When an employee 'hooks you up' on table time, do you tip them extra?

CreeDo

CreeDo

Fargo Rating 597
Silver Member
I've had this debate with my friends, was curious how AZ sees it. The way they seem to think is:

"this waitress is genuinely my friend and is trying to do something nice for me.
That's why she charged me nothing (or a lot less) in table time. I want to do something nice in return."

The way I see it is:
The waitress is friendly, but that's not the same as being your friend. She's effectively stealing from her employer.
Money that should go the pool hall isn't, and is going into her pocket in the form of an increased tip.
Whether her intent is to 'be nice' or get a bigger tip, doesn't really matter to the boss who is losing money.

I seem to be the only one in our group who doesn't mind paying for table time. I'm not trying to be holier than thou,
there are other situations where I should be paying money but don't. So I don't report the waitress or discourage it because I'd
feel like a hypocrite and I don't want to to spoil the 'deal' my buddies clearly enjoy.

But I don't pay her extra to rob her employer either.
I tip about 20% of my bill so if my table time is lower, so's her tip.
 
I don't reward theft and don't participate in it either.


I think would tell her outright that she will get a bigger tip if the tab is bigger.


.
 
CreeDo said:
She's effectively stealing from her employer.
Money that should go the pool hall isn't, and is going into her pocket in the form of an increased tip.
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She is deffinately stealing and if your friends enjoy the pool hall they might want to make sure the hall turns a profit and stays in business.
 
Disgusting, to say the least ... Outright Stealing from the Owner,
who will eventually go out of business if this practice is not stopped.
 
I have to agree with what everyone else has said, it's not up to her to give table time away or discount it; that's up to the owner from whom she's stealing by doing this.
 
Chopdoc said:
I would tell her outright that she will get a bigger tip if the tab is bigger.
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This makes the most sense to me... give them the chance to do the right thing, and add a little incentive too.

I thought I was going crazy, otherwise rational and honest buddies are saying stuff like "that place is doing just fine, they make their money from the bar anyway, she needs it worse than they do", etc.

I notice that in the places that cater to players, with great equipment, I am always charged full price.



Posted from Azbilliards.com App for Android
 
But in the same aspect. Do y'all drink when y'all are the playing pool? I'm sure they make alot more money on beer and alcohol. And in his case I would drink more if i knew the pool time was gonna be free or dirt cheap. Just my 2 cents. It doesn't cost the pool hall anything for you to play. Regardless if your playin or not they still have the same over head charges
 
It's stealing pure and simple. It's an uphill battle in the bar and restaurant business to outrun the employee theft by giving the customers extra and hoping for more in tips. If an owner doesn't have a good monitoring system he goes broke.
 
I agree. If theft can't be stopped, all other employees will see that and do it too, and the place will never succeed.
 
I had this trouble for 13 years at my place........

CreeDo said:
I've had this debate with my friends, was curious how AZ sees it. The way they seem to think is:

"this waitress is genuinely my friend and is trying to do something nice for me.
That's why she charged me nothing (or a lot less) in table time. I want to do something nice in return."

The way I see it is:
The waitress is friendly, but that's not the same as being your friend. She's effectively stealing from her employer.
Money that should go the pool hall isn't, and is going into her pocket in the form of an increased tip.
Whether her intent is to 'be nice' or get a bigger tip, doesn't really matter to the boss who is losing money.

I seem to be the only one in our group who doesn't mind paying for table time. I'm not trying to be holier than thou,
there are other situations where I should be paying money but don't. So I don't report the waitress or discourage it because I'd
feel like a hypocrite and I don't want to to spoil the 'deal' my buddies clearly enjoy.

But I don't pay her extra to rob her employer either.
I tip about 20% of my bill so if my table time is lower, so's her tip.
Click to expand...

I had a poolhall/bar/nightclub for 13 years.

After about 3 years I would tell the people I hired that they don't give away any drinks. I give away the drinks when I come in. If they give the drinks away and usually get rewarded with bigger tips that is flat out stealing. I made it clear that I knew how this little process worked and it was flat out stealing.

One month I fired everyone except the new girl. The people that worked the weekend each took a case of beer home with them. The new girl didn't want one. they made her take a 12 pack of Coke so she was bad too.

The new person came in the next day but I already knew everything and told her she was the only one that still had a job.

This girl ended up being my bar manager for about 5 years. She really kept a lid on things and the business thrived.

Most of the businesses that go under do so from employee theft. Whether it be money in the pocket or giving away the house for extra tips.

I had one gal would cook a pizza and share it with her friends. It got so she would cook 2 or 3 during the day and do the same thing.

I made a new rule that everyone paid for their food even while they were working. It was kind of funny. A customer came over to get a piece of her pizza and she said no way. I paid for this one. :rolleyes::wink:
 
OoaaronoO said:
But in the same aspect. Do y'all drink when y'all are the playing pool? I'm sure they make alot more money on beer and alcohol. And in his case I would drink more if i knew the pool time was gonna be free or dirt cheap. Just my 2 cents. It doesn't cost the pool hall anything for you to play. Regardless if your playin or not they still have the same over head charges
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The fact of the matter is that it isn't the waitresses decision to make. If you go in there and get hammered and play pool for 6 hours and the owner cuts you a deal, great. They are showing appreciation to a good customer. Likewise if the owner tells their waitresses to do this with their regulars who spend a lot that is great too. If the waitress takes it upon herself to make the decision that is bad all around. Pool halls are not giant money makers. The good ones have to spend a lot on equipment and maintenance, and the profit margin is not very high to begin with. Whether they make a higher % profit on booze is irrelevant. It all factors in to the costs vs sales. The operating profit from both aspects of the business pay the employees, the rent, the utilities, for the booze, and for the equipment and maintenance. After that hopefully there is enough to make a decent living afterwards. A waitress who is giving "deals" all year round can cost thousands of dollars that should be going to the owners already not great living. A lot of poll hall owners have another job as well because the cost of running a pool hall is very high. Jus remember that the owner of the pool hall is providing you with the opportunity to go out and have a good time at their establishment. They should get your respect, and in the end money looong before a theiving waitress.

Wanted to add: sure their overhead is the same but their business model and budget for what they spend is all based off making some money on the pool tables. If all of a sudden everyone played pool for free they would go out of business.
 
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Table time is a fixed perishable product. If there isn't anyone around to purchase it, then you're not recouping fix costs (rent, lights, heating/cooling).

If I was the owner, I would review the circumstances and see if the waitress was exercising good judgement. Was it during a time when the room was historically empty, or when the room is packed with a 2 hour waiting list of paying customers?
 
OoaaronoO said:
But in the same aspect. Do y'all drink when y'all are the playing pool? I'm sure they make alot more money on beer and alcohol. And in his case I would drink more if i knew the pool time was gonna be free or dirt cheap. Just my 2 cents. It doesn't cost the pool hall anything for you to play. Regardless if your playin or not they still have the same over head charges
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In a few of the places I've been to(bars), they would open up the tables for the regular players(league players) when they knew it would generate a much larger tab(drinking all night long). To say that using the tables doesn't cost a pool hall anything, though, is like saying you may as well stay at work another hour for free because you're already there and don't have anything better to do. They also still have to cover wear and tear.
 
Would it make a difference

How many of you have accepted a free drink from a bartender.....Im sure all of you who drink, have, its no difference to accept a free drink than it is to accept free table time. Its still stealing. Some bars have a policy that if you buy 3 drinks the 4th one is on the house. First of all in almost every state in the USA its illegal to give away alcohol without charging.....In the cases where there is a buy 3 get the 4th free, most bartenders give far more that away. It insures a bigger tip...Its still wrong ..It isnt theirs to give away...It doesnt make a difference what they are giving away, table time, drinks, hambergers at Mickey D's orgroceries.....its still wrong.....:) Have a great day, and dont throw things:)
 
I'm curious how many people here are in a hospitality industry. While she may have done this without her Boss' consent, that is not explicitly stated in the OP's post. As someone whose family has been in the bar business a long time, and someone who frequents many bars and poolhalls, I can tell you that a lot of successful establishments have open policies when it comes to rewarding customers. Now maybe this wasn't the case in this instance, but I see a lot of blanket statements.

I receive a lot of free/discounted drinks/pool time, and rather than considering it theft, I believe it to be smart business. A bar is a bar. Why should I come to yours? A free drink here or there builds customer loyalty. Except in situations where there is abuse, people generally don't feel entitled to something extra, so when they receive it, they usually feel appreciative and are more likely to bond with the establishment and return more frequently and spend more money.

Places understand who the spenders are and who the leechers are. Likewise, they also understand the valuable clientele from the caustic. Allowing your staff to x amount of freebies per night is a great way for clients to spend more money in your bars, reward patronage, and help employees build rapport. Some places don't need more customers make a killing just because of location or lack of competition, but for most places they need to keep you coming back.
 
Generally when I recieve freebies, it is from the owners of the pool halls I visit and in those cases I leave a substantially larger tip. I don't think I would accept a freebie from an employee if the boss didn't know about it.
 
BullBuchanan said:
I'm curious how many people here are in a hospitality industry. While she may have done this without her Boss' consent, that is not explicitly stated in the OP's post. As someone whose family has been in the bar business a long time, and someone who frequents many bars and poolhalls, I can tell you that a lot of successful establishments have open policies when it comes to rewarding customers. Now maybe this wasn't the case in this instance, but I see a lot of blanket statements.

I receive a lot of free/discounted drinks/pool time, and rather than considering it theft, I believe it to be smart business. A bar is a bar. Why should I come to yours? A free drink here or there builds customer loyalty. Except in situations where there is abuse, people generally don't feel entitled to something extra, so when they receive it, they usually feel appreciative and are more likely to bond with the establishment and return more frequently and spend more money.

Places understand who the spenders are and who the leechers are. Likewise, they also understand the valuable clientele from the caustic. Allowing your staff to x amount of freebies per night is a great way for clients to spend more money in your bars, reward patronage, and help employees build rapport. Some places don't need more customers make a killing just because of location or lack of competition, but for most places they need to keep you coming back.
Click to expand...

Best post in the thread.
 
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