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Permalink Reply by chris ganger on April 19, 2008 at 9:15am

I am curious as well. currently we are unable to take credit card tips and simply ask for cash only. I feel like we are missing out on a good portion of potential income and I am curious what others are doing so I can make an informed suggestion to the people who own our shops.

chris

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Permalink Reply by Anne MF Boatner on April 19, 2008 at 5:03pm

At one place I worked, we adjusted credit card slips and pulled cash out of the drawer and added it to the total tip pool at the end of every shift. Where I currently work, we total credit card tips at the end of the night, pull cash from the drawer, and distribute tip shares to everyone who worked that day. The only time I had to take a percentage of my credit tips was when I worked in a really shitty restaurant and had to give maybe 5 percent back to the house at the end of the night. Baristas and servers weren't the ones to decide to use credit cards and shouldn't be penalized for it, especially the suggested 20 percent. That's outrageous.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on April 20, 2008 at 5:38pm

At the shops I've worked, we keyed the credit card tips and pulled cash from the drawer into the tip jar. We then split the tip jar at the end of the shift or whenever someone new came on/left. That way, at least the tip was allocated to the combo of cashier/barista that was on duty for the transaction.

I agree that the 20% to the house is unreasonable. Perhaps the house is entitled to 6% or whatever for CC fees, but there shouldn't be any sales tax liability or other fees associated (could vary by state, I suppose?). I think that going after this small chunk of the tip is pretty stingy and screws up the register total.

I won't get into allocation for income tax purposes :(

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Permalink Reply by Virgil Hovar on April 26, 2008 at 8:15pm

We follow the same process as Brady; apply the tips to our cc charges at the end of a shift change and distribute the tips evenly between the people who had been working. I'm curious if others have stopped requireing signatures on their cc slips. Our processor told us we didn't have to take a signature but I'm concerned our tips would greatly drop off as we still see a lot of tips come through on our cc charges.

We distribute 100% of the tips amoungst those working. If I'm working with other employees I don't take a percentage but an happy to if I'm working alone... :)

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Permalink Reply by Brady on April 27, 2008 at 1:13pm

Your instinct is right, Virgil. At a previous shop, we switched to no signatures on CC slips and tips dropped. Some customers did switch to dropping cash tips in the jar, and one or two would ask for the slip to add a tip on. I wouldn't say they dropped by half, but it was noticeable.

Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Alex Negranza on May 1, 2008 at 12:48am

Ditto. One of our shops does not require signatures on CC slips, and tips go down the hole. At our other shop, the CC tips are a majority of the tips received. Currentyl at this shop, CC tips are processed and thrown directly in the tip jar where it is split anytime a someone enters or leaves a shift. It works out nicely.

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Permalink Reply by stephanie crocker on January 12, 2009 at 10:02am

Yeah, as much as I hate footing the bill for the extra credit card charges incurred by giving the cash tips directly to the staff, I think it's much better for morale. And really, your fees aren't going to go up that much for an extra dollar...we're really only talking about pennies. Sure, they'll add up, but as a business owner, I think it's a much better strategy to just count this as part of your payroll expense. Bad morale is probably more expensive anyhow.

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Permalink Reply by Zechariah White on January 12, 2009 at 11:46am

A happy barista is a good barista. Employees who are well served by their employer are less likely to break the rules because they are proud of their place of work.

That said, while it may or may not be legal, it is unethical for an employer to dip his hand into the tip jar of a service industry worker. It is up to the business owner to cover his costs in a legitimate fashion- by doing business- not via theft. When a person leaves a tip, they are under the impression that 100% of that tip is going to a service worker- not a service worker's boss or company. My anecdotal experience [which includes both situations] is that people tip even more when they are sure that it is going to the person making their coffee.

Baristas rarely make very much more than minimum wage and only in the rarest circumstances [outside bux] are they given any benefits. So, keep your hands off our hard earned money.

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