Your thoughts on tipping food & beverage staff

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Permalink Reply by jamie on March 23, 2009 at 5:33pm

Tip pools work in very high end elite restaurants, other than that it should be pay for play. On the paycheck for tips, it helps to budget, finance, and save money.Pay along the way , once you have been taken you will get your money now!!

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Permalink Reply by Carol on March 23, 2009 at 6:07pm

I agree, front of house is harder because of the direct customer contact. Thats why I CHOOSE to cook. If you choose to wash dishes, why complain? Washing dishes is not hard. Served my time on the machine as well.
Yes, I get $12 an hour here, but not at Xanterra. Again, this is my choice to accept their offer.
I am happy for the hard working servers to get their hard earned tips....but if they didn't earn them, and instead were crabby and unattentive, the customer should not have to automatically pay up, either, with percentages added to bills.

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Permalink Reply by Kari Quaas on March 23, 2009 at 6:30pm

Thanks for thinking and typing about this. For the record, I've never worked in F&B, but I have worked in a tipped position when I drove tour buses. Because of my former job and I guess my general life philosophy, I believe that if you are in a service position, be prepared to serve and serve well. I have definitely tipped really well when I've had extraordinary service and I've left a quarter because the service was so poor. So, regarding how the tips are divvied, I really don't know where I stand. I just want everyone to be paid fairly for their work / effort / risk, etc.. Please keep sharing your thoughts. It's very interesting to me and the rest of the Cool Works crew.

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Permalink Reply by Jon Tilley on March 24, 2009 at 2:42pm

"I have definitely tipped really well when I've had extraordinary service and I've left a quarter because the service was so poor."

There you go. You tip based on the service you receive from the SERVER. You tip more when they(the server) do an outstanding job. So, why should that server give that extra money they received for being awesome to somebody else?

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Permalink Reply by Keith Larson on March 23, 2009 at 10:44pm

There are several different styles of food service. Each has it's own way of getting paid and dealing with tips. Most of the responses here deal with the straight restaurant model. It's also the most common form out there. I'd agree with most of the comments already posted. {I think I'll just ignore the whom has it tougher stuff...}

But let's touch on some of the others. The Banquet Service model---tips are normally divided either at the end of each day if there is an abundance of part-timers or at a normal pay period. In this model there is usually only one person/company paying sometimes earlier than the service date. Sometimes, if it's a common business with credit, it may be billed and paid at a later time. Servers rarely deal with cash transactions, with the exception of sometimes a cash bar service. Part of Waters' operation is more closely related to this model than the usual restaurant operation...it might be why she does not have problems. A prixe-fixe with one service time is not a normal form.

A Cafe-type model---tips are usually pooled and divided at the end of each shift. Depending on business levels there might be several people working and sometimes rotating positions. Cash register, drink orders, food orders...

An American Plan---mainly ranches and fishing lodges, but some other resorts also. Everything is one price including room, meals and activities. Many of these places may have a service charge. Service charges are not necessarily tips...not always known by the general public. If you are working at one of these places find out about tipping practices.

Some "Mom an Pop's"---some of these places are very small. Many have very fuzzy job descriptions. Titles are more like vague base responsibility. But there is sometimes no difference in foh/boh. There is sometimes no major differences in f&b, rooms, maintenance, office... You do whatever needs to be done at the time. Tips in this situation are usually pooled and divided equally.

There are times when some of these models are in some kind of fusion.

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Permalink Reply by Travconian on March 24, 2009 at 2:37pm

In my seldom humble opinion; Tips are based upon the entirety of the food consumption experience.
When the cooks are at the top of their game, servers usually realize a significantly increased gratuity, simply because the FOOD, as well as the SERVICE was awesome.
When the cooks are idiots however, and the food arrives in an egregiously prepared condition, the diner thus reduces the emolument based upon the totality of the experience. No matter the vivaciousness nor the competence of the server, no matter the flawless smile and recognition of the customer by name, no matter the well-stocked cracker baskets and sweetener packets on the table... if the food itself is sub-par, then so will be the gratuity.
For that reason, and that reason alone, sharing tips with cooks is a good plan, as an incentive for the hash-slinging burger-flipping loser at the stove... to do his or her best to prepare he food well.
As for dishwashers, no careful preparation of food, or sparkling service can overcome a diner's initial bad impressions upon being served water with floaties in it, or a fork with a...crust.... on it... nonetheless, dishwashers should NOT be included in the tipping sharing. Discuss....

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Permalink Reply by reggie on March 24, 2009 at 3:58pm

without the dishwashers the servers and the cooks wouldnt be able to do there jobs espically without clean dishes or glasses they work hard as anyone else thats why i feel they should get tips to when u guys run out of plates and silverware the first person u run to is dishwashers cause u need something really fast

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Permalink Reply by Chefness on March 24, 2009 at 4:24pm

In the most basic way I can say it, tips are meant for those who do not make standard minimum wage. Cooks and dishwashers come to mind as those who should not receive tips. Dishwashers, while in my opinion the most important part of any kitchen, do not have the hardest job; they have the easiest job.

Give everybody the same competitive wages above standard minimum, and abolish tips. That is the simplest and most effective way to improve the communication and success of any restaurant. And like I said before, if the guest chooses to tip, then the tip goes toward the restaurant's bottom line, further ensuring continuing success.

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Permalink Reply by Dominic on March 24, 2009 at 6:32pm

Cooks are paid to work in the kitchen, there wage should reflect there experience and position. Servers get paid tips allowing the customer to tip based on the service. The customer is covering the cooks wage by paying for the food the better the food the more its gonna cost. I have worked every job in the restaurant from dishwasher to manager. I understand everyone has a role in giving the customer what they pay for. Back of the house staff should not be required to receive tips the do not have any interaction with the customer. Are they supposed to look how clean the plate is and give the dishwasher a tip for doing what they already get an hourly wage to do. I get paid 2.33 an hour most places the tips are left for me when I give good service, they are not meant to pay the whole staffs wages.

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Permalink Reply by Carol on March 25, 2009 at 4:54pm

Good points everyone. I agree with Dominic. Cooks are paid according to experience. A good cook keeps the place in business by preparing food worth returning for. Dishwashers are extreemly important, agreed. What would we do without them?

I am glad there are excellent servers out there, who can turn an average experience into an excellent one. It is sad how little they are paid. On a slow night, can they make a living? I hope they make a ton of tips.

Good discussion.

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Permalink Reply by Jon Tilley on March 24, 2009 at 6:43pm

Picture yourself sitting in a restaurant and your server has just approached your table. Now realize this: that server doesn't have to win you over. They get their money anyway.

Great idea.

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Permalink Reply by Chefness on March 24, 2009 at 6:49pm

Sure, that's what happens with no tip system. But that does not mean that they don't have to win them over. What happens if a server doesn't make a guest feel welcome? Well, the guest typically complains. An when a guest complains, the manager hears, and the server is reprimanded. So, in order to keep their jobs, the servers are bound by their position to win the guest over. The same as any other job.

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