I am a former Cosmo’s waitress, and though I appreciate The Daily Orange’s efforts to be unbiased and cover all sides of the story, I think it needs to be made clear that the reason I quit three months ago – the reason the girls held a strike last week – was not because of customers leaving poor tips, but because we felt that we were not receiving the full amount of the tips that we earned.

At Cosmo’s, hours of tips are regularly ‘lost’ by management, arbitrary numbers are made up, and credit card tips are often given to the waitstaff incorrectly, or forgotten all together. There is no system in place to ensure the waitstaff that they are receiving the correct amount of tips at the end of their shifts. This is not slander; it is a fact. I have worked at several other restaurants and never encountered these kinds of problems.

When these issues began to dramatically affect my income, I quit. These girls, instead, stood up for themselves in an attempt to create a better workplace, first by expressing their concerns to the management, and then by striking when no changes were made. I applaud their efforts, and I think that firing four of their most dedicated waitresses was unjust, as well as a poor business choice.

Renee StorialeSenior, College of Visual and Performing Arts