Food service rant: when managers 'share' tips

by Sarah Gilbert, Posted Dec 23rd 2005 @ 6:50AM

bartenders should not have to tip out managers My husband and my sister-in-law are both currently working in food service, he a part-time caterer while he returns to school, she a table-waiting lifer. Both have recently been involved in that dreaded of all most crooked food service behavior: the manager who wants in on the tips.

For J., who usually tends bar and has a knack for earning a boatload of tips, one manager in particular has been tipping herself out of the bartender's pool at the end of the night. She's the only manager in the company who does it and he won't report her (though I've suggested it) because, he tells me, she's so miserable. Life is not treating her right - who is he to make it worse?

I say, though, it's a matter of principle. Food service workers may not share a very large body of common ethics, but there are two that are universal: (1) always tip generously when being waited upon by others and (2) managers may be paid less than they deserve but they never, no never, get tipped out.

It's not about equitable pay. Everyone knows that most managers in food service make less than their employees. It's about power. If managers could take tips... well, what's to stop them from taking double their share? What's to stop them from exercising power over their employees by strongarming them into tipping out more than they should?

And remember how I mentioned that food service employees don't have a whole raft of common ethics. No, they're a lying, cheating, greedy lot (and I say this as a former member of the food service industry, myself). There must be some standards.

The final reason: most wait staff are already tipping out bartenders, bus boys, and the occasional extra-helpful chef. Sure, they may be making more per hour than the manager, but the tips should flow in only one direction.

In the other case, my sister-in-law E. had a Bad Manager. Mr. BM was mercurial, and one day sent her on break suddenly at an awkward time. He took the check out to one of her tables, himself. When she came back from break? He'd changed the table to his own name in the system and pocketed the tip.

So tell me, who's right? Should these tip-sharing managers be reported to the authorities? Or should we just wait for the karma to kick back? Because that kitchen door is just going to swing right back on their rear ends, mark my words.

Filed Under: Business, Trends, Chefs & Restaurants, Restaurants
Tags: food service, food service management, food service managers, FoodService, FoodServiceManagement, FoodServiceManagers, managers, stealing tips, StealingTips, tipping, tipping managers, tipping out, tipping practices, TippingManagers, TippingOut, TippingPractices, tips, waiters, waitresses

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

12-23-2005 @10:57AM Bruce Dearborn Walker said... Let's call J's manager's actions by their proper name: theft. That money is not her's, it was not left for her, it does not belong to her. Upper management probably would be interested in her actions, and while the local police probably wouldn't arrest her, the IRS would properly take notice, since she will not be reporting what she takes.

E's manager is more of a grey area. His actions were obviously unethical, but since he actually performed some service, however small, he could be perceived as lawfully within his rights.

The laws of the market will inevitably hold. A good employee does not have to accept having his tips stolen, and will move on to an honest venue, leaving the manager to find another employee, who, presumably not as good, will aquiesce. His work will not be as satisfactory, leading to a loss of business. A bad or dishonest manager, as you know, can destroy a business. Therefore, the owners should be apprised of this behavior. They may or may not take action, but they should be given the opportunity.

Besides, food service jobs are easy to get.
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12-23-2005 @2:25PM B said... Managers make less than waiter/waitresses? Why would anybody want to be a manager, then? Surely the joy of bossing around a bunch of "lying, greedy cheaters" doesn't make the drop in pay worth it.
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1-07-2006 @4:17PM yelena said... as a former waitress (yes, it was only for a week, but i feel the pain) i am appalled that managers want a share of their employees tips. we work hard for that money and deserve every penny we get. if managers want tips let them get their asses out on the floor and do some legwork! i had the best boss i got to keep all my tips and at the end of the week ( i was just a temp) i even got a ten dollar bonus, and my boss actually helped me serve a few times!(small hands can only carry two plates at a time). Managers who tip out are the lowest of the low.
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