I have seen more service from my UPS driver than the service I get in Outback, Applebees and anyother restaurants like this. I guess pooled tips is ok in these restaurants. If you pool tips in fine dining your taking away the Incentive for exceptional service of the experienced server. Let each server take care of the Busboy and keep his or her tips, a good quality server deserves every penny.
I would also put the kitchen cooks on an incentive for amount of meals cooked or $$$$ generated from meals served. The cooks get a base wage, and never paid enough. The cooks get paid the same on a 50 cover night as a busy 250-300 cover night.
I have thought over the years how I could get my employees more involved and care about my business. I have hired and fired 1000"s of employees over the years. I have come up with only one solution, MONEY, GREENBACKS, the ALL Mighty BUCK. They never make enough money, if they get a raise, its never enough.
I started an incentive program for most of my employees. The system I have is the more $$$$ they generate the more $$$$$ they make. I started this program about one year ago and have zero turnover, and employees in charge of their own wage. I don't have anyone asking for a raise. If they do ask for a raise, I tell them think of ways to generate more sales, its your shift. I have employees coming to me saying, What do you think about doing, this and that. I answer with thats a good isea, let me know what help you need to get it started. I get phone calls from employees, telling me guess how much we did tonight, and I could hear the pride and sound of accomplishment in their voices.
I now get better customer service and employees that think on there own, this is the way it works. Example, Amy is the only one on the shift. she cooks, serves, cashiers in a swing shift inhouse employee cafeteria.
Base wage $10.00 for sales $1 to $299
.................$11.00 for sales $ 300 to $374
.................$ 12,00 for sales $ 375 to $449
.................$ 14.00 for sales $ 450 and over
This an example of a slower shift that we provide for our client. I used to have two people on this shift, I now have one good one. I also have some cooks making $16 to $18 an hour at times. Its nice to have the shoe on the other foot. I tried to make them do their job for all the other reasons, I guess the only thing that works is MONEY.............P.S if I treated my clients with only Dollar signs in my eyes, I would have been out of business years ago.................Take care.....Bill  |