I don’t know what to think about this at all.
Over the past couple weeks tips have been going missing from regulars, and once I noticed someone leaving cash on the table for another waitress and then it being gone when someone else cleans it. I want to preface that for some reason we don’t have bussers except if we are slammed and servers clean their own tables 90% of the time. I’ll explain three situations when I was working although the other servers have other moments.
As of late, manager has been asking to borrow money and get rides from servers and cooks. Recently a server’s regular who always leaves $20 for her had told me he left her tip as normal, but when she came back from break and went to clean his table it was already taken care of and money gone. At first she thought he either forgot or someone accidentally grabbed it when cleaning up. She asked the other waitress and i if we cleaned it. Our manager had been cleaning some tables at the time but didn’t think anything of it. The waitress asked the manager to watch the cameras as this has been happening lately to see who cleaned the table and the manager claimed that the cameras blacked out during that time. Never happened before but maybe?
Couple days later I was serving my regulars (who gave me a big tip last time they visited) and my manager sent me on break immediately after I gave them their check. They gave their change ($3) to host to give to me and said they left the rest on the table. Host tells me when I get back from break and my table was cleared and no money. Host tells me manager was helping clean. I ask manager about it and she said she didn’t see anything. Other waitress mentioned it was similar to her situation. Left it at that.
Then today similar thing happened, a third waitress had it happen and I told her to go ask the manager as she had cleaned tables again during that time. (I didn’t say it snarky as I didn’t want to discuss about something I have no proof over). Apparently the other waitress with tips coming up missing had passively told the assistant manager “I don’t think I want to work here when I have to worry about the general manager pocketing our tips” and the assistant manager told the manager and they assumed it was me spreading gossip. I suspect that the other server said I started the rumor but I hadn’t.
Basically I was told I didn’t need to finish my last week as they scheduled “more than enough people” so I can go back to college. They added that I can come in if I want but it’s not necessary. They didn’t overschedule from what I saw when I looked before any of this happened but definitely got the message I’m not welcome back. I definitely made a mistake talking about it at all, but at this place stealing food and money was a big problem that occurred on a nearly daily basis, thus I tried to figure out if I needed to be worried. Other server is now scared shitless they’re next. On top of that, we used to get all our money in cash at the end of every night and corporate and management decided that larger tips will be on our paychecks instead.
I’m sorry if this is petty but a the other night two servers physically fought in front parking lot and both kept their jobs and worked the same shift again today. It doesn’t sit right with me that that’s excusable. Of course I’m not defending myself as I should’ve just minded my own business.
Although this was likely my last time working here and I only had a week left, I wish it ended on better terms.
TL;DR
A few waitresses and I began to suspect manager of taking our tips, I ended up getting soft fired because we talked about it.