How much do you tip out your FOH if there isn’t a required tipout?
I work at a restaurant and there is no required tip pool.The manager just requires us to tip out the bartenders, buss boys, and host. At the end of the night before we clock out we have to declare tips, I usually only declare what I made in credit card tips not cash. Is there a difference?
Next situation:
At my restaurant we have a mix of where it’s busy bar & dinning room where they get about the same sales BUT when we pull up how much other servers are making & bartenders, usually bartenders are making way more in sales. At the end of the night I usually give them a couple bucks because we only have one bartender per shift and they make more in tips than we do.(because they are always bragging about it) BUT they usually don’t make regular drinks (soft drinks) servers do. So how much should i tip them out if they have only made like 2 drinks but I’ve made about 0 a night?
Next situation:
Dinner only do we have 2 buss boys (weekends only). We only have about 24 tables in dinning room & 8 tables in bar (not including bar stools). Usually we have 3-4 tables per server when it’s busy. BUT buss boys usually don’t have a lot of work to do as i see it. I greet guest, refills their drink, etc. I even pre-bus my table before they leave so all that’s left on the tables is glasses and a napkin. Bussers just need to reset the tables. The thing that gets me when they see me pre-bus a table, I’m carrying dirty dishes, utensils, etc yet they don’t want to take it off my hands to save me a trip to the dishwasher! So wy should i tip them out 10% of my tips?
Sorry for so many questions, I’m new at serving!
Tagged with: amp • bar stools • bartender • bartenders • buss • credit card tips • dinning room • dirty dishes • dishwasher • glasses • pool • servers • soft drinks • utensils
Filed under: Your Community Center
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At the restaurant I work at, we tip out the FOH staff according to what we sell. So if I sell 1000$ at the end of the night (I don’t bring tips into it) I would be required to tip out:
Bussers: 1% (10$ for them to split)
Hostess: 0.5% (5$)
Food Runner: 0.75% ($7.50)
Manager: 1.5% (15$)
Kitchen: 1% (10$)
Now obviously, I lose a lot of money to tip out, sometimes as much as 60$, but I’m always happy about the tips I walk away with, because they’re more than enough for me. Personally, I find that if you take care of your bussers, they’ll take care of you. If you give them the minimum required, then they won’t do that much for you, but if you give them a little extra, they will probably make the effort to take your dishes for you and make you their first priority. I’m nto sure how much you tip them out now, but look at it like a customer tipping out a bartender in a club. If you tip them well, they’ll go to you first and make sure you’re taken care of. The bussers will do the same for you, and if they don’t, cut their tips in half for one night and let them know you didn’t think they deserved any extra money. And if they help you out a lot, be prepared to tip them out extra. they make crap money, and do the jobs that we as servers dont’ want to do, like set tables. It’s tedious boring work! As for bartenders, if they make you a lot of drinks and make your job easier, absolutely tip them out accordingly. If you don’t need them that night, by all means throw them a couple of dollars but don’t feel the need to be super generous.
I guess the way I look at it is, tip out is kind of an investment in your job of being a server. It costs a little bit extra at the start to get them on your side, but usually, if they’re good people, they’ll repay you in kind with helping you out a little more.
This is really long, sorry! It may not apply to you in your situation, and if not, I suggest just checking aroudn with the other servers to see what they tip out.
tip 15 percent for good service no matter what the situation it shows respect
10% seems to be a lot to give a busboy from your night’s tips. I’d say no more than $5 especially if you do half of his job. Bartenders are another issue altogether. In this situation, don’t think you should have to give the bartender anything, but maybe that’s just me.
We have to tip out buss people 15% and bartenders get 5%…even when the bus person spends most of the night screwing off. Same with the bartender. There have been nights when the only alcoholic beverage I needed was a glass of wine, which waitresses get themselves, and we still have to tip them the usual 5%.
At the same time, if my buss person is making a salad or setting a table, I would rather walk the dishes back myself and drop them off then ask them to do it, and have to finish resetting the table. Dropping off dishes doesnt take as much time.