Ok, as a former waitress I must comment on the system!
A waitress, at least when I was working, didn't have to be paid minimum wage.
We were making $2.01 an hour. (higher than some places!)
The busboy was making $6 an hour.
The cooks were getting a base wage of $2000 a month and their rent paid.
At the end of a shift, if we had a busboy, the waitresses would get together and decide how much to give him, and we would split that amount up evenly so we each gave the same.
It wasn't REQUIRED, but it was encouraged. Some of them would refuse it.
AND we still had to pay the taxes on the tips, because they were given to US.
Sometimes we averaged much more than the busboy would make, sometimes we averaged less. Depended on the day.
Our job wasn't to take an order, throw it on the table, and come back to refill a drink.
We would go and greet the customer. We would answer questions about menu choices, help with decisions, know what was ok for diabetics, know what was ok for this or that type of allergy.
We were expected to be courteous to everyone, and that included the Amish who almost never tipped, the Christians who not only tipped poorly but expected you to stand there and yap while they guided the conversation to Christianity as if you didn't know they were headed there anyhow, the men who seemed to have a problem lifting their heads all the way up to eye level, the screaming little brats who spilled stuff, threw it on the floor, and wanted to stick mashed potatos in your pockets or turn around and stare at the other customers who would then get annoyed, not enjoy their stay as much, and thus tip you less.
And often you have a combination of all these characters at once.
Then you get to go and put their order in to a chef who may or may not be in a good mood that day, who may or may not get the order straight.
You do get to go and refill drinks, at the appropriate time for every single guest at each table which could be anywhere from 20-50 people. Not only that, you're picking up dropped napkins and silverware. You're taking back orders with complaints. You're taking new orders. You're being gracious. You're giving out compliments. You're wiping off the spit of someone who just sneezed on you as you walked by. You're smiling. Your feet are burning and you probably have to go to the bathroom, but another order is ready, a new table just sat down, a kid just spilled soda all over his table, and a woman is signalling you because she wants another side of ranch sauce for her salad. Your shoulder is aching from balancing a large tray of full glasses and heavy dishes on it over and over. Your back aches. Your boss is standing back in the kitchen snapping his fingers every time you walk in and telling you to hurry it up.
Then the cook gets someone's order wrong, they're sighing and moaning because of it, you hand it to the cook and he starts slamming stuff around and yelling about it because he's been working hard and he's got a ton of other orders waiting and he's mad at himself for messing up or even better, the guest didn't order it that way for real to start with.
Then you get to watch people sit there and try to figure out EXACTLY what 15% of the check is, if they're generous to even bother doing it that way.
Then you get to share it with the busboy and pay taxes on it. Then you get your paycheck for $2.01 an hour, which has taxes taken out of it too. (keep in mind that $2.01 doesn't even cover the cost of a babysitter if you have a child and have to work)
Then someone comes along and says they think you aughta share even more of it because you just aren't doing that much work.
I'm not even waitressing anymore and my nostrils are flaring at the thought! :laugh:
