Gratuity fees at restaurants

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

lol.
I have served for 5+ years now. Luckily now I am working in IT and get to sit at the PC all day.

When I started working in a restaurant minimum wage in IL was $5.15 and I didn't make any tips because I was a busser. It sucked ***.

I still serve once in a while in downtown STL, right next to the arch, at a restaurant called Max and Erma's. For tables of like 8 or more we add gratuity. I completely understand why some say it is stupid because if the service sucks you still get stuck giving them 15-18%

BUT you have to put yourself in the servers shoes. I make like $3.40 and hour when I serve which isn't really anything on your check once they take taxes out of the Credit Card tips that are left.

Say you have a group of 8 Gradeschool kids that are on a trip. You bust your *** at their table because they are needy as shit. You find out that they all want separate checks because their parents sent them with money.

They do not have a clue what to tip and may not even know about tips. This happens all the time. Their checks could total out to $150-$200 or so and then they stiff you on the tip. Lets say you only have 2 other tables that night because business is slow and you make 5bucks on each table. That is 10 bucks plus the 3hrs you just worked making $3.40 that leaves you with like $20bucks or so for the whole night.

They add gratuity because people will come in there with a big group ordering you around. If you get stiffed then you just wasted all that time waiting on them and also didn't get to give your other customers that good of service because the big table was asking for ****ing ranch, mayo, and whatever else they can think of.

Yeah but at the end of the day if your wages+tips don't at least meet the minimum wage standard then your employer has to make up the difference...so no matter what your always making at least minimum wage.

 

[IamDeMan 5,000+ posts]

Poor people make me laugh.

 

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

Yeah but at the end of the day if your wages+tips don't at least meet the minimum wage standard then your employer has to make up the difference...so no matter what your always making at least minimum wage.

Exactly. So I suppose this guy is whining because he could be making above minimum wage, but is only making minimum wage instead. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

waaah i only made $7 an hour instead of what can be up to $15 an hour doing a job that SHOULD pay only $7 an hour //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crying.gif.ec0ebefe590df0251476573bc49e46d8.gif

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

Exactly. So I suppose this guy is whining because he could be making above minimum wage, but isn't; is only making minimum wage instead. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

yeah, and I busted my *** at McDonalds and I never received anything but minimum wage...what sucked even worse is pretty much anytime I got a raise, they would raise minimum wage like a month later...thus negating my previous raise //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

yeah, and I busted my *** at McDonalds and I never received anything but minimum wage...what sucked even worse is pretty much anytime I got a raise, they would raise minimum wage like a month later...thus negating my previous raise //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

lulz, I was 17 and making $6.55 an hour when I was 17, then last April I turned 18 and started making $7.40. Then two months later, they changed minimum wage for

At least you got raises and shit though. McD sounds like a place I'd want to work now, since at my current job I bust my *** and work harder than 98% of the employees there and don't get rewarded or anything for it.

Anyway, back on track...I now see the point of a mandatory gratutity. The mandatory tip was designed by restaurant corporations to force patrons to tip waiters and waitresses if their party is greater than eight. They designed this to appear as if they are trying to help the waiters not lose money since they will be so preoccupied with the large table; however, if the waiters and waitresses do not make minimum wage by the end of the night, the restaurant will have to cover the rest of their wages. Therefore, the point of a mandatory tip was so that at the end of the night, the restaurant will not lose money by covering the rest of it's employees' wages.

 

[cobra65427289 10+ year member]

Gratuity is necessary in the business.

I worked at a cafe for over 5 years and did everything in between bussing and managing. This cafe was surrounded by a population of mostly minorities.

Stereotypes are often proven true in the food service business. Young kids, young adults, and minorities will generally tip less when compared to an average middle class white American with the same service given (refills ahead of time, prebussing, yes sir/ma'am, no sir/ma'am, thank you sir/ma'am, check backs after only a few bites, condiments on the table before the meal arrives, you get the drill). If I had a party of 6 or more Blacks, Mexicans, or kids/teens you bet your *** I was slapping gratuity on that tab.

Its the way of the business. Sometimes you'll feel like taking that risk and not adding the gratuity because they were really nice people and you genuinely enjoyed serving them, only to be let down and have your stereotypical beliefs reaffirmed. Word.