Entire staffs at 3 Sonic locations quit after wages cut to '$4/hour plus tips'

[WestTexasCrude]

This seems like an enormous violation of federal and possibly Ohio state law. Fastfood employees are normally not considered tipped employees, as they earn minimum wage and do not normally "customarily and regularly" receive tips from customers. I asked my ex-wife whose a HR manager with IKEA, and she just groaned and said someone's about to be hit with a nasty lawsuit. You just don't change the pay conditions of your employees like that.

I've been reading about this and corporate says it's not so. But someone else said there is a law that if a tipped employee doesn't make tips that add up to at least minimum wage the employer adds the difference to the employees check

Your second sentence is the whole crux of being a tipped employee: you have to be getting at least minimum wage, but if in your job you "customarily and regularly" receive tips, your employers must pay you at least half minimum wage to make up the difference if you don't actually receive enough tipping to make up that difference. But I read the article a little closer, and it's Sonic with their drive-up car parking slots where you're served by a waiter who brings your order out to you once it's prepared. Are those normally tipped employees or aren't they? I haven't been to a Sonic in years, so I don't know, and don't remember. Normally, if there's a line on the bill for a tip, I'll put in 10-20%, and assume the server is a tipped employee. I've sometimes been wrong about that, though. But I am enough of a mature adult to understand going out to eat often involves some server's wages and put something worthwhile on that tip line, if it's there. I'm not Mr Pink, after all.

I've never tipped at Sonic anymore than I would tip the person who hands me my food at Burger King.

They are walking 50 feet to hand you your food. They aren't combing back about refilling your tea- no tip.

Cheap bastard. I don’t tip BK but I do tip Sonic.

[Wut]

If they hand me food at the counter no need to tip, if they deliver it I tip.

[VinceBordenIII]

I find the whole tipping thing in 'murica really tedious, you're paying their wages rather than rewarding good service.

A waitress can make good money on tips. When I was a busboy I got minimum wage, but they only got like $2.15 an hour. They shared their tips with the cooks and busboys, and I could put my check in the bank, the tip money was so good. They tipped us based on our attentiveness to their and their customers’ needs, and how long we’d worked with them that shift.

[DandyDon]

I find the whole tipping thing in 'murica really tedious, you're paying their wages rather than rewarding good service.

A waitress can make good money on tips. When I was a busboy I got minimum wage, but they only got like $2.15 an hour. They shared their tips with the cooks and busboys, and I could put my check in the bank, the tip money was so good. They tipped us based on our attentiveness to their and their customers’ needs, and how long we’d worked with them that shift.

My daughter was working the bar at a higher-end beer pub not long ago and was making damn good money ($250-300 a night on fri-sat). The new owners changed it to where they split the tips with the waitresses (she originally only got to keep the bar tips) and it wound up fucking her out of a lot of money. She gave the bar patrons great service, had a rapport with them, they knew her and came back to be served by her, and she served the wait staff, ect. The wait staff fucked off, bad service, ect and didnt make shit for tips but got a chunk of hers. She quit 3 weeks later.

[CHEEZY17]

I find the whole tipping thing in 'murica really tedious, you're paying their wages rather than rewarding good service.

A waitress can make good money on tips. When I was a busboy I got minimum wage, but they only got like $2.15 an hour. They shared their tips with the cooks and busboys, and I could put my check in the bank, the tip money was so good. They tipped us based on our attentiveness to their and their customers’ needs, and how long we’d worked with them that shift.

My daughter was working the bar at a higher-end beer pub not long ago and was making damn good money ($250-300 a night on fri-sat). The new owners changed it to where they split the tips with the waitresses (she originally only got to keep the bar tips) and it wound up fucking her out of a lot of money. She gave the bar patrons great service, had a rapport with them, they knew her and came back to be served by her, and she served the wait staff, ect. The wait staff fucked off, bad service, ect and didnt make shit for tips but got a chunk of hers. She quit 3 weeks later.

Socialism, yay!

[Wut]

I find the whole tipping thing in 'murica really tedious, you're paying their wages rather than rewarding good service.

A waitress can make good money on tips. When I was a busboy I got minimum wage, but they only got like $2.15 an hour. They shared their tips with the cooks and busboys, and I could put my check in the bank, the tip money was so good. They tipped us based on our attentiveness to their and their customers’ needs, and how long we’d worked with them that shift.

My daughter was working the bar at a higher-end beer pub not long ago and was making damn good money ($250-300 a night on fri-sat). The new owners changed it to where they split the tips with the waitresses (she originally only got to keep the bar tips) and it wound up fucking her out of a lot of money. She gave the bar patrons great service, had a rapport with them, they knew her and came back to be served by her, and she served the wait staff, ect. The wait staff fucked off, bad service, ect and didnt make shit for tips but got a chunk of hers. She quit 3 weeks later.

Socialism, yay!

Looks like greedy capitalists to me.

[CHEEZY17]

I find the whole tipping thing in 'murica really tedious, you're paying their wages rather than rewarding good service.

A waitress can make good money on tips. When I was a busboy I got minimum wage, but they only got like $2.15 an hour. They shared their tips with the cooks and busboys, and I could put my check in the bank, the tip money was so good. They tipped us based on our attentiveness to their and their customers’ needs, and how long we’d worked with them that shift.

My daughter was working the bar at a higher-end beer pub not long ago and was making damn good money ($250-300 a night on fri-sat). The new owners changed it to where they split the tips with the waitresses (she originally only got to keep the bar tips) and it wound up fucking her out of a lot of money. She gave the bar patrons great service, had a rapport with them, they knew her and came back to be served by her, and she served the wait staff, ect. The wait staff fucked off, bad service, ect and didnt make shit for tips but got a chunk of hers. She quit 3 weeks later.

Socialism, yay!

Looks like greedy capitalists to me.

Taking her tips and giving them to the waitstaff?

[VinceBordenIII]

My niece is a professional, and still waits tables some weekends, because the tips are so good.

There’s an economics explanation for why tipping is a good system. It is rewards based. The server must be polite, efficient, neither too rushed nor too slow. If he fails, his tip suffers. If it is the cook’s fault, his portion suffers. Etc. Without tips, prices go up, and, presumably, service goes down.

[Reservoir Dog]

[QillerDaemon]

There’s an economics explanation for why tipping is a good system. It is rewards based. The server must be polite, efficient, neither too rushed nor too slow. If he fails, his tip suffers. If it is the cook’s fault, his portion suffers. Etc. Without tips, prices go up, and, presumably, service goes down.

Like much of economics, that's supposed to be the ideal. Sadly, the reality often falls short. Anyone who's ever been a waiter has their stories, and I certainly have mine. The table of eight who expected me to be their personal butler when I have five other tables. Ran up an over $300 bill, me humping as best possible, even getting the busman to help out. Left me a mound of pocket change that amounted to less than $10. Nice lady and gentleman, spent a few friendly minutes talking with them, they had only nice things to say about my service and the food. When they left, I saw the receipt with $0 left on the tip line. I asked the manager, he said they were disappointed that I left the sugar dispenser empty. What?! the dispenser is half full, and they never mentioned that I should bring them another one, nor mentioned anything negative. All he could do is shrug. And many more like that. I wasn't my service, my management was always pleased with my work. And yea, most customers seemed happy enough to leave a decent, better than 15%, tip.

Which is the point often left out of all this: the management earning their keep by actually managing the damn restaurant, the serving staff, and the back-of-house management. Not sitting in their office all night doing "paperwork", but out on the floor keeping an eye on the staff and expecting they do their best for the customers. At places where the manager did just that, the tips were good, even great. It's not all on the server alone.

I've been in countries that didn't have server tipping, and for the most part, the service was just as good as here, maybe even a little better at times. Quite honestly, if the management is doing their job, the servers will, too, and the whole dining experience will be just as fine, just without the customer worrying about subsidizing the server's paycheck.

[Wut]

I find the whole tipping thing in 'murica really tedious, you're paying their wages rather than rewarding good service.

A waitress can make good money on tips. When I was a busboy I got minimum wage, but they only got like $2.15 an hour. They shared their tips with the cooks and busboys, and I could put my check in the bank, the tip money was so good. They tipped us based on our attentiveness to their and their customers’ needs, and how long we’d worked with them that shift.

My daughter was working the bar at a higher-end beer pub not long ago and was making damn good money ($250-300 a night on fri-sat). The new owners changed it to where they split the tips with the waitresses (she originally only got to keep the bar tips) and it wound up fucking her out of a lot of money. She gave the bar patrons great service, had a rapport with them, they knew her and came back to be served by her, and she served the wait staff, ect. The wait staff fucked off, bad service, ect and didnt make shit for tips but got a chunk of hers. She quit 3 weeks later.

Socialism, yay!

Looks like greedy capitalists to me.

Taking her tips and giving them to the waitstaff?

My error, I was thinking of management taking half the tips. I don't have a problem with sharing the tips with the bus help or bartender though, they are supporting the service given to the customers.

[Charliesheen]

Why have tip percentages gone up?

Last receipt suggested 20 22 and 24%.

Prices have gone up drastically here. Shouldn't that cover it?

[CHEEZY17]

Why have tip percentages gone up?

Last receipt suggested 20 22 and 24%.

Prices have gone up drastically here. Shouldn't that cover it?

Nope. Fuck that.
10-12% for sub par service
15% regular service
20% excellent service
25% really tremendous, something above and beyond or if shes hot and flirts a little.

[DandyDon]

A waitress can make good money on tips. When I was a busboy I got minimum wage, but they only got like $2.15 an hour. They shared their tips with the cooks and busboys, and I could put my check in the bank, the tip money was so good. They tipped us based on our attentiveness to their and their customers’ needs, and how long we’d worked with them that shift.

My daughter was working the bar at a higher-end beer pub not long ago and was making damn good money ($250-300 a night on fri-sat). The new owners changed it to where they split the tips with the waitresses (she originally only got to keep the bar tips) and it wound up fucking her out of a lot of money. She gave the bar patrons great service, had a rapport with them, they knew her and came back to be served by her, and she served the wait staff, ect. The wait staff fucked off, bad service, ect and didnt make shit for tips but got a chunk of hers. She quit 3 weeks later.

Socialism, yay!

Looks like greedy capitalists to me.

Taking her tips and giving them to the waitstaff?

My error, I was thinking of management taking half the tips. I don't have a problem with sharing the tips with the bus help or bartender though, they are supporting the service given to the customers.

This was sharing just the bartenders tips with the wait staff. She had built her customer base over about a year, the same people every day/night depending what sport was on, day it was, ect. She only had about 14 seats at the bar, so it was mostly the same people hanging out all night all being served by her, plus she was handling the drinks for the wait staff, stocking the bar, rolling out a new keg, ect. The wait staff had multiple tables and many more customers for potential tips over a shift, and she did that job when she first started and made more money than the others. The other wait staff were bitching about it then too. Its all about the service, attitude, smile, banter, ect.

She had to run the bar over a week when the other employee had a car accident, and when the owner saw the bar number$, how clean she kept it, and how smoothly the whole place was running, he immediately moved her to running it. He had already tried the other staff and they couldnt run it. She likes beer and would take the time to learn about the new styles/brands when they came in and could answer any questions the customers had about any beer, drink, or food... you know, taking your job seriously.

[WestTexasCrude]

Why have tip percentages gone up?

Last receipt suggested 20 22 and 24%.

Prices have gone up drastically here. Shouldn't that cover it?

Nope. Fuck that.
10-12% for sub par service
15% regular service
20% excellent service
25% really tremendous, something above and beyond or if shes hot and flirts a little.

I usually tip in the 20-25% range. Of course, largest meal I usually go is $ upper teens, so not usually that much.

[Charliesheen]

I hardly order wine anymore. Restaurants are trying to recoup the bottle cost in fewer than 2 glasses now.

[CHEEZY17]

I hardly order wine anymore. Restaurants are trying to recoup the bottle cost in fewer than 2 glasses now.

Same with Sodas. $2.99 for a glass of soda? Really? for our family of four that's another 12 bucks on the tab.

[AnalHamster]

I always try to find the wine I've ordered on google to see how badly I've been gouged.

[VinceBordenIII]

Why have tip percentages gone up?

Last receipt suggested 20 22 and 24%.

Prices have gone up drastically here. Shouldn't that cover it?

Nope. Fuck that.
10-12% for sub par service
15% regular service
20% excellent service
25% really tremendous, something above and beyond or if shes hot and flirts a little.

Almost always 20% for me, rounded up. I make a lot of excuses for poor service.
If the service was really bad, the wife gets the check. Waiters know.

[VinceBordenIII]

There’s an economics explanation for why tipping is a good system. It is rewards based. The server must be polite, efficient, neither too rushed nor too slow. If he fails, his tip suffers. If it is the cook’s fault, his portion suffers. Etc. Without tips, prices go up, and, presumably, service goes down.

Like much of economics, that's supposed to be the ideal. Sadly, the reality often falls short. Anyone who's ever been a waiter has their stories, and I certainly have mine. The table of eight who expected me to be their personal butler when I have five other tables. Ran up an over $300 bill, me humping as best possible, even getting the busman to help out. Left me a mound of pocket change that amounted to less than $10. Nice lady and gentleman, spent a few friendly minutes talking with them, they had only nice things to say about my service and the food. When they left, I saw the receipt with $0 left on the tip line. I asked the manager, he said they were disappointed that I left the sugar dispenser empty. What?! the dispenser is half full, and they never mentioned that I should bring them another one, nor mentioned anything negative. All he could do is shrug. And many more like that. I wasn't my service, my management was always pleased with my work. And yea, most customers seemed happy enough to leave a decent, better than 15%, tip.

Which is the point often left out of all this: the management earning their keep by actually managing the damn restaurant, the serving staff, and the back-of-house management. Not sitting in their office all night doing "paperwork", but out on the floor keeping an eye on the staff and expecting they do their best for the customers. At places where the manager did just that, the tips were good, even great. It's not all on the server alone.

I've been in countries that didn't have server tipping, and for the most part, the service was just as good as here, maybe even a little better at times. Quite honestly, if the management is doing their job, the servers will, too, and the whole dining experience will be just as fine, just without the customer worrying about subsidizing the server's paycheck.

Some people are assholes. Niece says nobody wants to serve blacks after church on Sundays, because of dine-n-dash, and loitering & leaving no tip.

[QillerDaemon]

I always try to find the wine I've ordered on google to see how badly I've been gouged.

It's called the "corkage fee" and usually runs twice to three times what they bought the bottle for from their spirits supplier.

It's why it rare for me to buy a bottle, unless it's for the whole table, these days. I nurse a single glass all thru the meal and make do.

[B-Tender]

I always try to find the wine I've ordered on google to see how badly I've been gouged.

It's called the "corkage fee" and usually runs twice to three times what they bought the bottle for from their spirits supplier.

It's why it rare for me to buy a bottle, unless it's for the whole table, these days. I nurse a single glass all thru the meal and make do.

For special occasions I'll bring my own bottle in and pay the house a corkage fee.

[Wut]

Why have tip percentages gone up?

Last receipt suggested 20 22 and 24%.

Prices have gone up drastically here. Shouldn't that cover it?

Nope. Fuck that.
10-12% for sub par service
15% regular service
20% excellent service
25% really tremendous, something above and beyond or if shes hot and flirts a little.

Almost always 20% for me, rounded up. I make a lot of excuses for poor service.
If the service was really bad, the wife gets the check. Waiters know.

That's my range as well. Here in Bermuda most places add 17% and I leave it at that.

[B-Tender]

The longer I was in the service industry, the less I focussed on people's tip percentage. If people were fun and cool, but tipped 10% that was OK. If they tipped 25% but were cocksuckers, it wasn't worth it.

[B-Tender]

And as far as the original post. Fuck those owners, they'll get the kind of employees they deserve.