So, last issue I neglected to mention that I am a waiter full-time right now, and I’ve worked in the restaurant industry for all of my adult life. I chose to look at the seedy side of the lifestyle last time, but I have to say, with all its drawbacks, waiting tables can be a great alternative to a desk job or working retail. It is its own subculture that draws a certain brand of lively and personable people to a fun work environment that is often its own social environment.
Most of the managers are young and generally in touch with their workers, and most are even out to have a good time at work. Most of the customers are even out for a good time. Who goes out to eat intending to have a bad time? That’s perhaps something unique and beneficial to the restaurant industry.
Even with a set wage under half of the state minimum wage, servers still manage to make great money at times. With a four table section of $40 tabs and 15% tips, a server can make $15?$20 after taxes and tip outs. Still, those hours are needed to balance out the hours with one or two tables that tip 10% on $10.
It’s all a waiting game, balancing out good nights and bad nights. There’s money to be made, and a living is made by many waiters, but rarely in casual dining. The overwhelming majority of restaurants seem to be staffed with twenty-somethings and teens earning $7.50/hr. It’s like any sales position with a tiny or non-existent safety net left to catch those with a slow month.
This is just as much about diners as it is about servers though. Are you comfortable with having to pay a restaurant’s employees? Can they not pay a living wage and keep the extra few dollars in your pocket? Could this not be built into ticket prices? It comes down to whether or not you feel comfortable with an unspoken, back-door charge being added to your restaurant bill.
I suppose my purpose has been to inform the general public of the realities behind their meals, because it seems the public is generally clueless. Our national Congress is clueless, but now you have one up on them (but you probably did already). I’m sure that after reading these two articles you would not support a bill to cut server wages in seven states, including California and Nevada, but our senators are. Read quickly, because Bill Frist wants this bill passed as soon as possible [San Francisco Chronicle, 8/2/06]. It’s a part of a larger bill (HR 5970) to cut estate taxes that is also being used as an opportunity to cut state-determined server wages of $6?$8/hr. plus tips to the national $2.13, even in high-income areas such as Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Enjoy your meal.
? Nate Cougill
