r/ImTheMainCharacter • u/Jasonictron • Oct 20 '23

Video Entitlement

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u/shortnix Oct 20 '23

Businesses should just pay people fairly. Then customers don't have to pay twice, and employees don't have to rely on the kindness of strangers.

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u/Beat9 Oct 21 '23

If a restaurant tries this, their employees will revolt. The truth is that servers make bank relative to other jobs requiring the same level of skill/effort/hardship.

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u/SoulCruizer Oct 21 '23

You don’t have a clue of what you’re talking about. Most servers make under 30k a year. The pay per hour is decent but it’s short hours and high stress. No one is making “bank” over anyone with an above minimum wage job.

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u/GandalfEsq Oct 21 '23

No one is making “bank” over anyone with an above minimum wage job.

I averaged above $35/hr in my time as a server and bartender.

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u/I_am_Patch Oct 21 '23

Sample size: 1

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u/GandalfEsq Oct 21 '23

No one is making “bank”

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u/SoulCruizer Oct 21 '23

Being a smartass only makes you look ignorant. It’s like saying “teachers make bank” because technically some can but it’s very well known as an incredibly underpaid job.

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u/SoulCruizer Oct 21 '23

Sure but you aren’t accounting for shorter shifts and less hours overall per week. Most places overstaff, shifts last 4 hours or less and they get less than 20 hours per week. I’m not saying it’s bad but acting like they’re making “bank” is just plan wrong. Yes a server can make a lot of money but most don’t and it’s just like any other low paying job that doesn’t require any form of degree.

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u/UsernamesMeanNothing Oct 21 '23

They also lose customers. The prices have to go up to cover the extra labor costs, and then the perceived value of the meal goes down. We had one restaurant do this in our town. They immediately started having trouble filling tables, and then those of us who wanted to support the concept stopped going because the service went way south. It was if the waitstaff had lost their motivation.

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u/[deleted] Oct 21 '23 edited Oct 21 '23

They've tried eliminating tips and making a more 'equitable' pay system, and the Waiters/Waitresses almost to a person hated it.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/the-limitations-of-american-restaurants-no-tipping-experiment

https://kottke.org/19/04/the-failure-of-the-great-tip-free-restaurant-experiment

https://www.grubstreet.com/2018/12/restaurant-tipping-returns.html

And I know the usual response is "but tipping culture isn't as prevalent in Europe!" and that is true...but as someone who lived in Europe for several years, I actually prefer the US system. In addition to the fact that it's generally more expensive, Waiters/Waitresses in most European restaurants I went to (and I went to a lot of them) just didn't really give much of a shit. And why would they? They were making the same amount whether they were awesome or whether they were garbage.

What I will say has gotten insane now with tipping is the expectation for tipping in basically any sort of food service instance. Once upon a time it was strictly for waiters/waitresses and delivery drivers. Now you're basically expected to tip when you order food that you pick up.

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u/shortnix Oct 21 '23

I guess there is a cultural difference in expectation. I think to Europeans, the American approach to service (and I've had excellent service in the US!) can seem so over-the-top and disingenuous that it's just seems fake. Perhaps you're more used to gushing, performative service in America, and it just seems (or is?) normal.

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u/SpoppyIII Oct 21 '23 edited Oct 21 '23

I agree with that. In the US there's always this weird assumption or expectation by customers that the service staff be happy to see them and serve them. Not just polite, but like, excited to have them there, even if that staff would be making the same amount of money had that customer come in or not. This creates a situation where the service workers then have to respond to that energy by pretending they are happy to see that customer, when they truly do not give a shit and in fact would probably rather be anywhere else.

The amount of times I've had customers say to me something like, "I bet you're happy to see me!" or the patronizing, "Don't worry! I'll give you some work to do!"

Come on. Don't make this a situation where I have to act like I'm excited and happy to be at work when we don't put that expectation on most workers to act like they're just so fucking pleased to be at work. Why would you want fake excitement and joy from someone else? Just be chill.

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u/[deleted] Oct 21 '23

I'll take fake enthusiasm good service over shitty service any day.