Okay, so after having a discussion today with Scott, the owner of the company I work with, I will no longer be leaving my job. We talked through the tipping situation and I am now more comfortable with how everything is going to work out. There will be a follow-up conversation later this week but granted that goes well I will be staying at my current job until my parents arrive in November. I'm happy it's all working out in the end because I do really like that job. That's all on that.
In other news, I had a customer come in today, soon after having this chat with Scott, who apparently hadn't been in in quite a while and was very happy to see me. (I honestly didn't remember her but I see 100+ people every day, I can't remember everyone, right?). Anyways, she told me how happy she was to still see me there and commented on the positive energy I bring to the restaurant. How nice to hear that after all this!
Okay, it's late here and I have nothing more to say tonight.
Best!
Monday, August 18, 2014
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Job Changes
So I just quit my job today, actually about 4 hours ago. I put in my two weeks notice and I have no idea what I'm going to do now - although I'm not worried, it is actually feeling a bit exciting. The world, once again, is my oyster. So here's the backstory on my leaving that has been about a week in the making....
So as I have talked about a bit before on my blog, tipping in NZ is somewhat all over the board. I would say maybe 30-40% of my tables tip, not all tip large amounts, but I have gotten tips over 30% before. I'd say the average tip, when you get one, is about 10% but that isn't to say that I don't still bring in a decent amount in tips. Last weekend, not this current one but the last one, I took a lot of payments for my table. This isn't something that typically happens, but over the weekend in question I took probably at least half of the payments for my tables and started to see how much I actually bring in in tips. Of the payments that I took, I saw my customers leave me around $150 - $200 in tips. This is for one weekend. Now I didn't take all my payments (meaning I could have received more tips), but this could have been a good weekend as well (meaning more than usual), but after seeing this I started to wonder what happens to all of the tips I make and why I take home so little.
To remind you, we pool all the tips we make at work and then they pay them out to us once a month. I think the tip sharing policy is fabulous. I have never questioned the way they split it up at the end of the month, until now.
So let's say I'm making about $200/week, on the low end, that's $800 per month. Last month how many tips did I get paid out at the end of the month? $115. That's like 15% of what I made. I'm totally cool with tip sharing, but I would expect to be taking home at least 50% of what I make at a minimum! I am currently taking home about $25/week in tips. Even in a county like NZ where people don't customarily tip, I make WAY more than $25/week in tips! Way, way, way more!
When I realized how little I am brining home out of how much I make I started to ask questions and have not been able to get a satisfactory or confident answer from anyone. What I had been told before is that the tips are pooled during the month. At the end of the month a percentage is taken out for the ktichen, another percentage for the morning crew, and the majority for the night crew - because the night crew make the most tips. Being that I'm in the night crew, I should be making the most tips - and I can tell you this much, $115 doesn't seem like enough. I asked one of my current managers and she gave me this same answer - minus any percentages or hard numbers - and I just wasn't satisfied. I wanted to know the equation - especially since this is an honors system that I have never, not once, not complied with. Every single tip I have ever gotten, even when people told me that the tip was for me only, has gone into the communal tip jar.
Anyways, I decided I'd go the GM to see if she knew the formal, and she didn't. She emailed the owner and one of the finance people who got back to her with another vague answer, that the tips are split up evenly between the senior waiters. I asked "well what about the kitchen and the bar and such?" and she said she didn't know. Maybe they got an equal share as well? Anyways, after two days of waiting and without any answers with numbers and equations and such I told them I couldn't work there because I don't agree with the policy and I put in my two weeks notice. I make way more than $25/week in tips and I deserve way more than $25/week in tips!
I was telling a friend about this situation a few days ago and he said a similar thing was brought up at one of his old jobs here in NZ. An employee asked about tips and the company immediately responded by showing him an excel spreadsheet of how the tips are calculated. This is what I want to see - something standardized, something solid, something with numbers and percentages and the like. I don't like that no one can tell me where the money is going, how it's split up, etc... And I guess even if they did show me numbers, I'm making so much more in tips that I'm getting back, it wouldn't add up for me.
Anyways, that's all I have for right now. I'm off to bed, off to look for new jobs, find something to do with all the free time I'm about to have. Find a hobby maybe?
Best!
So as I have talked about a bit before on my blog, tipping in NZ is somewhat all over the board. I would say maybe 30-40% of my tables tip, not all tip large amounts, but I have gotten tips over 30% before. I'd say the average tip, when you get one, is about 10% but that isn't to say that I don't still bring in a decent amount in tips. Last weekend, not this current one but the last one, I took a lot of payments for my table. This isn't something that typically happens, but over the weekend in question I took probably at least half of the payments for my tables and started to see how much I actually bring in in tips. Of the payments that I took, I saw my customers leave me around $150 - $200 in tips. This is for one weekend. Now I didn't take all my payments (meaning I could have received more tips), but this could have been a good weekend as well (meaning more than usual), but after seeing this I started to wonder what happens to all of the tips I make and why I take home so little.
To remind you, we pool all the tips we make at work and then they pay them out to us once a month. I think the tip sharing policy is fabulous. I have never questioned the way they split it up at the end of the month, until now.
So let's say I'm making about $200/week, on the low end, that's $800 per month. Last month how many tips did I get paid out at the end of the month? $115. That's like 15% of what I made. I'm totally cool with tip sharing, but I would expect to be taking home at least 50% of what I make at a minimum! I am currently taking home about $25/week in tips. Even in a county like NZ where people don't customarily tip, I make WAY more than $25/week in tips! Way, way, way more!
When I realized how little I am brining home out of how much I make I started to ask questions and have not been able to get a satisfactory or confident answer from anyone. What I had been told before is that the tips are pooled during the month. At the end of the month a percentage is taken out for the ktichen, another percentage for the morning crew, and the majority for the night crew - because the night crew make the most tips. Being that I'm in the night crew, I should be making the most tips - and I can tell you this much, $115 doesn't seem like enough. I asked one of my current managers and she gave me this same answer - minus any percentages or hard numbers - and I just wasn't satisfied. I wanted to know the equation - especially since this is an honors system that I have never, not once, not complied with. Every single tip I have ever gotten, even when people told me that the tip was for me only, has gone into the communal tip jar.
Anyways, I decided I'd go the GM to see if she knew the formal, and she didn't. She emailed the owner and one of the finance people who got back to her with another vague answer, that the tips are split up evenly between the senior waiters. I asked "well what about the kitchen and the bar and such?" and she said she didn't know. Maybe they got an equal share as well? Anyways, after two days of waiting and without any answers with numbers and equations and such I told them I couldn't work there because I don't agree with the policy and I put in my two weeks notice. I make way more than $25/week in tips and I deserve way more than $25/week in tips!
I was telling a friend about this situation a few days ago and he said a similar thing was brought up at one of his old jobs here in NZ. An employee asked about tips and the company immediately responded by showing him an excel spreadsheet of how the tips are calculated. This is what I want to see - something standardized, something solid, something with numbers and percentages and the like. I don't like that no one can tell me where the money is going, how it's split up, etc... And I guess even if they did show me numbers, I'm making so much more in tips that I'm getting back, it wouldn't add up for me.
Anyways, that's all I have for right now. I'm off to bed, off to look for new jobs, find something to do with all the free time I'm about to have. Find a hobby maybe?
Best!
Friday, August 15, 2014
Working, working, working....
I realize I haven't posted in a very long time. The last two weeks I worked 60+ hours each week and did very little in my free time. I am just getting home from another day at work today and ready for bed but figured I should at least check in quickly. I will try to post again on Sunday morning, as I should have a few minutes to put together a post and I may actually have some work related news to write about by then.
In work related news, however, I had Lorde in my section this evening. Being she's like the only real celebrity from/in New Zealand that was pretty cool. She's very nice and sweet and down to earth. That's all for now, folks.
Chat soon!
Best!
In work related news, however, I had Lorde in my section this evening. Being she's like the only real celebrity from/in New Zealand that was pretty cool. She's very nice and sweet and down to earth. That's all for now, folks.
Chat soon!
Best!
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