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What is an absurdity that has been normalized by society? (midwest.social)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
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[โ€“] 34 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (8 children)

I feel like that's a hard one. Whenever I argue against tipping with coworkers (we don't currently work in the service industry) they will mention how they are all for it and mention how during peak times they made double their usual amount. I feel like it's really been drilled in that it's good for the workers

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  • [โ€“] 46 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (5 children)

    That element of it โ€” when the restaurant is doing well, the windfall is shared with the waitstaff โ€” could be preserved by simply giving the staff a percentage of the price of each meal they work on. Structure it as a bonus, the way salaried professionals can receive a bonus when the company is doing well.

    It may be worth noting that worker-owned restaurants, like Cheese Board Pizza here in Berkeley, typically do not solicit tips. (Well, except for the live musicians, who are not worker-owners.) If tipping was really all that great for the workers, then places where the workers literally control company policy would encourage it.

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  • [โ€“] 6 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    Not necessarily. I don't know about New York, but in Illinois it's illegal for owners or management to receive tips.

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  • [โ€“] 11 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    It is not illegal for owners or managers to receive tips for work they perform. If the manager is waiting a table, they can receive that table's tips.

    Where the restaurant is owned by the workers, an individual worker-owner will still collect the tips for the work they perform. An owner who is not working that day has no claim to tips earned that day.

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    Are you sure? Even when I've been at places where the owner works, those owners haven't taken tips, instead splitting any they receive among the other staff.

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  • [โ€“] 8 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Employers, managers, and supervisors may not keep any portion of the employee's tips, and may not participate in a tip pool. But yes, they can certainly accept their own tips.

    Consider a small, mom-and-pop diner. Pop cooks, mom serves. They co-own the diner. They can certainly accept tips.

    Hiring a part-time busboy as a worker doesn't mean that he automatically earns all tips received during his shift. Mom still gets to collect tips for serving, pop still gets to collect tips for cooking. They don't get to receive tips in their managerial capacity, only in their capacity as workers.

    It is important to note: A traditional owner/manager only performs managerial work. This is the kind of scenario we are usually talking about when we hear about scummy managers stealing tips, but it is not the kind of scenario we are talking about here.

    We are considering a restaurant that is owned by the workers. We are talking about a mom-and-pop diner with a whole lot of moms and pops doing the work.

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  • [โ€“] 3 points 3 years ago

    Important distinction! All the places I worked where the owners also worked were pool houses, and as you said, owners can't take from a pool.

    One of the best guys I ever worked for used to say, "Those are your tips. When the restaurant does well, that's my tip.".

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  • [โ€“] 24 points 3 years ago

    Absolutely, those who get high tips stay in the industry. Those who get low tips are fired. Places don't keep those who aren't tipped well because it means they have to pay more out of the budget. If you aren't getting high tips you are seen as lazy or not doing enough as a waiter. In reality tipping has more to do with who you get as customers (and what they find attractive) than quality of service. https://scroll.in/article/860274/does-tipping-really-ensure-better-service-probably-not

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