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My dad with the potential for SC

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  • My dad with the potential for SC

    Our whole family (me + wife, my parents, wife's mother and wife's grandparents) went to Myrtle Beach last week. Twice during our 4 night stay we went out to eat - we saved my favorite place for the final night (Thorny's, if anyone cares or feel free to edit/delete this out). While the food and service were top notch, my father was bitching about the 18% gratuity added to our checks. It wasn't so much that the waitress was expecting a tip (he believed that larger parties tend to tip less) but he believed that the restaurant itself was taking the money. We gave the waitress extra on top of the 18% and she thanked us profusely - which set my father into believing that she doesn't *really* get all of the tips. I tried to convince him that she has to tip out the busboys and bartender and this ensures that this happens. What do you all think? Was I too far off? I believe the included gratuity ensures that large parties don't screw the server. That's my opinion - fellow servers (past and present) please give me some ammo to fight with here :-)

  • #2
    You are exactly right about WHY restaurants do the "Autograt"/automatic gratuity. In my experience as both a server (long since past) and as a customer who has seen this happen, you will get a scenario like this around half of the time: When it comes time for the bill, unless a particular person has announced ahead of time that they're paying for the meal (or their company is doing so), a large chunk of the diners will suddenly have "no money to spare" or have something back home that urgently need to attend to, when it comes time for the tip. This occasionally happens for the bill itself. (no arguments about the "need to tip," please, guys, that's why we have Fratching)

    It is a violation of Federal labor law for the restaurant, or for ANYONE working for "real minimum wage" (as opposed to the waiter wage of $2.17/hr or so) to force a server to share in tips. This also applies to the restaurant itself. A place MIGHT be doing this, but it could easily bring the wrath of the law down on them tut de suite. A certain "bakery" that has made headlines lately in that the owners openly admit to taking tips, which is indeed illegal. (We have a mega-thread about them elsewhere in the forum)

    As for not getting "all" of the tips (assuming that nothing illegal is going on), many restaurants will have the servers "tip out"/share tips with the barkeep and bussers (if applicable).

    Re the place's real name: That's up to each individual poster, and it really only applies to places you work/have worked, and to client businesses, as revealing the latter can reveal the former in some cases. We recommend that posters not reveal same (they can if they like), and require that others not ask. If you wanna name a place you enjoy going to, feel free ^_^
    Last edited by EricKei; 07-29-2013, 01:30 PM. Reason: correction on sharing - sms has a point ;)
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    • #3
      Where ever I've worked that had share outs, it was completely voluntary on the part of the wait staff. I've been pretty fortunate that my busboys/barbacks/etc. have all been very deserving of a little extra, so I never minded it. They typically made full wages.

      afaik, the number one reason for big party gratuity is to cover the restaurant's ass. THEY have to make up anything between waitron wage and minimum wage, so a string of big party stiffs could drop a server down to where the biz has to make up the difference. The server gets all of that added gratuity (and it's dutifully recorded and reported as such.)

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      • #4
        I've also seen in big groups where someone is managing the money and decides what the tip should be, essentially pocketing the difference. Yeeaahhh, I've seen that happen more than once by otherwise upstanding people. I have a friend where I'll always request a separate check when dining out, because she'll lower her own tip if she thinks I'm tipping too much. When in a larger group, a couple bucks per person becomes a pretty significant amount of money.
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        • #5
          My daughter works as a server, and she is not fond of large tables. Usually two servers are tied up, the kitchen gets backed up, the group hogs two or more tables for several hours, and then leave a 5% tip. More trouble than they're worth.

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          • #6
            Quoth sms001 View Post
            Where ever I've worked that had share outs, it was completely voluntary on the part of the wait staff.
            There was a post, here or on another site, where a server decided she didn't want to give the busboy any of her tips. After being stiffed a couple of times the bus boy just stopped clearing tables in her section. When she confronted him he told her she could buss her own table. She complained to the manager who said, "I can't force you to tip the bussers but I'm not going to force them to clean your section if you don't so buss your own tables."
            You'll find a slight squeeze on the hooter an excellent safety precaution, Miss Scrumptious.

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            • #7
              Was at Broadway At The Beach last summer with some "friends" and they acted the same way when the check came for our dinner. I was mortified they would even act like they were I made sure the waitress who had put up with all their bs all night was compensated. To say the least they are not friends I am willing to be seen with in public anymore.

              I may have to check out Thorny's next time I head down there.
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              • #8
                Quoth sylvier View Post
                My daughter works as a server, and she is not fond of large tables. Usually two servers are tied up, the kitchen gets backed up, the group hogs two or more tables for several hours, and then leave a 5% tip. More trouble than they're worth.
                My father worked (multiple times) at a well-known local restaurant. He told me that he loved large parties, because the restaurant only had one "large party" table, which was separated from the rest of the restaurant, and when there was a group in there, they had their own waitstaff (including a dedicated busboy) and without exception the large groups always tipped like gangbusters. He told me that for a typical large group, the busboy's share would be over $100.

                (I might be remember the specifics wrong, but the generalities were: large party = good tips.)
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