Under Cover Waitress

When is the Shift Over?

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Sun, 19 May 2013 14:45:00 +0000

Ask the Waitress! This in from a restaurant manager: In a situation where the server's shift is nearing its' end, they have completed their side work and the customers are still seated eating. Am I required to allow the server to stay on the clock and just wait for the customer to complete...

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Keep Comp Time Illegal

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:30:00 +0000

How many restaurant employees in non-serving positions have been asked to take "comp time" instead of overtime pay? As I have smelled the underbelly of the restaurant industry, I expected the rush of air when so many of you raised your hands. Comp time is against federal law, and has been since...

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The Cost of a Burger

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Sun, 12 May 2013 00:28:00 +0000

There is an article on the PayScale blogs about the recent protests by fast food workers in New York City. NYC is one of the most expensive cities in the USA in which to live, and yet fast food workers are still making about $8 per hour. They were demanding not only $15 per hour, but benefits...

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Guest Post: Tips On Tipping In Foreign Countries

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:15:00 +0000

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Lunch Rush

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:34:00 +0000

For those of you who don't get enough waiting tables at work, you may now go home and play Lunch Rush on your computer! Check out this hilarious game review by a self-reported former waitress: Lunch Rush HD Review Seriously, man, don't we have anything better to do with our free time?...

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Massachusetts Laws

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Ask the Waitress! This is from Massachusetts: Is it legal in MA to require waitstaff to tip out a certain percentage to bartenders, busses and food runners? Management requires we let them see our sales before we cash out! Also, at this restaurant we are required to claim 14% of...

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Managers Taking Tips

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:54:00 +0000

Received a great comment on my last post, Managers Taking Tables: I feel the only way it would be acceptable for a manager to accept tips is if they are taking complete care of the table, as in, you're too busy to help that table at all, so they do all of the work, and they're not just...

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Managers Taking Tables

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 19:47:00 +0000

Ask the Waitress! I work at a small restaurant in Connecticut. We don't usually get very busy so I'm almost always the only server on the floor. Recently, we've been getting busier but management has not hired anyone new or filled the schedule so sometimes my manager will take tables. She expects...

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Guest Post by Diane Carlisle: Working for Mom

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:23:00 +0000

I am so pleased to have fellow blogger Diane Carlisle compose the post for today! When she says she worked for her mother, she does mean in her mom's "family-owned" restaurant. Her blog, Are We There Yet?, is on my blog list in the left sidebar. Biography Diane Carlisle is a software...

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Favoritism

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:47:00 +0000

My last post, Our Bar is in Desperate Need of Help, discussed some of the ins and outs of determining how to figure fair tip outs. The issues brought up by my "Ask the Waitress" reader were numerous and complicated. One of those issues was blatant favoritism. To reiterate: The new manager...

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Our Bar is in Desperate Need of Help

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 12:49:00 +0000

Received a long letter from a reader that began: My question comes in the form of a story, but our bar is in desperate need of help. This is no exaggeration. Here is the story: Our owner opened the bar as a second job and we have been open for almost a year. Business is booming and the bar...

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The Oatmeal Tips and Toots

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:30:00 +0000

First, I love The Oatmeal. He draws comics that are honest, deceitfully simple and hilarious if you can laugh at life. Am linking to him today because he wrote a little piece about waiting tables. I am simply suggesting you read and enjoy, then check out his other funny stuff. For the record,...

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The Pain of Tip Outs

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:48:00 +0000

In Shorting the Busser, I responded to a manager in distress about waitresses paying the bussers less than owed. The bottom line is that if the rule says 2 percent to the busser, and you pay the busser 1.5 percent, you have broken the rule. Worst-case scenario when an employee breaks the rules is...

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Shorting the Busser

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 02:03:00 +0000

Ask the Waitress! Received this heart-felt missive from a current manager: I have worked at a the same restaurant for 5 years. I started as hostess and later became a server and a bartender. Currently, I am managing. Sometimes servers short the busser's tip outs. The standard tip...

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The Art and Etiquette of Tipping, Guest Post

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:27:00 +0000

Today's guest post is written by Trisha Jefford. Trisha Jefford is a self-proclaimed foodie, vegan and wine enthusiast who loves scouring the net for new ideas and trends in food creation and presentation. She currently writes and blogs for the website EZ Cater, a site that specializes in...

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AllerMates

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 03:48:00 +0000

This is a time-sensitive post, the sale ends on the morning of the 28th. From Zullily: AllerMates founder and CEO Iris Shamus is a mother of three children, one of whom has a severe allergy to tree nuts. Inspired by her little one's food sensitivities, she came up with an assortment of...

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A Raise Goes Up, Not Down

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 00:55:00 +0000

Ask the Waitress! This arrived in my inbox: I want to know if my employer can lower my pay from 2.25 to 2.13 without even telling us. We didnt find out until our next check. I want to know what is wrong with your employer. An employer may not pay less than previously agreed upon for...

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Bartender Blues

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 20:26:00 +0000

Received a question in the comments on Understanding Tip Pools, Tip Credits, and Tip Outs: We recently changed our tip pool policy where I work, and it doesn't seem fair/legal. The servers are now evenly pooling tips with the bartenders, but the bartenders make nearly twice as much per hour. This...

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Criminal Behavior or Control Freak?

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:28:00 +0000

Waiter Dan and I have had an interesting conversation via the comments on my last post, "Against Federal Law." Here are the details of Dan's situation: Restaurant holds ten percent of his tips as busser tip outs. Dan does not hand the money directly to the bussers. Bussers are paid the...

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Against Federal Law

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 14:56:00 +0000

Ask the Waitress! My annoyance is with restaurant owners, not my readers who write in the... same... damn... question... Is it legal to be required to tip out the back of the house? NNNOOOOOOOO! And the fact that so many servers keep writing with their stories...

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Who Pays the Tax, Anyway?

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 17:24:00 +0000

Ask the Waitress! These important issues keep popping up. Excerpts from two recent additions to my inbox are as follows: Hi, I'm a server, and we pay 3 percent of our total sales into a tip share that pays the bartenders and host/bussers. Last night my total sales were around 1000.00...

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Guest Post: Life Lessons in Restaurants

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 02:48:00 +0000

Today I treat you to a guest post by Hannah Vergara. Words of wisdom from the trenches, enjoy! Life Lessons in Restaurants Have you ever come across a friend that you’ve watched coast through life? Maybe finding a job here or there, but never committing for longer than a month....

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I Call Bull Sheet: Biggest Schmuck Cannot Afford Tip

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 01:02:00 +0000

This image from Gawker, The Biggest Schmuck on Earth Left This as a Tip, may go viral. I call bullshit, let me count the ways: The first, and most obvious, is that people who claim they can afford to eat out can afford to tip. If they can do enough math to figure out that if they...

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Behind the Kitchen Door

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:06:00 +0000

Restaurant Opportunities Center, ROC United's long awaited book "Behind the Kitchen Door" is now available for pre-order on Amazon! Publication date is February 12, 2013. Amazon gives you a low price guarantee so that if you pre-order at, for example, $15, and the price goes down to $12 before...

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Utah Tip Laws

noreply@blogger.com (under cover waitress) — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Ask the Waitress! Received a question from a waitress working in Utah. The details include: We are required to tip out10% of our tips to the back of the house. The cooks and dishwashers each get an equal part of that %10. Is that legal? Also...when the assistant manager bartends...

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