work issue

shaina925

I waitress part time and was working this past Sunday night. We are always very busy the day before a holiday, so the night was a bit crazy. We have a manager who is still fairly new and he was working that night. He is young, laid back, and really isn't the greatest at doing his job. Toward the end of the night I saw him bringing out a bottle of vodka for a table of people. I didn't think much of it until I found out after that he had taken that table, rang everything in, and kept the tip for himself. ( a LARGE tip ) I was irate. He was bragging about the tip, too and when I asked him why he did not have me take the table he said to me, (half jokingly) stop being greedy! Then he made some remark about how little he made after taxes.

I was so angry last night and so were the other girls I was working with. He is a manager... NOT a server and he most definitely should not be allowed to take our tables. He gets paid hourly, we make almost all of our money from our tips. He should have came up to me and told me to take care of that table, I have done bottle service plenty of times before, it's not like I am unfamilair with it.

I want to go to the GM and tell him what happened. Do I have a right to be upset? I feel as though I definitely do. How should I bring it up with the GM? I definitely want to do it in person and not over the phone. I was planning on going in this Wednesday to speak with him.

StephBeanWed61502

I'd probably bring it up in more of a questioning way instead of a tattling-type way.  Right now, you sound very angry and "OMG he's a jerk!" and while you're right, that might not play well with a GM.  Instead of saying it as a complaint, I'd say "Hey GM - I was curious, what's the policy on managers taking tables?  I noticed Manager took one of my tables on Sunday night, and I've never seen a manager here do that before, and I guess I'm just a little mixed up about what the policy is."

shaina925

Yes, that was actually my plan.  I was going to question it first and then if he asked why I was asking I was going to tell him.  I am not 100 percent sure how that all works out. 

afeliz79

Definitely ask. I'm pretty sure it's generally against labor laws for hourly or salary mangers to take tips.

shaina925

That is what I thought.  Even my old manager when he would get tips on to go orders he would never even take them. 

sonya+adam

You are totally right to be upset. That is not okay. Most of the time, managers get paid salary, not hourly, but idk how it is at your restaurant. I'd definitely bring that up to the GM's attention.

LizziebeeUT

Out of curiosity, do you know how much the tip was?
It doesn't really matter, if it was a dollar, he still shouldn't take it, but I can't help but wonder.

You have every reason to be upset. Aside from the fact that he makes hourly or salary, he didn't even do much. Bringing out one bottle of alchohol =/= waiting on a table.

shaina925

Yes, it was a 40 dollar tip.  That is HUGE. 

chelseamb11

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_work-issue?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:14Discussion:b1710211-99d9-4252-a2a4-d0584e68cff3Post:c32b3cf8-b0fa-4cae-8518-329c73351abf">Re: work issue</a>:
[QUOTE]Definitely ask. I'm pretty sure it's generally against labor laws for hourly or salary mangers to take tips.
Posted by afeliz79[/QUOTE]

This.  And I'll bet you a large amount of money he will not be claiming that tip on his taxes like he should.  That guy sounds like an asshole.  His job is easier than yours and he gets paid more for it.  Tables like that are a rare treat and he shouldn't have the authority to take the easy money tables like that.  You and the other servers deserve an easy tip like that every once in awhile.

vsgal

Morton's Steakhouse just got sued and lost because of this.  You need to check the labor laws in your state.  Regardless, the GM needs to know this behavior is happening. 

I had a great manager when I waited tables.  If we got slammed, he would wait tables and then give 100% of the tip money to the servers still on to split.  His intention was to make sure all of our guests were happy and having a great experience. He was not out to enhance his pay.  Obviously, this is not happening at your place.

TiffannieF

Ya I agree with other posters here.

It's one thing to be a good manager that is there to help wait on tables while you are slammed/busy, especially if they will split up the tips but what he did doesn't really sound right...then again he probably doesn't know what he did was wrong.

shaina925

It irks me even more that he bragged about the tip and called me greedy when I asked him why I wasn't able to take that table.  I am going to talk to the GM tomorrow.