Message 22102 of 22774 in Behind the Bar

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> > Hi pros, my name is Carmen and I hope some of you can help me.
> > 
> > I was a bartender for 3 years for a friend's small weekend only club. 
> > 
> > There were only about 100 people there at once for the most part, so 
> > 
> > the club only had one bartender per night, per shift. I never had to 
> > 
> > worry about splitting tips. I stopped bartending 2 years ago.
> > 
> > I was approached by an old co-worker and was asked to bartend for the 
> > 
> > night that he DJ's for on the deck of an up and coming restaurant. 
> > 
> > There currently is a bartender on this night, they are looking for 
> > 
> > extra help. 
> > 
> > How do I go into this bar/restaurant as a newbie, and approach the 
> > 
> > splitting tips situation? I really don't know what the protocol is 
> > 
> > when working with others. I would hate to step on anyone's toes, but 
> > 
> > at the same time, I don't want to get screwed over. 
> > 
> > I am confident to say that I do pull my weight, and take my jobs 
> > seriously: I work for the owner, not for 'Carmen'. I am nervous about 
> > 
> > my first few days, when I am learning the ropes, and I won't be as 
> > 
> > fast as I'd like to be; but I feel I will hold my own after a while. 
> > 
> > Any tips, advice, or even "NOT-to do's"?? I'd appreciate any words of 
> > 
> > wisdom.
> > 
> > Thank you!
> 
> Tip splitting protocol and policy is something that is set by the 
> management of the establishment, not by the bartenders (especially 
> the new ones).
> 
> Different places approach the situation differently.  At some bars, 
> each bartender has their own station consisting of a well, fridge, 
> and register - each bartender works independently serving their own 
> "bars", are each solely responsible for their own inventory/sales and 
> therefore keep their own tips.
> 
> Other bars have multiple bartenders on the same bar (at individual 
> wells, or even sharing wells), and the bartenders ALSO share the same 
> register/float, bottle and fridge inventory... in this situation, 
> typically all of the bartenders pool the tips together, and it is 
> split evenly amongst the bartenders.  This is called team work ... 
> sure, it could be 'unfair' that you worked a busier station and 
> likely generated more in sales, but one might argue that the others 
> could have generated as much had they been assigned the busier 
> station instead... usually bars that pool tips like this will rotate 
> bartenders between the stations, so that one person isn't 
> consistently pulling all the weight each shift.
> 
> Advice for you?  Ask at the start of your shift what the tip pooling 
> and tip out policies are at the bar so that you're aware of what's 
> expected, and then... do it.  Try to be present for the end of shift 
> tallying of tips and sales; typically in group situations, everyone 
> should be together for the divvying up of tips - sometimes one 
> bartender will count back the float and submit the sales, while the 
> others clean, but it shouldn't be the same person handling the cash 
> out every night... there is a need to place a bit of trust in your 
> team mates, but there's always an opportunity to screw and be 
> screwed.  
> 
> Also, be aware that on your first shift or even your first couple, 
> you may not be entitled to tips as you are 'training' (not on how to 
> bartend, but how to use their systems and get used to their pricing, 
> etc.) - this I personally find very frustrating as the learning curve 
> for an experienced bartender really isn't steep going into a new job, 
> but it seems to be industry standard to work a few shifts under the 
> "training" (AKA management seeing how you perform and deciding if 
> they want to keep you) designation and receiving little to no tips.  
> Any decent "trainer" will at least throw you something, but basically 
> be aware that you might not receive an equal share on your first 
> shift.  
> 
> Once you're off training, if you stay on, be aware that pooled tip 
> situations like this can result in you being screwed for your fair 
> share, so try to be present for counting of tips, cash out 
> preparation, and tip out... try to encourage a rotation of those 
> responsible for this on each shift also - and keep an eye on the 
> total of tips throughout the night (counting it periodically as you 
> change coin over to bills so you can notice if a few bills go missing 
> by the end of the night).  Ideally, tips should be counted and 
> divided as a group.
> 
> Good luck.

This has helped me IMMENSELY! Thank you Dano!