Is my little brother getting screwed by his co-workers?

[Doughbelly]

So years ago, I'm in the US hanging out in Dallas visiting my family while I'm between projects when a friend of mine calls me up due to a confluence of events - wife had given birth, delivery guys had quit or gotten arrested for dealing drugs, cook was sick, etc. So this guy had recently quit the software industry before he bought himself a little Italian takeout and pizza joint in North Dallas so he had this sweet NSX that he'd bought with dotcom money. I always wanted to drive his car, so I thought to myself, "Aha, now is the time."

I was like, "Yeah, I can help out at the restaurant. But only if I get to make deliveries in your car. And I get to keep the tips." So dude hangs up on me. I figured if he was really desperate, he'd call back. Which he did in pretty short order.

I ended up spending about a two weeks deliverating pizza in my buddy's NSX ala the Deliverator from Snow Crash. I'd do all sorts of shit, like leaving the engine running, sprinting back to the car and peeling out after giving dudes their pizza. I'd leave my sunglasses on in the evenings when I'd pull up to the security booth at these gated business park/campuses (Texas Instruments was the biggest and most frequent customer) and when the guard would ask what I was doing there, I'd respond, "Pizza delivery for building XYZ, what time is it?" I'd always ask what time it was to make it seem like that's all I cared about.

I will say this, though. People tip a lot less when you show up in a supercar that looks like a Ferrari at the curb. Apartment deliveries weren't a big deal, but I got stiffed on a lot of house deliveries. You'd see these guys holding their prepared tips back after they spotted the car. It was funny as hell to see the puzzled looks on dudes' faces when they'd look past me to the curb, especially if that was the only car on the street. I spotted a lot of dudes looking out the window or door at me as I'd rev the engine and peel out.

I probably took a couple thousand premature miles off the clutch and tires of that car.

 

[Slobodan]

Great, it would be a nice change. I am visiting for three weeks at the end of the month, Melbourne->Sydney->Goaldcoast->Melbourne is the plan. Is there any other place you'd recommend?

Man I'm the wrong person to ask, I've only ever been as far Canberra lol

 

[Adamant]

My little brother works in the weekends as a pizza-delivery guy. A couple of weeks ago he asked for advice. Apparently after a meeting the manager said that delivery-men could give a small share of their tips for the people who work in the kitchen. He asked me what I would do in his shoes. I said that cooks don´t have to work outside when it´s raining, snowing or hot as fuck. Besides they don´t really "cook" in the pizza place where my bro works, they simply put the ingredients on the pizza which is already done, all they have to do is to arrange the right ingredients and put it in the oven, they don´t even have to look for it because it´s a industrial oven. I said to him that driving entails much more responsibility, he can get hurt really hurt if he gets involved in an accident (they drive scooters so he´s probably getting much more hurt than the another person) and he had to invest money to get a driving license whereas a "cook" didn´t have to invest shit. He said that he agreed with me. So he goes to work like usual and in the and of the day he keeps his tips to himself, he starts to get upset looks from the the shift leads who collect the money and are also cooks. Today the manager was to collect the money (my brother said that he never does this) and when my brother gave the exact sum the manager said: Hmm, don´t forget about the people in the kitchen, they helped you out too! My bro just smirks and says next time.
Do you think he has to give a share of his tips? Or should he say screw it and pretends nothing happened? Was my advice correct?

I went through this bullshit in the past. Essentially, they shame you into tipping, and if you don't you get treated like a piece of shit and everyone turns against you.

Honestly, the best advice I could give would be for you to tell your brother to find a new job. (Unless he wants to start giving up his tip money because other assholes feel entitled) But even if he starts tipping, THEN they're going to be keeping an eye on how much he leaves for a tip and if it's not what they feel is appropriate, they'll give him shit for it. So....

 

[Michaelangelo]

Tell him to keep the tips and look for a new pizza place

 

[lsa]

What is this!?!
No gay sex??

 

[RedRocket44]

I really despise the tipping culture in North America.

As mentioned, there's a pretty good chance the manager is cheap as fuck and/or trying to get the cooks more money without it coming out of the restaurant to impress the owner. The manager is either really shitty and doesn't realize that his "optional" policy just creates problems, or more likely he knows exactly what he's doing and banking on the kitchen staff to make your brothers life miserable, that he quits, and just find another delivery driver, and repeat until he find one that tips.

The service industry has done a really good job at shoving the tipping culture down our throats to get away with paying lower minimum wages and guilt/pass the buck to the customer. I don't see decent restaurants closing down, just ones that offer subpar quality/service and have shitty policies like this. Thank god I've never worked in it, because I've heard some horror stories from friends when it comes to tipping policies, owners taking a cut of tips, forcing the front staff to tip the kitchen, etc, and it getting pretty catty or childish for a lack of a better word - and it look like your brother is halfway down that path. If some drivers are tipping the kitchen the cooks are probably going to make your brother the outcast, maybe even going to make his time there miserable because the manager has now made the kitchen feel entitled to the tips.

 

[thebluerider]

Tipping is one of the most assinine aspects of day to day American living and is one of the things I look forward to the least whenever I go back stateside.

And here is the thing - the American service industry is poorer in quality than in non-tipping cultures.

lol it's really not that big a deal.

 

[cooks1]

My little brother works in the weekends as a pizza-delivery guy. A couple of weeks ago he asked for advice. Apparently after a meeting the manager said that delivery-men could give a small share of their tips for the people who work in the kitchen. He asked me what I would do in his shoes. I said that cooks don´t have to work outside when it´s raining, snowing or hot as fuck. Besides they don´t really "cook" in the pizza place where my bro works, they simply put the ingredients on the pizza which is already done, all they have to do is to arrange the right ingredients and put it in the oven, they don´t even have to look for it because it´s a industrial oven. I said to him that driving entails much more responsibility, he can get hurt really hurt if he gets involved in an accident (they drive scooters so he´s probably getting much more hurt than the another person) and he had to invest money to get a driving license whereas a "cook" didn´t have to invest shit. He said that he agreed with me. So he goes to work like usual and in the and of the day he keeps his tips to himself, he starts to get upset looks from the the shift leads who collect the money and are also cooks. Today the manager was to collect the money (my brother said that he never does this) and when my brother gave the exact sum the manager said: Hmm, don´t forget about the people in the kitchen, they helped you out too! My bro just smirks and says next time.
Do you think he has to give a share of his tips? Or should he say screw it and pretends nothing happened? Was my advice correct?

Both you and your brother are being pretty short sighted.

This is not a new concept. I delivered pizza's in the late 1980's while in HS and college. I always shared some of my tips (without being asked-and I was one of the very few who did) and as a result I made more money than anyone in the joint, probably including the manager.

Let me ask you this? In my pizza joint............

Who delivered the biggest orders (generally bigger tips)
Who got to pick his shifts?
Who was the given the first right of refusal for extra shifts when someone called in sick or we were really busy?
Who delivered the closest by orders? (More trips-more tips)
Who always got the 'ponies'? (Known customers that tip very well)
Who never got sent out with single pies to the far flung regions of our encatchment area?
Who had people literally coming out to my car with the best orders so I did not even have to come back in the place a lot of the time.
Who always went home with plenty of pizza and pop?
Who had other employees bringing me beer and booze they stole from their parents fridge and bar?

In your brothers joint, i bet you dollars to doughnuts the one merrily kicking in the most tips is the one coming out the best, all things considered.

Givers gain my friend, givers gain.

 

[Primitivo]

Both you and your brother are being pretty short sighted.

This is not a new concept. I delivered pizza's in the late 1980's while in HS and college. I always shared some of my tips (without being asked-and I was one of the very few who did) and as a result I made more money than anyone in the joint, probably including the manager.

Let me ask you this? In my pizza joint............

Who delivered the biggest orders (generally bigger tips)
Who delivered the closest by orders? (More trips-more tips)
Who never got sent out with single pies to the far flung regions of our encatchment area?
Who had people literally coming out to my car with the best orders so I did not even have to come back in the place a lot of the time.
Who always went home with plenty of pizza and pop?
Who had other employees bringing me beer and booze they stole from their parents fridge and bar?

In your brothers joint, i bet you dollars to doughnuts the one kicking in the most tips is the one coming out the best, all things considered.

Givers gain my friend, givers gain.

 

[Goonerview]

Sounds like the Reebok deal at a pizza place

 

[cooks1]

LOL- Believe it or not I am an atheist and a filthy capitalist. I was motivated completely by self interest when I did these things. If a different path would have produced better results, I would likely have taken that one, even if it was morally ambiguous.

I believe in physics. And it has been proven in a lab that every action creates a reaction. You can't measure human reactions in the same way you can force reactions in a lab. They are more random and do not always fall upon the person creating the the initial action, be it good or bad. But the theory has been proven nonetheless. Unfortunately no one can insulate themself completely from negative forces. But you can certainly hedge your bets considerably by not throwing them out there.

 

[bufetadanacara]

Finally, a tipping thread.


I can't help but see tips as an extra something special for going above and beyond the call of duty. A tip to me is not a standard fee.

If a place offers free delivery, it is free and being expected to pay for a free service is stupid. If it is raining hard or snowing hard, maybe a few extra bucks. If it is just s standard delivery, there shouldn't be a tip.

Now, if your brother is receiving tips, they are his. The manager is an asshole for even suggesting he share with the kitchen.
I've owned a restaurant before, so I speak from experience. You have to pay the kitchen their own wages. No one wants to share their tips, it only creates animosity.

 

[Primitivo]

LOL- Believe it or not I am an atheist and a filthy capitalist. I was motivated completely by self interest when I did these things. If a different path would have produced better results, I would likely have taken that one, even if it was morally ambiguous.

I believe in physics. And it has been proven in a lab that every action creates a reaction. You can't measure human reactions in the same way you can force reactions in a lab. They are more random and do not always fall upon the person creating the the initial action, be it good or bad. But the theory has been proven nonetheless. Unfortunately no one can insulate themself completely from negative forces. But you can certainly hedge your bets considerably by not throwing them out there.

Even better.

Spoiler

 

[Oblivian]

My only experience at a pizza place was helping a restaurant open a new location back in college. This place had a tip jar in front, which was shared by the cashiers + kitchen staff. The drivers didn't share tips, but the drivers also had to do other work in between orders. So they were helping the back of the house just as much as the back of the house was helping them.

 

[VulcanNervPinch]

Never heard of delivery drivers sharing tips with the staff. (Worked in a pizza place as my first job.)
Inside workers get a regular hourly wage. Drivers generally get jack to nothing, besides their tips.

Manger is creating a fucked up situation, where everyone blames everyone else, except him, for their pay not being higher.


BTW, who the fuck and how the fuck do you deliver pizzas on scooters??

 

[Dolomite]

On the one hand - those people (and I don't mean "those people") could get delivery jobs themselves if they wanted to, amirite?

On the other hand - maybe ask the manager how much HE tips the cooks? Maybe add a quick follow-up question of why he doesn't pay them more?

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

That's fucking ridiculous.
They're trying to strong arm him into giving up tip money to people who don't earn tips?

And I spent plenty of time smacking out pies, had to do all the prep too, including dough by hand.

That's pretty fucking ballsy to demand tip money. I'd keep smiling and saying next time, and when they yell at me that I always say that, I'd tell them "Never! Go! Fuck! Yourselves!"

 

[Organic Damage]

Why would you tip someone for work you did, instead of work they did?

Get a new job.

 

[MoparOrNoCar]

His manager is screwing him, not his coworkers. The manager planted that seed in their minds that he owes them his tips so you really can't blame them for being upset because in their eyes it's the rule if the manager says it. The manager is just being a dick and trying to make them happy by forcing your brother to turn himself into a charity. The dude is a pizza delivery driver and doesn't make shit as it is. If you want tips, then stop cooking the pizza's and start delivering them. Simple as that.

 

[wellz6]

His manager is screwing him, not his coworkers. The manager planted that seed in their minds that he owes them his tips so you really can't blame them for being upset because in their eyes it's the rule if the manager says it. The manager is just being a dick and trying to make them happy by forcing your brother to turn himself into a charity. The dude is a pizza delivery driver and doesn't make shit as it is. If you want tips, then stop cooking the pizza's and start delivering them. Simple as that.

This