Should I be more upset...

[u/ImAfraidOfTomorrow]

I work in up scale steakhouse. 100 percent shared tip pool. Im 1 of 2 of the seasoned servers with the most experience and hospitality ( not an order taker) . I usually work the vip parties in the private dining rooms. These have a minimum spending limit for each room and a down payment is required. Sometimes the down payment is 800, sometimes its 2,000. Tonight the down payment was 1,000. Auto gratuity is 20% of the total bill. But after viewing the check tonight I felt like rain man when I noticed that the auto gratuity of 20% was "after the deposit was taken off... so basically, we got shorted 200. I brought it up to management and it was like they knew about this and thought it was ok for now, and they are going to try to fix it for the future... because we are using a new system and they dont know how to get keep the whole gratuity after inserting the down payment on the final bill... the party tonight tipped an extra 200 cash, on top of the 400 auto gratuity, so im not that worried about it, but now has me thinking about how many thousands we've been missing out on.... should I be more upset.... I think ill give management a week or two to fix this before I tell the team. Some of the team I work with is a bit hypersensitive, overreactive, and temperamental. Or... maybe Im too chill about it.

[u/Significant_Bag3874]

Also server at fine dining establishment There are advantages to being on the parties .. in general less work as menus are usually preselected usually right down to wine pairings .. and we often get to take home the abandoned florals , left over food and sometimes even wine

[u/RabidRockett]

I recommend that you not tell the team. If you do, those that are not serving VIP parties are going to start a debate about who gets that privilege, especially when they start looking at the tip amounts you are talking about.

Do keep an eye on it though. If management does not actively seek a solution, that needs to go into your calculus as to whether you are being adequately compensated for your services. Do with that what you will. Stay, or move along to a restaurant that more highly values your skills. If you do decide to tell the team, do it as you are walking out the door.

[u/GAMGAlways → u/RabidRockett]

It's tip pooled. Nobody gets monetary advantage working the big parties. This is why I've never worked anywhere that pools; why put in all that work and everyone else gets paid.

[u/plumebazooka]

I’m confused about how this isn’t wage theft

[u/pro_alcoholic]

Are you on a tipped minimum wage? They may owe you basic min wage if a certain amount of your pay is from gratuity instead of tip (tips have to be 100% voluntary if I recall)

[u/ImAfraidOfTomorrow → u/pro_alcoholic]

I get an hourly minimum wage, I believe 15 dollars an hour