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Cocktail Waitress question

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by DOUBLE B, Sep 20, 2013.

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  1. DOUBLE B

    DOUBLE B Tourist

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    I have always wondered if cocktail waitress have to pay for the drinks they serve or does the casino freely give them the (alcohol) drinks and waitress keep all the tips? A little quick math and I can see a cocktail waitress making up to 6 figures a year if they don't have to share their tips or pay the house for the drinks. So, what is the relationship between the waitress and casino and alcohol.
     
  2. FXT

    FXT VIP Whale

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    Casino covers the booze and most of the CWs pool tips. They also tip out the bartender at the end of the shift and they do make very good money.
     
  3. Motorhead

    Motorhead Low-Roller

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    I recall a Vegas CW blog I read - she said it depends on the casino. Some charge the CW a fixed amount per drink while others charge them per hour for the bartenders service.
     
  4. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    I can only speak for the casino (MSS) I am most familiar with. All the drinks are rung up by the bartenders but the CW doesn't pay. At the end of their shift, they tip out the bartender.
    They do NOT pool their tips. What they make is theirs.
     
  5. DonD

    DonD VIP Whale

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    I agree Joe, that's the only way I've ever seen it.
     
  6. Someone

    Someone High-Roller

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    this is incorrect for the free drinks offered on the casino floor it is not a server paying per drink or paying for the bartender to the casino it is how the IRS calculates what a server should be claiming for tax purposes

    http://cocktaildoll.com/tippingtips.htm

    explained at the bottom of the above link......it is a similar system for a waitress in a restaurant they have 8% of their total food sales calculated as income by the IRS for tax purposes which is why it is at least 15% for a tip.......you are covering the 8% the IRS taxes automatically and the 7% is because the vast majority of waitstaff makes $2.31 per hour

    as explained in the above link if you are ordering a drink where you are paying for a drink like sitting by the pool then yes the server is "charged" for that drink against her "account" for the price of that drink and when you pay for that drink she pools the money and then settles out at the end of the night or some places they may even pay up front and this is pretty standard even outside of Vegas and in all large clubs to prevent the service staff from just ordering drinks and handing them out for free to get a bigger tip or selling them and keeping the cash

    also as she explains some places do "tip out" to bartenders and bar backs and some places do not and she tips out to her bartenders even when she does not have to so that she gets the best service immediately from them every time....I don't think anywhere would last if the servers pooled tips

    20% is a pretty big tip out of total tips I would say most places where tipping out is required for either bartenders (or some places busboys and bartenders) it is usually 1% to 1.5% of total sales (which is a little under 15%)

    and outside of Vegas tipping out to bartenders and busboys is pretty common and when I bussed tables long ago it was well known who earned the best tips and more importantly who "prebussed" their tables the best instead of leaving every single dish and drink glass on the table and those that prebussed very frequently found their tables cleaned before others especially when extremely busy and I can recall a specific time when one serial non-prebusser had 4-5 tables that were a wreck and the manager was helping us bus and I headed towards one of hers to get her at least one clean table open and he looked up and mouthed "fuck her lets get these" and we went and cleaned 4-5 other tables for a couple of waitresses that only had a few mugs and some plates and knocked them out really quickly and they each got a double or even triple seating (which they liked and could handle) while the other got nothing for 10-15 minutes

    so if you order a drink you have to pay for and disappear you have stiffed that server or sent them the hassle of getting management to take it off their tab

    if you stiff a cocktail waitress even on a free drink they have paid the IRS a small amount to serve you and possibly another small amount to the bartender to serve you and if you stiff a waitress in a restaurant they have paid the IRS 8% of your bill to serve you and probably another 1%-1.5% to the bartender and bussers to serve you.....so less than 10% and they have lost money serving you not to mention the $2.31 per hour they make
     
  7. C0usineddie

    C0usineddie VIP Whale

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    I dont concern myself with how much money someone does or does not make. i tip for the drinks to be served promptly.

    If a bigger tip accomplishes this then thats what i do.
     
  8. sweetcanadian

    sweetcanadian High-Roller

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    This is a good post. im from canada where the waitstaff make 10.25 an hour or more and service can be lacking in my town. not all places have pos systems so lots don't claim tips as there is no proof.
     
  9. IWannaBeInVegas

    IWannaBeInVegas VIP Whale

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    At the casino I work at, drinks are not free (state law). Basically the server takes the order, goes to a drink well and gets the drink, if it is a mixed drink, she enters it into the computer and the computer actually dispenses the drink, its the casinos way of controlling the alcohol going into drinks. If it is just a beer, she still enters it into the computer but its all bottle form. They deliver the drink to the patron and collect the fee for the drink, and hopefully tip (although a lot of people do not tip Iv noticed). At least 3 times a night she has to settle up her orders with the cage, after everything is settled at the end of the night, she has to take 15% of her tips and they put them into a poll for the bar backs (who work their rears off) and the rest is hers. She tells them how much, if any she wants to claim on her taxes.
     
  10. dankyone

    dankyone VIP Whale

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    Where do people get this idea that the waitress has to pay the house for the drinks?!?
     
  11. merlin

    merlin MIA

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    If you stiff on a free drink the CW is out a small amount that the IRS assumes for a tip(she's not even really out that amount either, just the taxes on the assumed income). Bottom line, is dont feel too bad for the CW when they occasionally get stiffed, it comes with the territory just as people who tip $5 a drink are.
     
  12. Someone

    Someone High-Roller

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    because that is how it works in the vast majority of clubs and pools where you order a drink that you pay for......it is not that way for free drinks on the casino floor, but it is that way for drinks you pay for in clubs, bars and pool areas
     
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