Agree with what you have said. We, in TV, better start getting used to lessened service in the restaurant business. Not enough worker bees to support the large(and getting larger) influx of non workers to this area. Went out tonight and two restuarants were 1/2 empty and there was a 15 minute waits due to fact they were understaffed.

In meantime a lof of complaints about aparments. We need these apartments so that workers have a place to live nearby. New areas of TV are probably worse off as they are further away from areas around TV which do have the worker bees nearby.

Bartenders in restaurants that have bars where patrons can sit, earn their tips at the bar. They aren't tipped out, here in the Villages. It's just not how it works. They get paid better than waiters.

Kitchen help get paid minimum wage, which is $11/hour at the moment. Wait staff gets paid $7.98/hour and RELY on tips to make up the difference. If their tips are pooled and split among kitchen staff, bartenders, and hosts, then those kitchen staff could theoretically be earning significantly more than the wait staff, after the tips are split.

That isn't how it works everywhere, and it definitely isn't how it worked at the places I've been on wait staff or as a bartender. Wait staff works their butts off, the customers THINK that the tips are going to the wait staff, but in actuality they only get a piece of the tip.

If a waiter gets tipped $10 for a $50 meal - and there are 10 employees working during that shift, then that means the waiter earned $1 out of their customer's tip for themselves. If the other waiter had half as many tips, then the one who EARNED more will lose out when it's time for their share of their tips.

Pooling tips to "make up" for a minimum wage benefits only the management. It hurts the employees.

And that is why there is such a huge turnover. A waiter who EARNED $100 in tips that day, might only see a total of $40 when everyone else's tips are split among themselves, and the people who don't get tipped at all BECAUSE THEY ALREADY GET PAID A HIGHER WAGE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Pooling tips can only be done among tipped employees. It is illegal to require tipped employees to share their tip income with the kitchen staff, hosts, or management, who are not tipped employees. Federal law says that a tip is the property of the tipped employee and no one else.

There's not an accurate statement in that entire post.

As to the" benefits only the management. It hurts the employees", that is what happens in all industries, especially in the last 50 years. The only counter to that situation is UNIONS. Florida and the south, in general, are anti-union. Nationally, unions in the US (not Germany) have been decreasing, which has weakened the middle class and divided America into the "Haves and Have-Nots". Which makes for a less stable and less powerful America than prior to about 1970.

We are seeing that instability here locally in the inability to maintain a stable RESTAURANT work force. They are faking enjoyment for their jobs and are casting about looking and hoping for something better. Meanwhile. management at MacDonald's is looking to have robotic servers to eliminate as many workers as possible.

The Fed essentially created the RUNNING AWAY inflation train by many years of irresponsible policy of cheap money, ever increasing amounts of unsustainable debt, and creating runaway money supply. Put another way, they removed the brakes from the train and created an economy hopelessly addicted to debt. Now interest rate hikes are their only remaining tool to slow down inflation, but the pain that causes to a nation burdened with out of control debt (paying the interest to service the debt) and consumers addicted to debt is like nothing the Fed has ever had to deal with before. They created the problem and boxed themselves into a place with no good solution. The quickest and easiest way our Government could now help bring inflation under control is to a give up their delusional attempt to rapidly creat a “Green” country/economy and take all necessary measures to return to energy independence. The price of almost everything is directly correlated with the price of oil, diesel, and gas.

All interesting points, good discussion. .

If 50% of the restaurants went out of business here, the going out would be reservation only for dinners, or the line would extend around the block.

If the landlord thinks that getting another restaurant in place with the same available market, the same competitive prices, the same employees from the area, the same food costs into the area, and the same food choices, does the landlord think that there are always some other set of people and suppliers who can change the profitability?

When worker wages increase due to changes in minimum wages or requirements to hire to staff due to competition or increases in cost of sales which not all can be passed along to the consumer all at once, there are either lower profits or lower management pay to maintain the same level of profitability. The lower pay for management shows up in either lower rent or lower on site management pay.

How many people like pay reductions? so the restaurant profitability is the struggle between rent and on site management pay. At some point one or the other either relents or goes under.

This is the constant economic struggle to maintain a profitable business in this industry. So patronize them or don't complain when there aren't enough to serve your when you decide to eat out. .

Explain that to the managers AND employees of the restaurants in the villages that engage in this practice. I tried explaining it to one of the hostesses, she said this is how her manager does it, this is how her paycheck is cut, and if she wants better she has to find a better job. Which - she is in the process of trying to do. She's not the only one who's made comments about this practice, and it isn't the first restaurant I've heard about that does it.

Just like it's against the law to drive your non-street-legal golf cart 21mph - good luck enforcing it.

A smart employee would document the illegal practice over a 6 to 12 month period. Then, quit and hire an employment attorney to sue the restaurant for back pay and punitive damages. And then, make a negotiated settlement with the restaurant to prevent other employees from doing the same thing.

Note that this is not only a civil matter. It is also a criminal matter. In a restaurant, there is a clear delineation between tipped employees and non-tipped employees by IRS rules. If the restaurant is compensating non-tipped employees with tip income, they are commiting two crimes. They are stealing money from the tipped employees, and they are evading taxes by not properly reporting the tip income paid to the non-tipped employees.

The only real life issue is the server who isn't making enough money to hire a lawyer, to hire an employment lawyer. Most companies realize that very few can do that, and even then the amount post attorney will not be enough to offset being able to find work in the industry without moving beyond local owners talking circles.

its at this point in the long economic cycle that unions are the only answer, but companies like Starbucks will just shut down the stores in the area and the union is worthless.

so pay tips in cash to give the server the best argument for keeping it

labor attorney guy

Oh? Like what unionized employees did for the Automobile manufactures? Or what AFCSME does for productive government? Or what labor unions have done for construction costs in the Northeast and elsewhere? Or perhaps consider how little manufacturing remains in the USA, because Labor Unions put most of the manufacturing companies out of business. Or the granddaddy of all, Teachers Unions that have undermined and destroyed the educational system in the US.

Unions are the problem, not the solution. It's been proven throughout history, unions eventually work to the detriment of every business and every worker.

Unions are not a "dirty" word except for today in the US. They work well in Germany.

Unions are the solution, not the problem. They work fine in Germany, which has better schools than the US. But, then almost every country does. The US is ranked about 30th in the world in education. AND it is NOT because of school unions - it is because the upper class does NOT want to pay their fair share of taxes.

This is nonsense and has been debunked numerous times by people who actually look at the numbers. I have seen numerous YouTube videos of people interviewing clueless students who claim the same nonsense and then act surprised when the facts are presented to them. The top 10% pay 70% of the taxes with an average tax rate of 20%. Who gets to define what “fair”is? Certainly not you.

The United States spends more on K-12 education, than most every country in the world.

The US spends more on HEALTHCARE than most other countries. And has very poor results as in about 30th in the world on healthcare outcomes. As far as education goes, the Scandanavian Countries pay their teachers more and that would be the biggest expense to a school system. Maybe in the US the principals, janitors, cafeteria workers, and football coaches are making too much money?

It's amazing how fast you can hijack any thread, turning it into one of your personal crusade topics. You're really quite good at it. I'm surprised you haven't mentioned the coral reefs yet.

Why give him the idea? He thinks the govt is the solution to all the problems it has created in the first place.

They pay at a 20 % rate for the top 10% of earners in the US. That is the PROBLEM. The rate was higher in the 1950s when the US was considered the best overall country in the world. There was a REAL and strong middle class then. Those in the middle class had the income to go out to restaurants and support those establishments

There is no coherence to anything you say. Feel free, however, to rant on.

I'm not a fan of unions, in general. I've been a member of three of them, my spouse has been a union guy. At the phone company we had our own union - not a local of some conglomerate like the Teamsters, but our own private employees' union. And then the conglomerate took over and our benefits went down the tube - while the local officers raked in their extra pay and the stewards got a day off every week with pay to attend union meetings that existed to deny employees of the few rights they managed to save.

At the municipality, I was hired as a civil servant, having passed the test and been 10th on the list of a couple hundred candidates. Turned out they only hired me because the chick they had to fire, refused to work full time and the union demanded that it be a full time position. I didn't know that when they hired me. Five months and 3 weeks in - the week before the end of the mandatory probation period - they fired me for "no cause." They were able to get the union to create a part-time position doing what they originally insisted had to be a full time job, and they hired the other chick back. I had to threaten them with an attorney (which was a bluff since I couldn't afford one to literally fight city hall), just to get my union dues back. They refused to protect my position, refused to represent me, and refused to refund the money I paid every paycheck to pay for that protection and representation.

The last one was at a supermarket. They required that we pay extra in dues, to cover medical benefits. The benefits were an old fashioned 80/20 plan where you have to submit your expenses after paying the bill, and they refund you. I already had full coverage of comprehensive health care from my husband's employment, so I tried to opt out, to save some money. They told me that wasn't allowed, I was enrolled and paying for it whether I wanted it or not. Then they gave me a copy of the union contract - which was a 20 page xerox copy of someone's hand-typed document, that was full of typos and missing sentences and even an entire page missing. One of the things the union negotiated for was a first aid kit on every floor of the store. They actually gave something up in exchange for something OSHA requires anyway.

I walked out of that place after trying for a month. I wasn't allowed to NOT be in the union - even though our state forbade mandatory union membership at employment. I would've had to hire a labor lawyer - and again - I couldn't afford it.

That said - my personal experience aside, I am not anti-union. I'm anti abuse by unions. I believe strongly that unions are necessary to create a healthy, safe, and strong work environment. But once they've done that they need to back up and let the system work. When they keep pushing for more and making ridiculous demands of employers just to prove that they're the muscle in the relationship, that's when the unions fail their members.

Same thing over and over and over. Maybe a sign of dementia.

There are many stories out there that mirror your experience. At my brother’s first job out of high school, union employment, he was advised to slowdown by coworkers because they don’t have to work at that pace. He quit shortly after that, couldn’t stand the sluggish atmosphere.

Only if you are part of management that believes that management can treat and pay employees any way managements want, or you still live in the past.

The company i work at (sportsguy) currently has many unions, i would say at least 10, closer to 30 most likely, i have the information in the headcount file, but not interested in accuracy as the point is made, not a real problem, and certainly hasn't bankrupted the company nor made the company unsuccessful. .

The hospital CoachK has worked at for over 10 years, and over 20 from the start, has at least 7 unions, and is doing fine. The for profit hospital across the street threw out the unions and has the worst working and pay conditions that they all want to work at CoachK's hospital. And regions of the for pay hospital system across the country are insolvent, due to managements' financial mismanagement, read greed and total management control of workers for their enrichment

The problem with public unions is the problem with democracy during the good times: identity politics where each group is promised special treatment for votes, and larger groups get more attention. . all for the power of a government position..

Every successful company is a three legged stool which must be satisfied
customers, employees, owners, any one of these which fails always blames the other two as its never their fault

. so I don't live in the past any more, just looking forward to not working after June 15th, my last day as a W2 employee.

That said - my personal experience aside, I am not anti-union. I'm anti abuse by unions. I believe strongly that unions are necessary to create a healthy, safe, and strong work environment. But once they've done that they need to back up and let the system work. When they keep pushing for more and making ridiculous demands of employers just to prove that they're the muscle in the relationship, that's when the unions fail their members.[/QUOTE]

With you on that one.

I worked on Taconite plant construction in Northern MN just out of high school and summers while in college. Carpenter tender/#2 shovel operator. Hot, hard work but I was a young buck and loved it. Union (of course). People up there take unions VERY seriously, and two things you never did: 1) work as a scab, or 2) cross a picket line of another union. One company new to the area tried to put scabs to work: when said scabs got back to the parking lot after their shift a lot of their cars had been keyed, windows smashed, etc. Of course, nobody saw anything. It seems over-the-top until one realizes that not too many years before, before widespread union representation, a lot of the guys up there were ruthlessly overworked as well as underpaid, and some of the older guys remembered those days.

Nobody in my time there was overpaid even then, and you had to work hard (or at least look like it) or you could be laid off right quick, but at least the men working there could support their families on what they earned, thanks to the unions.

With you on that one.

I worked on Taconite plant construction in Northern MN just out of high school and summers while in college. Carpenter tender/#2 shovel operator. Hot, hard work but I was a young buck and loved it. Union (of course). People up there take unions VERY seriously, and two things you never did: 1) work as a scab, or 2) cross a picket line of another union. One company new to the area tried to put scabs to work: when said scabs got back to the parking lot after their shift a lot of their cars had been keyed, windows smashed, etc. Of course, nobody saw anything. It seems over-the-top until one realizes that not too many years before, before widespread union representation, a lot of the guys up there were ruthlessly overworked as well as underpaid, and some of the older guys remembered those days.

Nobody in my time there was overpaid even then, and you had to work hard (or at least look like it) or you could be laid off right quick, but at least the men working there could support their families on what they earned, thanks to the unions.[/QUOTE]


(post by jimjamuser begins)I agree with the concept of a GOOD union experience, whether it is at a restaurant chain or a manufacturing plant. Even something that is OVERALL for the good of society will have SOME downsides - because we all know that nothing is perfect. So, naysayers to unions can and will find some problems and overreaching by unions, but overall they protect workers from arbitrary MANAGEMENT / OWNER abuse. Before unions became a force in American industry, workers were treated (mistreated) like indentured servants.

Owners of large companies want top-down management thinking that is the best system for company growth and quality. But is it REALLY? Somewhere around 1950 an American wrote a book called "circles of management". The idea was that any company would be MORE successful if the management LISTENED to the lowest line WORKERS in any organization in any industry (EITHER automobile manufacturing or a RESTAURANT chain). Bottom line ......US CEOs ignored this book's concepts because they wanted to be considered INDISPENSIBLE , and thus get the big bucks like Jack Welsh at G.E. Well, the CEO's in JAPAN read the same book and by getting WORKER input the Japanese AUTOMOBILE industry began to be competitive with Detroit about 1965.

The TRICK that US CEOs used to RUN AWAY from unions was to go to the US south, then Mexico, and eventually to China. What was that end result? We gave China a new middle class (and associated global POWER). And the US middle class was weakened and the US itself became weakened.
........The bottom line is that I NEVER believed that UNIONS were BAD for America............and I wrote this to describe in a short outline form.......Why I believe it.

Somewhere in the article a restaurant owner refered to anyone not tipping 20% or more as penny pinching grinches. Guess not tossing your hard earned money around like confetti, sprinkling copious amounts upon all whom you encounter, makes you a grinch. And the idea of penny pinching is very out of date when a penny won't buy anything. Maybe dollar pinching would make more sense in todays world. Penny pinching grinch, my great aunt Fanny! I say any restaurant owner who doesn't pay his employees a living wage so they need those whom they were hired to serve supplement 20% of their income is as mean as Ebenezer Scrooge. No one should ever be expected to tip. A gratuity is a "thank you" for going Above and Beyond expectations. It should not be a part of the bill.
I hate tipping. I think it is demeaning to the professionals who perform the many services where tips have become commonplace. Do away with tipping and let people be properly paid and be proud professionals, rather than charity cases living on other peoples pity.

I agree, but the restaurant industry is too greedy to abolish tipping.

Menu should have an out the door price. Includes tax and tips.

Panera hands you a bagel from bin and a 20 percent tip button shows up. Offensive

Just because a restaurant inflates the prices of the menu doesn’t mean I should tip more. We can purchase a steak at any supermarket choice or prime. We are quite satisfied with Outback, Texas Roadhouse along with Longhorn, all meals under $30. Don’t tell me by putting a price of one steak $60 it’s better

Also, have you noticed how often your "server" isn't the one who actually serves you your meal, or brings or refills your drink, etc. Depending on where you are, your "server" may only take your order. Any number of others may be bring in silverware, water, taking/bringing your drinks, soup or salad, and more. ???

In many cases in the Villages area, "your server" is not the only recipient of your tip. A portion of it is going to the person who brings you the drinks, the food, sets and clears your table, tops off your water glass, etc. etc.

If you feel that any individual person who attended to you deserves a tip, pay them in cash on your way out. Don't expect that your actual waiter will get it all.

I’d rather have everything included in one bill, like Europe - and abolish the tip. Now that tips are pooled in most places, I feel reluctant to over-tip for exceptional service, knowing that my server will not receive my tip exclusively. Also, I’ve begun to think about a flat-rate tip, and not based on the total bill (takes same effort to serve and deliver a hamburger as a steak), and base the tip on how many times did the server come to my table (tip more for a multi-course meal, and not as much for a once-and-done delivery, with no further contact with your server).

If you pay the tip in cash to whoever you feel deserves the tip, that person is responsible for declaring that income on their yearly tax return but - they also don't have to share that tip with anyone else. Granted, most cash-tip totals never make it into the tax return, but that's not your responsibility as the tipper.

When I worked a restaurant in Florida many years ago, we were paid $2.75/hour (give or take). It was /assumed/ that our tips combined with our wage equaled minimum wage - and we were taxed accordingly out of our paycheck. That was whether we were paid a tip in cash or credit card. But sometimes our tips didn't combine with our wages to equal minimum wage, and we overpaid tax, and earned less than minimum even before taxes were deducted.

Federal law has changed since then - but Florida law has not. Florida has no laws regarding how employers can/must treat wages of their employees. They don't even have a department of labor.

Tipping is out of control video. Funny.

18%, 20%, 25%?!?!? At what point is enough enough? God forbid we pay servers

https://youtu.be/FVcp1grk51E

Like they say Welcome to the FREE State of Florida. In a right to work state the non organized labor employee gets taken advantage of.

We are subsidizing the restaurant by paying their employees. I do not believe this was the original intent of tipping.

It isn't. A "TIP" ,To Insure Prompt service was what you slipped the Maitre'd to get seated ahead of the common folks. What we think of as tips are "gratuities". A small "thanks" for service. When your change comes, pick up the bills, leave the coins. A small token of appreciation. Not intended as a subsidy for income. It has grown way beyond its intention and out of proportion.

We already do. The moment a "tip" became expected, and not a pleasant little surprise, we were paying service workers to do their jobs. They began to expect and rely on ever increasing gratuities aka gifts. Businesses also realized they could shift some of their employee costs to the customers and no longer fully compensated those employees. Guilt the customer into higher and higher tips.
Service workers, in reality have no beef with customers who "under tip (seriously, who gets to decide right or wrong here?) or may not tip at all. The workers beef is with employers who take advantage of them, and government that allows it to happen.