Waffle House Denies Waitress $1,000 Tip

Waffle House Denies Waitress $1,000 Tip

The Huffington Post | By Sara Gates | Posted: 06/10/2014 10:47 am EDT
Excerpts:

"It was Shaina Brown's lucky day.

During a night shift on Mother's Day in North Carolina, the Waffle House waitress received an extraordinary tip from a humble benefactor. The man, who has not been named, wanted to leave $1,000 for Brown, and an additional $500 he wanted her to share with another customer in the Raleigh restaurant, local outlet The News & Observer reports.

So the benevolent patron wrote $1,500 on the tip line on his receipt before leaving. Brown was overjoyed to receive the gift, until she learned that it was not in Waffle House's policy to let her keep such a generous tip.

As Waffle House policy dictates, large tips charged on a credit card are automatically returned to the customer.

In an email to The Huffington Post, Waffle House representative Kelly Thrasher-Bruner wrote:

"When a guest makes a tip of this size, it is our procedure to refund the tip amount and ask the guest to make the tip in either cash or a check. We follow this procedure in the event the customer decides to dispute the credit card charge and ask for a refund for the tip amount at a later date.

In this case, our Management contacted the customer within 24 hours, explained the procedure, and then refunded the tip amount to his account."

Fortunately, the customer found a way around the problem and returned to the Waffle House to write Brown a check for $1,000, WTVD reports.

While Brown will now be able to keep the $1,000 tip, the waitress is criticizing the chain's refund policy.

"It wouldn't be different if the man landed cash on the table, and the manager had snatched it away and said, 'You can't have it!' Brown told the local ABC affiliate. 'It was very humiliating.' "

read:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/...0-tip-shaina-brown_n_5479054.html?ir=Business
.....

IMO: It appears that not only are the waitresses in restaurants forced to share their tips with the busboys, and whoever else the manager decides should take a cut from the waitresses, but the waitresses now, as in the instance of Shaina Brown, are getting screwed out of their tips by the management.

Waitresses work far under the minimum wage and rely on their tips to pay their bills, rent, food and other necessities of life, but when their tips (which are their livelihood) are taken from them by their employers, then working in America is getting really loathsome, arbitrary and punitive.

Shaina Brown did finally receive her $1,000 check from the customer after the manager wrote to him and explained the procedure whereby the waitress could receive the intended tip. Only because the customer was a very moral and ethical person who wanted to give a good tip to a night shift waitress and returned to the restaurant with a new check expressly for the waitress did Shaina Brown get her tip, no thanks to her manager.

In the future I am never going to include the tip with my bill for dining; I will keep extra cash in my purse and give it directly to the waitress, as it belongs to her, not a stupid chain operation that hires people for practically nothing, makes them share their tips, then refuses to pay the waitresses the full tip. Being a Waitress is a harder job than being a billionaire CEO.

 

She got her check ... What's the story kiddo ?

 

THAT TRULY SUCKS! A policy like that in a BAR SETTING, would be 'nobly' understandable, this SUCKS!

 

She got the tip ...lol

 

She got the tip.... sounds somewhat pornographic to me.

 

It sounds to me like the manager followed company policy and made the effort to help the waitress get the tip in the proper manner. After reading the reason behind the policy I think they are doing the waitress a favor by refusing to put that large of a tip on the credit card. What exactly is all the outrage about again?

 

Must be a real slow day at Huffpost.

 

The policy was probably put into place to prevent credit card fraud. In the end though she was able to receive her tip. But thanks for taking a heart warming story of generosity and trying to turn it into a biased hit piece.

 

NO thanks to a 'corporation'. Nice guy to go around her EMPLOYERS to do that!

 

.....

She got her check ONLY because the good Samaritan returned with a check made out to her. It shows how some females work under austere conditions for what the manager decides is best for the business and his monthly quotas while the waitress did all the work, received a large tip, but the manager refused to give it to her. Where is your reading comprehension?

...and don't call me 'kiddo'

 

So she got her tip. What's the problem kiddo?

 

Seems like a very smart policy and she got the tip. Why the outrage?

I can only imagine the outrage if you left a $10.00 tip and $1000.00 was subtracted from your account. Would you accept that fate and pay the tip? Expect the business to pay the tip? Or maybe the credit card company should be on the hook?
Can no one at huffpo think?

 

She got her check kiddo and are you claiming the policy only applies to females ? I'll stop using friendly names when you stop heaving personal attacks .

 

.....

Thanks for your input but actually I was thinking of the article as more of a public service to waitresses over this great nation that have missed out on tips because of managerial protocol/malfeasance, and the possibility where a credit card affords us a luxury, it may be a definite hindrance to a person working for a restaurant chain and working a night shift. My implicit meaning was give the tip in cash so you know the waitress got it before it was split up to pay the busboy's wages. Got it now?

 

That's pretty much what I assumed. Some people would rather be petty and make something out of nothing.

 

The mistake was mine. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

.....

Show me where I "heave personal attacks"...at anyone. I merely defend myself against vultures and egg-killers.
Besides, you know you love me.....

 

No,,, it makes perfect sense.

 

.....

Your apology is accepted, but not without its ramifications...IOW...I try, whenever possible, to give educationally receptive articles that will help others to see their innate humanity toward others, and to get others to just think at all.

Also: that will be: Three Our Fathers and Three Hail Marys and the promise to never misunderstand again.....

 

I don't blame them. First, the cc companies charge the restaurant 2+ percent. If they gave her the full 1k they'd be out the cc charge. If they gave her the cash & the guy did dipute the charge, it would be a hassle getting the money back from her as she may have gone on a shopping spree. Makes sense to me that they did it that way & she got her money anyway....

 

As a licensed reverend(got it online, totally awesome)I hereby forgive myself.

 

......

Online is Satan's Fun Place...better you say the prayers and let me forgive your transgression; that way you can do it again with a slate wiped clean....now THAT is awesome!....

 

Nobody took their cut.

Its a perfectly reasonable SOP to decline large tip amounts on bills paid with credit cards.

And while you go on your "the workers of the world are holy angels" speech you should know that this policy exists because of fraud. Specifically the type of fraud where waiters/waitresses have their friends come in and drop huge tips and then dispute the exorbitant charge later after the waiter/waitress has already been paid out thus leaving the business responsible for covering the amount.

So there isn't some vast conspiracy to steal money from the wait staff, relax.

 

She got her check; I don't understand why you're making it a big deal.

Oh, and cry me a river, build a bridge, and get over it with this "waitress > CEO" nonsense. The CEO was smart enough to work his way up. The waitress is a lazy, uneducated clown that could only land a low-level restaurant job. CEO is a much harder job than a freaking waitress. Why do you think they make the big bucks? They keep the business running in tip-top shape.

People like you are the reason why businesses keep outsourcing. You have excessive sympathy for the employee, and not enough respect for the business that the CEO put together IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Thank God people are waking up and pushing for limited regulation and tax breaks on businesses. Show some respect for the man who made it through hard work, not some cheap waitress that can barely pull off a GED.

 

Good reason never to patronize Waffle House. Idiots.