TheMightyEthan Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 What do you mean it's there with the high end plans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 US federal minimum wage (nation-wide) is $7.25/hour. Some states have higher than that, but a lot don't. Â And yes, in jobs where people get tips the employer is allowed to pay less than minimum wage (I believe minimum wage for waitstaff in KS is actually $2.15/hour), but if the wage+tips doesn't add up to at least the regular minimum wage then the employer has to make up the difference. Â @TFG: If they don't give you good service then don't give them a good tip, or any tip at all. Also at least in the US "standard" tip is 15%, so unless you're spending 7 hours worth of your wages on the meal the tip shouldn't be anywhere close to an hour's wage for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted August 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 The high end plans include the cost of receiving texts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 No they don't, you just pay for the plan as a whole, which includes all the services. Â Also, I checked and Verizon (my carrier) has exactly 1 plan that does not include unlimited talk & text, it's a pay-as-you-go plan for everything. Every other plan they have has unlimited talk and text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted August 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 So the high end plan doesn't include the cost of receiving texts, but it does include all the services of which receiving texts is not one of these services? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luftwaffles Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 I can only speak for California and Washington, but California's is around 8 dollars an hour (different in some cities), and Washington's is about the same. As far as cost of living being higher in the UK, I'd say that's debatable. I can find a dinky little apartment where I currently live for around 300-400 dollars a month, but where I'm moving it's closer to around 700-800+ for a dinky little spot. Cost of living in the countryside is pretty low, yeah, but once you move into a city it skyrockets, and it depends on the city. Â Out of curiosity, are taxes removed from your paycheck over there as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 NYC, SF Bay Area and the LA basin area are pretty similar when it comes to living cost. For myself, in a somewhat rural, college (CA) area $700-800 can get me a pretty decent setup. I could get somewhere for cheaper but living standard would drop. For the earlier three places, the price can vary a lot. For places for my standard (I would like to live and be safe, thank you very much), I would be damn surprised if I can find a place for a $1000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 Well yes, it "includes the cost", but then how are your plans set up that that cost is not included? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted August 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 We only charge for sent texts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faiblesse Des Sens Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 Guys guys guys. Take a step back. What the hell is the point of this discussion? What the hell does it have to do with this thread? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 We only charge for sent texts. Â So then the "receive texts" service is included in the basic charge that you're charged monthly, just like here. Which was my point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFlyingGerbil Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 Out of curiosity, are taxes removed from your paycheck over there as well? Â You get income tax and national insurance taken off your pay by your employer before it is given to you. Tax is also automatically taken off interest you earn on savings/investments by your bank before you get the interest/income into your account. All other taxes are taken automatically at point of purchase for goods and services (e.g. VAT) Council tax comes like a bill, but doesn't involve you sending anything off first as it's based on the value of your house (which you don't really have any input in) not your income so only self-employed people have to fill in tax returns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFlyingGerbil Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 (edited) @TFG: If they don't give you good service then don't give them a good tip, or any tip at all. Also at least in the US "standard" tip is 15%, so unless you're spending 7 hours worth of your wages on the meal the tip shouldn't be anywhere close to an hour's wage for you.  The problem with tips in this country at least is most people feel obliged to give them regardless of service, which is one of the reasons I don't like them. Not to mention I have never seen service that has made me want to throw money at someone. and 7*[min. wage]=£40 which is not hard to spend on a meal.  edit: sorry about double post but I could only imagine disasters trying to add a quote to an old post. Edited August 26, 2012 by TheFlyingGerbil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted August 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 We only charge for sent texts. So then the "receive texts" service is included in the basic charge that you're charged monthly, just like here. Which was my point. But we are not charged to receive texts. That is my point. There is nothing charged for to be included into the contract cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted August 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 Guys guys guys. Take a step back. What the hell is the point of this discussion? What the hell does it have to do with this thread? TFG wanted to know of a good modem router. I said his ISP could supply one. Ethan said in america you have to pay $10/month for one. I pointed out how in UK you get given the router, it'd be stupid otherwise. Ethan clicked that it probably a US/UK thing to be charged for every little thing. I made an offhand comment that yeah very much so, much like being charged to receive texts. Then Ethan has spent a while clarifying I don't know what. And yeah I've just being waiting for it to spin out then I can shift the thread over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 (edited) @TFG: If you're spending £40 on a single meal you must eat at MUCH nicer places than me.  We only charge for sent texts.  So then the "receive texts" service is included in the basic charge that you're charged monthly, just like here. Which was my point.  But we are not charged to receive texts. That is my point. There is nothing charged for to be included into the contract cost.  So you're saying that if you have a phone and no phone service, you will still be able to receive texts? Because unless that's the case receiving texts is part of the service that you're paying for. You just don't pay a specific amount for that specific aspect of the service. Just like here, where I don't pay a "receiving texts" fee, the ability to receive texts is simply included in my cell plan.  *Edit* - And what I'm trying to clarify is that for the most part we aren't charged for receiving texts, baring the very extreme bottom-rung plans. Edited August 26, 2012 by TheMightyEthan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted August 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 If you have a phone, and it is not on contract nor is it topped up. Just a phone, a number and a sim, you can be sent a thousand texts and called for days solid and it will not cost you a penny. You can even ring 999. The only person that pays is the one sending texts and ringing people. Â And while it may only be on the low end contracts and PAYG phones that you're charged an individual fee, you've said yourself that even on a high-end contract you're still paying to receive texts just it's as an unlimited thing as part of the contract fee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 Okay, this has finally devolved into nit-picking beyond even what I care about. Â About the 999 thing: in the US you can call 911 on any cell phone that's charged and has a signal, with no service or anything connected to that phone (to the point where it doesn't even have a number that someone could call to reach it) as a legal requirement. Is it the same in the UK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted August 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 Yes it's the same in the UK. That's why I said you could call 999. (Of course you're told to not rely on mobile phones for 99, but I reckon mobile phones are more useful than not). Â As for the nitpicking, keep in mind you're the one that started it all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 Oh I know I'm the one who started it, and I am one world-class nitpicker. Â The reason I was asking about 999 is cause you said if you had a phone with a number and a sim, which implies to me that it's associated with a carrier but maybe just not topped up with minutes (so someone could call you you just couldn't call out) whereas in the US the phone doesn't have to even be associated with a carrier or have a number a number associated with it, if you've got battery and a signal you can call 911. I wasn't sure if that was an actual difference or if it was just cause you were throwing it in there with the free incoming stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted August 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 The number and SIM part is for being rung and text. I think it's pretty globally standard to be able to call emergency services without any cash or anything, just something with a phone line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 That's what I figured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 Don't make me call a mod in here, guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Hot Heart Posted September 3, 2012 Popular Post Report Share Posted September 3, 2012 Not really a new thing, but new to me. This thread seems the best place for it. http://hotword.dictionary.com/ampersand/ 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuchikoma Posted September 3, 2012 Report Share Posted September 3, 2012 I'd have thought "thorn" too, but I see they covered that at the end. Then, rather than being removed from the alphabet, there's the plucky typewriter symbol that vies for a place among punctuation marks but only seems visible to geeks, the interrobang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.