A TikTok user has gone viral after showing just how much waiting staff can actually receive from tips. Watch below to find out:
TikTok user @alexservestea has caught everyone's attention with this video, in which she talks about a message she's received from someone who works in the service industry, breaking down an individual tip.
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As the video shows, the server - who works at Chili's - received roughly $61 (£44) in credit card tips for a shift that yielded over $1,000 (£720) in sales for the restaurant.
Of that $61, a total of $10 (£7) went to the bartender who was working with her, $34 (£24) went to the cooks, $4 (£3) went to the expo, and $12 (£9) went to the food runner.
As a result, the server was left with a meagre $0.91 (£0.66) - despite being the one who picked up the tips in the first place.
As the Washington Post reported in 2017, wage rules that came in during Donald Trump's era as President have allowed employers to control all tips, which has legalised a practice that was previously considered wage theft under law.
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The aim of the new laws was to try and end the disparity between the amount that back-of-house staff (such as chefs) got paid compared to waiting staff - who would typically earn a lower basic wage, but would top it up with the tips they take.
However, with companies now allowed to control where tips go, people like Alex are calling out employers - in this instance, she accuses Chili's of dropping chefs' pay to minimum wage so that their pay packets are topped up by the tips paid to front-of-house, at the cost of the waiters.
Alex concludes the video by saying: "Chili's, I'm sorry but this is abuse to your staff.
"You're making your servers pay your entire staff.
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"People have messaged me that they've been in the negative at the end of their shift, so they have to go to the ATM to pull out money to tip out the f***ing staff. This is bulls***."
Although different states have interpreted the laws in different ways, Alex - who says she has worked at Chili's previously herself - elaborated on the video via BoredPanda and said the trend seemed to be at its worst in the state of California.
She told the publication: "In CA, Chili's dropped the cooks' wages to minimum wage, which at the time was $13 an hour, and started having servers tip them out.
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"3.4% of our sales were going to the cooks. Another 2.1% was going to the rest of the staff; bartender, expo, and food runners.
"It's broken down differently at every location but that's how it was at mine. I had moved from FL [Florida] where tip-out was only 1% to the bar. Not too bad."
It all changed when she transferred to California, she explained: "I was shocked to learn it was 5.5% because the average check at Chili's is $12."
LADbible has reached out to Chili's for comment.
Featured Image Credit: TikTok/alexservestea