Little more St. John restaurant news

Pete (Mr. Marcia) · Post by **Pete (Mr. Marcia)** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:00 pm

Oh Cindy, I feel so deceived.

sugarshack · Post by **sugarshack** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:32 am

wow cindy in Pee A looks like your CEO has been giving you some rum laced information. what you got to say about all those disgruntled employess or do you still stand by your ceo? looks like you have a onesided inside scoop.

mindehankins · Post by **mindehankins** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 7:25 am

Wow, that is so damned sad. I really don't believe that Cindy knew she was defending a crook. I feel bad for her, too, for being in the middle of this.
Will be sure to tip ALL servers better than usual, this trip!

iamyourserver · Post by **iamyourserver** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:18 am

The sad thing is - they are not only owed shift pay. The company owes many of us TIPS! What's even more ironic is, not only have we been giving them an interest free loan, but they CHARGE US 3.5% on our credit card tips! And lately when we do get checks - the bounce, or the bank wont honor them due to a variety of reasons...Oh an by the way Sat is supposed to be payday - but we were told we wont be paid because they have to pay rent. Sorry Cindy - he has been lying to you.

Cindy in pa · Post by **Cindy in pa** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:19 am

You can all moan and speculate if you want. Why don't you just wait till slow season is over.
Why is this such a hot topic? It is no different than any of the other struggling restaurants out there?
Are all of your jobs just rosy pink right now?

For the record, I am not hiding under a rock or being lied to - I just know the facts.
If you don't believe me call the Balcony and ask for management. If unavailable - because they are very busy - then LEAVE A MESSAGE.
There have been no messages left there. No one from any paper or web site has called or left a message for management.
The phones are answered long before email is answered.
So if you want to talk about this then spend the time and effort to call and talk.
They will be happy to talk to you.

iamyourserver · Post by **iamyourserver** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:43 am

Right -or you can actually ask the staff - you know, the one's who actually will tell you the truth, they would be morrrrre than happy to tell you exactly how much they are owed. Oh, and while your at it...ask them why not one of our restaurants opened on Monday night. NO STAFF and NO FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD.

Pete (Mr. Marcia) · Post by **Pete (Mr. Marcia)** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:57 am

If you know all the facts, Cindy, what about the allegation that employees are owed back wages and tips? Is it true or not?

sugarshack · Post by **sugarshack** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:27 am

wow cindy in PEE A WAIT UNTIL THE SLOW SEASON IS OVER is your answer. brilliant. is that what they should tell their banker/landlord/grocerystore/gas station/lightbill/internet provider/and most of all CHILDREN. wow kids I'll feed you as soon as the slow season is over. REALLY.
so the balcony is the new office for integrated assets? Because the kind lady working at the office gave me your ceo's personal number because he would NEVER answer my calls..oops he owes me money could that be why he doesnt return calls? as far as the balcony is concerned they are not even open in the days because their employees wont work for FREE like you would. perhaps you should come down and work for free since you are not being lied to.

satobsat · Post by **satobsat** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:31 am

I agree with Cindy on this. This is no different than any other stuggling local restaurant, except for the mass FELONY CHECK FRAUD & CRIMINAL TAX LIABILITY.
These guys have nothing on Bernie Madoff & I suspect that they may be spending their days in a similar fashion sooner than you think.

islandmom · Post by **islandmom** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 11:20 am

I'm a new forumite, but have thoroughly enjoyed this forum in hiding. My daughter decided to live her dream and move to St. John early this year. I visited and fell in love with the island. I've been wanting to join to give my insight both as a guest and relative of a "local."

On this topic, I can vouch for Iamyourserver and Satobsat, as my daugher is also an ex-employee of this restaurant chain. She loved her job but was not getting paid or, when she did get a paycheck, the bank teller would laugh when she went to cash it (and this was back in June). She told me the same story about the chefs walking out and also about suppliers not getting paid and refusing to supply their products. I was shocked to read the even more egregious actions by management. I wish the best for all the employees.

Another small thing, and, believe me, I understand wanting to save money on vacation, but when I read about bringing coolers full of food or shipping dry food items, I like to think that part of being a good visitor is supporting the local economy - the local grocery stores, veggie/fruit stands,and, yes, restaurants. End of sermon...love the forum and can't wait to post a ticker for my next visit.

chicagoans · Post by **chicagoans** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 11:46 am

Cindy in pa wrote:You can all moan and speculate if you want. Why don't you just wait till slow season is over.

Cindy I'm going to give you the benefit of a doubt and assume that you mean customers should wait to see if the restaurants are still/back in business after slow season. I'm so hopeful you don't mean that the employees should be expected to wait until then to receive their pay. How many people, especially in this economy and in a modestly paying job, can go without pay for weeks or even months on end?

To the employees: I always assumed that the tip I leave goes straight into the waitperson's pocket. It sounds like that's not the case and the staff has to turn over their tips to management? Maybe I'll start leaving tips in cash even when I pay the bill using a credit card. Would that help?

Xislandgirl · Post by **Xislandgirl** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 11:55 am

chicagoans wrote:To the employees: I always assumed that the tip I leave goes straight into the waitperson's pocket. It sounds like that's not the case and the staff has to turn over their tips to management? Maybe I'll start leaving tips in cash even when I pay the bill using a credit card. Would that help?

If you leave your tip on a CC, the restaurant will have to pay it out to the server in cash at the end of the night. If all of the customers paid on a CC, then there is little to no cash and if the restaurant is in financial trouble, your server will not see that money. It has happened to me, I had to wait weeks for my tips in one case, but I was never completely stiffed for it.

When on island, I always try and tip in cash. It just ensures that the server will get the money.

Carolyn · Post by **Carolyn** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:01 pm

chicagoans wrote:
To the employees: I always assumed that the tip I leave goes straight into the waitperson's pocket. It sounds like that's not the case and the staff has to turn over their tips to management? Maybe I'll start leaving tips in cash even when I pay the bill using a credit card. Would that help?

I have never been a server on St John but I can answer that question as a former server in the states. When a tip is left on a CC, you must get the cash from the "house". Sounds like these restaurants are not getting that tip to the due servers. To this day when I use a CC for paying a restaurant bill, I ALWAYS leave the tip in cash.

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:18 pm

Xislandgirl wrote:
chicagoans wrote:To the employees: I always assumed that the tip I leave goes straight into the waitperson's pocket. It sounds like that's not the case and the staff has to turn over their tips to management? Maybe I'll start leaving tips in cash even when I pay the bill using a credit card. Would that help?
If you leave your tip on a CC, the restaurant will have to pay it out to the server in cash at the end of the night. If all of the customers paid on a CC, then there is little to no cash and if the restaurant is in financial trouble, your server will not see that money. It has happened to me, I had to wait weeks for my tips in one case, but I was never completely stiffed for it.

When on island, I always try and tip in cash. It just ensures that the server will get the money.

I just learned something new. From now on, I will be tipping in cash.

If checking accounts are in the negative I assume any merchant service/credit card payments into the account are being keep by the bank to cover bankd fees first and outstanding checks second. That is a hard hole to crawl out of.

liamsaunt · Post by **liamsaunt** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:35 pm

Cindy in PA, it is a hot topic because many people, myself included, would not wish to support an establishment that is witholding wages to its employees. I know that restaurants operate on a thin margin, but you can't hold staff pay back to compensate. It's not like the waiters and cooks have an ownership stake in the business.

And holding tips back is just so incredibly wrong. John and I left a hefty tip for our waitress at Asolare in June because she did a nice job, it was our last night of vacation, and we were feeling generous and in a good mood. Now I read that she probably never got the money. Nice.

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Little more St. John restaurant news