I just wanted to drop in here and clarify on a few things since questions have been flowing in.
In the future, please refer questions to my email address mylisa1996@gmail.com
Chili’s is justifying this by only paying food runners a few bucks an hour, just like the servers. They have what they call a “tip pool.” Which is determined by calculating 5% of sales. The problem is that the 4% that gets paid out to the food runners for their wages, is taken out of the servers tip money. Not actual sales money. Chili’s does not have to pay food runners actual wages because they are forcing the servers to pay them out of their tips.
Unfortunately yes, according to my research on wage law(s) and wages via tips law(s) this does appear to be legal. But Chili’s along with Brinker International advertises nonstop how much they care for their employees, so I am hoping they will hear our voices. I am hoping that they will hear that we feel that the tip system is completely unfair and offer change in order to allow servers to keep their tips.
Yes, I called corporate to discuss this. The lady on the phone did not seem to care. Her response to me was basically that this is how every store does it, and she asked me if I made cash tips. Maybe she did not intend to sound so icy, but her response to me felt like she just wanted me to get over it.
Yes, I also contacted the Better Business Bureau. However, they are not able to enforce anything, and cannot even guarantee a response from any business. Contacting the Better Business Bureau was more-so for documentation purposes. They are not a law agency and they do not hold any sort of power. They can not do much to help, but again, I am trying to document everything on this road to change so this was for documentation purposes only. I don’t know why people seem to think that the BBB is the end-all, be-all for businesses as their existence is irrelevant in most cases.
No, I have not asked for legal help. Again, I do not believe that any laws have been broken. I am just hoping for this one thing to change.
Why don’t I just go somewhere else? Because I love my job! The majority of my coworkers are fun to work with because they know how to have fun on the job while accomplishing all job duties and responsibilities. I have never felt stranded or alone on any shift, or through any amount of training. Chili’s has some of the best benefits for employees, including (but not limited to) career, community, social, and physical/emotional. I hope to stay with this company- long term!
Should I gather enough signatures to be given the opportunity to speak to the decision makers, what would I propose? I would propose that 4% be taken from actual sales to cover food runner wages. Not from servers tip money. I would also propose that 1% of tips be given to the bartender if alcohol was sold on that ticket. If no alcohol was sold, there is no reason to tip out the bartender. I might even suggest that an additional 1% be taken out of sales to be given back to the top seller of the week/month. This would prove to be great incentive for servers to upsell alcohol and desserts, instead of what is currently happening. (Servers are trying to keep sales low because the higher their sales, the less money they make.)