Starbucks must pay $100m in tips

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

Last Updated: Friday, 21 March 2008, 09:24 GMT



Starbucks must pay $100m in tips

A US judge has ordered Starbucks to repay its California coffee-makers more than $100m (£50m) in tips that were paid to shift supervisors.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Patricia Cowett said the coffee-makers - "baristas" - were entitled to $86m in back tips, plus interest.

She issued an injunction banning supervisors from sharing future tips.

She said the practice broke a state law barring managers and supervisors from obtaining a share of employee tips.



Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7308233.stm

[saigon68]

1. This will be reversed

[jgraz]

2. Ouch -- that'll buy a few frappucinos.

:rofl:

[ellisonz]

3. C'mon appelate courts.

[bahrbearian]

4. How could a company allow that..

Having a person who has the right to hire and fire, allowed into the tip jar?

[ellisonz]

5. Stupidity and Greed.

[Dr.Phool]

6. It's called pay them with someone else's money.

[smoogatz]

35. Yep.

Exactomundo.

[ContraBass Black]

12. Do the supervisors work the bar too?

If so, their work also contributes to the tips received.

[Speciesamused]

32. Happens all across the country..Commissions too.

I was a wine consultant here in Fl for 8 years.
When the economy started failing the company
gave all managers and assistant managers
a percentage of our commissions alot of us quit.
I also believe it will be reversed as many companys
are doing it across the country. Our
third world labor market at work. Peace

[nebula]

40. To be fair,

according to a friend of mine who used to work at Starbucks, the money in the top jar gets distributed equally to everyone on the shift.

Since the shift supervisor does the same work, taking orders and serving coffee, it makes sense that they receive a share of the tips.

[OKthatsIT]

45. Then pay the 'servers' the same pay as the supervisors.

[nebula]

46. The supes don't make much more than the workers

they do however, perform more duties than the workers and are paid accordingly.

[nebula]

47. Poorly written, biased article

it makes it sound like only the supes get the tips, and fails to point out that supes perform the same duties as employees, in addition to their own.

There are plenty of reasons to criticize Starbucks, such as the bitter crap tasting coffee, but this tip business isn't one of them.

[LostinVA]

51. Shift supervisors do not have the right to hire and fire

They are not managers. They are just baristas with a little bit extra responsibility. They don't even work as "shift supervisors" for every shift they're on.

[Slagathor]

7. Who tips at Starbucks?

okay. so you poured me a cup of mediocre coffee and charged me three bucks. here's an extra 50 cents? no way. I only tip at real restaurants.

[Clear Blue Sky]

9. Agree. Tips are usually the change given, often a few pennies.

[blogslut]

11. Do you tip your bartender?

All they did was pour you a drink...

[Slagathor]

13. I don't go to bars

I usually don't tip anyone other than an actual waitperson and only then if they've gone out of their way.

[blogslut]

16. I bet you get wonderful service

:)

[Slagathor]

22. Indeed I do

in proper restaurants--ones that I frequent--I tip 20%.

[blogslut]

23. Have you ever worked in a service industry?

?

EDIT ADD: your previous comment belies your truth;

"I usually don't tip anyone other than an actual waitperson and only then if they've gone out of their way."

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[blogslut]

25. Ahhh, the old rivalry

The kitchen staff vs the front of the house.

I see. It all makes sense now.

[Slagathor]

27. How many waiters have had pots thrown at their heads?

Now, that would improve service.

[blogslut]

29. I've had many a chef yell at me

That's what chefs and cooks do. It's hot in kitchens. I always made a point to buy drinks for chefs as well as be as nice as possible to anyone in the kitchen. I've worked as busperson too, ya know. Or are buspeople not "kitchen staff"?

But there's my point. Both jobs are hard. You wouldn't know this because you were back in that kitchen. Cooks and chefs don't have to be nice. In fact, some of them can be downright jerks. They think the waitstaff have it easy and quite often they take their resentment out on us by witholding orders, which, in turn, affects our tips.

A waitperson has to be nice to customers and those that work in the kitchen. You think being nice, no matter how you're treated is easy? Try it sometime.

[libnnc]

30. I've done back of the house work...

We had the luxury to tell the people we worked with on the line to fuck off and die if they pissed us off.

Wait staff don't have that same luxury with customers. You all have to smile and take crap from total strangers.

It's hard work at both ends of the line. The good thing is, we can all share a drink at the end of the night. :hi:

[blogslut]

33. I once worked for a fellow

..that I believe, had the best training process. If you wanted to work for him, no matter what position, you had to spend a week, working each position in the venue. One day, hostess. Next day, line cook. Third day, dishwasher. Great training for well, any human being.

:hi:

[treestar]

56. That's brilliant

It really helps for people to see what it's like. Sometimes by talking, you can hear what it's like in someone else's shoes, but the actual experience is better. Oftentimes people take offense where they need not - the other person has concerns they aren't aware of.

[nodehopper]

43. I don't know where you worked

but every food industry job I ever had, we had to tip out kitchen staff.

[DiverDave]

44. I've worked both sides of the house

and at some places the back of the house gets tips...a weekly kitty divided among us.
I ALWAYS took care of my cooks, they can save your ass.
I was bussing my tables one night, put a plate down at the dishwasher, he grabbed the prime rib on the plate, when I turned back no one would admit to taking it.
I walked right to the line and told them I needed a slice of prime rib to replace the one I lost.
Boom, I got it and when I explained to the lady that she had a whole piece of rib, she just lost it, screeching that I took it off another plate...well, when the earth didn't swallow me up, I assured her that it was a UNTOUCHED portion...

All those beers and doobies saved my ass...take care of the guys in the back, they'll save your ass.

[Cobalt Violet]

26. You should just stick to take-out an flowbee haircuts then.

[Name removed]

28. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bluenorthwest]

31. There are colorful words

for people at your income level who won't tip a buck to a barista or a counter person. There are no nice ones.

[HereSince1628]

36. 200 dollar haircuts and you are too cheap to buy a DU star????

That's nice.

[LostinVA]

52. I bet you get lots of shitty service -- and deservedly so

"I usually don't tip anyone other than an actual waitperson and only then if they've gone out of their way."

:puke:

People like you should just stay home.

[KansDem]

15. Well, as a former bartender...

I considered myself a "mixologist." I often altered the recipe of a drink to accommodate the customer's wishes. And I was tipped for that consideration.

I also engaged in witty banter with the customer and heard his stories. There were many more requests I was asked to consider that I imagine went way beyond those of a barista.

And I was tipped for those considerations, too.

[blogslut]

18. I got a bartender joke for ya

Q: What's the difference between a bartender and a proctologist?

A: A proctologist only has to look at one asshole at a time.

:hi:

[KansDem]

19. LOL!!!

So true...so true...

[blogslut]

20. ex-waitress here

People who have never been in the service industry have little concept of how hard it is to be nice to people, no matter how awful those people are.

[dipsydoodle]

38. That is a variation of the joke

What's the difference between a gynacologist and a banjo player.

Other than to say the former can only play with one at a time I obviously can't print the answer here as I get slung off DU.

[blogslut]

39. heehee

PM me the punchline :)

[Dr.Phool]

21. Yes, but they pour me many drinks!

[Frank Cannon]

14. Agreed. I never got the whole "over the counter" tip concept.

I don't tip the guy at the hardware store when I ask for a part and he brings it out for me.

Tipping to me has always implied some extra service is delivered to make sure the dining experience is pleasant--like refilling the glasses, checking to make sure no one's choking, cleaning the table, etc.

[Centered]

37. Same

I never understood why the jar was there. I pay for their services by buying the coffee because they were hired to make it. In that atmosphere tips are the exception to the rule for me, did they take "special care" to make it? If so then I would tip. Does the person recognise me and just make my coffee (I always order the same thing everytime) ok I'll tip for that. But if I tip I'm giving my tip to the person. I see a "tip jar" and I assume everyone working that shift gets it.

[whathappened]

48. tips for waiters

if you new what you were talking about , a long time ago our great gov . short changed all the waiters and started taxing them for tips that sometimes they made and other times they did'nt , and most waiters only make small wages + tips to make a paycheck

[Centered]

55. Ummm if you knew what you were talking about

you would know that all income (including tips) is to be reported to the IRS. I am aware that waitstaff are often payed lower wages because the are expected to get tips However that does not change the fact that it is MY decision to tip someone for service which I will (and I do) in circumstances where I feel it is warrented. I listed 2 such circumstances in my post.

btw The government didn't short change waiters by requiring them to report income made from tips paying tax on your income is something all of us have to do. The Cheapskate who hired them and the waiter who agreed to the terms share that blame together and I have nothing to do with it.

Next time to want to respond to my post... respond to it don't try to attack me personally while ignoring what I say in my posts.

As I said if I recieve good service then I will tip the person who took care of me... I would not put a tip in a jar which I assume would be shared by everyone.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

17. people who are generous? i tip if i order a fancy drink. it takes them a while to make it

:shrug:

just because you are stingy with your money, why would you assume we would all be?

[Quantess]

42. Who tips at Starbucks?

Quite obviously, NO ONE, since we're only talking about $100,000,000

[Thor_MN]

8. Who buys coffee at Starbucks?

If I'm going to make the effort to go to a store for an cup of coffee that costs as much as an entire pot, I may as well brew it at home and pour the rest down the drain.

[Quantess]

50. Now that's MY question. I like my home-brewed coffee!

I have been known to set up the coffee pot before bedtime, grind the beans, put it in the filter, fill up the water. Then when the morning alarm goes off, I simply get up and flip the ON switch, then lay in bed until the coffee maker beeps "done".
Yes, I am aware of coffee makers that can be programmed by the clock. Those are pretty cool.

However, since I'm a caffiene addict, I will buy coffee if I wake up somewhere that decent coffee isn't to be had.

[blogslut]

10. good

Management shouldn't receive a share of server's tips , ever.

[harmonicon]

34. I highly doubt these people were management - this whole thing seems a little fishy to me

I don't know what a "shift supervisor" is, but the last retail job I had, I was a "shift leader", and I made all of an extra 75 cents and hour over minimum wage, compared to the one level below me. I had to do the exact same work, but also had to close up shop, open the store, count the tills, etc. I definitely did not get to make the work schedule or have any say in who got hired or fired. If tips had been allowed at that place, I sure as hell would have deserved them just as much as the next guy.

[nebula]

41. The supervisors at Starbucks perform the same work

they serve coffee and take orders, so it makes sense that they receive a share of the tips.

the money in the tip jar is distributed equally to everyone on the shift.

[lakeguy]

49. these aren't real mgmt positions.

alot of people posting here who dont know what they are talking about. it's just a title with a wee bit more responsiblity. you make maybe 50 cents more an hour, do the same work as everyone else but have to start earlier and stay later.

[LostinVA]

53. Shift supervisors aren't management

I agree that management shouldn't recieve a share of the server's tips, but they aren't management.

[happyslug]

54. But by Federal Law such "Managers" do not get Overtime

Under Federal law anyone, EXCEPT A PERSON IN MANAGEMENT, are entitled to time and a half if they work more than 40 hours a week. The exception for "Management" was written to cover people who had duties that included supervision of other workers, but always included "Foremen" i.e. the lowest level of management such as shift supervisions mentioned here.

The problem is the Courts have (Since the passage of the Wagner Act in the early 1930s) have made a point about who can join a Union (Foreman and "Shift Supervisors" can NOT) and who can not. Yes, both Regular Employees and "Shift Supervisors" work together but they are two different positions. Employees get Time and Half, can form Unions, etc, "Shift Supervisors" are Management just like the CEO of Starbucks.

That is the point of the decision, management had duties to the company to "manage" labor. Apparently California has a law forbidding management from TAKING money from employees. Since that is the law employees can share tips BUT MANAGEMENT CAN NOT.