[chefross]

This issue will have many people at both ends of the spectrum talking for a long time.

"But it is a fact that you do get much better service when a waiter is working for tips. Its human nature, why work harder than you have to if you still get paid the same amount?"

I know very little about Europe and their waitstaff ways, but I would think that if one is a trained career server, they have higher expectations set for them, so they do work harder.

But I can see your point about human nature. It is what it is.

More and more places in the US are going tip-less and raising their prices to that end.

Perhaps the end result will be that those places that do this will find that those servers who feel they are getting the shaft will move on leaving only those who embrace the idea to stay.

 

[chefross]

Do you cook much better when you are working for tips? Humans that have that nature, I try to avoid hiring. I prefer to hire people that are self motivated by nature.

I don't Chef... I've never cooked for tips in my whole career.

 

[chefross]

Why would you embrace the idea to make less than 1/2 the money you made before?? That's why this is an interesting topic. Any good hard working fine dining server that's used to making 100-300 dollars a night will freak out when the are going to get paid 12-15 dollars an hour and pay taxes on it. 8 hour shift at 12 dollars an hour= 96 dollars, take 20-25% off that you are making 75 bucks a shift which in any good restaurant is a horrible night. If your a restaurant owner maybe it makes more sense or more profit??? But I grew up in Florida working where there is a tip exclusion for FOH, I think my last waiting /bartend was making 2.55 an hour. That was 15 years ago, maybe up to 4.00 now. After taxes for a two week paycheck I was lucky to make 10-30 dollars because all my money was tips. As an employer I figure that would be easier than to have a huge payroll, but not experienced in that area.

My argument here is and will always be the
unequal pay that exists between the FOH and BOH.
Servers and cooks are a necessary combination for any restaurant anywhere.
Why should a cook who may or may not have spent countless years in culinary school, plus many years experience get paid less than server who came in off the street and was trained by following another server for 2-3 weeks before being left on their own?

Yes we can bring up that unfair pay issue over and over again.
I have always been against tipping. I have a difficult time understanding the logic behind all of it.
Why am I being forced as the customer to offset a server's pay because the restaurant is too unwilling to pay a descent wage?
This is my beef. It makes no sense.

To continue to do something simply because that's the way it's always been.... Silly?

 

[chefross]

The laws the govern the tipping issue here in the USA also include that if a server DOES NOT make at least minimum wage WITH the tips, the house has to come up with the rest. It's the law and many many places simply ignore this.

Now....there is the other side to consider.

An example: A line cook may work 12-14 hours at $14.00 an hour bringing home after taxes about $140.00  ($14.00 x 14 minus 30%)

A server will work a 4-6 hour shift and make 3-4 times that amount in tips during that time.

A line cook in a busy place works physically hard. Dangerous environment and all. 

A wait person in a busy place also has their share of challenges though, but in a different format.

That format is having to deal with the customer.

Some days it's smooth sailing, while other days the job of a server can be just as crazy and challenging as anything that could happen in a kitchen.

So...to that end...who's to say who deserves their pay more?

It all comes down to the location location location.

 

[chefross]

I am resurrecting this thread for a moment.

There seems to be an ever increasing number of places recently that are now going tip free.

Said places are implementing new pay scales so that both the FOH and BOH are treated equally pay-wise.

There will always be some bugs to work out, but the largest impediment will be the public.

Among the many things needed to work out is how to get the public in on this new change.

People have been stuck in the tipping mindset for so long, it will take a long time to change.

Even with new menu prices reflecting better pay for the employees, people will still mindlessly tip above and beyond what's printed on the bill.

Of course, this is a win/win for the server, but needs to be worked out so that it's all fair.

Going tip-less isn't going to solve the unequal pay situation, but it is a starting point.