A Little "Tip"sey?

I woke up this morning in a fantastic mood.  Yesterday was a great end to a wonderful week and, it was my birthday.  As I grab my coffee and sit down to my computer I decided to check up on my fellow bloggers and read quite a few entries on tip sharing.  Guess what my subject will be today?

This topic seems to be a bit controversial.  It seems most of the issues include whether an employer is allowed to make you tip out an employee who would otherwise not get tipped, is the percentage too high or too low, or who deserves a tip out and who doesn't.  Today I will express my thoughts on who I think should get a portion of my hard earned money.

My employer requires all servers, and only servers, to tip out 3% of our total sales.  This gets divided between the hostesses, bussers, and the bartenders.  So, if I have a $1000 night, I am forced to tip out $30.  That's a lot of dough.  In most cases I still take home 20% after tip out but in some, it turns out to be way less.  I remember one time I had close to $800 in sales and before tip out I had $93.  Minus tip out...$69.  Terrible!

Let's start with the hostesses.  I feel that no tip out should be given.  Why?  Well, does it really take that much effort to walk people to their table?  I'm not knocking on the host, I too have held that position.  They do put up with some crap.  Customers aren't usually familiar with procedures that affect where they will be sat.  Like rotation, table size, how many staff are on duty, etc. Moving along, hostesses have the power.  If they like you, they will make sure you keep a full section all night.  If they don't, well, I think you get the picture.  So, If I have beef with a hostess and she doesn't seat my section like others then shouldn't I be allowed to not tip her the same way as her fellow hosts?

Next, we have the bussers.  They, for the most part, do a pretty good job.  Carrying around a heavy bus tub all night and having to scurry around the dining room to clear tables as fast as they can has to be exhausting.  But, yes there is a but, I think they should get paid minimum wage or higher to do so.  Not all bussers do their job but still get an equal part of the tip out.  Also, they pick and choose which tables to bus first.  If you haven't done your job as a server and prebussed your table, no matter how busy you are, they may choose not to bus it.  There is favoritism as well, same as the hostesses.  If you have beef then you will have dirty tables.

Lastly, we have our wonderful bartenders.  This is a position I have also held in the past.  At the establishment where I work we have 1 bartender on the well.  This person makes the drinks for only the servers.  Then there are two other bartenders that work the bar.  All 3 stay behind the bar all night.  The servers are responsible for running drinks, stocking and shining bar glassware throughout the shift, filling the ice for the bar, emptying their bus tubs, fetching their bread, emptying their trash, and running their food.  They are not required to tip out.  So, after doing everything for the bartenders, except make their drinks, tell me why they deserve a tip from me!

My final decision on this issue...I deserve ALL of my tips.  Not only do I have to wait on multiple customers at any given time, I also am responsible for making sure my tables are prebussed, the bar is functional, my own running side work is done, running my own food and beverages, and holding a smile on my face.  We servers have lot's of different responsibilities around the restaurant and we work hard at it so why can't we keep the money that we earn?!