A poll based on that episode of Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares where he gives up in the face of the owners, well, let’s just call it personality clashes. Prior thread.
However, I want to flip the scenario - a restaurant opens in your area. You take your supermodel partner out for a meal. The food is delicious, prompt, affordable and well presented, it has a nice atmosphere and staff too. You leave a generous tip and are about to head to the internets to post a glowing review when your trusted astronaut friend says that the owners take 100% of the tip and the waiting staff are paid by the hour.
What do you do? Is it a deal-breaker for you (assume it’s legal in your state, there’s no crime that has been committed).
The owner gets paid from the bill. Tips are for the serving staff. So I wouldn’t leave a tip if I knew it was going to the owner. Barring unusual circumstances, I’d avoid going back.
From what I understand, taking the tips without actually being in certain waitstaff positions is illegal in many areas. Unless the owner is doing all the waiting and bussing solo I would report them to the relevant authorities.
I agree. I won’t tip the owner. The staff is being paid fairly, unless I have an issue with minimum wage and avoid going anywhere where the workers are paid minimum wage, which would narrow my shopping choices quite a bit.
I assume you mean the owners are taking the tip and shafting the waitstaff - not taking the tip to help support a very generous wage they are giving their waitstaff.
If that is the case - it would have to be really good for me to go back. I’m not one to say I always stand by my principles or whatever (I still eat at chick-fil-a), but a tip is supposed to go to the people serving you (or helping them). If it isn’t - they are kinda stealing from me/them - even if it isn’t illegal.
I’m with you. The owner is stealing from me as well as the waitstaff.
He/she is using my money in a way I did not agree to. I liken it to putting wild caught Louisiana shrimp on the menu and then serving Vietnamese farm raised shrimp.
As far as the shrimp are concerned I probably won’t know the difference but it makes an environmental difference and is a potential health issue and I choose to spend my money on a product I have faith in.
Likewise with the tip I choose to spend my money in a specific way and if you mislead me and do other than we agreed upon I consider it no less than theft.
I’d probably complain on the intarwebs and/or the relevant authorities if there are rules for this sort of thing.
The way I see it, tips are generally meant to supplement the server’s usually quite low wages as well as a form of reward for good service. If their tips are being taken by management, then the servers are getting shafted.
And if it’s assumed that the server’s wages are raised up to compensate for the loss of tips, then I and the servers getting the big sausage because that tip is meant for them as a reward, from me. It’s a private transaction between myself and the server. If I want to give some money to someone, that’s my prerogative and shouldn’t be gainsayed. If there’s a hobo outside the restaurant and I give him a dollar, is the owner going to take that money from the hobo as well?
Hell, I don’t even like servers required to tip out a certain percentage (although I understand that other workers effect their ability to give tip-worthy service). The owner’s incentive is to run a good business overall so he makes money off the profit. If I’m happy with the service, that’s between me and the server. If the owner has a problem with the server, he can always fire them.
If it was legal and the staff is well paid I have no problem with a non-tipping restaurant. I wouldn’t tip if I knew it was going to the owners and would feel a bit burned if they were running a non-tipping place and not making that clear since it is well outside the norm in the U.S.
But once I knew, if the food was good I’d have no problem with returning and not tipping.
Non-tipping like in Europe is fine. Letting me assume tips go to the waitstaff when they don’t, not fine.
I probably wouldn’t go back, but if I felt I had to I’d give my server the tip directly. That way if the owner still takes the money he could contribute to the quality of the prison kitchen.
Exactly. If it’s non-tipping restaurant, the menu or signs in the restaurant should make that clear. (And of course there shouldn’t be a tip line on the receipt.)
I’ve read that in the US, the IRS assumes the waitstaff is getting tips and charts their income accordingly. If the owner is taking the tips and the staff is being treated by the IRS as if they get tips, the owner will find it hard to keep staff.
I don’t see that going or not going will affect the owner’s actions at all.
Nope, I don’t want my money going to a thief. (BTW, when you say “paid by the hour”, do you mean the federal minimum wage, or the just the same one waitstaff get? Because waiters DO still get paid by the hour, I believe – it’s just a hell of a lot less than the average minimum wage)