To think waiting staff should not have to pay for walk outs.

[PumpkinPie2016]

This has been in the news lately that waiting staff are frequently being made to pay the bill if customers walk out without paying.

When I was waitressing, one place did not have this policy but the second place I worked did. Thankfully, I never had any walk outs but other colleagues did and had to pay. Problem is, it really wasn't their fault.

We had around 20 tables to look after, multiple entrances which couldn't been seen from all points of the restaurant plus the usual going in/out of the kitchen, getting drinks from behind the bar. This made it massively difficult.

Personally, and maybe I am being unreasonable, I think it's appalling making waiting staff who are not well paid as it is pay for dishonest customers who up and leave without paying. Restaurants should have insurance to cover this sort of thing surely?

I didn't even know that was/is a thing! It's disgraceful that a company would make an employee pay for someone else's dick move.
I truly feel for all of those waitstaff that have had to lose money because of rude idiots!!!

This is worse than the problem of them not getting the tips. I've been a waitress but never heard of this. I'm appalled that any employer could justify this. I'm trying to think of a comparison in another profession but I'm baffled.

It’s awful practice. And in the recent Wahaca drama they said they only do it if there is thought to be misconduct involved, but if that’s the case they should treat it as a performance issue and act accordingly - not charge them.

I think that restaurants should be able to take a credit card, either physically or by blocking an amount as hotels do, if no credit card then a substantial cash deposit.

I think it’s appalling! The waiting staff can’t watch everywhere and it’s hardly their fault!

its not the waiting staff's fault if the customer does a runner, thats like blaming a cashier for pinching a bottle of wine

Thankfully I work for a chain where we don't make people pay for walkouts. Although I will say there are instances where servers have been so shit they genuinely haven't been attentive enough to notice someone's gone/underpaid for ages. It's frustrating but I've then followed a disciplinary procedure instead though, as is the right thing to do with performance issues. Making people pay just puts your team on edge.

I'd love a list of chain restaurants that treat their waiting staff well, don't take their tips and make them pay for walkouts.

I really liked Wahaca too, they have been excellent with ds's allergies.

Thankfully where I work hasn't done this, though I've had the business keep all tips in one place to cover 'breakages' - everyone's tips, regardless of if you ever broke anything, and it covered all breakages, and I'd say at least half are customers when it comes to glasses and cups at least. Another place used to charge the people who were on the till any amount it was down between them, and like hell did we get any amount the till was up though!
It's sad that I'm not surprised by this having been in the industry a long time, even though I've not experienced it personally. It's symptomatic of this trend of businesses passing their costs onto their staff, and refusing to acknowledge they employ humans and not robots. Zero hours contracts are another way, staff are sent home after a couple of hours or cancelled, if it's quiet, so the staff take the hit of fluctuating business rather than the owners. Seems it's getting more and more common that these types of costs, which you'd expect the business to support, being passed on to the staff.