Wage Theft?

[PoppaJ]

Someone close to me works part time at one the area's larger restaurants and they recently closed the business to the general public and hosted a private corporate event. The company was charged a set fee for the event plus a 20% gratuity. It was a buffet style dinner and the servers were primarily removing dishes and taking drink orders. The bartenders were acting as both the service and main bar. There were approximately four hundred guests. Many guests gathered around the bar and drank while watching tv and interacting with the bar staff all the while dropping cash in the tip jars. The servers and bartenders were pretty excited about the amount of money they would receive at the end guessing it could be $400.00+ each. At the close of business the servers and bartenders were each handed $50.00. It was explained that the 20% gratuity was to be used to pay wages for all employees that night including kitchen staff, security, servers, etc. If anything was left it would be split. The $50.00 they recieved came from the cash tips at the bar.
Is this a common practice? I'm just looking for opinions here as this sounds like legal wage theft to me.
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[Jim Tucker]

Heard a program on NPR about eliminating tips and adding a surcharge to bills. Servers ultimately made less money and patrons didn't like it either.

 

[Bob Wells]

I have eaten in places that discourage tipping as it was basically already added into the price. I still tip.

 

[PoppaJ]

I have eaten in places that discourage tipping as it was basically already added into the price. I still tip.

I do also, but I never heard of tips being used to pay hourly employees. Tips are money earned by servers for performance so it seems sh**y for the restaurant to take their earnings to pay other staff. I would hope this was disclosed to the company who rented the space.

 

[Bob Wells]

I do also, but I never heard of tips being used to pay hourly employees. Tips are money earned by servers for performance so it seems sh**y for the restaurant to take their earnings to pay other staff. I would hope this was disclosed to the company who rented the space.

I agree, but I have heard of servers required to share tips with bussers and the like.

 

[PoppaJ]

I agree, but I have heard of servers required to share tips with bussers and the like.

Bussers, barbacks, yes. As I understand it what took place was completely out of the norm for the sop for this establishment. If it was normal no one would have been upset.

 

[jodiFL]

The wages of ALL employees should have been included into the fee charges for the "rental" of the restaurant for the event. The gratuity that was added,along with any cash tips, should have been divided between all employees. The owners should have increased the price of the event if they couldnt afford to pay the employees. I know of places around here that make servers etc. split tips and I dont really like it. There is always those couple of slackers that end up going home with the same amount as the ones that busted A$$ all night and that makes for some pretty uncomfortable working conditions.

 

[PoppaJ]

I have seen exactly what you describe. A few years ago I noticed one bartender busting butt while the other was semi-rude and did as little as possible. I ask if they split tips and was told they did. I gave the person the some cash and ask that they pocket it and if it was a problem I would speak to the bar manager. I did not want anything going into the pocket of the lazy prick this person was stuck on shift with.

 

[Emerald Drifter]

My family owned a restaurant in Biloxi in the 70s, 80s, so I was a busser and later on (college years at other places) I was waiter and bartender. My current company brings me into close contact with a number of the restaurants here in NW Florida.

That said... IMO the short answer is yes, definitely, that owner is stealing from his waitstaff/barstaff. It's one thing to charge X amount with no mention of gratuity, but since the owner "padded" the cost with gratuity, it's understood by staff, owner, and customer that the cost is 20% higher in order to pay the waitstaff.

IF the owner had told the staff upfront that they were going to get $50, then full disclosure would have been given. But it sounds like he pulled a fast one. Why? If this event occurred off-season, the owner is probably strapped, or maybe they are just one of those owners who looks at waitstaff with contempt; they are out there. It's still wrong.

If I were on that staff, I would start looking somewhere else now, while all of the restaurants are scrambling to find people. The majority of restaurant owners here treasure their waitstaff, especially in SoWal, and would never do this kind of crap..

 

[Emerald Drifter]

I agree, but I have heard of servers required to share tips with bussers and the like.

Correct. This is quite common and it's called "tip out". The bartender and the busser are performing a service to the waiter so that's why this is practiced.