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In reply to the discussion: NY high court eyes who can tap Starbucks' tip jars [View all]Xithras
(16,191 posts)Negotiating equitable base compensation is part of the employer/employee relationship, and not the customer/business relationship. If the wait staff is underpaid, they should take it up with their management or legislators. If it's bad and they want to strike, I'll respect the line.
Tips are offered by customers as compensation for the work performed FOR the customer. If an hourly waiter does the work, the waiter gets the tip. If the manager does the work, the manager gets the tip. The amount of money each makes per hour, or the relative power levels of their positions, matters very little. When I leave a tip, I leave it as compensation for the person/people serving me. If a manager (or even an owner, in a small establishment) is actively working tables and is serving me as a customer, and I leave a tip for them, then they should get it. They earned it.
To argue otherwise is petty. Tips aren't about social justice or supporting workplace pay parity. Tips are offered as a measure of compensation, and thanks, for those who serve us. To argue that "person X doesn't deserve compensation because of their title" is simply mean spirited and counterproductive to the formation of good workplace relationships. Remember, we're not talking about corporate fatcats here...most restaurant managers only make a few dollars an hour more than the people they're supervising. If they serve me well, and I want to leave them a tip as thanks for doing so, how does that harm anyone?