Blooming, Indiana – Local Bloomington brewery decided to change their business model and move away from tips and create better environment for their employees.
At the end of last month, Switchyard Brewing Company announced they were doing away with tips.
In a social media post, the management explained their decision in order to create better business environment for their employees as they don’t want their workers to compete for “better” shifts anymore in an effort to make every employee, from server to bartender, equally paid.
Although this model is far from the business model used in the industry, Hospitality Director Kiley Memmott believes this model will make the payment fair for every worker no matter of their position in the company.
“When an employee starts here, we automatically start them at $15 an hour,” Memmott said. “After 90 days, they’re moved up to $16 an hour. After one to two years, they’re at $18 an hour. We’re able to pay multiple employees that amount because we have a low turnover rate here with employees.”
What is even more interesting, the brewery is receiving more job application since they switched to the business model which was opposed by many others. However, Memmott says this works for them and they will stick to it.
Along with the higher wages, Switchyard offers PTO, a month of paid parental leave and free urgent care and mental health visits.
“This place really aligns with my values. I like that a business takes care of its employees and doesn’t rely on customers for that,” Grace Bertsch, a part-time team leader, said.
The fact that everyone knows that is paid equally, makes our employees to feel more secure and enjoy what are they doing don’t relying on the TIP factor.
“I get to come to work and work,” she said. “I love the service industry and I think I’m really good at it, but I don’t want to do it for tips.”
For one worker, working in the bar is her first professional experience and she had been told that the wage depends on the tips. When she first started to work at the brewery, she started feeling the tip-factor pressure, but with switching to the new model she feels much better.
“I feel like I’ve gained a lot of confidence. If a table is being rude to me, I don’t feel like I have to be all let me be nice to you so you’ll tip me well because I know I’m going to leave at the end of the day with the same amount of money I would have regardless, ” she said. “It gives me a lot of autonomy over who I actually am, who I want to be in my work.”
As millions of Americans straddle the line of poverty, living paycheck to paycheck, the employee believes the business model at Switchyard is the way forward to addressing the needs of those who’ve chosen service industry work as their career. She believes it can also be used as a model for other industries that are way below what’s a livable wage in this country.
