I am hoping you can give my kid some guidance on what to do in this scenario. I've never worked for tips so I can't truly advise them.
Chain pizza/sandwich shop in the state of Virginia. They open a new location, kid applies, goes through the corporate trainers who opened the location. Corporate tells them that front of the house splits all tips as they make $3 less an hour than back of the house and that managers are not paid out tips. They are a counter service and not quite a waitstaff (i.e. like Panera) but their system encourages tips and they have a tip jar.
Second week, a manager busses a table that kid had helped extensively. He pockets the $10 tip. Kid says, uhm, you don't get tips and he replies, “What, do you want to split this?” Then, he opens his wallet and puts it in. She tells him corporate said that because they get paid less than everybody, the tips are theirs.
This week, manager tells them that “from now on, all tips will be split between front of the house and the managers.” She texts the owner and he tells her the manager is correct and “there is a lot of misunderstanding about tips.”
She feels like she is being robbed or that the manager is stealing tips. She actually quite likes her job (kid is wired for customer service) so she doesn't want to quit but you can tell this is weighing her down. The manager really has his hustle on – newly immigrated, buying house and car, works three jobs – and is a cousin to the owner. She feels that by saying anything she is being “greedy” when he is obviously trying really hard to make it and she is a kid who is saving for college.
What says you wise people? How should she advocate for herself?