Advice

Tipping Your Budtender – The Fresh Toast

Published

2 months ago

March 12, 2024

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Tipflation is increased rates that people are now expected to tip at restaurants and for other goods and services, especially in areas where historically there wasn’t the expectation to tip. Prior to 2020, people generally tipped food servers 15% to 20% based on the service received. Today with tipflation, it show up on screens almost everyone – with the base starting at 15% and going up. Consumers are annoyed. But what about the marijuana dispensaries and tipping your budtenders?

At legal dispensaries, budtenders are key. They act in several different capacities, assisting customers in finding the best possible strain, showing them new products and answering questions to help them with the best possible experience. It is important work, especially when dealing with a new customer whose only experience with marijuana was one time back in college when they took a hit off a bong. Think of them as a cannabis sommelier.

One of the things a new customer might notice while browsing the display cases in a dispensary is the presence of tip jars. This trend started to take shape around a decade ago when medical marijuana was first beginning to build momentum across the country. But now they seem to be turning up more in both the medical and recreational sectors. The idea, as with any situation where a tip jar is present, is to give the budtender an opportunity to earn additional income.

It is also an incentivizing measure. If a budtender believes he or she can earn an extra $50 or more each day by simply providing superb customer service, chances are they will come to work ready to make it rain.

Why Are Marijuana Retailers Struggling To Keep Budtenders? — Photo by Heath Korvola/Getty Images

Still, some people take issue with tip jars becoming more commonplace in dispensary life. Some feel that while a budtender might deserve and extra $10 or so for helping them identify a strain most effective in treating their specific health condition, others think it is flat out BS that they must cough up extra cheddar just because one sold them a package of edibles. And while tipping is always optional, many argue that some budtenders act as though they are entitled to a tip for spending a few minutes with a customer.

So what is the right thing to do? Should you tip budtenders, or simply treat them the same as liquor store clerks? After all, the people who sell beer do not get tipped for pointing the Baileys or Lagunitas.

The answer should be simple, but it is actually a bit tricky.

For starters, what exactly is a budtender’s job? According to the California-based employment agency Vangst, it is to provide “excellent customer service to all patients and customers in medical and recreational dispensaries. Uses point-of-sale system and other technology to ensure all cannabis product sales are properly tracked. Provides information to customers on product choices, consumption methods, compliance, and safety. Remains up to date on all cannabis regulations to ensure compliance within the dispensary.”

No doubt, there is a lot of responsibility involved with being an exceptional budtender, which is the reason they are paid an above-average salary right out of the gate. Budtenders often start out making around $16 per hour. These are not excellent wages, but they are significantly higher than most small retail/fast food places where employees are not compensated with tips.

It is also more money than the average untipped liquor store clerk earns. While there is rarely a qualm about tipping bartenders simply popping the top on a beer and setting in front of them, clerks seem to be something else.

So, do we tip budtenders or not?

Don’t feel obligated to leave a tip just because a dispensary has scattered jars all around. However, if a budtender is friendly, helpful, guides you to exactly what you are looking for and makes your dispensary experience a pleasant one, by all means, don’t be afraid to leave a something extra. Yet, if all a budtender does is ring up a package of edibles or pre-rolls, a tip isn’t exactly necessary. Products are already expensive enough with all of the additional taxes for people to be required to pay more just because an employee punched a few buttons on a cash register.

But, here’s the thing: Good people who do good work and, above all, help you in ways that could not have been achieved without them, are always deserving of more. It is a classy move to offer a gratuity for exceptional service.

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Advice

5 Key Things To Check On A CBD Label

Published

5 days ago

May 9, 2024

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Science and the public have been good to CBD. It helps with the ever popular issue of sleeping and it can help reduce anxiety. Discreet, convenient and semi fast acting – it can be a help mate for first dates, stressful family events, or just rough days. The CBD/cannabis Epidiolex has been proven to reduce seizures and is the first cannabis-derived medicine approved by the FDA. So lots of benefits, but since it is still a bit of a newbie on shelves…you need to be careful of what you buy. Here are 5 key tags to check on a CBD label.

Reading product labels is often confusing, overly technical and filled with materials no one understands. Add to the mix the fact CBD is still in FDA limbo, and you need a list like this to point you in the right direction. Here are 5 things to check when reading a CBD label.

Make sure CBD is in on the label and in the product

First thing’s first: make sure there’s actually CBD in your CBD product. Today’s CBD landscape is filled with products that claim to contain CBD while really containing just hemp oil, or lie about the amount of CBD they contain. Look for either CBD or cannabidiol and be wary of products containing hemp seeds, cannabis sativa, hemp seed oil, etc. Although these ingredients sound weedy, they’re not the same thing as CBD.

The FDA's Relationship To CBD Is Confusing Everyone — Photo by IRA_EVVA/Getty Images

Check the dosage and ingredients

Dosage in key in how effective it will be. Be understanding it you time the amount you need then time out when you might want to take it again. Additionally, look for a full list of ingredients, including the carrier oil used. Check for any potential allergens or additives you want to avoid.

Keep an eye out for COA

COAs guarantee the product you’re looking at has been tested by a third party facility that has no relationship to the maker. Their results are unbiased and thus trust worthy. Reputable companies should feature this information on their labels, which should come in the shape of a bar code and should be easily accessed via smartphone. If this isn’t the case, the COA should appear on the product’s website.

Here's How Long It Takes To Feel CBD's Effects — Photo by Sabrina Rohwer via Pexels

Look for the CBD oil source

One of the first red flags of fake CBD products is a label that’s vague or doesn’t state where the CBD oil was sourced. CBD can be sourced from cannabis plants or industrial hemp, and most quality products tend to be “full spectrum,” “broad spectrum,” or “CBD isolate.”

Know your cannabis state laws

This is important since CBD label requirements vary by state, with the best labels being from products sold in areas where marijuana is legal. If you’re purchasing a product from out of a legal state, these packages should at least imitate how regulated products look.

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Advice

How To Manage Warring Political Conversations

Published

4 weeks ago

April 18, 2024

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The presidential campaign is in full swing – but why should it interrupt friend and family gathers…here are the best tips to managing different political perspectives.

With the presidential race heating up and the country seemingly divided, how can you hang with the people you have known who might have a different political perspectives. Patience, grace and planning can make it a bit easier. Here are some tips on to manage warring political conversations at events.

First, think and understand people are different than you and rarely do people all have the exact same opinions. Also think why you are gathering, what is the purpose and is it more about

When it comes to your boundaries, don’t mince words. If you know yourself and feel you won’t be able to engage in a discussion regarding politics without become heated, let other people know that you won’t be talking politics. If you want to have a discussion with someone, try to be the person you’d like to have a discussion with, taking turns to listen and talking while measuring your words and not being insulting.

Plan ahead

If you are organizing an event, think about why you are pulling people together. If it a birthday, to celebrate a happy occasion or a good catch up, think of the guests and how they will interact. Taking the time beforehand and sharing behavior no-nos like yelling, dominating a conversion, snide comments or bullying tactics will not be accepted. Recognize people are being invited to something enjoyable, not a cage match.

State your discomfort

If you’re having a conversation and it starts to get heated, state your discomfort. Try to avoid awkwardness and instead push for being as sincere as you can. Your response will vary depending on the person you’re talking to; if speaking to a coworker, try to change the subject or state that you’re not in the mood for politics. When speaking to friends and family, you can try a more honest approach.

Know when to end a conversation

The more you’re exposed to different kinds of people, the more you learn how to read their physical and verbal cues. Be aware of them, so when the conversation turns heated, change the course. Election eve might be too late to change someone’s mind, especially if they have strong political views. Save yourself the stress and try to preserve that relationship if it’s important to you.

Have an open mind

It’s always important to have a discussion with an open mind; try to understand why this person thinks the way they do. This doesn’t mean that you have to agree with them, but it can help you have a more civilized conversation, ensuring that the relationship won’t be lost due to the heat of the moment. Empathy can go a long way.

When it comes to your boundaries, don’t mince words. If you know yourself and feel that you won’t be able to engage in a discussion regarding politics without screaming, let other people know that you won’t be talking politics. If you want to have a discussion with someone, try to be the person that you’d like to have a discussion with, taking turns to listen and talking while measuring your words and not being insulting.

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Advice

The Best Activities To Maximize Your Weekend

Published

2 months ago

March 23, 2024

admin

Sometimes you have a week of 5 Mondays and it seems a half of Saturday – here are some tips to make the most of your weekend and be ready for the next round of Mondays

Most people work 5 days then have a weekend – for some it is Saturday/Sunday for others it is more flexible. But what should be flexible is going to your mind and body a break so you can head back to work refreshed and energized. The better you are at relaxing and resting, the better you will be at working. Downtime is essential for increasing attention, boosting mood, unlocking creativity, and solving problems. It’s also necessary for improving learning and memory and restoring mental health at work.

A Stanford study demonstrates that over working has clear limitations, with employees showing a sharp decline in productivity when they clocked in more than 50 hours per week. People in the study who worked more than 70 hours per week managed to get the same amount of work done than people who worked 55 hours per week. Where does all of that time go?

Studies like these highlight how important is to have time for yourself, where you can reflect, think, rest and do things that bring you pleasure. Downtime can significantly improve mental and physical health and personal relationships. One study, for example, found employees who unplugged and took time off reduced serious health issues like coronary heart disease.

Disconnect from work

It’s important to remove yourself from work over the weekend, digitally and physically, so that you feel that you had some days off and were able to rest. This is easier said than done, especially if you need to get work done over the weekend. What you can do is make a weekend work schedule that allows you to check emails and make calls without the time you’d spend doing other more pleasant things.

Minimize your chores

Chores tend to pile up over the week, resulting in weekends where all you manage to do is clean up and fix stuff around your apartment. To avoid this, try scheduling your chores throughout the week, making them a part of your day to day routine and giving you more time to relax over the weekend. Laundry can be done in small amount rather than a chunk of a Saturday afternoon.

Work out

Finding the time to exercise is taxing, especially on week days where you have to work and get other things done. Weekends are perfect for clocking in your workouts, giving you tons of time of fit in exercises that feel motivational and much less like chores.

Do something you’re passionate about

Find time to do something you enjoy, be that drawing, writing, reading, or something else that makes you think and also makes you happy. By doing this activity on the weekend you’ll reap even more benefits because you’ll feel like you’re actually doing something instead of passing the time.

Try to wake up at the same time

This is kind of hard but it works if you’re the type of person who has a hard time easing yourself back into the week. Inconsistent wake up times over the weekend disturb your circadian rhythms, resulting in you feeling very tired and groggy despite the fact that you slept more than you do regularly. This uncomfortable feeling can also seep into your Mondays and throw the rest of your week off balance.

Use your mornings as your “me time”

Your mind achieves peak performance two to four hours after you wake up, resulting in really gratifying morning activities where you’ll get to have better workouts and enjoy whatever it is that you’re doing.

Prepare for the week

By planning some of your work ahead of time, your weeks will be much more productive. You’ll skip the entire “set up” stage of your Mondays, jumping right into your work and making your week feel much more pleasant and easy going.

Resting during the weekend gives your body and mind a chance to recharge and recover from the stresses of the week. This can help you feel more energized and productive when you return to work on Monday. When you’re tired and overworked, it’s easy to become irritable and short-tempered but fully rested improves your mood and outlook.

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