A Restaurant Just Banned Tips And Employees Are Thrilled

[NewDeal_Dem]

A Pittsburgh restaurant just banished tips and in return, started paying employees a $35,000 salary with benefits.

The restaurant, called Bar Marco, is also giving its workers health care, 500 shares in the company, and paid vacation.

"America needs to realize that working in the restaurant industry is an occupation," Bar Marco co-owner Robert Fry told Eater.

All 20 of Bar Marco's employees have signed the new contracts, which state that they will work a maximum of 40 to 44 hours per week and get two days and one night off a week. Employees will also get 10 paid vacation days per year.

"This is truly touching and incredible," employee Csilla Marie Thackray wrote on the company's Facebook page. "So proud to be a part of such a phenomenal and supportive company."

Full-time salaries are rare in the restaurant industry and the minimum wage for tipped workers is meager. In Pennsylvania, the tipped minimum wage is is $2.83.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/spendingandborrowing/a-restaurant-just-banned-tips-and-employees-are-thrilled/ar-AA7Syx3?ocid=iehp

[brer cat]

1. Wow! I hope Bar Marco is very successful. nt

[yeoman6987]

13. I hope so too, but I would go somewhere else

to work. They are going to get about 900 dollars every two weeks. 1800 a month. I used to make 300 bucks a day in tips when I was in the restaurant business and worked 5 nights a week. I had so much money back then. Good luck to them though. I predict in a year they will be begging to go back.

[F4lconF16]

24. Yes, cause everyone making $2.83

An hour plus tips is going to be pulling in $300 a day. Guaranteed salary and good working conditions, plus benefits? Yeah, I think some will stick around.

[yeoman6987]

38. I believe they will end up with a lower amount of money. The 2.83 is nothing compared to the tips

they will lose. I feel sorry for them. 35K is a horrible wage that nobody can live on once you take out all the deductions. They will demand to go back by next year.

[robinlynne]

46. Many of us would be more than thrilled to earn 35k per year. (with degrees.)

Some of you may not realize how the new economy is working.

[F4lconF16]

48. +1 nt

[Curmudgeoness]

63. Absolutely! nt

[Kingofalldems]

50. So transparent.

[gcomeau]

70. You appear to think that patrons of all restaurants...

...tip at approximately the same rate, and that that rate remains constant across time and economic conditions, such that you can extrapolate "I once upon a time made this much in tips here" to "everyone everywhere makes this much in tips today... and that wage is less than that therefore bad".


This is not so.


You are also ignoring the monetary value of a benefits package that includes health care, which is significant.

[NewDeal_Dem]

79. again, please tell me where this mythical restaurant was that had you pulling in $78K a year

in tips alone.

[tclambert]

43. The cute blondes with big, um, personalities may make tips like that.

Mythbusters actually tested this, and did find a correlation between tips and bust size. That's what an enlightened, modern society we are.

[Mike Niendorff]

31. Speaking as a tipped employee, too :

I think people's hearts are in the right place on this, but $35k/yr for 40+ hours/wk? Most good servers do a lot better than this. Some do obscenely better (a lot of that income simply doesn't get reported, but it definitely does exist). $35k is *way* on the low side for replacing that with a flat-rate income.

MDN

[Gormy Cuss]

36. And yet their employees have bought in to it.

The average tab in this place should translate into a much high tip-based wage, but something about this plan won them over. Benefits and the predictability of income plus the simplified bookkeeping?

[lark]

53. Waitstaff at Applebees don't make that kind of money

not even near. My son would jump at a chance to have better working conditions.

[NewDeal_Dem]

80. It's about $17 an hour plus benefits, just slightly below median wage for all workers.

[AllyCat]

35. And benefits with time off? Don't forget that.

All this stuff adds up.

[CreekDog]

47. it's actually about $17.50/hour or 2916/month

for people who aren't working the busier periods or higher priced restaurants, their total wages including tips often might not exceed this.

[Dont call me Shirley]

61. Dang, where did you work?

[NewDeal_Dem]

81. Somewhere that let him make $78K a year in tips alone, supposedly. Me, I doubt it.

[Ace Rothstein]

82. It is possible.

If you work in a high-end restaurant in a big city, you could pull in some pretty big tips.

[NewDeal_Dem]

84. maybe. which i why i think the poster should tell us where this restaurant is.

[Dont call me Shirley]

85. No wonder the govt began taxing tips, we were all supposed to be making big bucks while

only paying taxes on $1.86 an hour.

I must have been a lousy waitress.

[gelsdorf]

72. Do tips count toward Social Security?

I realize the vultures are after SS, but 35k looks a lot better for the future. In addition, tips aren't what they used to be with wage stagnation. Of course, I could be wrong, just my 1 and a 1/2 cents( can't get 2 cents together anymore)

[NewDeal_Dem]

78. good question.

[NewDeal_Dem]

75. They make 35K. That means $673 a week, $1346 for two weeks. Even with 20% taken

out it's $1081 every two weeks.

Plus medical and vacation. Not too many food service venues where you can get that. Also not too many food service venues where you make $300 a day in tips, either -- That's about $38 an hour in tips for an 8 hour shift.

You know how much that is per year? About $78K. Please tell me where this great restaurant is that pays base salary plus $78K a year in tips alone.

Cause personally, unless the restaurant you worked at was in the heart of manhattan and catered to the rich, I think you're full of it.

[obxhead]

77. Well said.

I've met many a server who made $300 one night which tells stories of making $300 every might 20 years later.

[KansDem]

2. Here's the website...

http://barmarco.squarespace.com/bdda7jcguaftknurd77v4y6lwk5rv4

Prices look good. And you're not leaving a tip!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. A coffee shop in my neighborhood did something like that.

They started paying their employees enough that tips aren't needed or requested. I wish more places did that. In most restaurants in Europe you don't tip the waiter - they don't need tips because they get living wages.

[Major Nikon]

16. In most European countries wait staff is very much a skilled trade

People go to trade schools to learn how to do it and the working conditions are far better.

[OldEurope]

41. Where in Europe do you not tip?

I'm living in Germany and I've visited France, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey and Austria. In all these countries you usually give tips to the waiter, at least 10 %. And it is considered bad manners to refuse to give tips.

The last time we did not give tips was on a ferry from Athens to Istanbul, in 1966. Port of registry for that ship was somewhere in the USSR, so they indignantly rejected that capitalist custom.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

56. Northern Europe, not so much.

Last time I was in Amsterdam I was told tipping was entirely optional and if even you do, it's considered gauche to over-tip (which would be the normal 20% in the U.S.). That advice is consistent with this article: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/tipping-in-europe

[flygal]

62. I live in Germany

we round up if under 10 euros - they don't expect much at the price. But anything bigger I tip 10% and more if I'm a regular. I love the professional service here - they are so professional. But yes, it's more expensive and we don't eat out here as much as in the States.

[PoliticAverse]

4. I hope it works out for them. n/t

[Kablooie]

5. This was tried in Los Angeles last year but the restaurant went out of business soon after.

Last edited Thu Jan 8, 2015, 12:18 AM - Edit history (1)

Edit:
I am mistaken, It's NOT out of business!

http://www.brand158.com/service.aspx

[bigwillq]

9. Was it because of employee salaries and benefits?

Or did people just not eat there?

[Kablooie]

17. I don't know. It was a young hipster kind of place and I never went there.

They opened with a lot of publicity and got good reviews.
Then they just kind of faded away.

[Brigid]

11. That's too bad.

Hard to say why the restaurant didn't last. I hear restaurants have the highest failure rate of any type of business.

[Luminous Animal]

20. What was the name of the restaurant?

[Kablooie]

27. Brand 158 in Glendale

http://www.brand158.com/

[Kablooie]

21. I am mistaken, It's NOT out of business!

It's still there.
They charge a standard 15% service fee that goes to the restaurant, not the employees.
All the employees get a full regular salary and tips are not accepted.

http://www.brand158.com/service.aspx

[kiva]

23. From a customer standpoint,

there's no difference between a 15% "service fee" and a 15% "tip", so I really don't understand why this is supposed to be so different. Just raise your prices 15% and stop being deceptive.

[F4lconF16]

25. It's hugely different.

When you're working as a server and you're getting tipped, you're not at the mercy of whoever you're serving. Remember how authoritarian some people are, and how much they love holding power over others. Now imagine serving them all day, how much money you bring home dependent on them. It's stressful. And people are total assholes, too. People can be mean and spiteful, and go after servers for no reason. Not being dependent on them is a big difference.

Kinda agree about the fees. I much prefer seeing how much it will be up front. Wish more places would do that with sales tax, too.

[mountain grammy]

44. That is so true and I agree about the fees..

just raise the prices. On a $20 dinner, that's $2.50. I would leave no less than $4 for a tip.

anyone who has ever worked as a server knows how frustrating it is to desperately try to please some people, only to be berated and nothing left on the table. I did have a customer or two who left a penny just to get their insult across. Usually the customer is irate over thing out of a server's control, like the restaurant running out of a certain dish or the kitchen being slow, and them for some people it just seems like a power trip.

I admire business owners who actually understand the reason they are successful is usually thanks to the employees, and don't just pay lip service like calling them associates, but treat them as human beings who deserve to be paid for their labors and loyalty.
When Colorado was passing a higher tipped wage restaurant owners were gripping, but several came out and said it wouldn't affect them as they already pay their employees well above minimum wage, saying, without my staff I make no money. These were some of the most popular restaurants in the state. There's a reason for that.

[pamela]

57. 15% of $20 is $3.00 not $2.50

I'm honestly not trying to be an ass but your post points out another downside of tipping. The waitstaff is somewhat dependent on the customer's math skills. Of course, that can work to their benefit as 20% is easier to calculate than 15% so a lot of people just go with that.

[mountain grammy]

73. Oh crap, you are right.. there I go relying on my brain again.

and that is so the downside of tipping. I'm not at all upset, thanks for the correction.

[pamela]

83. Aww, you're a sweetheart.

So glad you took that in the spirit it was intended. My math skills suck so I really don't have much room to talk.

[Kablooie]

28. They started without the 15% fee but had higher prices.

My guess is that people didn't like the higher prices on the menu so they changed to the 15% fee to make it psychologically more palatable.

[Gormy Cuss]

37. Or to make the prices competitive.

When the other restaurants targeting the same demographic are charging prices that are substantially lower because there's an expectation of a 15% tip on top of that, the place that has rolled the cost into the menu pricing looks more expensive.

[JI7]

26. in california they have to pay minimum wage even for waitstaff who get tips

[lunasun]

76. I did not know that good info and good labor practice. Imo

[handmade34]

6. excellent...

we should end all tipped jobs and pay people a fair wage...

[niyad]

7. wishing them the very best of luck.

[bigwillq]

8. Cool.

I like this idea.


I wish this restaurant the best of luck.

[Brigid]

10. I would totally eat there.

Why do I get the feeling that the food is yummy too?

[AlbertCat]

12. $2.83!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's fucking ridiculous! Wage slavery.

[NewDeal_Dem]

14. no, slave wages. we all live under wage slavery, but we don't all get slave wages.

[underpants]

18. I worked as a waiter twice

In 1985 we got $2.15. In 1994 we got $2.35.

In Virginia

$2.83 20 years later does seem a bit low.

[Unknown Beatle]

15. This owner gets it.

This type of living wage adjustments needs to spread.

[PADemD]

19. Sick days, too?

[jeanmarc]

40. That's great

Customers get nice colds from people with colds that can't afford to take a sick day.

[JimDandy]

22. Good for them.

Been advocating this for decades. Was a waitress while in college.

[Violet_Crumble]

29. I hate the whole concept of tipping, so that'll be on my list of places to go in the US....

To me tipping feels like charity and paying employees what the employer should be paying them in the first place. Plus that whole angsty thing about how much to tip and when to tip just does my head in...

[Sherman A1]

30. Superb!

I wish them well and hope that this is the trend we see elsewhere.

[Pacifist Patriot]

32. I need to find an excuse to go to Pittsburgh....late spring or summer though.

[Curmudgeoness]

64. Do come

in the late spring or summer. Right now, you do not want to be here.

[Pacifist Patriot]

69. It's actually a place I've long wanted to visit.

But seeing as how I'm suffering in a cold front that brought a high of 63 today, it would probably be best if I wait a few months.

[Omaha Steve]

33. Great news

I hope this catches on nationwide.

[madville]

34. Tipped employee minimum wage is $4.91 here

My coworkers wife currently works as a server at a BBQ place 5 nights a week, she makes $120-150 with tips for a six-hour evening shift or around 20-25 an hour. I was thinking of jumping into that for some part-time work, she said the only downside is you reek of smoked meat when you leave.

My ex-wife used to work private dinner parties at a French restaurant, $200-300 was a typical night but it was only Friday and Saturday nights, rest if the time she bartended and would get about $100 a day.

Depends where you work and how successful the restaurant is, it can be a somewhat lucrative field to work in.

[bobclark86]

60. "she said the only downside is you reek of smoked meat when you leave"

Hmm... better than a McDonald's grease trap.

[Iggo]

39. Like they can stop me from tipping.

[LiberalLovinLug]

54. Yes, how would they prevent people from tipping if they still wanted to?

And why would the owner care one way or another if a waitress received a tip on top of her salary? It sounds more like you can eat in this restaurant without the obligation of tipping, but I'd guess that at least half of consumers would tip anyways if they had good service. So its a win win for the staff I'd say.

[yeoman6987]

65. They do at Noodle and Company

I tried and they refused. Went to manager and she said absolutely not.

[Curmudgeoness]

66. Part of the article,

or at least an article that I read, any tips that are left will go to charity.

[Exultant Democracy]

42. Yeah tipping is terrible. We need to do away with sub minimum wage pay options for wait staff.

[mountain grammy]

45. I wish them the best and if I'm ever in Pittsburgh I'll be looking for Bar Marco.

[TRoN33]

49. Bookmarked so I will eat there someday. It's only 7 hour of driving to there from my home. Not bad!

[RKP5637]

51. This is the way a company should be run! n/t

[Enrique]

52. the NRA is not impressed

(National Restaurant Association)

While nontipped business models are gaining attention across the country, “the vast majority of consumers take a positive view of the practice and custom of tipping for service,” says Christin Fernandez, National Restaurant Association spokeswoman.

“Tipping promotes the spirit of hospitality our industry is known for,” she says. “Along with flexible work schedules, the opportunity to see the direct result of good service and hard work is what makes a restaurant server an attractive profession and makes the restaurant industry an industry of choice for millions of Americans.”

[rurallib]

55. gee - what horse shit

bet the guy (and I do mean guy) who wrote this was never a "restaurant server."

[Pacifist Patriot]

68. I'd say it's a virtual guarantee!

Horse shit indeed.

[Curmudgeoness]

67. If that is the case,

the person who said that should be willing to tip the person who helps them at the department store or grocery store, as well as their teller at the bank, and their accountant, and their lawyer, and......

We all would like to see the direct result of good service and hard work.

[Enrique]

71. i think this association spokesperson should work on tips

nice job on the press release, here's $4.00!

[pansypoo53219]

58. a danish e-pal of mine visited america here for 3 weeks. i had to explain why he needed to tip.

shame i did not explain that when he started in NYC.

[Fla Dem]

59. So by my figuring that works out to $17.50 an hour. Pretty darn good. nt

[ErikJ]

74. Low min wage and tipping is remnant of institutional slavery days.

which is one reason I hate tipping. Rather go to a smorgasboard buffet.