Inside the House is a DCist feature offering an insider’s view of fine dining issues by the hostess at a D.C. restaurant. Her views are strictly her own and do not in any way represent those of her employer.

Let’s be honest. Who hasn’t thought, every once in a while, “Gee, these waiter dudes have it easy. No matter what they do, their 20 percent is as good as in the bank as long as they don’t screw up too badly.” Even if nothing goes wrong, you may feel inclined to hold back if you think that giving a fifth of your bill to the waiter is just plain excessive.

What you may not suspect is that a princely chunk of change you add on the “tip” line doesn’t go straight into your server’s pockets. Like any good performer, a server relies on a crew of support staff to deliver seamless service.

How does the crew get paid? By the server, who has to “tip out,” or pay them a percentage of the total tips for the night, which – you guessed it – leaves a lot less for him or her. And who makes up the crew? All the nameless people you see darting around the dining room who sometimes have seemingly no contact with your table. Different restaurants have wildly different rules for tipping out, but here’s an example.