A
female
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:I'm a restaurant server and our manager just sent out a ridiculous memo. We have to wear costumes for the week of Halloween or we do not get our tips. I feel this is unethical and illegal. I also learned that if we order through the catalog he provided, he gets portion of the sales. Ridiculous! Of course, I along with some of my co-workers are not going to buy costumes from him. My friends have turned this into a joke. We have considered applying very scary realistic makeup, that would scare our young customers and annoy the parents. But that would take too much effort. What kind of costumes or looks would you recommend? I know the manager wants to see the ladies in sexy costumes but of course we are not going to give him that! Any silly "revengeful" ideas? Thanks!
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female
reader, So_Very_Confused +, writes (22 October 2013):
 i don't think he mandated sexy I think you interpret he would PREFER sexy... bfd what he would prefer
I love the idea of a cats.... or something cute and childish like a rag doll or something. also do not order from his catalog. that's also not required.\
by all means I would dress up and keep it family oriented.
also no he cannot keep your tips that's illegal.
A
male
reader, CMMP +, writes (21 October 2013):
In some states it's illegal to make employees pay for uniforms that they can't wear on the street. Also he can't legally take YOUR tips which you EARNED. They are not a gift from him, they are your money and he's the middleman.
If you don't like the guy and want to make things difficult, look up the rules in your state.
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A
male
reader, Sageoldguy1465 +, writes (21 October 2013):
 He can't keep your tips from you. Remind him that THAT will get him strung-up in front of the fair-labor practices people....
Good luck..
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A
female
reader, CindyCares  +, writes (21 October 2013):
 You just shattered one of my illusions :).
I used to live in Manhattan and I loved how on Halloween most shopclerks ,food servers etc. would wear cat's ears, or little devil's horns,or a witch's hat etc. . NY IS a place of collective rituals and collective celebrations ( from fashion's week, to St,Patrick's Day to the Puertorican parade etc.etc. ) and I though it was was another nice way to create a sense of community and togethrness in a vey big, diverse place.
Now I know better. All those nice little witches and kittens and whatnot- it had nothing to do with togetherness, or with wanting to make our children happy . It was a custom begrudgingly tolerated ... because of tips, or even for not getting the ax at work. Awww.:(
Ah well. Back to your quandary. No, of course you don't have to order from where your manager suggests, so that he can get his cut. And you don't even have to dress supersexy if this is not your style- plus, if it's just a normal restaurant and not some weird, sexy theme restauranr, it would backfire, I think many customers would be embarased or annoyed : families with children, the" early bird " older folks...
You don't have to go above and beyond the call of duty. You don't even have to scare or disgust your poor customers to take revenge ! revenge for what ? It was not by customer's request that you have to dress up.
I think you can get by with the bare minimum. Go to any drugstore and get yourself one of those headbands with ears , and be a cat or a rabbit or a teddy bear . Or wear a fairy's cone hat, or a princess' rhinestone crown.
You'll look cute, nit rodicolous ; you'll have complied with your manager's request, in the spirit if not in the letter; and you won't have to break your piggybank.
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (21 October 2013): Remember it needs to be family friendly- NOT sexy or scary, that way you're sticking it to the manager in a fun, mature way, and keeping your job lol! Buy some metallic dress fabric, make a LONG silver space skirt, buy some alien antennae, cheap online and think spaceman- Babylon zoo LOL! Or some cat ears...Try something tongue in cheek, like wear high waisted black trousers and a black t- shirt and say you're Simon Cowell... Lol...It needs to be family friendly... Try dressing up as your favourite children's TV character... E.g. gel your hair, wear a suit n bow tie, google DR zitbag lol, go for mad scientist type thing lol...I also like the fairy idea, but carful not to make it sexy. Be creative and don't worry about being a bit goofy! :)Your manager is a jerk and I would definitely research employment regulations regarding this- and anything else that seems out of line, write it down. Cs it probably is. He has no right to bully you into this. Good luck x :)
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A
female
reader, Tisha-1 +, writes (21 October 2013):
 Look like old men, a la Tim Conway's great character on The Carol Burnett Show. Buy some cheap suits and hats at a thrift store like Goodwill, paint on some wrinkles and facial hair, wear old black shoes and shuffle around. Think baggy and saggy, low and slow. You won't be scary to the kids and you will be the opposite of sexy.
And why would you want to scare and annoy your customers? They're the ones leaving the tips. Der.
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A
female
reader, person12345 +, writes (21 October 2013):
 Just go buy some cat eats and a tail, use eyeliner to draw on whiskers, done. I personally don't think this is really THAT unreasonable, just pick something fun and enjoy the change in dress code for a bit.
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A
female
reader, Honeypie + ♥, writes (21 October 2013):
 What kind of restaurant do you work at?
1. He can not MAKE you buy HIS costumes.
2. He CAN make you wear one though. Not sure how he can with hold your tips. If this is a franchise restaurants, I'd call HQ and ask about their policies.
3. "Revengeful" costume idea is petty. Scary make up to scare kids and annoy parents? I'd fire you on the spot.
4. If you don't WANT to wear a "sexy" outfit (which I would find ridiculous anyways at a family restaurant) I would find something comfortable and easy - like a cat costume - wear all black and spend $5 at Walmart for a tail/ears and use an eye liner for whiskers. Or go to the nearest Thrift-store and see if they have any fun costumes for real cheap.
5. Have some fun with this instead of acting like a brat.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (21 October 2013): To require you to wear costumes on Halloween night is not something unussual. I own a store and on Halloween we all dress up. No one finds it un unussual request from me, and no one minds at all. If someone objected, I wouldn't even insist, but of course I wouldn't leave this person without commission. May be he said it as a joke. The fact that he makes commissions on one particular catalog really means nothing. He doesn't demand you to order from there, he just showed it to you as an option. It would be nice if he said the truth that he does makes money if you order from it, and give you a little discount , but he didn't, I don't see how it's such a bad thing to do. Now, you have this little conspiracy going on how to sabotage his business. This I find a bit unethical. It's not going to help your tips either to scare and annoy your customers. Sorry, can't help you on your costumes.
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