Tipping out the kitchen?
I'm wondering what you industry and other folks out there think about servers tipping out the kitchen. Where I work now as a linecook the kitchen gets a tiny amout of the servers tips. (Really almost nothing, like $30 a month)
I've also worked at places where it wasn't unusual for me to walk with $50 at the end of a shift on the line.
I know that in some states, such as CA, it's illeagal to make the servers tip out the kitchen. But I can't help but feeling that a kitchen deserves it. Yes, cooks make a higher wage than servers, but it's often the case that a server will make more in a shift than a cook. A cook works just as hard, if not harder, during a rush and yet, if the kitchen isn't being tipped out, he sees nothing for the extra blood, sweat and stress.
Now, you could turn that argument around and say that cooks get paid the same whether the restaurant is empty or not while servers only make signifigant $$ if the place is busy. To that I'll say that, current enonomic climate asisde) most restaurants can at least ball-park estimate how busy they'll be on a given night and staff the FOH accordingly.
What do y'all think? Do cooks deserve tips or should we be happy with our higher wage and the fact that we don't have to deal with the throbbing hordes?
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17 Comments:
I have not worked at a place where the servers tipped out the line cooks, except on occasions where a server asked for something special (like family was coming in, could they take extra care and maybe bump up the ticket in rotation, etc.) and then it was usually one server and done sort of on the sly. Not actually sure about the legality for the states I worked in, but no server was required to.
Now I have worked in many alleys, and when the cooks would go above and beyond for us for takeout/delivery orders, or special requests that got me well-tipped, then I shared out the tips with the line, or the cooks that helped me out/worked extra hard. I also always tipped out my salad/assistant person (and sometimes the back-ups/prep) from bar and take-out tips, but that person(s) was not usually an actual "cook" on the line and they did cleaning and stocking etc. as part of their job.
I think it depends on the restaurant as to whether it is something that could/should be done. Some places I worked the servers did not make that much, and the cooks obviously cleared more per week, but in others (usually higher end places) the servers really raked it in, and it would not have been a bad idea to share a little. I think it is more about a gesture of goodwill, thanks and recognition than ensuring the cooks make/get more money anyway.
sadiepix at 7:57PM on 06/29/09
When I worked as a sous chef, I never received tips. I also got paid really really well compared to the base salary of the front of house employees. I also go to eat whatever I wanted which was a nice perk.
gingercookiewithlime at 8:33PM on 06/29/09
I agree with the practice of tipping out the kitchen, as the kitchen crew greatly affects the server's tips. That said, I've never worked anywhere that this happened. One place I worked, there were a couple of good servers who would buy or bring us a beer after service and hang out after work. Sometimes a small guesture like that can go a long way.
beth1 at 9:02PM on 06/29/09
our servers never tipped out the kitchen, it's not common practice in the restaurants in my area.... however, i've had customers who asked if they could go back into the kitchen to tip the cooks..... which was very nice of them.....
if we did a catered event, i'd definitely tip out my kitchen staff for the extra work .... always took care of everybody...
i think servers tipping out the cooks sets up a system of busting ass for the server who tips out the best - don't think it's in the restaurant's best interest.
pooch at 9:53PM on 06/29/09
It's interesting to hear that so many cooks don't get tipped out. My current job is the only one where I haven't recieved much tip money.
@gingercookie---i would hope that chefs and sous make enough not to really need a tip; I'm talking more like cooks who make anywhere from $9-14/hr.
As for favoring servers who tip more...well, cooks already do that without getting tipped. There are servers I'll go the extra mile for and ones that I feel are not worthy of their position who make my life harder. So I'm hardly going to go out of my way to help them.
sailordave at 11:06PM on 06/29/09
@ sailordave -- I'm pretty sure the term I used is completely wrong. I was more of an assistant in the kitchen. I'm sorry I threw that term in (my boss once called me that) without really being accurate.
gingercookiewithlime at 12:16AM on 06/30/09
I've never worked in a restaurant myself, but I have a lot of friends who did/do, and after talking to them and reading posts here, I'm growing more and more upset about how the pay system works in restaurants. I've taken to just generally tipping 25% unless service is horrendous because I feelso bad for everyone.
BangieB at 12:51AM on 06/30/09
I think if the kitchen does something "above and beyond" either for a particular customer or to help out a server who has done something stupid (like forgetten to turn in a ticket in a timely manner) then it would be nice if there was some added compensation, whether the server shares some or the customer sends it directly. But as far as getting paid extra for a busy day, would you also be willing to be paid less for days when there's nothing going on?
I mean really, there are 2 ways to be paid. One is the salary/per hour option where you get the same wage and you're expected to pitch in more when it's busy and it's okay to sit back a bit when it's not busy. The other is to be paid on performace. Tipping, commissioned sales, and people who get paid piecework or per-job fall into that category. There are plusses and minuses to both.
I'd also have to say that most people feel like they're tipping the server and not the kitchen staff, and that's what they base the tip on. And it would be my guess that if it's required that the tips be shared with the kitchen staff, that they get paid slightly less in salary because of it. So the servers get less because they have to share, and the kitchen staff's wages become more unpredictable, which doesn't seem like a benefit to me. If the kitchen staff's wage wasn't less because of the tip-sharing, then it would be the wait-staff that was getting stiffed, unless their salary was a little higher to compensate for the loss of tip income.
dbcurrie at 1:23AM on 06/30/09
Tipping out the kitchen has never been a policy in any of the fine dining establishments I (or anyone I've known) have been involved with. However, when I was in college and worked in a casual dining place we started tipping out the kitchen, but that more or less insured that we could hook up our friends. Definitely good for camaraderie, but not so good for the restaurant.
As I grew up in the business, I find that buying my kitchen staff a beer or two after work (or providing a six pack when they're done breaking down the line) is more appropriate and more enjoyable than handing them a couple of bucks at the end of the night.
wookie at 11:40AM on 06/30/09
I've worked at places where waitstaff tipped out bussers, dishwashers, and/or bartenders, but never cooks.
Kerosena at 3:22PM on 06/30/09
@dbc---re: cooks getting paid less during slow times. Good cooks, professional cooks, never stop moving. If there is no one in the restaurant, you are either prepping or cleaning. Standing around in the kitchen is generally not an option, at least for any extended period of time. We always work. Servers, however are free to hang around and chat and read, etc., provided any sidework is caught up.
sailordave at 5:46PM on 06/30/09
i've been tipped out as a line cook and pastry chef in every fine dining kitchen i've worked in. nyc, boston and now seattle. standard.
dmarina at 3:29PM on 07/04/09
additionally, the servers in restaurants i've worked in made a minimum of $250 a night in tips. waaaay more than the kitchen staff is getting. even the chefs.
dmarina at 3:32PM on 07/04/09
I tip out 2.5% of my sales to the bartender, 1% to the garde manger, and 2% to the kitchen (split 70/30 between the line and the dishwasher. This adds up to a hell of a lot of my tips.
PDXbiker at 4:23PM on 07/06/09
Interesting question. I am of two minds - because of my experience as a server myself, and as the wife of a chef. We both work in fine dining establishments. On the one hand, I know that my husband often complains that servers get "paid" more than the cooks because we make tips. Fine, I understand that they are the ones that actually create the food that my customers eat. Not to mention, I would love it if my husband made more money. I can make the same amount that he does in his 10 hour shift on my 6 hour shift. He does make the same amount no matter how many people come in to eat. Yes, a restaurant can staff FOH based on how many people they think will be coming in, but then you have the issue of not making any money because you have been cut. However, on the other hand, I know that if he had to deal with the customers that I deal with, many of the diners would be wearing their food instead of eating it. He has zero tolerance for attitudes, as do most of the chefs that I have worked with. It is MY fault if the meal comes out wrong, not the cooks, so I have to deal with both the assessment of my performance as well as theirs. When you decide to work FOH or BOH, you understand what each job encompasses. After many many times having this conversation with him, we have come to the decision that neither job is really easier or harder than the other, and if you want to be a server to make more money, then be a server.
jettabugfox at 8:47PM on 07/06/09
I used to work at a brewpub where I was,at various times, busser, host, doorman, bouncer, brewery assistant, barback, sound man for live music and bartender. Only as sound and brewery did I not get tipped. House policy is everyone gets tipped out, there are even sheets where write how much you tip out. The servers tip out tenders, linecooks, prep cooks, hosts, bussers, dishwashers and barbacks. Bartenders tipped out cooks,bussers, hosts, bouncers, barbacks, dishwashers and doorguys. As it was hard to keep track of which bussers and hosts worked the bar area as opposed to the dining room, I would usually just buy their shift meal ( usually a couple of bucks) and tip the kitchen 15% of my food sales, split evenly amongst them. I made sure the dishwasher got more than the cooks out of my tips, and I'd buy their first shift beer. It was interesting to look at the kitchen tip out sheet and see which servers were tipping the most and least. The biggest bitch in the house tipped the kitchen more than anyone else, so her tickets seemed to get filled faster than the friendly girls who didn't tip as well.
beersnob at 4:31PM on 07/07/09
At my current job, we tip out 5% of food sales to the kitchen. It usually ends up being about 20% of my tips. I hate doing it, mostly because it adds up to about $100 a week, which I could really use. It doesn't bother me because I don't think they deserve it, but I wish the policy didn't exist.
brittj8585 at 1:07AM on 07/08/09