KC area Twin Peaks to implement controversial ‘tip refund’ policy, letter says
Social media is abuzz over a letter indicating a new “tip refund” policy will be implemented at Kansas City area Twin Peaks restaurants.
The memo, which has been reshared on Facebook thousands of times, says processing fees would be deducted from credit card tips of area employees of the sports bar starting Monday. It says 2.5% will be deducted from Visa, Discover and Mastercard tips, and 3.25% will be deducted from American Express tips.
“We understand that this implementation may raise concerns, and we assure you that this decision was not made lightly,” reads the letter, which appears to be written with the letterhead for franchise group 3B Lodge — owner of the Kansas City area’s Twin Peaks.
3B Lodge is run by Brent and Brad Steven, who also own Twin Peaks’ two locations in Wichita.
Neither 3B Lodge nor Twin Peaks responded to The Star’s request for comment. The Star communicated with servers who said a letter was given out, but they did not wish to be named for fear of losing their jobs.
The letter was given to area employees on Wednesday, according to the information circulating on social media. The Star was not able to obtain a copy of the letter.
Twin Peaks has locations at 19821 E. Jackson Drive in Independence, 14805 W. 119th St. in Olathe and 8660 N. Boardwalk Ave.
An employee at the Olathe location said the letter did not “come from management” and referred The Star to direct any questions to 3B Lodge before prematurely ending the call.
Employees in Wichita may have also received letters, according to reporting from the Wichita Eagle.
The Stevens own several other restaurants, including Wine Dive + Kitchen in Lawrence.
After the letter was reshared on Facebook, commenters with a variety of opinions began sounding off.
“Imagine paying workers $2 an hour and then charging them for a business utility,” wrote one user.
“Let’s just boycott Twin Peaks Restaurants.”
Another: “Understandable. The restaurant is losing a lot of money on the service fees.”
Right or wrong, deducting a processing fee from tips is legal, said Buddy Lahl, CEO of the Missouri Restaurant Association.
“Credit card transaction fees continue to rise in the industry,” he said. “We believe it’s really the operator’s decision on how they either absorb or pass those fees on to the employees or the consumers.”
This story was originally published December 29, 2023 at 4:24 PM.