ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

Assuming everyone is a paid employee and making at least minimum wage,  
they probably shouldn't keep the tips. Whether they make it a donation  
to the institution or put it into some sort of social fund for a party  
is up to you. But typically people on the museum's time should not be  
making additional money whether it is an honorarium for a lecture or a  
tip for helping set up tables.   Assuming, again, they are paid staff  
making least minimum wage. (I mention this not to insinuate you are  
cheap, but many occupations who make most of their money on tips are  
paid less than minimum wage under the assumption that their tips will  
push them over. Who knows? You may have catering staff who does just  
that. I have heard of museum store staff working on commission. It  
could happen)

If you want to walk down this road, I would suggest visiting a few  
full service restaurants or hotels in your area to discuss who gets  
tipped, who gets tipped out to at the end of the night, and who  
doesn't and make the adjustments yourself.

But why open a can of worms that need not be open? No tips.

Matt White

On Jul 22, 2009, at 1:16 PM, Jennifer Holt wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
> institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> At our center, we have always had the policy that staff members cannot
> accept tips or gifts for services rendered.  We opted not to deal with
> the tangle that you are facing of who gets what.
>
> When someone offers a tip to one of our staff members, they let the
> visitor know that they are not allowed to accept tips, but they offer
> them the option of donating the tip to the center and making a  
> donation
> in their name.  This way the staff member is recognized and the  
> visitor
> feels good because they have the option of applying that tip that they
> would have given to the employee to the center, which, in turn, will
> help the center to make a difference for more people. Using this
> technique, many people will donate more to the center than the
> percentage that they were originally going to give as a tip.
>
>
> Jennifer V. Holt
> Director of Revenue Programs
> Sci-Port: LOUISIANA'S Science Center
> 318-424-8694 / [log in to unmask]
>
>  ADULT  LECTURE  SERIES
>   www.sciport.org/series
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Informal Science Education Network
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Craig Blower
> Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 9:58 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Gratuities in Museum
>
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
> ************************************************************************
> *****
>
> We are running into a situation that can get a bit sticky.  
> Occasionally
> we (or a specific  employee) are offered a gratuity by a patron. This
> may be during a special rental event or now that we are doing a bit  
> more
> catering with our small cafe, the customer often expects (and we are
> glad) to add the standard 18% gratuity to the cost. A buck or two here
> and there is one thing but with this 18% deal, you can easily get  
> into 3
> figures. So what's the problem you say?
>
>
>
> Who gets it and how is it dispersed? It may seem simple but the more I
> look into it, it can be a Pandora's Box of moral/legal/payroll/ 
> fairness
> issues that gets muddier by the day. What if a front line employee
> pitches in for 15 minutes to help set up? What about the phone rep who
> booked the event but wasn't even in the building on the day of? I  
> have a
> list of about 20 "what if's" that seemingly make this a much more
> complicated issue than I initially thought it would be. My HR Manager
> has downloaded about a virtual inch-thick stack of documents about how
> to handle tips in California. Yikes.
>
>
>
> How do you handle this type of (good) problem?
>
>
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>
> Craig Blower
>
> Chief Operating Officer
>
> Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
>
> 619-238-1233 (main)
>
> 619-685-5701 (direct)
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>
> ***********************************************************************
> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers  
> and
> the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
>
> Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at
> www.exhibitfiles.org.
>
> The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L- 
> Soft.
> To learn more, visit
> http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.
>
> To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
> message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
> [log in to unmask]
>
> ***********************************************************************
> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers  
> and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
>
> Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org 
> .
>
> The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L- 
> Soft. To learn more, visit
> http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.
>
> To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
> message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
> [log in to unmask]

***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.

The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.

To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]