DUNEDIN, Fla. — The next time you go out to eat in Dunedin, you may notice a new charge on your bill.
If your next meal out is in Dunedin at the Living Room, Sounder Social Room or the Black Pearl, you’ll notice a service charge on your bill.
"The way the program works is there is a 20 percent service charge on every bill and the server takes a flat commission rate of 15 percent," CEO and Co-Founder of The Feinstein Group Zach Feinstein said.
Feinstein manages those restaurants and switched up the pay scale for service staff. "Across the board, everyone is making more money in the front of the house."
What's different for servers is their hourly pay goes from $8 to $1. Plus, there is a 20 percent service charge on every bill. Servers take home 15 percent of that as commission. Five percent goes to the bar and bussers.
Normally servers have to pay them up to 10 percent of their tips but not under this service charge model.
"Now with the new model, they leave with a 15 percent flat commission. They make a dollar an hour. However, they’re earning with commission and additional gratuity and their base rate. They’re earning between $35- $55 an hour," Feinstein said.
Those in the kitchen are earning higher wages. "The dollar an hour wage for the server is how we are able to raise the wages for everyone in the kitchen," Feinstein said.
Feinstein believes this is a way to retain more employees. He said unemployment and turnover are challenges the service industry is facing nationwide. His service solution is on your next check.
Former employees of the Feinstein Group told 10 Tampa Bay they preferred how things were before this new pay scale. They believe the hourly pay is too low.
Feinstein said his current employees are making more money and are happy with the change.