How do I know this? I have developed software for restaurants.
Posted on 12/06/2005 12:33:26 PM PST by George14
It has recently been publicized that a 20 percent tip is now appropriate because servers are usually only guaranteed $2.13 an hour and the tips have to be split. Let me explain something. It is the customer's sole right to determine whether a tip is given, the amount and who will be the recipient of his tip. Such rights are not only guaranteed by our constitution they are clearly explained in the Code of Federal Regulations. Customers may tip any amount they choose. Instead of a higher tip being appropriate, what is now actually appropriate is for the public to start questioning why they are being expected to tip more.
While it has been widely publicized that tip splitting and lowered wages are both creating a need for higher tip percentages, what is not being publicized is an explanation of what these business practices actually are and why they create a need for the public to tip more. You see in both cases, such practices equate to employers being allowed to take part the tips away from the employee to whom the customer has presented a tip. You see, tip splitting is the business practice whereby employers take part of the tipped employee's tips and give them to workers whom the customer had every right and ability to tip but didn't. The $2.13 an hour business practice which has been publicized is actually called a tip credit. The tip credit also allows businesses to take or credit part of their employee's tips for themselves. In both cases the public's tips are being taken by businesses owners. The problem is not that customers should be tipping more the problem is that business owners should not be utilizing their employee's tips for the business's interests.
The truth is, business owners are using the customer's tips which undeniably and indisputably are not intended for the business owner for the business's own interests. Such business practices are being allowed by our government even though such business practices are an illegal dominion over the customer's property. To put it simply, businesses are being allowed to steal the money customers present as tips. Now, the public is being expected to tip more because the workers are not receiving the financial benefits of the tips they have been presented.
What is needed is not a higher tip percentage but some educating of the public of what is actually happening to their tip. Businesses have lobbied our federal government and I believe have probably even paid off many of our judges so they can steal the financial benefits of the tips our public is tipping workers in the service industry. The stories you read on how the public is being expected to tip more are actually stories about how our country is allowing businesses owners an ability to blatantly steal from their workers. If the real issue was resolved there would be no issue.
Employers should be prohibited from using their employee's tips to establish a lower minimum wage for their tipped workers. Customers are not tipping so the business can lower it's payroll expenses and thus benefit itself to the customer's tip. Customers are not tipping so the business owner can decide who should share in their tip. Both these business practices are fraud on the public for they are clearly the misappropriations of the public's property. Because our public has sat back and done nothing as business owners misappropriate the public's tips to their own interests, there now exists an undue pressure on the public to tip more to make up for such criminal acts.
The reason I believe our public has sat back and done nothing as business owners reap the financial benefits of the tips presented to their workers is because the media has also been paid off to avoid informing the public of what is actually happening to their tip when the courts ignore the constitutional rights of the customer and when our federal government so blatantly misappropriates the public's tips. The courts have ruled that employers may share the customer's tip among employees whom the customer had every right to tip but didn't. The federal government has allowed businesses to benefit themselves to the customer's tip through the tip credit without the consent of the customer. Such acts by our federal government and courts are not only unconstitutional but criminal. The media is covering up such crimes by intentionally avoiding the issue and keeping the truth from the public.
The tipped employees of this nation need some help from the public on these issues. The truth of what is happening to the customer's tip is being withheld from the public so that employers can continue to steal our tips while the public is left to foot the bill.
I have never worked in an industry that required me to receive tips, but I think you are being a little hard on tipping. I always give a tip regardless because I know when I am at work there maybe a day that I am not up to my usual 110 percent, but overall I definitely am. If the service was horrid maybe I would not tip, but that has never been my experience. In my humble opinion, I think you should tip especially if you frequent a resturant...trust me on that fact. You don't want to be eatting unmentionables!!!!
A close friend of mine switched from being a waiter to bar staff. The place promised $8 + tips. The guy was pulling in $75 in tips per night for two hours work. He would put on a basic show while pushing the meals the place offered.
The boss then said, the $8 per hour was in leui of tips...since he was making ~$37.50 per hour from tips, they would not be paying the additional $8 per hour.
"For some reason", after that, he was only getting $2 per night in tips. They kept him as long as he wanted to stay because he was personally bringing in 30-50 people per night.
That was my thought too. I was not going to reply, but you are right. Tipping in Europe is rare if ever. I wonder if this person was ever in Europe before.
When I go out to a sports bar or something, I'll usually only have a couple of beers/drinks before switching to what we midwesterners call "pop". Now if I sit there for 2-3 more hours watching a game, my bill will stay tiny even though the barmaid has to keep refilling it. The whole "tipping" thing is great, because I massively overtip. I usually match my bill, and tip in cash. I still save money over what I'd pay if I was drinking alcohol like everyone else, but I leave a much bigger tip.
Of course, that means I always get great treatment when I go there, barmaids are all friendly and will hold a seat for me if I ask. Don't do it that often, but they remember.
I love cheap tippers because they make things better for me.
Hair of the Dog asked :
What the heck does that really mean anyway?
The courts have corruptly ruled that employers may share the customer's tip among employees of the employer's choosing. You see, many waiters have gone to court alledging that their employer was stealing their tips and giving them to other workers. The courts have ruled that waiters are liars and that employers are not stealing their waiter's tips. The courts have ruled that employers should be allowed to pool their employees tips among employees whom the business owner believes should receive those tips, which in most cases is as many as possible. You see when business are allowed to share the customers tip among as many workers as possible, the financial benfits of the customer's tip become financial gains for the business owner. If business owners are allowed to share their employee's tips among all or many of their employees, then the business can reduce the wages they are paying all these employees and save money. If the courts would have ruled that the tips were the waiters and the wiaters alone, the businenss would be forced to pay higher wages to the other employees since they would then not be receiving any tips.
As far as determining how widespread this problem is, just consider this. If businesses steal their employee's tips and share them with other workers, our government will allow those employers to pay those employees less in hourly wages. What this means is that businesses are being rewarded for stealing the tips our public presents certain workers in the service industry. If you steal your employee's tip and share them with other workers whom customers neglected to tip, then our government will allow you an ability to save money and thus make more for yourself. You can reduce all your employees wages to $2.13 an hour saving yourself thousands of dollars a year, if and only if, you steal the tips from your tipped employees and share them with the other workers.
Now, how widespread do you think employer required tip pooling is going to become? You see, that is what the courts call this blatant stealing. They don't call it stealing, they call it employer required tip pooling. The courts have allowed employers an ability to mandate that tips received from customers must be pooled or shared among all employees who serve the customer in some way. Now instead of customer's having the right to determine who should receive their tip, the courts have claimed the right to determine who should receive the customer's tip. As a result the courts have ruled that tips do not belong to the person to whom they have been given but instead belong to those who serve the customer in some way. Business owners have gotten exactly what they wanted. They wanted the courts to rule that an employee who is given a tip has no legal claim to that tip and that is exactly what our corrupt justice system gave them. Now, when you give a tip to a employee, you are not really giving the employee the tip but instead you are giving the employer a tip so he can utilize the money to negotiate lower wages for his employees. The courts have ruled that the employee to whom you gave your tip has no legal rights to such money.
Employer required tip pooling is the courts ruling that the public should not have a right to determine for themselves who should receive their tip for such rights deny business owners their ability to steal their employee's tip.
My intent is not to suggest that the public should not tip if it is their desire to tip. My intent is to inform the public of what is actually happening to their tip and to politely and graciously ask that they stand up for my rights to keep the tip they have given me. You can stop tipping if you like, but please stand up for my rights to keep the tips that others have given me. Businesses across this country are stealing the tips you the public so graciously gives us workers in the service industry. We hate to trouble you after all the goodwill you've already shown but your goodwill is going in vain when you sit idly by as our employers steal our tips.
I tip well and will continue to - I'm gonna ask at my favorite places if this is going on, though.
I am a generous tipper, by the way.
I think's it's elitist and unAmerican.
We learned a number of years ago that Yanks are much better tippers than the Brits, and I suspect we tip better than the rest of the Euroswine.
How do I know this? I have developed software for restaurants.
That was just a line from a movie. I always tip well.
Cool. You know ever since I saw "Waiting" I will always tip...I don't care if it was the worst service ever...LOL.
A few years back, I talked with several servers at various establishments and found when you tip on the credit card, the restaurant DOES take a part of that money. When you leave cash for the server, it goes to them.
To think you tip a large amount to someone who was particularly polite and efficient and that your $ could go to the server the owner just likes better.... that really sticks in my craw.
Considering the lifespan of your average restaurant, I doubt the majority are making huge bucks.
The ones that do well over the long term usually have a staff that likes it there because they make buckets in tips. And by definition, the restaurant that's doing well has lots of customers, so they're obviously pretty happy with the whole cost/benefit thing as well.
The restaurant business is so competitive that any place that is "screwing both the waiter and customer" will go out of business fast.
The reason so many businesses are putting out a cup or container with the word "TIP" on it is twofold.
One reason is that our corrupt federal government has allowed business owners a legal ability to finacially benefit from any tips presented by our public. The tip credit, which was passed back in the late 1960's, has allowed busineesses to benefit from the tips our public gives workers in the service industry. You see, if customers give tips to workers, our government will now allow the employer to lower the wages of those workers to wages below the minimum wage requirements of this country.
The tip credit allows business to save money and thus benefit themeselves because our public has chosen to tip some of their employees.
Therefore it is only logical that businesses will start putting out tip jars since those tips now mean revenues for the business. When customers place money into containers with the word "TIP" written on it, what they are actually doing is giving money that will enable the business to pay it's employees as little as $2.13 an hour. By putting money into these containers what the public is actually doing is saving the business owner money and subsequently increasing the business owner's own profits for himself.
Secondly, the reason so many businesses are putting out containers with the word "TIP" written on it is to deceive the public into falsely believing that they do not have a right to determine precicely who should receive their tip. You see, these containers do not have any name on them for such would actually entitle that individual to the customer's tip and the business could not steal the money for themselves. When customers are denied their right to determine who should receive their tip, as is the case with so called tip jars, there can be no legal entitlement on the part of any employee as to the moneys placed into the jar. You know the old argument. I don't see your name on it.
Tipping is a citizen's constitutional right to give his momey to whom ever he chooses without interference from the government, These principals are addressed thoughout our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Liberty and economic freedom are both guaranteed by these documents and both address the public's right to spend their money however they choose. Tipping is the public's constitutional and god given right to spend their money however they choose which would include determining who should receive their money. Businesses do not want our public to enjoy such rights for such rights hinder their ability to steal this money for themselves.
Tip jars, employer required tip pooling, the tip credit and automatic gratuities are all a concentrated and intentional effort by the restaurant industry to depive customers of their consitutional right to determine for themselves who should be the recipient of their tip. When customers are allowed their constitutional right to determine who will be the recipient of their tip, restaurants and other service industry businesses are legally prohibitted from taking the moneys for themselves. However, when businesses successfully deprive the customer of his ability to determine who should be the recipient of his tip, which is the case with all the afore mentioned business practices, there is no premise for protecting the money as the property of a specific individual and the business is free to claim such moneys for themselves.
Business know that if they can prevent the customer from determining who their tip is intended for then they can claim it for themselves. Tip jars deprive the public of their right to determe precisely who will be the recipient of their tip by relucting to put several jars with each worker's name on it out so customers have a choice of who they wish to tip. Employer required tip pooling forces the customer's tip to be pooled among employees whom the employer has chosen to participate in a tip sharing program again depriving the customer of his right to determine for himself who should receive his tip. The tip credit allows businesses to finacially benefit themselves to customer's tip irregardless of whether or not it was the customer's intent to benefit the business. Again, the customer's right to determine whether or not the business will benefit from his tip is deprived the customer. The tip credit deprives customers of their right to determine who should receive their tip and arbitrarily gives the finacial benefits of the customer's tip over to the business owner. Automatic gratuities not only deprive the customer of his right to determine who should be the recipient of his tip but also deprive the customer of his right to determine what amount he will give and the right to determine if a tip will be given.
The most important reason businesses are resorting to these illegal and unconstitutional business practices which deprive the customer of his right to determine who will be the recipient of his tip is to deceive the public into believing that they do not have such rights. The more businesses practices that they can come up with which deprive customers of their right to determine who will be the recipient of their tip the more likely customers will be to buy into the notion that they do not have a constitutional right to determine for themselves who should receive their tip. If businesses are sucessful and customers actually buy into this load of crap, businesses can take the money for themselves. No one will complain if they think the have no reason to complain. It's all about perceptions and that's where the meida gets involved. Business are in cahoots with the media to insure that the public never perceives that they actually have a constitutional right to determine for themselves who should be the recipient of their tip. I challenge all of you to present any article, publication or tv program addressing even the possibility that the public has a constitutional right to determine who should be the recipient of their tip or that business may be violating the constitutional rights of the public with business practices such as employer required tip pooling, tip jars, tip credits and automatic gratuities.
Liberty is addressed both in the 5th and 14th amendement of the Constitution of the United States. Liberty is defined as the freedom of choice. Tipping is one of the greatest expamples of liberty we currently have in this country.
You have a choice. You have a choice as to whether you will give tip, you have a choice as to how much you will give and, regardless of the fact that many businesses owners don't want you to know it, you have a choice as to who will be the recipient of your tip. You can give anyone any amount you wish and it's guaranteed by our Constitution. You have the Liberty to spend your money however you choose.
Oh by the way, you might also be interested in knowing that in 1919 the courts ruled that is unconstitutional to prohibit American's from exercising their constitutional right to tip.
Um, that's eight words. ;)
Guys like that are jerks, and never get second dates with chicks like me.
"Chicks"?
Yep, unless I'm feeling mean, in which case I refer to myself as a broad.
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