Confused about waitress tips... (credit card, collect, average, owner)

[Success3]

One of my friends started a new job and is making $4/hr...she usually brings home anywhere from $5 - $20 a night in tips. This is at a upper class restaurant...people usually leave $15-$40 tips per table. Why is the tip so low? Does anything get added to her paycheck? I don't see how people can live off of this kind of money? It's not even min wage is it?

[beera]

Are they pooling tips together at her job? Or is she alone just getting $5-20 on her own? Is that weekends as well?

Servers are paid differently, they aren't paid min. wage.

That being said, if he coworkers are taking home a lot more money in tips than she is, I'd have to wonder if she's doing a good job? Is she new to waitressing?

[fishbrains]

Servers must still make minimum wage if they do not collect enough in tips to make up the difference. It is the law.

[lmw36]

There could be a "training" period which would cause her to not collect a normal amount of wages until she completes her orientation/training. That is commonplace.

Other than that, she would be better off working anywhere else, really.

Edit: Yup, what fishbrains said. Good point. I never waited tables, but I hostessed and I remember a lot of the waiters during training would just make min wage for their training period.

[fishbrains]

It is not my area of expertise, as I don't run a restaurant. But my memory of min wage laws is that you are permitted to pay servers less ($2.96, this may ave changed) but the expectation is that their overall pay rate, once you include tips, must still be at least min wage. If tips do not make up the difference, the employer must.

If you go to the employer with this demand, they will probably fire you, saying it is your fault that you were unable to bring in enough tips. But them , it is hardly much of a loss, is it?

[Success3]

Her tables alone are leaving big tips...so we assume the other tables are. However after splitting tips between 3-4 others she leaves with $5-10 nightly. Doesn't make sense. Where is this money going?

Her training week was last week...she was making $8 hourly with no tips.

[Count David]

In the states of California and Washington (there may be others, but I know Colorado isn't one of them), servers are paid full minimum wage (not a discounted one), and receive tips which aren't counted against their wage (but must be claimed for taxes).

I used to work at two different Denny's in CA, and received full minimum wage + $60-$100 in tips per night (1998-2004). I'd tip my busboy between $5-$10 per night. $2000-$2400/mo total take-home was about average for me, which wasn't bad considering my age at the time (I quit when I was 20).

[Rabrrita]

What is the resturant's policy on ticket tips? It's possibe they pay those tips on payday instead of nightly. If it's an 'upper class' establishment, odds are the majority of tips will be ticket (credit cards, debit cards, bill-to's) tips.

[don1945]

Taking home that amount seems REALLY low. It sounds like the tips are being put into a kitty and then divided up. Are the others getting that little too ? It is her money and she needs to ask what's up. Someone may be cheating her because she is new. Have her go to the owner or manager and find out.

Don

[mainebrokerman]

does she live alone?

maybe she only says she making that much,,,because other around her are always asking for money,,,or want her to pay for shyt she doesnt want to...like booze or pot, or maybe,,,finances are personal, and she doesnt need to tell anyone..