I work in a tip pool and there are times I like it, and times I don't. We split the tips based on hours worked, so one huge benefit is that you will never "pay" to serve a table that stiffs you... everyone just misses out on a little more that shift. The flip side to that though, is you don't get to keep those occasional big tips. They feel good, but instead of making your night, you just get a little bump.

We also just balance the cash at the end of the night, and leave without knowing what we made, which I find takes away the feeling of the night being worth the effort when you walk with money in hand. It also makes it so in the back of my mind I wonder if some skimming happens afterwards. We can look at the spreadsheets if we ask, but stuff like that can be manipulated. So as much as I trust the people doing the weekly tip-out accounting, I know that overall people can be very shady.