Cheap People

[Handbag Lady]

$2-$3 an hour is all you get paid? How do the owners get a way with this? Is this industry standard in the US? I am just wondering why the restaurant owners do not just pay more per hour - my 16 year old DD makes $8.25/hour + holiday pay + tips (which usually equals out to another $5/hr) because she just works in a diner.

Maybe a lot of non-US citizens do not realize how little the workers are paid.

This is exactly the case. Most people have no idea how little servers are paid by the hour. I had always assumed they got minimum wage, but I learned a few years ago in the internets that this is not the case.

Minimum wage does not apply to servers. I think it is stupid. But because I now know, we often overtip the really nice servers and we get to cover the "bad tippers" and my MIL and FIL, who think that a buck is fine.

 

[kimluvswdw]

$2-$3 an hour is all you get paid? How do the owners get a way with this? Is this industry standard in the US? I am just wondering why the restaurant owners do not just pay more per hour - my 16 year old DD makes $8.25/hour + holiday pay + tips (which usually equals out to another $5/hr) because she just works in a diner.

Maybe a lot of non-US citizens do not realize how little the workers are paid.

In most places you get a base pay of $2-3 per hour and the rest of your salary is made up from the tips you get. This is why it is so important for servers to give great service so they get great tips.

 

[DawnCt1]

$2-$3 an hour is all you get paid? How do the owners get a way with this? Is this industry standard in the US? I am just wondering why the restaurant owners do not just pay more per hour - my 16 year old DD makes $8.25/hour + holiday pay + tips (which usually equals out to another $5/hr) because she just works in a diner.

Maybe a lot of non-US citizens do not realize how little the workers are paid.

There is a minimum wage, state and federal but for positions that are customarily tipped, the wages are significantly lower. DS's girlfriend goes to school full time and works part time as a waitress. She brings home $150 to $300 per night, depending upon which night and how busy they are.

 

[ilovepcot]

Sometimes people are served food in a restaurant that really isn't up to their expectation. If they've been charged a pretty price and they feel "bitter" over the meal being substandard, I think some people take this out on servers. Wrong, but I believe it happens.

 

[LotsOfQuestions]

I had $970 in sales Saturday and took home $79 in tips. I was not the only one who had it bad.

Just curious, since the low tipping seems to be across the board with the staff at your restaurant, it really can't be the quality of serving, so is there the possibility that it is something your restaurant is doing to tick the customers off?

Is the quality of food that is coming out of the kitchen not up to par with the quality of the restaurant and the price?

I know some people unreasonably take that kind of stuff out on the servers because it is the only place they can show their disappointment. While the server is not to blame for the quality of the food, many customers might not want to give extra money on poor quality food.

Since it seems to be the same in your restaurant with all the servers, I would start looking at what the restaurant is doing to cause the patrons to stiff all the servers on tips rather than what you (the servers) are doing. If it were just one or two servers that consistently received 10% tips, then you might question how they are being received by the customers. However, when it is quite a few servers being stiffed, one has to think that there is a problem somewhere else that is ticking customers off.

Perhaps you might need to find a restaurant whose quality deserves your skills.

 

[Chicago526]

$2-$3 an hour is all you get paid? How do the owners get a way with this? Is this industry standard in the US? I am just wondering why the restaurant owners do not just pay more per hour - my 16 year old DD makes $8.25/hour + holiday pay + tips (which usually equals out to another $5/hr) because she just works in a diner.

Maybe a lot of non-US citizens do not realize how little the workers are paid.

Oh it's worse than that. The IRS figures that servers make a certain amount in tips (I think they base it on their employer's sales, they've got some sort of formula anyway) so they get taxed on their estimated tip money, even if they don't earn it. They set this up because waiters (and other positions that made most of their income on tips) would under report their income, easy to do when most tips are in cash, and not pay taxes on their full income.

So when you stiff a waiter, not only do they not make as much, they have to pay taxes on income they never got!

 

[barkley]

I don't know why they don't. But until they do, we're expected to tip.
The custom of tipping began as a way to "ensure" good service. (Make it so that the only way a server can make decent money is to give good service.) But because so many don't tip these days, the whole premise is out the window anyway. The service at some of the more moderately priced restaurants has become really crappy, and I don't blame them. They've gotten used to NOT getting a tip. I wouldn't want to work for $2 or $3 an hour either!!

but the op is'nt working for $2 or $3 dollars an hour, even on the nites like the one she described, where she perceives the tips as lousy. if she works an 8 hour shift and takes in $79 in tips she is making $9.87 per hour before her actual salary even kicks in, add in even the low end of $2 per hour in actual wages and that results in $11.87 per hour which is well above minimum wage at the federal level as well as exceeding all state's.

there have always been good tippers and lousy tippers, but i think for some people they've just gotten sick and tired of the food and beverage industry (the ownership) taking what should be a customer's choice and turning it into an obligation. tips used to be given to reward exemplery service, now people are afraid if they don't give tips they will not receive even minimal service OR that they are taking money away from a substandardly paid employee. the ownership promotes the idea that if they provide servers with the same minimum wage as all other employees in their state are guaranteed that the costs passed on to customers would increase menu prices such that they would be driven out of buisness. many people realize this argument just does'nt hold water, there are plenty of states (mine included) where servers have to be paid the identical minimum wage afforded all other hourly employees yet it has had no major cost impact to consumers (and my state has the highest in the u.s. at $8.07 an hour). even if a state allows the lower hourly wage, the cost to an employer of increasing it to the higher rate afforded others would still be much less than what has become the expectation for tipping- it's going up to $6.55 an hour in july so if a server is only paid $2 per hour that would only create the need for the ENTIRE pool of customers that employee serves to have increased costs of $4.55 on an hourly basis-it results in pennies added to a menu price vs. the current 15-20% total of a bill that customers pay now.

 

[LotsOfQuestions]

Sometimes people are served food in a restaurant that really isn't up to their expectation. If they've been charged a pretty price and they feel "bitter" over the meal being substandard, I think some people take this out on servers. Wrong, but I believe it happens.

We obviously think alike, as I was composing while you submitted the same thoughts.

 

[marybet]

We were at WDW a few weeks ago, as a group of 8 an 18% gratuity was added to the bill. The Garden Grill was served family style and I feel the waiter more than earned his tip, all others were buffet and the service was good but 18% seems a lot when all they do is bring your drinks. Still we never tried to change the tip we knew it would be added on, the only place were the service was not up to par was at O'hanas, and she was just slow.

I agree that if you can't afford the tip than go to a fast food place. I wish the system would change, but until it does the servers do depend on their tips.

 

[barkley]

Oh it's worse than that. The IRS figures that servers make a certain amount in tips (I think they base it on their employer's sales, they've got some sort of formula anyway) so they get taxed on their estimated tip money, even if they don't earn it. They set this up because waiters (and other positions that made most of their income on tips) would under report their income, easy to do when most tips are in cash, and not pay taxes on their full income.

So when you stiff a waiter, not only do they not make as much, they have to pay taxes on income they never got!

this is a misconception-the irs requires that tipped employees keep a log of their tips for taxation purposes and provide that information on a monthly basis to their employers because the employer is supposed to be paying payroll taxes on it and handling it the same as straight wages (withholdings done). the amount employees tip out can be deducted from their countable tips. the formula rule is an employer requirement and then the irs does'nt have the employer do an allocation report (what the sales were when an employee worked) unless the employees are reporting to their employer and the employer has been reporting to the irs per pay period or over the year are less than 8%. an employee still is only required to report and pay taxes on their ACTUAL tips-the irs uses the rule to ensure that tipped employees are not under reporting.

some employers are illegaly doing payroll by just using a flat percentage to figure tips, and they can be reported to an employee's local labor board to get them to do it correctly (but honestly, most employees never do this because between good and bad nites the amount they receive in actual tips often exceeds that 8% figure the feds require the employer report).

 

[ilovepcot]

We obviously think alike, as I was composing while you submitted the same thoughts.

 

[phragmipedium]

It isn't the case everywhere that servers make less than minimum wage. In Oregon, servers are all paid our minimum wage ($7.95/hr), before their tips. It's not like the rule elsewhere, where they can be paid the "server" wage as long as their tips average enough to equal the regular minimum wage.

We still tip normally here as far as I can tell - I tip 15-20%, usually somewhere right in the middle, though I never see anyone tipping at buffets here. Our food prices (comparing similar restaurants and menu items) do not appear any higher here to me than in other states - I know it's often the threat in other states that restaurant prices would skyrocket if servers were paid a real minimum wage, but that's just not what has happened here.

Would people really tip less or not at all if they knew their server made a real minimum wage before tips? We have always done it - it's just how I was raised, and I see everyone around me tipping as well. Oregon servers (and I think there are a few other states this way - maybe California?) must be pretty lucky. Our minimum wage is one of the highest in the country, but it's still not a living wage in my mind, and I don't mind tipping for a personal service.

 

[declansdad]

I agree that if you can't afford the tip, you can't afford to eat out. I do NOT agree with NY Disney Fan who said: "I think that's an unfair statement. If you pay your restaurant bill in full without tipping, they aren't exactly going to make you wash the dishes, or stop you from leaving."
No, they aren't going to stop you, because its not illegal, but its also not moral. Karma baby, karma.

This is the first time I have ever heard someone say not tipping is immoral. I have never had a discussion about morality that involved tipping.

There are a lot of different reason people tip or not tip.

 

[declansdad]

I dont think her statement was unfair at all. Its true. If you cant afford to tip - you should go to McDonalds.

That's a crock. You are not entitled to a tip, it is a reward for good service. If you don't provide that service, you don't deserve a 20% tip. IF you give completely lousy service, you deserve nothing.

I believe that posters point was that the price for the service is printed on the menu. If you pay that price, as a customer, you are fulfilling your obligations of the transaction

 

[mom2boys77]

ITA

That's a crock. You are not entitled to a tip, it is a reward for good service. If you don't provide that service, you don't deserve a 20% tip. IF you give completely lousy service, you deserve nothing.

I believe that posters point was that the price for the service is printed on the menu. If you pay that price, as a customer, you are fulfilling your obligations of the transaction

 

[declansdad]

but the op is'nt working for $2 or $3 dollars an hour, even on the nites like the one she described, where she perceives the tips as lousy. if she works an 8 hour shift and takes in $79 in tips she is making $9.87 per hour before her actual salary even kicks in, add in even the low end of $2 per hour in actual wages and that results in $11.87 per hour which is well above minimum wage at the federal level as well as exceeding all state's.

Well said.

 

[In a hurry]

This is the first time I have ever heard someone say not tipping is immoral. I have never had a discussion about morality that involved tipping.

There are a lot of different reason people tip or not tip.

Not immoral, imo. But not tipping adequately shows a definite lack of class.

 

[CathrynRose]

This is the first time I have ever heard someone say not tipping is immoral. I have never had a discussion about morality that involved tipping.

There are a lot of different reason people tip or not tip.

Youre a perfect example of someone whom should go to McDonalds.

I didnt say 20% is expected. But a tip certainly is, unless you have reason otherwise - in which case you should probably speak with a manager - and not take it out on the person waiting on you, no?

 

[mom2boys77]

I don't think it shows a lack of class at all if the non-tipping was deserved. If someone gives me crappy service and a bad attitude then why should I tip them?? I'm so sorry that they don't make a lot of money but I didn't force them to be a server.

Not immoral, imo. But not tipping adequately shows a definite lack of class.

 

[declansdad]

Not immoral, imo. But not tipping adequately shows a definite lack of class.

There are plenty of reason not to tip, some of them have no relation to class.