Question

Review the discussion question and answer below. Do you agree with the answer? why or why not? Give your opinion.

Discussion Question: Please think of a position and propose a strategy to best motivate the employee. For example, you could say that a commission pay structure is the best way to motivate a Real Estate Broker and state why.

Answer: The role of a server is one that requires a lot of work and patience. I am a strong advocate of everyone tipping their servers when they go out but, let us be honest, not everyone does this. That is why I believe a gratuity based structure is one that all restaurants, stadiums, movie theaters and anywhere where servers are employees should start applying. I think this is fair because servers do not get paid by their employers the minimum wage, because they rely mostly on tips from customers. If not everyone tips, then that means that the average hour they spent with that customer has amounted to little pay, even though they took care of any need they had during their time at the establishment. What is a gratuity based pay? Basically, what this is is a small fee charged to every table at the establishment. I do know of some restaurants already using this method for tables of, say, six patrons or more. A small fee is automatically charged to their bill as gratuity. I also know that all suites in a stadium get charged a gratuity fee, although those fees can come out to hundreds or even thousands because, well, stadium prices. I, however, believe that every table should be charged a gratuity fee, regardless of how many people are in one party. This would ensure a fair wage for servers and help them not be disgruntled and unmotivated at the end of a busy night when they see they barely made minimum wage for the day, and sometimes not even that is reached. This would help ensure servers are motivated to provide the best service that they can. This would also help identify the servers that do not achieve greatness and just slack because of the fairer pay method. I know of many servers and ex servers that are very dissatisfied with their positions because of how little the yield of monetary value is. The quick response for non-tippers is the basic "Well do not like the pay, then simply do not become a server." What they do not understand is that for struggling college students and right out of high school students, a lot of other options are not available. Most servers are young people looking to make ends meet, and being hired as a server is not something you need a Bachelor's degree for. Just because the job is easy to attain does not mean that is a breeze to perform. Customers can be very nasty and the physical strain is also there. That is why I believe that gratuity pay for servers is one that all restaurants should adopt. If not, then take out the need for tips and gratuity, adjust your prices and pay your servers a decent wage. I know of some places that leave it up to the servers whether or not they want a decent steady pay or leave it up to tips because, if you are a a good server you are more likely to get better tips. I still think that gratuity based pay is the best way to go.

Answer 1

Here, I think I would partially agree with the suggested answer. To best motivate the employees, we wil have to understand the business and the ongoing challenges which we would like to fix with our strategy and also the practicality of it.

The suggested method of gratuity based pay being aplied to all restaurants, stadiums, movie theaters and anywhere where servers are employees, is a good strategy to help motivate employees. But we need to also account its practical application to the suggested industries like movie theaters etc.

Will it impact the customers as well? How will they percieve it?

What if being able to earn higher tips is a motivational factor for a server?

How will the communication of this new 'gratuity based pay' be done effectively?

And most importantly, how do we ensure that this extra amaount is distrivuted fairly among th servers at a particular level and help boost their morale?

If we are able to address and cater to these areas, then yes, this can be an effective strategy, otherwise it might landup as a choas.

Thanks!