Shift Drink

If you work in a pooled house and someone gives you a palm tip (ie. they give you cash away from the table to say thanks even though they have tipped 15% or more on the bill), should you be able to keep it?

hell ya, Especially if you work with a bunch of sorry lazy waiters who are constantly bringing you down….

“Palmed” gratuities should always be kept by the recipient. It’s a way the customer says “you gave 110%“ and should be kept by the individual who earned it.

I disagree. A pool house is pool house. Palmed tips sometimes aren’t even earned, often extra given by a regular customer to his favorite waiter. If the other waiters are not up to your speed, get out or bring it to the attention of management.

I dont think its fair to keep these tips.  I bartended for like 6 yrs, and whenever I pooled tips I pooled..
I have been palmed 100$ tips plenty of times, but when you work with honest people its nice when they share with you also.. 
one hand washes the other..

There is also the issue of tipping out. When keeping a palmed tip, do you share it with the bussers, bartenders, runners? Didn’t they help you “earn” this special tip? If you were not in a pool house, and were given an over-the-top tip, would you conceal it and only tip out as if it were, say, 18 or 20%? It all gets too muddy. Maybe there are other waiters in your pool who are holding back palmed tips. And what if the tip is just overly generous? Do you hold back a portion? Do others? A pool house is just that, and you let the chips fall where they may. As this site says, be a person of integrity.

Most of the time a “palm” tip is from someone you know. It should be put in the pool becouse a lot of times at another station, someone will get an extra large tip on a credit card or extra cash in the check holder only becouse they kwow the person and that is expected to go into the pool. It all evens out. Work together.