it turning into a nightmare? You know what I'm talking about. You live in a really tough Bronx zip code and I live on tony Park Avenue in Manhattan. Will we get the same treatment from the customer service rep on the other end of the phone? I don't have to tell you the answer. You know it already. That's because big business has the data on you and you're just gonna have to wait.   In this episode, Host Eric Levine takes you through the ins and outs of Customer Lifetime Value, or CLV. That's the secret number used by companies to measure the potential financial value of its customers. In other words, companies ask, are you worth it. Or, how much are you worth it to us. Wait a minute, the "us" is supposed to be supplying goods and services to us that we're willing to pay for? Why should we have to go through so many hoops? We want them and we get screened for them? Hey, this isn't TSA at La Guardia. All we want is a pizza and not have to wait for next Tuesday for our phone to be answered. And while we're at it, if you're name is Latisha and the other girl's name is Janice. Who gets the job? You know the answer to that one, too. Hear Eric's riff on on-line discrimination. It ain't pretty, but it's true.   To contact Eric, email him at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

What happens when a talented and athletic guy from Nowheresville, USA heads to LA and works in a deli where anybody who's anybody goes to nosh? Well, that's the story told in "As The Matzo Ball Turns". It's a real page turner, written by the aforementioned Jozef Rothstein, who joins Host Eric Levine on this episode of Tip Not Included. These days the once actor is a Corrections Officer who still has creativity running through his veins. Since he believes in only having a short window on this planet to make one's mark, he's done so with his book which was also turned into a musical. Joining Eric and Jozef in the studio is comedian Martin Chaddock who peppers the conversation which turns as tasty as, well, a matzo ball.  Contact Eric at: eric@tipnotincluded.com  

So there you are, making a living cutting lemons in the kitchen so someone else can savor the lemonade. Sounds like a sour deal, right? Not if you saved. We're not talking lemon rinds. We're talking the green stuff. No, not limes. We're talking money. That's right M-O-N-E-Y! You know how to spell it. You know how to pronounce it. And let's face it, you love every bit of it. So why aren't you saving any? It's easy. Even one hundred smackaroos a week will take you far! In this episode of Tip Not Included, Host Eric Levine is joined in the studio by restaurateur/sommelier, Mark Evangelista. The two talk the importance and ease of saving for a rainy day. They also cover vanishing cash tips, who tips the worst (if you're from outside the US you may not to want to listen!) and what it's like marrying one of your employees. Hey, it works out for some. Like it did for Mark. Please email Eric at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

How do you tell a restaurant server her highlights don't conform to corporate guidelines and needs to make an appointment with Miss Clairol? Funny thing, at the same time she's encouraged by the front office to have a neckline that plunges down to Tijuana. Sure, she's supported to have her "front office" open for business since it's good for business. These women who get mixed signals from their bosses just numb themselves to mixed messages and go out on the floor where they numb themselves to inappropriate behavior from their customers who love to tip. It's a power trip for these big spenders to lay wads of cash out on the table. Little do they know they've been manipulated by the server to do so. And then there's the question of the transgender server...at Hooters! What does the front office say about their "front office" both above and below the Mason-Dixon line? In this episode, Host Eric Levin explores these issues and more in his inimitable style you've come to love.  Email Eric Levine at: eric@tipnotincluded.com    

For all their faults, moderate priced restaurants and fast food joints lead when it comes to hiring folks no matter their race, creed, color, or sexual orientation. These are just places where people can work, gain experience, make some money, and hopefully work to pursue their dreams. In this episode, Host Eric Levine reviews a kaleidoscope of rights that the restaurant worker has - everything from The Fair Labor Standards Act to Recording Video Surveillance Rights, from Sick Time to Spread of Hours (aka "SOH"). He even talks the 40-hour work week -- you can give a shout out to Henry Ford for that one.   You can email Eric Levine at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

Why don't restaurant owners set their employees up for success? They'll hug them and thank them for burning themselves on 300 degree pots and pans in the kitchen, yet they won't give them stock options or decent benefits. Maybe because they think restaurant workers are disposable? Like toilet paper? Maybe restaurant managers think if an employee screws up, there's some other schmuck waiting in line who needs the cash too? So no need to invest in people, the reasoning goes. In this episode, Tony Corley - who you heard in episodes 4 & 6 - once again joins Host Eric Levine to discuss restaurant worker rights plus Men's Rights, in this age of the #meetoo movement. To contact Eric Levine, email him: eric@tipnotincluded.com

So you put on your heels, take a deep breadth and psych yourself to turn as many tricks as you can in one night. The world's oldest profession you say? Well, that and putting in a shift as a server to the grubby and grabby who drop in on their favorite joints to chow down. No fun but it pays the rent. And your habit. In this episode, Host Eric Levine exposes the restaurant and any number of other industries for what they really are -- bordellos with daily specials. Feeling like a hoe now?   To contact Eric Levine, email him: eric@tipnotincluded.com

How would you handle a stanky server? A dirty dishwasher? Or a busboy with B.O.? Restaurateur Tony Corley is back in the studio with Host Eric Levine to answer those questions. The two also banter on dry humping in a red Firebird (not together of course), picking pubic hair off a Coke can (naturally not in one of their restaurants) and the horrors of working the overnight shift at McDonalds. Just be glad you're not the one cleaning an overflowed toilet at the Golden Arches at 3 a.m.   To contact Eric, email him at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

If "something" happened while Judge Kavanaugh, Dr. Ford & Senator Feinstein worked at Chipotle, how would that unfold? In this episode, Host Eric Levine raises that question with restaurateur and comedian, Martin Chaddock. The two also cover dealing with "Dining Dashers", stealing in the restaurant biz, and growing a pair on the Maury Povich Show in the '90s. Eric Levine may be reached at: eric@tipnotincluded.com 

Restaurants used to offer transitional jobs but now, people give up their dreams for the money they can make there -- a dishwasher can earn $50K a year. And a little-known fact, the restaurant biz is the only field where females of color run everything. To talk about that and more, Host Eric Levine is joined in the studio by Tony Corley, a 30-year restaurant industry veteran. Tony once worked at a McDonald’s and today he runs the Times Square Applebees, the number one outlet in the chain anywhere in the world! To contact Eric, email him at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

Prepare to laugh. Prepare to be shocked. Stand-up comedian and server, Tamisha Winn joins Eric in the studio to dish on everything from getting fired from her diner job for “smoking a blunt in the front” to sharing her formula to avoid getting “dickmatized” in the restaurant industry. Eric may be reached at: eric@tipnotincluded.com  

Server Jose Ortiz aka “The Dominican Diablo” joins Eric in the studio to talk the “crack cash” & “bronze handcuffs” of the restaurant industry, as well as his wrestling career and comic book creations. Plus, the renaissance man dispenses advice to servers getting started in the biz today. Eric may be reached at: eric@tipnotincluded.com  

With more than 30 years in the restaurant business, Eric Levine shares the good, the bad, the ugly, the sexy, and the unmentionable of the hardest working people around – servers, bus boys and cooks. They’re anonymous to most, but not to Eric. Why can they buy Yeezys at the Flight Club but can’t get a mortgage? Hear Eric bring their world to life in his unbridled monologue. Eric may be reached at: eric@tipnotincluded.com

Welcome to Tip Not Included! Weekly, Eric Levine serves up both monologues and a parade of food service workers (which he calls “the richest poorest people” he knows) to share giddy and gritty stories from the trillion dollar US restaurant industry. Eric may be reached at: eric@tipnotincluded.com