The Merits of Tip Pooling

To pool or not to pool, that is question.

For the 68% of you who have never worked in a restaurant (yes, that’s the number) here’s some foodservice 101. There are basically two ways to handle tips. One is each server does their checkout, tips out support staff and keeps the rest. The other is that each  does their checkout, passes their tips onto the closing person who then tips out support staff and divides what’s left evenly between the other servers. There is also a third way that involves managers splitting tips away from the staff, but I think that’s shady and super- gross.

I was a tough sell on this one for sure. I like to think each staff member earns their money based on their own skills and I’m not much for collectivism in general. But here’s why I think it works.

First off, it puts everyone on the same team. If you need a follow or some help with pre-bussing a table there are usually willing hands to pitch in. If everyone’s tables are being well-taken care of by the entire staff they all benefit. Conversely, if everyone is dropping the ball then they suffer the financial consequences of the team not pulling it together.

It also self-regulates staffing. People that can’t or won’t cut it tend to naturally fall off. Servers like to work around other servers who share their same skill level and dedication to customer service. Those who don’t have the same standards generally aren’t sticking around very long. It’s also a nice way to build your team without having to get too heavy-handed with individual staff members. It’s a lot like making Marine recruits do push ups when another recruit fouls up. Hopefully that server doesn’t get the soap in the tube sock treatment though.

Best of all, it chases off douchebag servers. There is an entire different species of server, one I have fortunately never had to deal with. These are petty, snippy waitstaff who are constantly at each others throats for stealing tables, banging their current boy/girlfriend or hooking them up with bunk coke. Self-centered waitstaff don’t do very well with the tip-pooling thing and are usually headed for the exit as soon as they realize they have to play nice. We all see these people working the trendy, poorly managed, flash-in-the-pan shops owned by restauranteurs only  looking to make a killing selling booze. You don’t want to be associated with them anyway.

Long-time Memphis team member and superstar server Mikey chimed in on this one. Here’s her two cents worth.

“So I think it works well for certain places and certain people. It provides a very “all for one and one for all attitude”. It works for me because I’m a community oriented person and believe in helping out the underdog. I’m not going to be on top everyday. I think it works in a small place like Memphis because we are a family. It’s hard to trust the new person to pull their weight but I also think it pushes people to higher expectations of themselves because they know their level of service affects everyone”.