When we were out eating a mid-day late lunch, slow time, I asked our server if they were willing to tell me how the establishment handled tipping, explaining I was involved in a discussion. He was extremely nice and cooperated (extra special tip for him). He said that they were guaranteed a minimum of $10.00 per hour (pay plus tips) when the traffic fell off during very slow days. If you fell below $10 per hour during normal traffic times, he said the person was warned, then terminated. When he worked nights, because the meal was formal, unlike lunch, he gave a percent of his tips to the helper who ran food, filled water, and cleared tables if he had big groups. Whenever he worked, the policy was to give the cooks 10% of the tips received. He liked the Holiday season, because he could also get extra hours due to their party room always filled. Holiday time was his big money maker so his wife always put into savings about 50% for the slow months. This was a large nationwide chain Italian restaurant,
This lead me to wondering, do the Amtrak servers share a portion of their tips with the cook(s), DC Steward? or do they keep 100% for themselves. Are the cooks compensated hourly to be on similar level as the Servers? So how does an SCA who is switched to Coach due to a shortage, get compensated? Are the DC staff strictly DC or do they also work other positions on OBS? If so, how is the tipping variance handled as far as the pay? Lots of opportunities for inequity it seems, though seniority probably evens this out.