Hello all! I need a third party opinion from someone that does not work here at the club I am working for, I work for a small Country Club in a Kansas town pop, 3800 people. The problem I am having has been going on for ages I have worked for this company since 1997 as a bartender part time.
Here is the problem I am a bartender and I use that word loosely because at our club the bartender waits on the customers that are sitting in the downstairs area as well as the customers at the bar. The bartenders are responsible for getting all drinks and delivering them. They also have the responsibility to provide silverware and condiments when the wait staff forgets or doesn't have time to do so. Bartenders are then responsible to clean up the tables (buss) and hand wash all glasses. Food dishes are taken upstairs and run through a dishwasher usually taken up by waitstaff but not always. The waitstaff is responsible for coming downstairs taking the food order, then giving out silverware and condiments, then taking order upstairs to be processed. They are to then serve the food checking to make sure everything is right. After they have served the food I give the customers a couple of minutes then check on them to make sure all is cooked right and that they don't need extra sauce, napkins, etc. etc. I take the extra time and refill the water and pop glasses sometimes several times during a meal. The bartender of course also mixes any drinks the customer wants and serves the beer or wine. If a steak is not satisfactory depending on how busy it is I will either take the steak up myself or call upstairs to have the waitstaff come down to get the steak and take back up. In all my years the waitstaff has never been the one to find out if the steaks are cooked right it has always been the bartender. When the meal is over and the customers have left the bartender finishes clearing the table of all dishes and glasses and wipes down the table so it is ready for the next customer. The waitstaff does come down and trys to clear salad plates or meal plates, in most cases the bartender has already done so and the dirty dishes are sitting in the back room waiting to be taken upstairs.
So when the meal is finished and the customers have had their fill of drinks, they pay the bartender for the entire tab and leave a tip to be split between bar and wait staff. The way it is currently done is if there are 2 people on duty it gets split down the middle, if there is more it is split evenly whether 3 or 4 ways. I don't have a problem with it I feel the bartenders do more work than the waitstaff but I always am happy with whatever cash I end up getting. The waitstaff on the other hand feel they are being taken advantage of and feel they should get a % rate of the food sales ie, if a meal was $25 and the bar tab was $15 and the tip left was $6 or 15% the waitstaff want their tip to be 3.75 and the bar to only get $2.25 even though by far the bartender has made more trips to the customer than the waitstaff.
And I won't even get into when drinks are taken upstairs to the customers that prefer to eat in the dining room. That is a whole other problem.
My suggestion in the past has been if the waitstaff want that much of the tip I don't have a problem with it but I also expect the waitstaff to step up and take on more responsibiltiy. Ie, serving the water and pop, clearing all dishes themselves, wiping down the tables, washing any water and pop dishes themselves or take upstairs to be run through dishwasher, checking on customers to see if all is cooked right or they need anything extra. In other words let us be "bartenders" where all we do is stand behind the bar and mix drinks and take care of the customers who prefer to sit at the bar. Well of course that would not work around here. The waitstaff does not want the extra responsibility and I myself could not stand around knowing there were dishes to be picked up and customers not being taken care of.
So PLEASE anyone out there with an open mind let me know what your opinion is maybe I am wrong, but I also want to point out that when I first started out here I was on the waitstaff so my "foot has been in the other shoe" so to speak and I know I am not speaking out of turn.
Again I am open to any and all suggestions! THANK YOU for taking the time to read and then respond!!
Here is the problem I am a bartender and I use that word loosely because at our club the bartender waits on the customers that are sitting in the downstairs area as well as the customers at the bar. The bartenders are responsible for getting all drinks and delivering them. They also have the responsibility to provide silverware and condiments when the wait staff forgets or doesn't have time to do so. Bartenders are then responsible to clean up the tables (buss) and hand wash all glasses. Food dishes are taken upstairs and run through a dishwasher usually taken up by waitstaff but not always. The waitstaff is responsible for coming downstairs taking the food order, then giving out silverware and condiments, then taking order upstairs to be processed. They are to then serve the food checking to make sure everything is right. After they have served the food I give the customers a couple of minutes then check on them to make sure all is cooked right and that they don't need extra sauce, napkins, etc. etc. I take the extra time and refill the water and pop glasses sometimes several times during a meal. The bartender of course also mixes any drinks the customer wants and serves the beer or wine. If a steak is not satisfactory depending on how busy it is I will either take the steak up myself or call upstairs to have the waitstaff come down to get the steak and take back up. In all my years the waitstaff has never been the one to find out if the steaks are cooked right it has always been the bartender. When the meal is over and the customers have left the bartender finishes clearing the table of all dishes and glasses and wipes down the table so it is ready for the next customer. The waitstaff does come down and trys to clear salad plates or meal plates, in most cases the bartender has already done so and the dirty dishes are sitting in the back room waiting to be taken upstairs.
So when the meal is finished and the customers have had their fill of drinks, they pay the bartender for the entire tab and leave a tip to be split between bar and wait staff. The way it is currently done is if there are 2 people on duty it gets split down the middle, if there is more it is split evenly whether 3 or 4 ways. I don't have a problem with it I feel the bartenders do more work than the waitstaff but I always am happy with whatever cash I end up getting. The waitstaff on the other hand feel they are being taken advantage of and feel they should get a % rate of the food sales ie, if a meal was $25 and the bar tab was $15 and the tip left was $6 or 15% the waitstaff want their tip to be 3.75 and the bar to only get $2.25 even though by far the bartender has made more trips to the customer than the waitstaff.
And I won't even get into when drinks are taken upstairs to the customers that prefer to eat in the dining room. That is a whole other problem.
My suggestion in the past has been if the waitstaff want that much of the tip I don't have a problem with it but I also expect the waitstaff to step up and take on more responsibiltiy. Ie, serving the water and pop, clearing all dishes themselves, wiping down the tables, washing any water and pop dishes themselves or take upstairs to be run through dishwasher, checking on customers to see if all is cooked right or they need anything extra. In other words let us be "bartenders" where all we do is stand behind the bar and mix drinks and take care of the customers who prefer to sit at the bar. Well of course that would not work around here. The waitstaff does not want the extra responsibility and I myself could not stand around knowing there were dishes to be picked up and customers not being taken care of.
So PLEASE anyone out there with an open mind let me know what your opinion is maybe I am wrong, but I also want to point out that when I first started out here I was on the waitstaff so my "foot has been in the other shoe" so to speak and I know I am not speaking out of turn.
Again I am open to any and all suggestions! THANK YOU for taking the time to read and then respond!!
