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UPDATE: From the former employees of The Black Pearl.

We would first like to start off by thanking all of our fellow residents, previous patrons, and the other Feinstein employees (past and current) that have showed their support for us. There seems to be some confusion going around about our stance as former employees and the concerns that we are trying to express. All of the former staff would like to clear up some things regarding the new model, our immediate termination, and the pattern of dishonesty from The Feinstein Group. The new model. This model is presented to the patron as a way to increase wages and give a fair wage. This model only requires the restaurant pay the server $1 an hour, rather than the current $7, plus a percentage of commission from the added “service fee” on the bill. Of the automatic 20% charge added to check, only 15% goes back to the server. The other…


We would first like to start off by thanking all of our fellow residents, previous patrons, and the other Feinstein employees (past and current) that have showed their support for us. There seems to be some confusion going around about our stance as former employees and the concerns that we are trying to express. All of the former staff would like to clear up some things regarding the new model, our immediate termination, and the pattern of dishonesty from The Feinstein Group.

The new model.

This model is presented to the patron as a way to increase wages and give a fair wage. This model only requires the restaurant pay the server $1 an hour, rather than the current $7, plus a percentage of commission from the added “service fee” on the bill. Of the automatic 20% charge added to check, only 15% goes back to the server. The other 5% goes to the owner to redistribute amongst other staff to pay for increasing wages. The owners would like to portray this as a way to give all staff fair wage. Unfortunately, this has proven detrimental to the servers and bartenders that worked their for many years. Of their 300+ staff, ask how many servers they have from before the commission model.

This structure allows for owners to control the money coming into the restaurant, in order to reallocate it to cover their operating costs.

September 30th is the date that minimum wage will increase by $1 per hour. This is why the commission model works best for the restaurant. Starting October, servers are to be payed $8 an hour plus their tips. As a commission based employee, the business is only required to spend $1 per hour and then use the “service fee” to ensure you are paid above minimum wage. The restaurant saves $7 an hour on wages AND collects 5% of the service fee to use for their operating cost; including BOH wages, benefits, bonuses, and betterment of the restaurant.

Staff at The Black Pearl of Dunedin made an average of 21-25% in tips per bill plus their hourly wages. This was due to the exceptional service that was provided by a highly qualified staff and the environment the they helped create over a 7+ year period. We took pride in our jobs and it was our goal to make the dining experience the best it could be. Under this new model, if server wages dropped to $1 and tips dropped to 15%, we would be losing a third of our income. It would then be up to guests to pay a significant additional gratuity on top of the 20% added, just to make what we were previously earning.

When the new model was discussed and implemented at The Living Room, we had some concerns based on the response from their former staff and the community. We then asked to have a formal sit down with upper management and the owners to clarify the model and ask questions about our pay. Management assured us we would get what we were asking for and that they would not implement the policy unless everyone was happy with it.

That did not occur and every single front of house staff member that asked about or expressed concern for the new model were fired days later. We were told over phone call, each of us with our own witness, that “it had nothing to do with performance, talent, or ability but that owners had a meeting to evaluate staff and they did not believe we would be a good fit after restructuring to the new model”. They have since tried to claim in has nothing to do with commission and have created a number of other complaints/excuses for separation. The fact that every staff member that questioned the new model was fired would suggest a targeted retaliation.

To clear up staffing questions or misinformation surrounding the Black Pearl. Our restaurant is very small and had cultivated a very tight knit staff, consisting of only six full time front of house and five back of house. All five front of house staff who were fired had previously expressed their concerns over commission. The one who did not still has their job.
Of the five fired, two had been with the company 7+ years, one for roughly 2 years, one for over a year, and one for roughly half a year.

To be clear, our fight is to have our voices heard regarding the questionable pay methods the Feinstein Group is using to cover their own operating cost. You will never hear one of us talk about the food or the chefs, or any of our kitchen staff. In no way are we attempting to smear them or their ability to create amazing food. Our frustration and disdain is targeted specifically at upper management and ownership for their dishonesty, miscommunication, and lack of professionalism and leadership.

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