[OhioBuckeye]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

I know a number of waitresses or former hostesses and will ask them. May take me a while though to gather information. I only see these women once in a while. And it may vary by Villages' Country Club and private restaurants.

I never had a waitress ask for a tip but I have at the register or if I use a credit card the credit card machine will ask. I did ask a waitress about tips because I told her what a great job she did. She said I wish people would leave cash tips because she said when people add it to their bill the restaurant will deduct it from her pay. Personally I thought that would be stealing. Oh well, thanks for you opinion!

[dillywho]

Originally Posted by adeleb

Wow. I always leave the tip in cash on the table either in plain site or in the credit card folder thing they give you

Never even occurred to me that another patron would pick it up.

I will hand it to them from now on....live and learn!

I worked in a little bar downtown back home and that was one of the first things my boss told me about and advised me to pick up my tips as soon as the customer left. Sadly, it was not the blue collar workers, but the suit and tie businessmen who would do this!

[Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by redwitch

Sadly, standard policy in most restaurants is that the server is responsible for paying for the check. Was this way when I served in college, hasn’t changed. The restaurant does not eat the bill. To make matters worse, if a server confronts a customer obviously leaving without paying, it is an automatic dismissal for the server. Many also have the policy that if a server has three walkouts in a 12-month period, it is an automatic termination. This happened to my daughter at Olive Garden and she’d been with them over 6 years!

More than once I’ve paid someone’s bill so the server wouldn’t have to. It is truly one of the more vile things a person can do, in my book.

There has to be a whole lot of documentation to make a server pay for a walkout. It's not at all like it was back in the day.

After A Dine-And-Dash, Is It Legal For A Restaurant To Take Money From A Waiter's Tips?


A rep for the Division explained that, according to Sec. 203(m) of the Fair Labor Standards Act [PDF], tips are to be fully retained by the employee, except in those cases where there is a valid tipping pool shared by multiple employees.

“Beyond that, tips are the property of the employee and an employer cannot require an employee to turn over any portion of them to the restaurant,” explains the rep.

So if, as per the example situation we presented, the waiter depends on his tips to meet the minimum wage, his employer can not deduct anything from his wages or tips?

“In the situation you give, there would be a violation,” says the Labor Dept. rep. “Since the employer is claiming a tip credit, the server is in effect a minimum wage employee and any deduction from wages would result in a violation.”

[CFrance]

I also read that it is illegal for an employer to make a server pay for a walk-out unless the server could be proven to be negligent (let his friends dine and dash, for instance). If a waiter goes to get coffee/dessert/the bill, etc., and the customer skips, the waiter cannot be held liable for the bill. But I read this on a free legal advice web site that I'm unfamiliar with. However... https://employment-law.freeadvice.co...ry_employr.htm

See what you think.

[Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by OhioBuckeye

She said I wish people would leave cash tips because she said when people add it to their bill the restaurant will deduct it from her pay. Personally I thought that would be stealing. Oh well, thanks for you opinion!

I suspect it is more likely they add the tips to her W2 and therefore it is taxable.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Jayhawk

I suspect it is more likely they add the tips to her W2 and therefore it is taxable.

The IRS has a rule that restaurants need to include 8 percent of their gross proceeds on their employees W2's as taxable tip income. The employee can either pay tax on that amount, or claim a different amount and try to prove to the IRS that 8 percent is not correct.

[Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

The IRS has a rule that restaurants need to include 8 percent of their gross proceeds on their employees W2's as taxable tip income. The employee can either pay tax on that amount, or claim a different amount and try to prove to the IRS that 8 percent is not correct.

It is 8% minus the amount of staff reported tips. So if staff self-reported (including the amount tracked by credit card) is over 8% there is no allocation to the business.

[Henryk]

Originally Posted by DonH57

It's unbelievable people do this to the mostly hard working servers. Tonight we were at Tierra Del Sol and a couple sitting next to us slipped out with their leftovers leaving the waiter stuck. The place was packed, our waiter was busting his ass to cover every one of his customers needs and these aholes decide it wasn't enough so screw him. I just wanted to post this to make others aware. I've heard this happens and I think it's despicable to do to any server or establishment. If you don't like the service do the right thing and take it up with the manager.

I agree. Most servers are very good and pro hard for tips. Goddess knows they’re paid lousy wages.

[Henryk]

Originally Posted by DonH57

Quite frankly they walked put and I had no idea what happened till the waiter came over to their table, picked up the tab with only the unsigned slip and he ran out and came back in obviously upset. I was watching the television and eating when this happened.

I didn’t realize they stiffed him on the check, too. Scum. Get a photo of the license plate..

[Rapscallion St Croix]

Originally Posted by jim1941

If you saw someone help themselves to coffee at Panera Bread, without paying for it,
what would you do?

I have only been to Panera a couple of times, and I seem to remember paying for coffee when I ordered it and waiting for it to be brought to the counter. I do not recall self-service coffee, but it I did observe your example I would continue doing whatever I was doing when I saw them helping themselves.

[CWGUY]

Originally Posted by Rapscallion St Croix

I have only been to Panera a cuple of times, and I seem to remember paying for coffee when I ordered it and waiting for it to be brought to the counter. I do not recall self-service coffee, but it I did observe your example I would continue doing whatever I was doing when I saw them helping themselves.

Not how they do it there. You pay and then go help yourself. A lot of people skip the first step!

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Jayhawk

It is 8% minus the amount of staff reported tips. So if staff self-reported (including the amount tracked by credit card) is over 8% there is no allocation to the business.

Just to clarify, the purpose of the IRS rule is to require employees to pay taxes on 8 percent of the total gross income that the restaurant generates. Regardless of what internal tip reporting is required between the employees and the business, the restaurant must provide the employee and the IRS, a W2 that indicates that the employee has a taxable income for tips equal to 8 percent of the gross sales. This is prorated among all tipped employees. So, it really doesn't matter whether the tips are received as cash or on a credit card, the employee's W2 should be the same. So, if the restaurant has $1 million in sales, the employee W2's will indicate a total taxable income of $80,000 that the employees must report on their tax returns as tip income in addition to their salary.

[ColdNoMore]

IRS - Tip Recordkeeping & Reporting (click here)

[Rapscallion St Croix]

So, if the server has to pay for the meal the skipper had, 8% of that amount, subsequent to the dine and dash and paid by the server, is then reported as income, some of which is attributed to said server. Catch 22.

[OhioBuckeye]

Originally Posted by Island57

Wage for wait staff is about 5 bucks an hour. They rely on tips. If one can’t afford to tip, one should eat at home. Sunday tippers are the worst.

You're right they do depend on tips, but I was only trying to make a point that if the restaurants would pay more like min. wage they wouldn't have to think everybody has to tip. The way it's going, in the next couple of yrs. the owners will be figuring how much they pay per hr. then figuring their gross wages & they'll subtract their gross pay from their tips, you watch & see! I DO TIP, but I tip on the service I get, not how fast I get served because slow service is because they're under staffed. You made a great point though, thanks!