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      MSE Gary
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    • By MSE Gary 24th Sep 19, 10:13 AM
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      What's this?

    MSE Gary
    Waiters/restaurant workers (especially in chains) - tell us, who gets the tips?
    • #1
    • 24th Sep 19, 10:13 AM
    Waiters/restaurant workers (especially in chains) - tell us, who gets the tips? 24th Sep 19 at 10:13 AM
    Carluccio's has said it gives cash tips to waiting staff, but card tips are split between all staff, including managers, based on hours worked. So we want to know how it works elsewhere, so that customers who choose to tip, can understand where it goes

    Please tip us off (and let us know which chain you work at).
    Last edited by MSE Gary; 24-09-2019 at 6:28 PM.
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    • By Wildmoney 25th Sep 19, 7:36 AM
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    Wildmoney
    Our daughter recently used to work in an Italian restaurant in our local village. Tips were a very gray area, much to our annoyance.
    No tips were allowed to be given to an individual to keep. If a customer wanted you to have the tip, it had to be given to you off the premises. All tips were pooled and than handed out in cash at the end of the week. There was a grading system - managers got the biggest cut and then it filtered down the chain as the jobs roles had less of an importance. You are totally relying on the person to work it out correctly. It was very much, if your face fits, we pay you well! Some weeks our daughter would work her socks off and receive £5 other weeks she’d receive £25. As I said previously it totally depended on the person sharing them out. While we’re on this subject, my other grievance was that boys were getting paid more than the girls for the same level of experience they had previously. Also more progression for men within the restaurant. All wrong in my mind.

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    • By The Jester 25th Sep 19, 7:39 AM
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    The Jester
    The Sanam Indian in Falkirk does not give it's tips to the staff. I know it's only one restaurant but I thought this was disgusting.

    I always thought this was illegal but apparently not.

    Needless to say I don't tip them anymore.

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    • By Marvel1 25th Sep 19, 7:42 AM
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      What's this?

    Marvel1
    For me, when I tip, it's for both the server and the chef who cooked it, i mean if the food is lovely why would the server get 100% tip and chef nothing.

    Sorry!

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    • By pandab 25th Sep 19, 7:44 AM
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    pandab
    Work at a Gail's. Tip jar on the counter and our customers do add to it. Then the money disappears, never to be seen again. Manager doesn't seem to want to bother. Been there over a year and nothing.

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    • By evans439 25th Sep 19, 7:56 AM
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      What's this?

    evans439
    I worked in 3 local restaurants as a chef between 2007 and 2015, all were different.

    The first was split on a daily basis between all staff, including cleaners, paid by number of hours worked.

    The second gave no tips to kitchen staff, they were instead split between front of house and managers on a monthly basis and paid by number of hours worked.

    The third split tips 75:25 front of house:kitchen on a daily basis with the head chef taking 50% of the kitchens share - regardless of whether he worked that day or not. The rest was paid on a day rate so you received the same when working 2 hours or 12.

    For me personally, I tip on the whole package. If the service is good but the food is awful its unlikely I will tip, but if the food is fantastic and service poor I probably would.

    I'm perhaps biased having been a chef, and it was a long standing disagreement with front of house, but chefs often don't get paid any more than waiting staff and in my opinion, add more value to the dining experience. I'm there to eat good food. This isn't America where waiting staff rely on tips to get by, we have minimum wages which a lot of the industry are paid, so when tipping, I always hope that the kitchen receive an equal share.

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    • By 74jax 25th Sep 19, 8:03 AM
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      What's this?

    74jax
    “
    I worked in 3 local restaurants as a chef between 2007 and 2015, all were different.

    The first was split on a daily basis between all staff, including cleaners, paid by number of hours worked.

    The second gave no tips to kitchen staff, they were instead split between front of house and managers on a monthly basis and paid by number of hours worked.

    The third split tips 75:25 front of house:kitchen on a daily basis with the head chef taking 50% of the kitchens share - regardless of whether he worked that day or not. The rest was paid on a day rate so you received the same when working 2 hours or 12.

    For me personally, I tip on the whole package. If the service is good but the food is awful its unlikely I will tip, but if the food is fantastic and service poor I probably would.

    I'm perhaps biased having been a chef, and it was a long standing disagreement with front of house, but chefs often don't get paid any more than waiting staff and in my opinion, add more value to the dining experience. I'm there to eat good food. This isn't America where waiting staff rely on tips to get by, we have minimum wages which a lot of the industry are paid, so when tipping, I always hope that the kitchen receive an equal share.
    Originally posted by evans439 ”
    I replied in post 4 that I would tip the chef and am really surprised more people don't. If I have a great meal the first thing I think is the chef cooked that. Often the waiters I have don't even offer conversion so I would rather tip the person who created my meal. Of course some waiters are exceptional too don't get me wrong. But eating out for me, is the food...... Ooooo what to eat today......
    Forty and fabulous, well that's what my cards say....

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    • By Hp102 25th Sep 19, 8:15 AM
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      What's this?

    Hp102
    Working for the IVY restaurant chain. They add on an automatic 12.5% to each bill. This can be removed as it is Discretionary. Though most people pay it. The waiting staff only get 62p per hour of all service charges taken then rest goes back to the company

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    • By Hp102 25th Sep 19, 8:16 AM
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      What's this?

    Hp102
    All cash tips are allowed to be kept by your wait staff though!

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      Pollycat
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    • By Pollycat 25th Sep 19, 8:20 AM
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      What's this?

    Pollycat
    I think this is a very interesting thread.
    It's obviously gone out in the weekly MSE newsletter (evidenced by the number of newbies posting - Hi & welcome to you all ).


    I'm very surprised by this statement:
    “
    I'm perhaps biased having been a chef, and it was a long standing disagreement with front of house, but chefs often don't get paid any more than waiting staff and in my opinion, add more value to the dining experience. I'm there to eat good food.
    Originally posted by evans439 ”
    I'd be interested to hear from more chefs about hourly rates.

    It's really made me think more about tipping.

    On reflection, I think splitting tips between kitchen staff and waiters - maybe with a higher percentage going to the chef than the washer up? - is fair.

    I'm still of this mind:
    “
    I don't want to tip the manager.
    Originally posted by Pollycat ”
    Any managers out there who want to change my mind?

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    • By Pollycat 25th Sep 19, 8:23 AM
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      What's this?

    Pollycat
    “
    Working for the IVY restaurant chain. They add on an automatic 12.5% to each bill. This can be removed as it is Discretionary. Though most people pay it. The waiting staff only get 62p per hour of all service charges taken then rest goes back to the company
    Originally posted by Hp102 ”
    I'd remove it.


    “
    All cash tips are allowed to be kept by your wait staff though!
    Originally posted by Hp102 ”
    And I'd then tip in cash - as per my post below:
    “
    Even when we pay by card, we always tip in cash directly to the staff who've served us
    Originally posted by Pollycat ”

    Sorry!

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    • By onwards&upwards 25th Sep 19, 8:32 AM
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      What's this?

    onwards&upwards
    “
    I think this is a very interesting thread.
    It's obviously gone out in the weekly MSE newsletter (evidenced by the number of newbies posting - Hi & welcome to you all ).


    I'm very surprised by this statement:


    I'd be interested to hear from more chefs about hourly rates.

    It's really made me think more about tipping.

    On reflection, I think splitting tips between kitchen staff and waiters - maybe with a higher percentage going to the chef than the washer up? - is fair.

    I'm still of this mind:

    Any managers out there who want to change my mind?
    Originally posted by Pollycat ”
    I was surprised by that too, I knew chefs weren’t amazingly well paid, but it’s a skilled job that requires some training, I always assumed it was a fair bit more than the waiters.

    I don’t really agree though that if tips are shared the chef should get more, the kitchen staff doing the grunt work like washing up work really hard in a messy physical job. I think wages should reflect the skill level of the job but tips aren’t wages they’re a ‘thank you’ so i’d Prefer they were shared equally between all the lowest paid staff.

    Actually i’d prefer tipping was banned altogether and staff got a living wage for their work but can’t see that happening!

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    • By Pollycat 25th Sep 19, 8:36 AM
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      What's this?

    Pollycat
    “
    I was surprised by that too, I knew chefs weren’t amazingly well paid, but it’s a skilled job that requires some training, I always assumed it was a fair bit more than the waiters.

    I don’t really agree though that if tips are shared the chef should get more, the kitchen staff doing the grunt work like washing up work really hard in a messy physical job. I think wages should reflect the skill level of the job but tips aren’t wages they’re a ‘thank you’ so i’d Prefer they were shared equally between all the lowest paid staff.

    Actually i’d prefer tipping was banned altogether and staff got a living wage for their work but can’t see that happening!
    Originally posted by onwards&upwards ”
    Now you've gone and changed my mind again!
    I do agree with you.
    Tips shared equally between waiters, chefs and kitchen staff.

    Sorry!

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    • By ibizafan 25th Sep 19, 8:44 AM
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      What's this?

    ibizafan
    In Whitbread chain pub restaurants, the chefs are on a higher hourly wage than waiting staff. The posts on here demonstrate how much conditions vary in the industry. I would advise anyone who wants to maximise their earning potential from tips to go for one of the aforementioned chains such as Whitbread or Mitchells and Butler, rather than other establishments. They seem to be more consistent about how tips are distributed.

    Sorry!

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    • By YelloJello 25th Sep 19, 9:47 AM
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      What's this?

    YelloJello
    Waitress at Bill's
    I worked as a Waitress at Bill's for just over a year. The service charge is automatically added to the bill. The waiting staff do not receive a penny of this "service charge", (that's automatically added and usually paid by card), for the service they have provided. Waiting staff only get to keep cash tips. None of the waiting staff know where it goes. There were some kind customers who asked if we got the tip, and when I said "No", they asked if I could take the "automatic service charge" off the bill, and left it for me in cash. I have since left and gone to a resturant that don't automatically add the service charge on and it's made a huge difference.

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    • By Quintic 25th Sep 19, 10:43 AM
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      What's this?

    Quintic
    The Ivy's chain
    “
    Working for the IVY restaurant chain. They add on an automatic 12.5% to each bill. This can be removed as it is Discretionary. Though most people pay it. The waiting staff only get 62p per hour of all service charges taken then rest goes back to the company
    Originally posted by Hp102 ”

    I'm surprised to read this, as we always pay for meals and the discretionary service charge on our credit card. Could you please tell us what happens if customers opt to remove the service charge, but leave cash as tips instead? How are cash tips treated?


    Thanks!

    Sorry!

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    • By WaitressK 25th Sep 19, 11:06 AM
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      What's this?

    WaitressK
    Mitchells & Butler
    I have been a waitress for many years. Mitchells & Butlers (Harvester, Toby, Browns, Miller & Carter, etc) have a policy where each house should have an annual staff meeting to decide how staff share tips. The Miller & Carter where I work (which continues the same system as when it was previously a Beefeater) pays 'plate money' which gets shared between kitchen/bar staff. This is currently a flat rate depending on the shift (weekend/busier shifts pay more) although it used to be a set amount per cover. Tips on cards at my restaurant are added onto my wages. However this is not the case in all the branches. One of our nearby branches has the policy that all credit card tips a waiter receives are shared between the kitchen staff and the waiter only keeps cash tips. In other branches the waiter pays either 1%, 2% or 3% of the total revenue he/she has taken on that shift. Generally speaking, waiting staff pass money onto the kitchen staff whether a table tips or not. I would like to add that we are all most grateful to guests who show their appreciation for good service by leaving us a tip. Many thanks.

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    • By vm72 25th Sep 19, 11:29 AM
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      What's this?

    vm72
    Tips? Ha ha ha...the joys of card machine payments mean less and less tips are being given

    I work 16 hours a week in a very busy pub waiting tables all day long, all tips get shared equally amongst front of house / kitchen staff on a weekly basis and I think this is great as we all work together as a team (including those paying my card). Being on the minimum wage, a whopping £8.21 an hour, tips are always gratefully received, no matter how small. It's the thought that counts. However, the thing that annoys me when it comes to tipping is that now more and more people are paying by card less and less actually leave a tip, even when the option is to do it on the machine. You see people all the time having the I don't have any cash on me conversation and then the person who pays doesn't give a tip as they have picked up the bill....I am now in favour of having a 10% discretionary charge added to all bills, something that used to wind me up but would love my employer to bring it in.

    Sorry!

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    • By Pollycat 25th Sep 19, 11:48 AM
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      What's this?

    Pollycat
    “
    Tips? Ha ha ha...the joys of card machine payments mean less and less tips are being given

    I work 16 hours a week in a very busy pub waiting tables all day long, all tips get shared equally amongst front of house / kitchen staff on a weekly basis and I think this is great as we all work together as a team (including those paying my card). Being on the minimum wage, a whopping £8.21 an hour, tips are always gratefully received, no matter how small. It's the thought that counts. However, the thing that annoys me when it comes to tipping is that now more and more people are paying by card less and less actually leave a tip, even when the option is to do it on the machine. You see people all the time having the I don't have any cash on me conversation and then the person who pays doesn't give a tip as they have picked up the bill....I am now in favour of having a 10% discretionary charge added to all bills, something that used to wind me up but would love my employer to bring it in.
    Originally posted by vm72 ”
    These sorts of charges annoy people.
    They annoy me.
    If I want to give a tip, I want to consciously make a choice to tip rather than to have to actively ask for a discretionary charge to be removed from the bill.


    FTR - I'm one of those people who often pay by card but leave tips in cash as I've already posted:
    “
    Even when we pay by card, we always tip in cash directly to the staff who've served us
    Originally posted by Pollycat ”
    I could envisage that the people who have the 'I don't have any cash on me' conversation still would ask for the charge to be removed anyway.

    I could envisage that the people who pick up the bill would also ask for the charge to be removed anyway.

    So what would you be gaining?
    I could see it really pi$$ing some people off who just wave their card at the machine or input their pin without checking the amount and when/if they check their bill later discover that they've been charged 10% more than the menu price.
    Maybe pi$$ing them off enough to eat somewhere else next time.

    Sorry!

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    • By mrsj1965 25th Sep 19, 12:10 PM
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      What's this?

    mrsj1965
    Waitress at Pizza Express
    My teenage daughter waitresses at Pizza Express. Each waitress has own section to serve. Cash tips are kept by waitress of that section. Online tips - 70% to waitress of that section and 30% shared between all staff on duty that shift. Company do not keep any so that's good and staff in her branch are lovely. If she's gone home just before a cash tip is paid by a table she's served then often it is put by for her.

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    • By K80 Black 25th Sep 19, 12:11 PM
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      What's this?

    K80 Black
    I worked as both a chef and waitress in a small Italian restaurant where all tips were split nightly amongst everyone working. Tips left on a card were taken straight out of the till and into the pot.

    I also worked as a chef in a Greene King restaurant and didn't get a penny in tips. I don't know if the servers did, but as you ordered at the bar, I doubt many people tipped in the first place.

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