I was rather pleased to see the suit against Starbucks upheld. In case you haven't read, they have been ordered to pay back 100 million bucks for tips that were illegally distributed to supervisory staff in California. Starbucks is appealing this "outrageous and unjust" decision. All they really had to do before they implemented their tip pooling system was consult a lawyer in the business who would have told them about California's law forbidding managers from collecting service workers' tips. There are ways to avoid the kind of legal hassles that Starbuck's faces, but apparently, they didn't do their homework. I understand why the law is in place. It's to protect the workers. See, if it's up to the supervisor to divvy up the gratuities, and the supervisor gets a cut of it, well, the temptation for fudging numbers would be extreme. I worked at a place where tips were pooled once. I thought it was a great idea until it turned out the manager calculated all the divisions and left us envelopes with our share the next day. There was never any explanation for the calculations. It turned out that the manager's cocaine habit came directly from our tips, skimmed off the top of each evening's take.
Starbuck's needs to pay its supervisors enough so that they don't need to be subsidized by the tips for the grunt workers, er, barristas. This kind of stuff happens all the time in small outfits and ma and pa restaurant businesses. But when you've got 2400 cafes in one state (one per 12000 residents) you should probably ensure that your labor practices don't contravene the law.
26 comments:
I too saw that news article yesterday and cheered that justice does get doled out properly once in a while. In an ideal world, people wold buy an overpriced cup of coffee from an operation that payed their staff at all levels enough that tips weren't expected, nor needed. Oddly enough, it seems to be the big chains that treat their staff the most contemptuous. Hope I'm always a little guy in the scheme of things.
-C
There isn't any Starbucks in my small town but we do have a coffee shop with gourmet coffee. It also has a super cute Barrista. I enjoy talking to him when he's not too busy. He is 22 and is attending engineering college. He has blond hair and a mohawk a great smile and eyes as blue as the ocean. Alas, if only I was younger. Uh..what were we talking about? Ed
Sounds like a typical upper-management attempt at raping the lower-echelon workers. Good for California for upholding the suit.
"...It's to protect the workers...."
Sadly, there's not a whole lot of that happening these days!
Only one per 12000. That's why they're so crowded.
I worked for Starbucks a few years ago and found their tipping system to be unfair and awkward. The company really pays low wages and makes a big deal about the tips; sadly the tips rarely compensated for the just-above-minimum-wage checks.
I loathe Starbucks. The corporateness, the location on every corner and most importantly, the (burnt) taste of the coffee.
And I know this will get me booed, but sometimes I really get tired of all the places that pop up with tip jars. There was one at the dry cleaners the other day. Is the cashier at the grocery store next? She did take my coupons, afterall. It just seems a bit ridiculous after a while. Okay, let the booing begin.
Shit. I have a completed application for Starbucks in my desk. I didn't know the pay was so bad and had no idea that there was tip manipulation. I've never worked anywhere where pooling was a standard except on holidays when we tag-teamed tables.
As a sandwich-maker, I had a tip jar, and I was always amazed at the amount of tips the coffee bar made as opposed to me, hand-crafting actual meals.
Oh, well.
I hate coffee and only use them for the internet connection if I can't find one somewhere else for free. Even then, I order tea. The whole place creeps me out.
PFfft, welcome George Bush's America. That's where the little guy gets screwed so the higherups can get better off.
Happens all the time. This is just one example.
Damn, I wish I could move to Canada...
HUGS...
I'm with Patricia, McCoffee = mediocrity. Burnt coffee and stale pastries. Grim. And now stealing from their "Partners".
"Contravene"??? Wow. That gave me half a hard-on.
I loathe Starbucks overly roasted, bitter coffee and have never been to the one here. I'm with Patricia, no boo from me! I ignore all tip jars. I do tip, but only for good table service, and that I do personally with cash. I don't trust those automatic add-on to the bill from my debit card. I always wonder if the the person will actually receive it. I don't believe in pooled tips under any circumstances.
Ed must be living in the only town in the U.S. to have avoided the Starbucks blitz.
Yeah, I'll continue to heap on the hate for Starbucks. I am tired of people's preferences for consistency and familiarity benefiting chains like Starbucks. Where is the love of the local?
I also think that SB shows that it is evil by both taking the tips for management and also paying such a low wage that the customers are expected to make up for it through tipping.
I don't mind the tip jar at Starbucks, but I mind that it's expected to be a significant part of the compensation for the baristas. My usual Starbucks order (quad venti no-whip mocha, only during tax season when I NEED CAFFEINE RIGHT NOW PLEASE) runs just over five bucks, and there's always a line of people in there. Even with overhead, I really can't believe that Starbucks can't afford to pay its employees a modest living wage.
Someone should organize disgruntled coffeeshop workers and find them some seed capital to start workers' collective coffeeshops. I would certainly be more likely to patronize a place if I knew that the workers were getting some profit sharing.
I don't mind tipping for restaurant service. That's how the wait staff is compensated in those establishments, and I know that going in, so I generally add 20% to the bill without hesitation or complaint. But on the occasions when I pay cash at Starbucks and let the change fall into the tip jar, I would think of it as a tiny and very occasional bonus to the barista. I don't want him to be dependent on that for his rent.
Good point. A business as large as Starbucks should have done their homework and consulted a lawyer.
I think tipping has gotten ridiculous. As if $4.00 isn't enough to pay for a coffee beverage, we're expected to tip the person for doing their job? I think restaurants and everyone else should pay their employees fair and decent wages, even if it means raising prices, and stop this tipping non-sense. No one tips me for doing my job well.
Mark :-)
Actually Starbucks is feeling the crunch of the economy too.
And I know our local Starbucks can't be that profitable. They give away half the shit. Well, they don't. But Keyron has this way of getting to know the merchants he does business with and as a result ends up with more free shit. It's fine with me.
We must have about 70 get a freebie cards from there too.
Grrr...Starbucks.
My cappucinos taste better than theirs!
And it isn't like they can't afford to pay them more.
Just like a latte is a guilty pleasure, so is this decision against Starbucks.
I was happy to see the judgement, but I wonder who actually will see the loot.
I keep telling myself that I have to try Starbuck's at least once - just so I can understand all the hype. And when I do, I'll make sure my tip homes in the form of a personal cheque to the barrista.
I don't like Starbucks. The reason is that they burn their coffee. Doesn't anyone else notice this?
I too was cheered when the workers won the suit. I like well-dressed workers.
how much did the attorneys for the plaintiffs win?
I must say I'm lumped in with those other commenter's who don't put money in tip jars. For one they get stolen a lot. Also I only want to tip the person who gave me good service and not the dick who thought I wasn't worth his time. I would make a direct line to the service person and tip them, then it's up to them to pocket it or share.
My verification was "uapoby" which will have me saying "You a po' Boy" all day.
Patricia,
I too don't think much of tip jars. I always try and tip the waitstaff 18-20% at restaurants, but if I order take-out I just don't see it. Who am I tipping? The person who made the sandwich? Then why doesn't my tip at the restaurant go to the cook? But it doesn't, it goes to the waiter/waitress. I don't see why I need to tip a cashier just for ringing up my order.
Oh, and I don't drink coffee. Starbucks. Whatever. Don't care.
Good point.
It sickens me to think of hard-working servers losing their tips to their bosses.
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