What do you think of a place where they take the tips but will pay you up to $15 an hour quickly if good?

Answer 1

Professionally speaking, I call them THIEVES!
Demand to keep what you make.
There is something very fishy about that arrangement.
I would like to know more about the establishment.
Cost of meals and drinks there, etc.
Do this for little experiment for yourself.
Look at a menu, write up a pretend order for say a 4 person bill,and total it.
Figure out 15% of the total. That is the minumum tip required by restaurant ethics. Many places are now 20%.
Is it more than $15.00? Probably.

Answer 2

I'd say estimate how much you expect to turnover in a typical day... then you can figure out if it's worth it or not.

Assuming an 8 hour day at $15 per hour = $120 for the day, before withholdings and taxes.

Do you think you can make more than $120 in tips per day?

Somehow, I would think a good waitress would be able to make more than $120 per day in tips alone even in a short shift. Also, we know that waitresses/servers cheat on their taxes so you actually pay less on withholdings and taxes. Even when you tip out the back of the house, you still should make more than $120.

Just run the numbers and see... I don't know what the specifics of the restaurant, hours worked, turnover, highs and low days... etc.