Comments on: Waiters on wheels

by: Tim

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 05:48:00 +0000

I’m sure the interpretations, changes, and add-ons to the Fair Labor Standard Act have changed since it was created in 1938. The department of labor provides great specific decisions and interpretations of the FLSA. For example, the DOL specifically points out that employees can’t be paid tipped minimum wage for duties outside of what earns them the tip. A waitress can be expected to set up the tables and serve the customer, but if she is supposed to wash dishes, she is supposed to be paid non-tipped minimum wage. As people don’t tip busboys, they shouldn’t be getting tipped minimum wage regardless of any tip split policies though I’ll admit this looks gray to me looking at the tip pooling policy in the FLSA. However, it clearly states that if an employer takes a portion to count as his own gross receipts, he cannot count the employee as a tipped employee and must pay a higher wage. Interesting stuff.

by: maicomike

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 20:07:00 +0000

Tim, I’m not sure what the law is now regarding wages for busboys, but keep in mind that this was in 1970. The owner of this cafeteria (and two others by the same name in Charleston) wasn’t known among his employees for his sense of fairness and good will toward those who worked for him.

Case in point–I once slipped and fell on a wet floor with a large stackof dinner plates, several of which broke. He heard the crash and came running. While he did ask whether or not I was hurt, the gruff manner in which he asked implied tht he was more concerned about a workers comp case than he was about my well-being.

I’ve always thought that perhaps he felt justified in taking a cut of the tips for the store because he personally carved and served the prime rib on Sunday afternoons.

by: Tim

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 09:34:00 +0000

maicomike points out another problem with “tipped minimum wage.” They are rife with examples of abuse. You can’t pay busboys under normal minimum wage. That’s completely illegal. It’s obscene enough the owner gets to subsidize his payroll because of customary tipping. Yet to take a slice for the store is outrageous. And since most waitstaff don’t claim their tips, they feel completely unempowered to file complaints about such abuse.

by: Anonymous

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 09:28:00 +0000

In many countries, there is the so-called “service charge” included. Some would say since the employee already knows what they are going to be paid, they aren’t going to do any more or less than they have to. How often is the service superb at your fast food example? Though with delivery, the service is less hands on with customers so I could see your point in just charging and paying the customer accordingly. In Australia, drivers are paid a higher wage and the company often provide vehicles. In the US, with insurance costs, no food delivery store wants want to equip all it’s stores with vehicles, pay drivers more and jack the price of the food to cover it when a few bucks here under the current system works great for them. I also suspect that if the US followed the Australian model, a store would charge the customer more than if the customer just paid the current price plus tip. Individual deliveries are far more costly to do than say a truckload of UPS packages.

by: maicomike

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 01:23:00 +0000

There is a lot of merit in what Bluelou has to say about tipping. I’m glad that he(?) does tip, though, the system being what it is.

As a teenager, I worked at as a busboy/dishwasher at a large cafeteria that was located behind the Mound in South Charleston. As restaurant employees, naturally waitresses and busboys were paid less than minimum wage. While busboys didn’t receive tips, the waitresses did, though in a round-about manner–the owner required all waitresses to pool their tips, then divide them evenly AFTER he took a cut for the store (more likely for himself!).

by: bluelou

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 19:15:00 +0000

Although I believe good service should be recognized, I disagree with tipping. Why is it the customer’s responsibility to supplement an employee’s income? When I visit a restaurant, I expect to pay for the food I ordered. The service should be included in the price of the food. Same thing goes for pizza delivery. Do we tip fast-food workers? No. Do we tip our doctors, nurses or physicians? No. I don’t get tipped when I perform well at my job. Why do some service workers expect to be rewarded for performing the jobs they were hired to do?
Now, before anyone attacks, let me say that I do actually tip. In fact, I often leave at least a minimal tip for bad service because I realize the folks in these jobs don’t make a lot of money. But instead of passing the costs onto customers, why don’t we look at perhaps chaning the law to require certain businesses to fairly pay their employees?

by: Anonymous

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 04:28:00 +0000

Just to ease your mind, food tampering is highly rare though some talk about it like breathing air. The most anyone will get with a reputation for bad tipping is purposely late orders since we’ll prioritize normal/high tipper orders first. Weirdos that might tamper with food are usually too unstable to work as a delivery driver very long.

by: D

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 20:42:00 +0000

I already emailed you after reading your article, but thanks again for making it even more public on your blog. You really are doing a great job.

-D, delivery driver (view my blog for a peek into the delivery underworld)

by: Karin

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 07:06:00 +0000

I’ve always heard that those who can most afford to tip well are the least likely to tip at all. That’s really sad.

by: maicomike

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 01:10:00 +0000

My son-in-law delivers pizza, and part of his delivery area is in an affluent part of Charleston. He says folks there don’t tip nearly as well as those in middle-class neighborhoods, if they even bother to tip at all.