Tipping
 

Do waitresses in restaurant's around TV share their tips?

It depends on the restaurant. Tip pooling is legal, but only among tipped employees. Some people say that tips are shared with the kitchen and bussing staff, but that is illegal according to Federal law.

Good question. But this is the Villages…many cheap tippers here. My guess..75% tip almost nothing or substandard tips. 20% tip the recommended amount. 5% tip too much and love to brag on totv that they are as generous as Frank Sinatra in his heyday.

Personally…i tip no more than 5%. Why tip to just bring a plate over.

Time to stop this tipping nonsence. Wait…next year it will be suggested u tip 25%.

It never ends. :1rotfl::1rotfl:

Just because it's illegal doesn't mean they don't do it. At Gator's Dockside, all tips that are on debit/credit cards get pooled by wait staff, bartenders, hosts, and kitchen staff for the shift.

Give your wait staff their tip in cash, and make sure to hand it to them personally. Otherwise - it'll be pooled.

That's nice in theory, but many of us do not use cash anymore.

Because if their tips, combined with their wages, equals the state minimum wage, then it's as if they didn't get any tip at all. The most they can get - if you UNDER-tip, is $11/hour. Even if they work their butts off, go beyond the minimum requirements of their job to give you outstanding customer service, and have earned more - they will have nothing to show for that extra work. Tip them substandard, and you should expect substandard service.

Their hourly wage is LESS than minimum wage. Their tips are expected to compensate for that, in this state. In many other states, the tip is intended to show appreciation for doing MORE than the minimum requirement for the job. Some restaurant policies also start their wait staff at minimum or better, with the tips being theirs to keep if they earn them.

It's an incentive for GOOD wait staff to show up and serve you.

I only use cash in a restaurant. If restaurants want me to use a credit card, they need to provide a card transaction machine at the table and do not charge me an extra fee (one example is Chili's). In that case, I will use a credit card. But, whatever payment method I use, I will not use a different method for the tip. If the restaurant owner is stealing tip income from the server, that is an issue between the server and the owner. I wonder how the restaurant explains their W-2 employee income forms to the IRS, when they are stealing money from tipped employees to pay non-tipped employees.

And then watch people bitch when prices are raised to provide employees with a livable wage!

Why should you expect substandard service if you don't tip? It doesn't work that way in other businesses. Everyone should get at least the standard service.

In Tip Sharing arrangements, all "Tips" going into the "pool", regardless of if they are paid in cash or as part of a credit card/debit card transaction.

Employees who are not traditionally tipped (dishwashers/cooks/etc are allowed to participate in Tip Pooling arrangements, under some circumstances.

Managers cannot participate in a Tip Pool, but are allowed to keep Tips they receive, provided they are paid for service provided by the manage alone.

Federal Register
::
Tip Regulations Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); Partial Withdrawal

The only circumstance where non-tipped employees can receive tip pool income is the following:

"an employer that pays tipped employees the full minimum wage and does not take a tip credit may require tipped employees to share tips with dishwashers, cooks, or other employees who are not employed in an occupation in which employees customarily and regularly receive tips"

I don't think that applies in most restaurants because typically, they do not pay servers the full minimum wage. But, as a general rule, tips received by a server are the property of the server, not the restaurant.

If their tips are cash, minimum taxes are do and many are reported.
If tips are added to a credit card, all taxes apply.

Also, is it rude to ask your waiter if tips are pooled or not?

Restaurant servers get special tax treatment from the IRS, called the 8 percent rule. The restaurant is required to calculate 8 percent of the restaurant's gross income, and prorate that amount to each server's W-2 income form as tip income. Then, the server can either report and pay income tax on that amount, or they can report a lesser amount and be subject to an IRS audit. So, even if they make more than 8 percent in tips, they only need to pay tax on the calculated 8 percent, and they will not be audited.

Unless a restaurant is a "one off" (local, family owned), you can usually assume that Tips are shared. It's simply not practical to run a restaurant any other way. Tips are taxed just like any other pay, which is another reason pooling tips are more efficient for owners ... the tips are reported and the owner is off the hook.

What is the difference between substandard service, the minimum requirements, and outstanding service?

I have never worked in a restaurant but I used to work in a customer service position and I always tried to give outstanding service to everyone that came into the store. I never thought that I should provide substandard service or even just provide the minimum requirements.

I don’t have a problem with pooled tipping as long as the owner does not take a cut. All the staff has worked for our meals even if we only see the waitress/waiter and they are ALL deserving, in my opinion. But since the owner sets the prices and the wages, they can adjust them therefore, no tip for the owner.

Owners & Managers can't participate in Tip Pools. Read the link I provided earlier in the thread. It's against Federal Law.

Oh goodie. A Thread about a topic that has never been broached here.

Sooooo interesting and fresh.

Because other businesses pay the current state minimum wage, which is $11/hour. Restaurant owners are only required to pay their tipped employees $7.98/hour minimum, and the tips are counted toward the $11/hour state minimum. If their tips don't combine with the $7.98 to make that $11/hour, then the restaurant has to kick in the difference - resulting in tipped wait staff earning as little as $11/hour - state minimum - even if they're getting tips from customers.

I would never work for tips as someone's employee, if those tips weren't on TOP of minimum wage. Customers don't owe me my day's wages, that's the restaurant owner's responsibility. If he can't afford to pay a waiter $11/hour, allowing the waiters to not count tips toward their hourly minimum wage, then he can't afford to have waiters.

Even when I was busking in Boston exclusively for tips, I earned more than minimum wage.

They might not be ALLOWED - but that doesn't mean they CAN'T. May, shall, must, may not, cannot, must not, will, will not - these all have very specific meanings.

I am not allowed to run a red light. But there's nothing actually stopping me from doing so, if I really wanted to. I CAN run a red light. I am not allowed to, but I most definitely can.

Owners and managers aren't supposed to take the tip money, and kitchen staff and any other staff that works for minimum wage or better, shouldn't be getting a portion of tips from wait staff who earns less than minimum wage without those tips.

Kitchen staff all get minimum wage or better. Wait staff gets LESS than minimum wage, because they are expected to make up the difference with tips.

You really need examples? Maybe you didn't have very good customer service skills, if you don't know the difference. But sure here's some examples:

Substandard customer service for wait staff:
Not coming back a few minutes after serving the meal to make sure they don't need anything - more napkins, top off the water glass, check on the first couple bites of their meal, etc.

Standard customer service for wait staff: making sure the orders are taken correctly, and if there's a delay in serving, then communicating that - along with an apology - to the customer.

Good customer service for wait staff: noticing that a customer at a table NOT assigned to them, just dropped their napkin and immediately replacing it instead of making the customer wait for their own waiter to handle it.

Excellent customer service for wait staff: upon learning from their customer that it's their birthday, bringing the manager over to express a personal "happy birthday" on behalf of the restaurant to the customer. With or without a free dessert.

Personally, I think that if people stopped tipping servers completely, the service in restaurants would get better, not worse. Restaurants would need to hire better employees, pay them more, and they would have more control over their performance. I agree with the poster who said that tipping is nonsense.

One of the questions that is never truly addressed is this, "what really constitutes complete, proper, good old C grade customer service?" Personally, I expect the staff to be business like but pleasant. Take my food and drink order. Bring the order and verify it is correct before withdrawing. Make at least one check mid-meal to see if we require anything else. Finally, observe when we are finished and bring us the correct bill and follow the restaurants payment protocol. Worse might include rudeness, wrong order, wanting to be overly friendly, or wanting to tell us about their day, and my pet peeve, after ignoring us until we are ready to send out a search party for the server, they show up with fresh drinks that you didn't order just so you will think they were paying attention.
And if they earned a good, solid C, they need do no more. Being mildly attentive (warming your coffee, for example) but not intrusive is good. Too much attention (hovering over you) is intrusive and annoying.
Outstanding customer service? Remember, this is normal average waiter/waitress. Seriously, what is there for them to do in a restaurant? Heinrich maneuver if I start choking, wash my car while I'm eating, or donate a kidney if mine should fail while I'm at their restaurant. Really, "outstanding" service! What can it possibly be in your neighborhood Bob Evans or Chili's?

When I am ready and check is nowhere in sight I get up ready to leave walk by the front desk and mention I have to leave now. Lo and behold, the check appears immediately, before I step out the door. Not that I have to do that often, but it works.

Many restaurants in UK have stopped taking orders at your table.
On arrival you are seated and given menus, and after making your choice you order at the bar, and pay at same time.
Many establishments also have their own apps, and you can order and pay from cell, without leaving your table.
Less staff needed to bring food to tables.
Tipping is disappearing with this type of system as nearly all meals are paid with contactless payment.

I would disagree, I have worked in several chain restaurants and never tip pooled. Out of my tips I did have to tip the bartender for service bar and food runners if there was one on schedule that shift, but never pooled tips.

Once again, a post about tipping. Apparently, from a waiter or waitress. Give great service, you get a tip. Don't and you won't. Next subject, please.

Sorry to disagree with you. If you only tip 5%, maybe you should just eat at home

I don’t have answer but I always tip at 20% for good service , more if exceptional service. I give the tip in cash to my server.

Somewhat agree. Personally I don’t agree on a percentage basis for a tip. Took just as much to bring over a $15 plate of liver and onions as a $45 plate of filet mignon. In any case who the heck came up with the idea of putting a recommended tip on the bill?? .

Wait staff A.) get taxed on 15% of their sales ( that may have risen to 20, I’m not sure) so if they get less than that, they’re actually paying taxes on money they didn’t make. It’s automatically deducted from their sales at the end of a shift. B.) they have to tip out what’s called tip share which goes to helpers like bartenders and bussers and the kitchen expeditor.

Great!! Makes up for my max of 15%! Thanks for covering for me

Ok. Two contradicting comments. Which is gospel in Florida?

I generally tip 20%, but the suggested tip amount, usually referenced with several examples at 15, 18, and 20% seem to be calculated differently at various restaurants. Some simply calculate the tip amounts based on the cost of the meal; others calculate the tip based on the “final bill” amount which includes all state/county taxes and sometimes some other fees.

I never include the taxes and other fees as a part of my bill for the purpose of tipping.

Do you know if the moon is still made out of green cheese?

Neither are gospel in Florida. IRS rules are not that simple.

Tipped employees are required to report the amount of tips they receive to their employer. Reported tips are taxed as wages (makes sense).

Most businesses with tipped employees are required to determine if a reasonable amount of tips (8% per IRS 8027) were reported through the year. If not (if it looks like tips were under-reported) then at the end of the year they are required to perform a calculation based on a percentage of sales and "allocate" additional tips to employees on the W-2 form. The employee then can pay taxes on these allocated tips or provide sufficient documentation that they did not actually receive these tips.

"Tipping out" is a policy of an individual business. It is probably common practice for waiters to share tips with bussers and bartenders but I don't believe it is law (or gospel).

For those 0%-15% tippers out there, just be sure to inform your wait staff of that when you sit down. If you are too embarrassed, just stay home.

Someone who saw Americans trying to do math in their heads.