Little more St. John restaurant news

Kevino · Post by **Kevino** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:57 pm

We travel to St. John 3&4 times a year and have always tipped on the CC. No more! Thanks to everyone for the info, we will definitely use cash for all future tips starting with our Nov 22-29 vacation. See you all at the BB.

Marcia (Mrs. Pete) · Post by **Marcia (Mrs. Pete)** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 1:10 pm

Leaving the tip, in cash, makes the most sense. As others have explained.

One more little nugget of information to consider while dining out: if you have drinks at the bar, settle with the bartender before being seated at your table (and tip in cash). If your pre-dinner bar bill is added to the dinner bill, you end up tipping for service not provided by the server (the drinks you got at the bar) which might leave the bartender stiffed for his/her service (unless the waitperson does the right thing and divides the tip appropriately).

Something that really steams me about this mess is the suggestion that the management is docking their staff the 3.5% credit card fees. Those fees are a part of doing business, if you are going to accept credit cards. In essence, it's like taking any other business cost out of an employee's paycheck. "Here's your check, we've deducted rent, utilities and product costs."

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 1:38 pm

Marcia (Mrs. Pete) wrote: Something that really steams me about this mess is the suggestion that the management is docking their staff the 3.5% credit card fees. Those fees are a part of doing business, if you are going to accept credit cards. In essence, it's like taking any other business cost out of an employee's paycheck. "Here's your check, we've deducted rent, utilities and product costs."

Pete put in to word what I was thinking. That fee is absolutely a cost of doing business for the owner and it is not right to deduct it from a tip.

Connie · Post by **Connie** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 1:42 pm

PA Girl wrote:
Marcia (Mrs. Pete) wrote: Something that really steams me about this mess is the suggestion that the management is docking their staff the 3.5% credit card fees. Those fees are a part of doing business, if you are going to accept credit cards. In essence, it's like taking any other business cost out of an employee's paycheck. "Here's your check, we've deducted rent, utilities and product costs."
Pete put in to word what I was thinking. That fee is absolutely a cost of doing business for the owner and it is not right to deduct it from a tip.

My daughter is a waitress here in PA. This is what's done at her restaurant too. Put it on a credit card, lose part of your tip.

It's always best to leave a cash tip...anywhere.

flip-flop · Post by **flip-flop** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 1:47 pm

As someone who worked most of high school and college in the restaurant biz, these guys are surely giving restaurant management a bad name.

Makes me grateful for my old employer and glad that none of the 4 are on my list of regular haunts while on STJ.

I knew about the taking a percentage of the credit card tips to cover the fees but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought they were taking the ENTIRE credit card tip! That is shameful. If you can't afford to pay your employees and tip them out then you can't afford to be in business and should close until you can pull it together.

The restaurant I worked for was high end and did seasonal business. Summers (boater season) were great, fall and spring were ok, winter was rough. Anyway, we closed every January. We'd have a huge New Year's Eve bash with great tips and then a huge party eating all the left over food and cleaning the place out for January. We'd open back up with a smaller staff for February and March and then back in the full swing of things my April. We all knew the drill, we all knew to plan and budget for the month off and the slow season.

djmom · Post by **djmom** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 1:49 pm

Never knew that about the tips...

Will tip cash in the future!

Personally, I am going to miss Asolare, because EACH AND EVERY time we drive by it on EVERY trip we point it out to our girls and tell them that there is the restaurant we would get to go to if it weren't for them.

It is really fun annoying them.

(Guess that is the next best thing than actually getting to go!)

Marcia (Mrs. Pete) · Post by **Marcia (Mrs. Pete)** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 1:58 pm

Connie wrote: My daughter is a waitress here in PA. This is what's done at her restaurant too. Put it on a credit card, lose part of your tip.

It's always best to leave a cash tip...anywhere.

That is simply wrong, to pull the 3.5% from the server's tip. I understand that businesses accepting credit cards pay the 3.5% merchant fees and if the tab is increased because a tip is added, that is an additional expense to the business. However, if a business has an employee who is tipped generously, for quality service, this should not be seen as a detriment and, the server should not be penalized for the customer's choice to use a credit card.

satobsat · Post by **satobsat** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 2:51 pm

So just to put it in perspective, probably everyone but Cindy & the CEO of the mentioned restaurant group would agree that keeping credit card tips is wrong (if not illeagal). How do you feel about collecting insurance premiums from employees and not forewarding them to the insurer? How about deducting taxes from paychecks but not paying them? How about telling cooks that since they refused to work after they were'nt paid for five weeks, that you closed the restaurant so they are out all of their money? Nice? How about repeatedly telling people without five dollars in their pocket to show up at the office for part of their back pay, only not to be there & when they finnally get a check, to stand in line at the bank & go home with nothing, time after time? How about people who were presented unsigned paychecks asking the CEO to sign them & having them confiscated, but not replaced? Hey Cindy, you talk about the yummy tummy 1/2 price apps at Paridiso, how's your appetite after reading this?

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 3:52 pm

satobsat wrote:How do you feel about collecting insurance premiums from employees and not forewarding them to the insurer? How about deducting taxes from paychecks but not paying them?

I am 99.9% sure both of the above is illegal. The second is a sure fire way to get shut down and have one's assets seized by the IRS.

A long-time (like 60+ year) restaurant in my area is in the same boat, unfortunately quite common in the restaurant industry.

Connie · Post by **Connie** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 3:55 pm

If this is true (which it sounds like it is to me), it's horrible.

So sorry!

STJ_gal · Post by **STJ_gal** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 4:00 pm

Having also been an ex-restaurant employee, this is nothing less than shameful and probably illegal. STJ is too small to do things like this to people and not reap the repercussions. Messing with people's livelyhood is bad karma, but messing with the government and taxes is something that will land you in jail - just ask the guy at the BB.

designbyroe · Post by **designbyroe** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 4:41 pm

I am so sorry for all the employees that are going thru this with the restaurants. I always tip in cash since I had heard from my mom along time ago that is the best so the servers get it right away.
I do hope all that have become unemployed find work soon.

I remember a while back Michael who was the owner of the Balcony started managing all these restaurants or so I hear.
I am not sure if he is involved, I guess the employees or 'Cindy' would know.
I just think it is beyond deplorable for an employer to do this, I honestly can say karma will bite them in the a$$!!

Lulu76 · Post by **Lulu76** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 5:02 pm

Many years ago, my mom worked at a business where they would have to try to outrun the vendors to the bank to get their paychecks cashed before the boss ran out of money.

My mom left that job and went on in her life. Several years later, she got sick and had to take a medical retirement. My mom's only income now is $300 a month or so because when she filed for SSI she found out the guy never paid her share of Social Security to the federal government. He ended up getting caught by the IRS for back taxes, but there wasn't anything they could do about her social security.

There are a lot of ramifications here. None good. I feel awful for all of the employees.

As a side note, I always put the tip on my credit card, but I am seriously rethinking that policy after reading this thread.

mit43 · Post by **mit43** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 5:06 pm

No "probably" about it. These are illegal acts. Get a Lawyer!

I feel bad now that I have mentioned in a couple places that we enjoyed our meals at The Balcony. I think we did leave the tip on a Credit Card one time. This was 2 weeks ago which means the server probably didn't get the tip we wanted them to have. Very sad! The "CEO" was there one night and stopped by to chat up my wife. I'm glad I didn't know about this at the time.

I'll never leave a tip on a CC again on the Island.

Carolyn · Post by **Carolyn** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 5:45 pm

The part about servers not getting the entire portion of their tip is not exclusive to the islands. I would just like to suggest that the tip always be issued in cash ANYWHERE! The deduction of 3.5 % (or sometimes even more on certain cards) is becoming more common than you might think. I asked a restaurant owner friend of mine today about this and he said it is happening in the states as they struggle to find more ways to make ends meet in the business. To me it seems 'wrong' for the server to carry any burden of what I believe are operating costs. And for what it's worth my friend does not take that percentage away from his servers, but there is no law against doing so apparently. He told me his servers always get their tips each and every night, even tho what used to be a 60% cash business is now a 90% CC business.

The restaurant biz is suffering in all kinds of ways . Now that the servers on St John are speaking up, it seems obvious of the severe financial issues this particular group is in the midst of. I hope they (the servers!)can find some way to recoup their losses but I fear that they may not at this point.

usvi-on-line