Hey all,
I am a server at a restaurant and I have been working as a food runner. Last Wednesday I had a training shift for a server and last Saturday I worked a 50 person party that was a catered event with an open bar at our restaurant. I crushed it. I served and bartended all throughout college, so I’ve got tons of experience. Today I was on the schedule to do a training shift. I started talking to a coworker, and she encouraged me to go ahead and clock in as a server and TELL the manager that I was going to do so and that I wanted my full tips. If I had clocked in for a training shift I would have made about half as much tonight. I’m glad that my coworker encouraged me to stand up for myself.
I clocked in, walked over to the manager and told her that I have experience, I’ve trained in this restaurant, and I’ve been successful serving on my own and that I wanted my full tip out. She looked absolutely stunned. She pretends to be quirky and light hearted most of the time so that she can keep things less tense, but I simply told her what I had done and what I wanted. I felt so powerful, and made a shitload of money tonight.
Fuck the bosses, we gotta support each other.