Servers Earn More Than Managers Thanks to Big Tips, Boss Responds by Cutting Wages

Tipping is a strange, yet highly normalized custom in American culture. Do you ever stop and wonder about the origins of gratuity in America? The history is pretty damn dark. Nevertheless, tipping workers for their service is deeply embedded into our society and it isn't going away, unless of course, employers start to pay service workers adequately. This r/antiwork post about how a restaurant decided to cut wages because workers were making too much in tips makes us think that's not going to happen any time soon.

Posted by Mel Dawn

“Daughter hired as a front-end worker at cafeteria-style restaurant at $15/hr. They're cutting her wages because her tips are too high and she'd earn more than managers!” —u/golfpinotnut

OP followed up with some more context about their daughter's messed up workplace.

The comment section

Redditors shared OP's frustration and ranted accordingly in the comments.

“I thought the same thing: what the fuck difference does it make to the company if their servers are getting good tips? Then I put my idiot-management cap on and realized: 1. Morale—they're afraid all their managers will just demote themselves to servers to earn more money, or just quit, and then they'll have to pay new manager more money. 2. The business sees those tips as their money, not the servers. They're looking at their bottom line and the servers' total pay and seeing ‘an opportunity for growth.’ Either way, I'd fuckin' quit no call no show no notice.” said u/DayShiftDave.

“If the people in the area are particularly good tippers - they might be interested to hear how their favorite restaurant is responding to their show of support for the people who serve them.” said u/dapperdave.

“This is the only solution. What a bunch of whiny bitches those managers are. ‘But they’re making more than me :(’" said u/KlownRR.

“First they want customers to subsidize their employees. Until we do it too much. Then it belongs to the restaurant. What a total piece of shit.” added u/th3ramr0d.

“It isn't sustainable because the managers will quit when they figure out the front-end grunts are making more than they are.” OP replied.

“Huh, I thought it was standard and well known that servers and bartenders generally make more than managers-excluding the general manager maybe. The managers deal with it because they know the alternative is to go serve themselves and they don’t want to because it is legit hard work and they would rather have weekends and holidays off.” said u/Hanan89.

“Yep. I’ve worked at a bunch of restaurants, sports bars, and clubs over the course of 15 or so years and in every single scenario, servers made more with tips than managers did on salary. I’m not sure why this company seems to be baffled by the concept. It’s literally standard practice. Stealing tips from servers and giving them to others (with the exception of tip splitting with kitchen staff and host/bussers) or changing their wages due to ‘too many tips’, however… depending on where OP’s kid lives, that’s illegal.” said u/Tirannie.

Read the original thread here.