Quote:
Originally Posted by fdpaq0580
You might be very surprised at how really good tips can be.
|
Fun with mathematics:
The shift has 4 waitresses, 1 bartender.
Also 1 grill cook, 1 "other" kitchen worker who puts together salads and such, 1 hostess, 1 busboy.
Only the waitresses and bartender get tips, but the tips are pooled and divided among all non-management employees.
One waitress hustles like crazy and serves 20 parties during her shift, 10 of which are parties of 4, 6 are parties of 2, and 4 parties of 6. Her total tips for the night is $500.
Two waitresses do a pretty good job, not as good as the one above, and they earn $300 each that night, for a total of $600 between the two.
The fourth one is having a bad night, dropped someone's water glass, and had one party of 2 stiff her for a tip completely. She only took in $100 that night.
The bartender took in $1000 in tips, because bartenders can actually do that sometimes.
Total tips that night are $2200. Now divide that by the 9 employees who each get a cut of the tips. That rounds up to $244 per person in tips. Even though only 3 employees actually EARNED more than $100 in tips. Why should the bartender only get $244 when she busted her butt to earn $1000? Why should the chick who had a lousy night and broke a water glass get more than the $100 she earned? Why should the guy who makes salads get the same amount as the waitress who earned $300, and why should she get less than the $300 she earned? Why should the hostess, whose only job is to grab menus and bring customers to tables, get any tip at all?
Answer: they shouldn't be getting these amounts. They absolutely should not. You earn it, you can keep it or pool it. The only people who MIGHT be earning less than minimum wage are the waitresses and the bartender. They are the only people who are entitled to any tips at all. But when you pool tips, the one who does a lousy job gets the same amount as the person who busted their butt.
That is unfair, and wrong, and doesn't give anyone an incentive to do a good job. Why should I do a good job, if I can do a lousy job and get the same tip money that the chick who does a good job gets? Why should I do a good job, if the best I can hope for is whatever the lousy chick gets?