The truth about tipping

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.

Yes at Ruby Tuesdays they have three automatic tip outs that comes out of your check. One goes to the host, one to the bar tender, and one to the salad bar manager. There is no direct tip outs like at a lot of restaurants. A server doesn't go up to the bartender at the end of the night and give him money. It is automatically removed from the servers pay check and put onto the bartenders paycheck. This $2.13 an hour doesn't help servers at all. What corporations have learned is they can put all kinds of employee's on that scale. They can keep their labor cost low. The tip out comes from tipped employees to keep other employees hourly rate down. It is a shame because all corporate restaurants of that style use a similar system. O'Charles, Chili's, Applebee's, Red Lobster. The list goes on. The truth is these places are a repetitive hiring business. The only way to make true money (not temporary money) is to move up into management. Assistant managers are not payed that much, but get great money by bonus. Labor cost, hence tipping shares. Food cost, ever increasing food cost. can you say $8.95 hamburger. The food cost is going up an the service is not getting better. Servers should be paid minimum wage. Their tip count could then be dropped down to 10% and the corporate restaurant bonus system should be done away with.

That is so true. I am going through here reading the responses, and most people don't understand. The servers are being hit by the IRS and the restaurants themselves. Servers are getting the short end of the stick. As this practice starts to be more widespread then it is. The service quality will continue to drop. Even white table-clothe restaurants will be poor service, or your food prices will go up to compensate the tip outs.

Most restaurants have an automatic gratuity for tables of (8) eight or more. The sad thing is once the bill is paid the waiter doesn't receive a dime. The thing is; it is included in the bill, and thus is part of the establishments cost. So to say. In some places if one doesn't tip the waiter over that automatic gratuity. He doesn't make any money. It also works the opposite way in other places. So the waiter will make more money if one tips over. It is tough working for a table of 12 people for over two hours just to have a automatic gratuity That is taxed, and taken by the establishment to cover their cost first before you get a dime.

As a former waiter, I like getting tips from the customers. Interestingly enough, I was a pretty good waiter, giving excellent service, and I did quite well in tips. Tips give a waiter incentive to really break their ass for their customer. In fact, I was known to buy an occassional drink for some of my regulars. I was making a good wage, part time, just out of high school.

And I didn't have problems "splitting my tips" with the bar tenders and bus boys. In both cases, the customer doesn't actually interact with them, and tipping them is an incentive for them to work harder. Of course, I'd occassionally tip them a bit extra for a little extra service: Whether it was clearing my tables a bit faster, maybe getting me an extra customer or two a night, or finding that my drink orders got taken care of a bit earlier. And something I found was that bus boys and bar tenders that slacked off didn't last long at the restaurants I worked at.

Mark

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