The Big Texan Steak Ranch — arguably Amarillo’s most well-known eating establishment — has been hit with a settlement that requires it to pay $800,000 to employees for tip revenue allegedly misused by the restaurant.

I won’t comment on the settlement itself, as I haven’t kept abreast of it as the complaint has proceeded. It involves allegations that the restaurant used tip money pooled together for purposes other than paying the servers the revenue they earned for their good work. Big Texan management denies any wrongdoing.

At issue — at least for me — is this practice of tip-pooling. As a customer of many eating establishments around town, I really dislike the practice of putting my tip money into some pool, where servers get to split the tips evenly among themselves.

I’ve been known to ask a restaurant waiter or waitress about the establishment’s tipping policy: Do they get the money individually or does it go into a pool? Most of the time the answer is: We pocket our own tips individually. I’m totally fine with that.

I consider myself a fairly generous tipper when the service merits it. I — along with just about every living American — am well aware that these service employees work for a miserable wage. They earn the bulk of their income from the tips they collect. Thus, the tips incentivize them to do a good job for the customers they serve. Tip-pooling, on the other hand, is a disincentive for the bad servers to pick up their game.

Here’s hoping the Big Texan settles up with employees in a timely manner. The employees — particularly the good servers — deserve a little reward.