I worked at a restaurant for years while growing up. Let me tell you it was awesome and amazing money for a young fellow like myself at the time.
There were few times when someone got up and left without paying for their meal or drinks whether it was an accident or just on purpose. Few managers always made me pay for that loss which ranged from $20-60 sometimes. This is aimed at teens and maybe college students who don't know better. This is ILLEGAL a manager can not force you to pay something that a customer consumed without paying.
So if it happens to you just inform them you aren't required to do that.. Most servers in the industry make $2.13 an hour and rely on tips to make a living. It's fucked up to expect someone to pay something that they had no control over. Job description is to serve the customer not supervise them and chase them demanding a payment.
A place I worked at had what they called a Dine and Dash fund. Each server paid $1 each shift, and the money was used for more than just walk outs. There was a lot of controversy and they told you it was optional yet if you didn't pay into it you weren't a "team player". Finally after 10 years they stopped it but then started it up again shortly after, until someone went to head office, and now it is gone completely. The management was so fucking angry, very hostile about someone going to head office. But that was a long time they were taking money from staff illegally.
People have NO IDEA what it's like being taken advantage of unless it has happened to them, and even then I saw an alarming amount of people just accept that "this is the way it is", even talking themselves into the idea that it's legal, in the face of evidence proving it's not. Also systems in place to protect employees are always systems that rely heavily on the person who has been victimized to do all of the paperwork and due diligence.
That rule about minimum wage and tips is a scam. It’s about the week, so if you work four shifts M, W, F, Sunday for let’s say a total of 26 hours. With a $11 minimum, you need to make $266 for that week at least.
So if your best day, assuming the Friday, you make $170 in tips, you only need to make a total of $96 over those three other shifts and I didn’t even include the tiny hourly wage which would also be included. The one good day, almost always ruins the wage bump up.
Edit: was pointed out my math was wrong lol stupid brain. It would $286 total so you’d need to make $116 the other three shifts total. The premise is still true though.
Thanks guys!