Thanks for the catch, Vettegirl. We will correct.

As a customer who regularly tips workers in the service industry, my message to restaurant owners is, get your greedy hands off my tips. If I want my tips shared, I will share them myself. Do you understand?

It's amazing that restaurants are getting away with stealing the tips we customers present their employees. We are not tipping so that the restaurant owner can pay his non-tipped workers less and use the savings to lower his menu prices. We are tipping to increase the earnings of a worker who we wanted to tip.

It's real simple. Get your greedy hands off my tips. As the person who is tipping, I have third party rights which entitle me to insure that the person whom I have tipped receives my tips.

This goes for the judges who are aiding and abetting business owners in stealing the customer's tip. There is no excuse for this.

I worked in restaurant service in high school as a busboy and as a server throughout college in states where waiters were paid $2.13/hour. It was always standard practice for waitstaff to "tip out" other employees such as cooks, bartenders and bussers. It was never enforced by management, but it was definitely a good idea, because as the above restaurant owner notes, a positive dining experience involves the team work of everyone. If you have a pissed off cook for example, everybody starves. And if you didn't take care of your kitchen and bar staff, they didn't take care of you - and you would not last long, because you couldn't take care of your customers. And if you couldn't take care of your customers, you would starve.
Even with being paid $2.13 an hour and with tipping out other staff, a decent waiter still made decent money for what is actually a pretty fun job. An excellent waiter made damn good money.

So the [blocked]ing and moaning from Oregon restaurant servers over this issue really sticks in my craw. Because I find, overall, the quality of restaurant service in Oregon to be pretty appalling.

When I speak of service, I don't mean the quality of food or the atmosphere, I mean the actual person taking your order and serving the food. Poor attitudes, inattention, not knowing the food, general incompetence, and a complete lack of responsibility for the customer's dining experience is something I encounter far too often. Poor attitude is the most common - and really ruins things for me. I guess its just something I really notice because it is a sharp contrast from what I and everyone I worked with learned and practiced in serving food. Because you literally lived on your tips, you left your personal problems at home and focused on the needs of your customer's, and in the process, I learned that it is actually a joy to be cause in a great experience for other people

I don't eat out in restaurants nearly as much as I otherwise would because the service is so often sub-par (IMO). I actually like to tip 20% or more because then I've had a great experience - and the waiter made that happen. And I resent tipping 10% to someone who acts like they're doing me a favor by taking my order and bringing me a couple plates of food - and doesn't give a crap when they get it wrong or forget to bring the beer I ordered. This happens ALOT. And hey, I am really an easy customer to wait on - because I know what it's like. I think more Oregon service workers need to learn how (and what a pleasure it is) to provide a great experience for someone eating at their restaurant, and I'll spend more money eating out and tipping generously. Until that happens, I'll stay home and serve myself.

[caveat: my dining experience is mostly limited to Eugene, and Salem. I have had fewer, but slightly better experiences in Portland]

I'm a professional sever. Twenty years under my belt. I started in restaurants back when service really was good service. I still hold myself to that standard. I've creating a loyal following of clientele and have almost always been the most requested server ever place I've worked. My clients have become like family over the years, and in return always take wonderful care of me.
Now your saying I should pool my tips with the rest of the staff. Whether it be a younger, less experienced team member or the manager? Really the manager. The manager should be compensated by the owner, NOT the server. If you manage a restaurant it's a job you have chosen. Same for cooks. If you want to be like a server, be a server. I don't complain when I watch the Food Network and see dozens upon dozens of famous well paid chefs. They chose that job and worked hard to get there. Name a famous waiter??? Just one?? I choose to be a server and am happy being one, but don't cut into my well deserved money. Host, bidders, runners get there cut. They can also work hard and move up in rank. Tips are not a form of compensation for low salary or minimum positions.
Pooling has created a new lazy selfish generation of both waiters and cooks. A bunch of chiefs and not enough Indians, if you will! As a customer you should be aware of where your tip goes. The owner pays the staff less and drives away in a brand new car.
Here's some food for thought
Servers generally work less hours. Sounds nice! Although working less hours usually makes their position exempt from health care. Not the server pays for their own healthcare. Not cheep!
Almost everyone else other than the server tipped out doesn't have to claim that money. You know taxes. So you tip me, I share that in a pool, but then I have to claim taxes on my sales. Really?? This sounds fair??
You can chose to tip however much you want. I have no choice in the percentage I tip put to each person or department ie BOH, management. More of my money leaving the hands that worked for it.
One last point, I must say I agree that service has declined. I rarely get the same kind of service that I would provide when I go out. That being said, the customer has changed too. Jig your going out in public to eat armed with your yelp reviews and cell phone on the table, take a long hard look in the mirror. Do you understand what it means to be a good dinner???