Reading the paper yesterday, Waiters Lose Court Battle over Tips caught my eye. In the UK tips paid via credit card or cheque don't necessarily go to the waiter. The biggest problem I have with this is that the customer is deliberately led to believe that the money is going to the waiter. That's what a tip is.

A follow-up article today quoted the lawyer representing the 4 waiters: Even if the employers are keeping the money [from tips], a lot of waiters are told that, if asked, they must say they get it.

When I was a server we made great tips but I would also cash out to the bar (1.5% of my total bills for the night goes to the bartenders) and the hostesses (1%). So if a table left no tip the server actually loses money. We were also forbidden to talk about tips, it was grounds for being fired. I think because it created animosity between the kitchen staff and the servers.

We would also put about $1 every shift into a pool. If a group dined-and-dashed it was 100% the waiter's responsiblity to pay the bill. The pool was insurance that would cover the bill.