I cannot believe this crap!

I worked at Ryan's Steakhouse/Buffet for a few months during the summer back in 2003. I know, long time ago, but the story is still relevant. All servers were paid at the usual server rate, which was a whopping $2.17/hr plus tips. The idea was that tips would make up for the difference between $2.17 and minimum wage (I think $5.25 at that time). That would've been fine and dandy - if we made decent tips, which we didn't since people paid before they got their food - but at the end of each server's shift, you were required to roll 3 trays of silverware. This usually took on the order of 40 min to an hour. During this time you couldn't serve tables so you couldn't collect tips. Therefore, you were paid less than minimum wage for doing a minimum wage job.

I was less than satisfied with this fact of the job so I wrote a polite letter to the managers asking them to change the pay rate to minimum wage while servers were rolling silverware. Frontline workers and dish washers were all paid minimum wage when they weren't serving so to me, it only made sense. Within two days of them receiving my letter we had a powwow among all the employees working that evening shift. The managers on duty said, in no uncertain terms, that they "appreciated the feedback but would not change the way we do things." They made the point that every server had to roll silverware so it was a fair system.

Another month or two goes by and I start a new semester of college so I quit serving. About a year later, I get a letter in the mail saying Ryan's had been sued in a class action lawsuit over, *gasp*, not paying their employees minimum wage while doing minimum wage work. I think I got like $40 out of the deal, but Ryan's had a huge financial hit having to pay out millions of dollars to their employees for back pay.

To this day, I simply shake my head and think to myself, if only they had listened to me when they had the chance. I could've saved them millions.

As it is, they decided to be a typical capitalistic company and tried to rip off their employees. It came back and bit them in the ass.

Maybe you should look into this history and present it to your higher ups at Subway. I'm sure if given the opportunity, any corporate minded individual would prefer to avoid a class action suit.

Even Wal-mart has lost a lawsuit over "requiring" employees to work off the clock. If the biggest company in the darn world can't get by with it I don't see how Subway can either.

Ah, forgot about this post.

Fun fact related to my last post: Ryan's is now closed. Everywhere I think, but definitely all the places around here in Arkansas. Wonder if it was related to the lawsuit?

Originally Posted by Chance

Ah, forgot about this post.

Fun fact related to my last post: Ryan's is now closed. Everywhere I think, but definitely all the places around here in Arkansas. Wonder if it was related to the lawsuit?

No, they're still alive and well in Georgia, plus they have different names in different states. In California they're called "Home town buffet"

I do understand the frustration though. I am a server in Pine Mountain Georgia, where the starting pay is 2.13 an hour plus tips. Most of us make a decent living but there are those shifts that don't see much business. Those girls can report their tips to the restaurant owner's and the difference will be payed to them on their paychecks.