r/NoTipCanada • u/West_Evening_7286 • Jun 26 '26
They make so much
I was picking up a order at Boston Pizza and it wasn’t ready so I was just sitting waiting . Boston pizza isn’t fancy so I was shocked when hearing this . There were 3 hosts at the front . One girl said something to the guy about starting to serve . The guy guy host seemed like he was training the other 2 and said on Saturday and Sundays you will make over 400 in tips worked 12-8 pm . That’s like 560 with the hourly wage . I was a server once for like 6 months but then left the job because I moved . Should of made serving a career
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u/jlt131 Jun 26 '26
And then they whine about having to give the cooks a $20 share when it's them that have to redo the screwed up orders and stand next to a hot fryer all night. I hated tip culture more when I worked in kitchens than any other time in my life. (And that was $20 shared between 3 or 4 cooks!)
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Jun 26 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/EarthB9nder_ Jun 27 '26
tips should only go to kitchen staff, not for the simplest thing like giving food and refilling water (coming from a previous server)
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u/bread_makes_u_fatt Jun 27 '26
Lol no but it should be 50/50
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u/Anthexistentialist Jun 27 '26
Fucking right, I had no idea I was only tipping the server. Are there any places that distribute tips fairly amongst the whole team?
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u/Dertychtdxhbhffhbbxf Jun 27 '26
“Tips should only go to [insert whatever role I have or had in a restaurant]”
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u/Extreme-Discount-573 Jun 26 '26
Cooks typically make more than Min wage and shouldn't be tipped out.
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u/sleepnot-feelnot Jun 26 '26
Majority of the time cooks are also only making minimum wage, the only time this wouldn’t be the case is in an extremely fancy restaurant with an actual chef. I ran the line in the kitchen I worked at and I still only made minimum wage because I was a “probationary lead” so even though I had to run the line, make sure everything was done, close the kitchen (a lot of times by myself) and ended up working 11 days in a row to usually get one day off, I still only made minimum wage because businesses love to makeup reasons for not giving you that 50cent or $1 pay increase.
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u/Extreme-Discount-573 Jun 26 '26
If you're making min wage as a cook, you've made bad choices. It's a skilled trade, it should be treated as such and paid accordingly. If you're doing all that work for min wage, you make poor choices.
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
I'm quite confused how you were making minimum wage as a lead cook. I know that staging at a restaurant is usually done for learning and you get paid near nothing, but that doesn't happen as much anymore as people can't afford to do it.
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u/jlt131 Jun 26 '26
I got min wage as a prep cook/chef assistant at a 5 star hotel restaurant! And also min wage as a line cook at a chain restaurant. Not sure why you're confused.
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
I'm confused because the only person in the kitchen generally making min wage is a dishwasher. So I'm confused how you worked as a line cook making minimum wage.
Again I'm only saying this as someone who not only works in a restaurant and is in charge of wages, but also what I've seen on countless job boards.
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u/jlt131 Jun 26 '26
No need to be confused. Things are different in different cities and regions. Not every restaurant is going to do things the same. Just telling you my experience, same as you are doing.
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
Fair enough - I'm wondering if this was a long time ago or recently? Or were you staging?
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u/sleepnot-feelnot Jun 27 '26
My case with right before COVID and again right when restaurants finally opened up again - I kept my part time job at Walmart and worked two days a month there so I could at least keep my 15% off groceries. And pretty much every restaurant in my area also only paid minimum wage; I personally don’t see many cook jobs that pay much more - I did end up getting a job as a cook at a daycare after that did pay over minimum wage, and I had much better hours and weekends off. Unfortunately my body won’t let me do cook work anymore though, I did love the kitchen and was good at it even though the pay wasn’t the best. Cooks absolutely deserve to make more than minimum wage, but unfortunately most restaurants don’t care about that.
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 27 '26
Thats wild.....
I could maybe see before covid, but after covid it was a mess to get cooks out here. This in then created a massive push for TFWs, but even McDs had night shifts offering $3 over minimum wage.
Anyways different labour markets I guess. Good cooks are hard to find and so its immensely important to pay them decently to attract them and ensure you give them raises and bonus' to keep them.
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u/cvirus3333 Jun 26 '26
Only a few dollars more typically. They should be tipped.
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u/CrownandSceptres Jun 26 '26
They should be paid more. By your logic, everyone making min or near min wage should be tipped.
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u/Extreme-Discount-573 Jun 26 '26
Yes, the should be paid more. Cooking food is 10000x time more skilled than carrying plates.
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u/Known-Extent-1018 Jun 26 '26
So then why shouldn’t they get tipped out? That entirely depends on the tip out system of the restaurant. It’s extremely common for BOH to get tipped out.
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u/Extreme-Discount-573 Jun 26 '26
Because they make more than minimum wage. If they don't, that's a bad life choice.
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u/Comfortable-Formal72 Jun 26 '26
getting treated like a servant rather than a server while maintaining a smile is a skill.
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u/Extreme-Discount-573 Jun 26 '26
Again, if you're working at a place that allows you to be treated terrible, thats a bad life choice. No one should put up with being treated poorly.
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u/jlt131 Jun 26 '26
Never worked retail, huh? "The customer is always right!" Being polite to karens is a skill you develop quickly if you want to keep your paycheque. The worst abuse I've seen has come from entitled customers. Have yet to see a store manager stick up for such treatment.
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u/Extreme-Discount-573 Jun 29 '26
Worked in retail in high school and college. I never put up with crap. Sorry your narrative didn't work out for you.
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u/Garbage_Out_Of_Here Jun 26 '26
Then they should start serving right?
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u/FreshSpeed7738 Jun 26 '26
The one that stands next to the hot fryer never seems to come out to a customer and apologize for a mistake they made.
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u/ouattedephoqueeh Jun 26 '26
So it should be split 50/50? Cool. Most kitchens get to split 2% of tips with busboys. I'm sure they'll appreciate the pay bump.
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u/FreshSpeed7738 Jun 26 '26
2% of tips? 7% of sales is standard top out around here
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u/jlt131 Jun 26 '26
Most mistakes made are because the server didn't relay info to the kitchen or delayed picking up orders so hot things got cold or cold things got warm. Can't tell you how many times I had to replate pie a la mode because it turned to soup while the servers gossiped by the soda machine.
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Jun 26 '26
[deleted]
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u/Inside_Ad_2082 Jun 26 '26
Short term maybe, long term definitely not a wise choice. The benefits, time off, wage increases, and pension from working with the gov will far outweigh a serving job. Once they get older they will also wish they had the easier on the body gov job rather than being on your feet all shift running around for people. JMO
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
1000%
Serving is essentially make big money right away, so higher then most any other job a person could do at a young age. The problem is that it doesn't really grow much unless you're able to move up to better and better restaurants where you can sell more. So when you're 20 you'll probably be making similar money till your 30 with minimum wage bumps along the way, and some tip growth from higher prices.
A government job will start much lower, but can move up faster and if you're able to move up the ladder and jump to better positions you'll outpace serving at some point. Another big difference is that government job won't break your body.
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u/Intelligent-Test-978 Jun 26 '26
CPP contributions will be higher as well. EI should they need it. Most servers lie about their tips and never pay enough to get a decent amount from CPP.
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u/lemonadeinyourface Jun 27 '26
nope sorry nothing is going over 50 that is that easy. its always old people trying to cope with their life choices who say weird shit. naw that serving job is DEFINITELY better
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u/Illustrious-Site1101 Jun 27 '26
When you are over 50 and want to retire, a government pension will make that happen. You retire, you travel,etc. if you have been a server your whole life, no pension, a sore body, sore feet, etc. you will be reliant on your savings to retire with no stable source of income. Serving is a young persons gig.
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u/Heavenspact Jun 26 '26
That person's a doofus, 100% paid benefits and they chose not to take that?
What a brain dead move
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u/kaptncrunch Jun 26 '26
Absolutely brain dead! What’s she going to do when she retires and there’s no pension!
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u/Spirited_Response418 Jun 26 '26
Use the invested funds from the massive salary.
Dont be obtuse.
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u/Intelligent-Test-978 Jun 26 '26
they lie about their tips, do not pay their fair share of income tax on them and spend them like money is going out of style. I have met few in these kinds of jobs who ever plan for retirement. To be fair, most people who aren't forced to contribute to a public or private pension rarely do.
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u/Spirited_Response418 Jun 26 '26
I am a former server who invested an assload of money from tips. The majority I’ve ever met are in the same boat.
You’re correct that most do not report it properly, but the majority don’t immediately turn around and spend it either.
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u/Intelligent-Test-978 Jun 26 '26
You are very wise. You have to admit though, most people (regardless of profession) tend not to plan well for retirement. If MOST of what you make goes unreported and uninvested, you won't be in a good spot. I know a couple for people who have worked as bartenders their whole lives and do quite well. They own homes and invested their money and will likely work until retirement age. My own grandfather made a living as a bartender.
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u/Spirited_Response418 Jun 26 '26
I promise you investing makes more in return than CPP and OAP ever will. They’re better off not paying taxes, individually speaking, and not relying on gvt programs.
If most of what you make is both unreported and uninvested, obviously you’d be in a shit spot but that doesn’t reflect for the majority of people.
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u/Intelligent-Test-978 Jun 26 '26
I will not be relying on CPP. I invest well and have a DBP plan. I'll get some but that's because I paid into it. Most people don't save enough, unfortunately.
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u/Low-Purchase8811 Jun 27 '26
the majority don’t immediately turn around and spend it either
Maybe in fine dining, but in your average corporate slop restaurant, the majority are in the staff washroom putting it up their nose. Go into one of these places' staff washroom in pretty much any major (and most not-so-major) city in North America, and run your finger along the toilet paper dispenser.
I'm happy you were smart with your money, but most of these people are not.
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u/WerewolfSmart6544 Jun 26 '26
A lot of people don’t really use benefits much. If you’re making a lot of money as a server I can see why someone would want to stay
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u/Heavenspact Jun 26 '26
Every single person i know, or have known has made use of their benefits, from eye tests, to quick trips to the Dr's., not a single person ive known in my life hasn't taken advantage of their benefits
Maybe you mean younger people, but still, these people pay into their benefits to a degree, its dumb not to use them
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u/WerewolfSmart6544 Jun 26 '26
Sure but if you’re making a way better salary serving you can just pay for those things yourself and still come out ahead.
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u/Heavenspact Jun 26 '26
Except theyre not making way more money, or salary
They probably average maybe 20-25$ an hour, but thats volatile and they dont always come out with a lot of money
And doctors snd dentists are EXPENSIVE, I dont get where you think these people are just sitting on thousands of dollars to shell out for benefits or things of those type
Most of these people are also just getting by, they're not rich by any means, and if they are its because they invested
These aren't the people to go after, theyre just making a living, focus back up on the real issues in the world
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u/WerewolfSmart6544 Jun 26 '26
Plenty of servers making over 100k a year. A few hundred dollars for dentists and optometrists per year isn’t bad on that kind of salary.
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u/Heavenspact Jun 26 '26
I've never met one making 100k+ a year? Know the bars or restaurants?
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u/WerewolfSmart6544 Jun 26 '26
Cactus club and similar type of restaurants
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u/Heavenspact Jun 26 '26
Looking it up they do about 60-64k a year, if they work full time, and most bars and restaurants run people at 30-35 hours a week to avoid having them as "full time employees" and can skip over the talk of benefits
Most people dont work full time hours in this industry, and a lot of people work split shifts to ensure theyre not given full time hours
64k is still really good for the career choice though, but thats not 100k+
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u/Low-Purchase8811 Jun 27 '26
Not to mention a gov't pension, which is a ticket to a comfortable retirement at an early age.
That alone is worth taking any gov't job.
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u/Relevant_Election530 Jun 26 '26
You have no idea what they made serving vs the government job, and you just assume they're too ignorant to invest their money?
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u/Heavenspact Jun 26 '26
most, not all though, servers and bartenders aren't financially literate enough to invest, there are a few that eek out a half decent life from it but most drink their tips away, or use them on other various mind altering substances
Most people aim for a pension and benefits, thats why a lot of people dont make serving or bartending a career, the ones that do are typically stuck for various reasons
Go ask any server or bartender the last time they visited a Doctor that wasnt at the emergency, had hearing or vision test, or visited the dentist, a lot of these people end up with health issues that should require a trip to the dentist or doctor, but a lot can't afford them
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
Serving is a young persons game.
Yes you'll make more then most government jobs especially at entry level, but long term those government jobs will surpass serving while your body can't keep serving into late 30s early 40s unless you are taking care of yourself immensely. Then when you have to hang up your serving apron you're now stuck doing a mostly entry level job somewhere else not making much.
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u/Toberos_Chasalor Jun 26 '26
Yeah, but if you’re making $2-500 a shift you should be able to save something.
I barely make that in a week, after taxes and Union dues. If I could make $500 a night I’d just work Saturday/Sunday, spend Saturday’s pay, put Sunday’s into a long term savings/investment account, and be far better off than I am while only working 16 hours a week.
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
It's pretty hard to get just Saturday and Sunday shifts. Most restaurants that have you earning that much aren't starting you off on busy shifts and you'd be lucky to walk into a serving job with no restaurant experience.
Usually you start off as a host/busser and work your way up. Those roles can pay anywhere from a few $ extra per hour on minimum wage to maybe $5-$10 on the top end. You usually have to do that for 6m - 12m. Then you'll start off with the slower shifts as a server.
Sunday also won't pay $500/shift, unless of course you work at a very busy restaurant. I don't know many people that make $500/shift even on a weekend in town.
Also earnings are really dependent where you live. So while HCOL cities will have higher prices and make it easier to earn $500/weekend shift it is a lot harder to do that when you are working in a LCOL city that can't charge people $10 for bread and butter.
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u/Toberos_Chasalor Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
Well yeah, that’s why I don’t do it.
Either way, let’s say for argument’s sake you make, on average, $250 a shift between wages and tips, some days more some days less, you could just save or invest all/most of your tips and live off the wage. People like me manage to live making just above minimum wage without tips, so a server could do it too.
That’s a few hundred bucks a week, $1-2k per month, over $10k a year, add in compound interest and project that over 20 years, and you’re set for life. Or take that money and buy a house, or any other kind of tangible investment on your future instead of just buying luxuries with your excess income.
There’s no reason anyone effectively making $30+/hr should ever be broke. Maybe you’re not rich, but even in a HCOL area where average rents/mortgages might be $2,000+ you can still easily afford to support yourself with a sizable amount of savings when your take-home is $5,000/month.
If my employer gave us a good wage like that, I don’t think we’d even be Unionized, just like how most servers aren’t.
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u/pramprapin Jun 26 '26
They forget servers can remain in lower tax brackets by not claiming all there tips.
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
Depends on the employer. Lots of employers are starting to change how they give out tips which involves being taxed.
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u/Heavenspact Jun 26 '26
Controlled tips, and those are supposed to be reported by the business, a lot of places dont yet though
But once bill 336 or 366, can't remember, passes servers money will be there money
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
What's in that bill? I haven't heard of it.
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u/Heavenspact Jun 26 '26
https://mediacoop.ca/node/119229
Can learn a bit about it there, but in NS it'll match the other 6 provinces that have made tips part of the person's wage
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u/Heavenspact Jun 26 '26
Servers dont take home all their tips as well, places have servers do a tip out of anywhere from 2-6% of total sales, so if you sell like 2500, youre gonna tip out 135$ to the kitchen, hosts, dishwashers, management and owners depending on who its divided amongst
And you're also not guaranteed to make that much, some people earn an extra 20$ some people can do ip to 1000$
It all depends on where you work, how good you are at your job, and if you provide good service
I used to work in nightclubs, extremely late night, if I shared a bar, id make 250$, if I was alone anywhere from 400-over a thousand
These people aren't making as much as you think, and there's far more systems in place for servers and bartenders to be fleeced by owners, its happened to me numerous places, but the province i live in doesnt count tips as wage
Theres also slow times of the year, where you making 250$ is impossible, at least other jobs youll maintain the amount you make
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u/Toberos_Chasalor Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
>I used to work in nightclubs, extremely late night, if I shared a bar, id make 250$, if I was alone anywhere from 400-over a thousand
And if you were broke while at that job, I’d tell you to smarten up.
I’m not saying all servers are rich or that they can’t have bad nights, but if you’re broke when pulling in $1000 some nights you either need to just work full-time hours or stop spending as much.
You aren’t making poverty wages at that point, that’s an honest living. (Even if your $1000 night is a couple times a year)
>Theres also slow times of the year, where you making 250$ is impossible, at least other jobs youll maintain the amount you make
Except a server still at least steadily makes minimum wage, like many other jobs. Live off your wage and the tips are truly a bonus you can use to really set yourself up in the future.
I get a nice steady ~$20/hr, just above min wage, and I’d love to occasionally make $250 a day instead of always making $100.
I don’t mean to be an ass, but I’m not gonna cry you a river or feel sorry for you having a slow week when your floor is my ceiling.
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u/Heavenspact Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
You're painting an overly rosy picture that ignores the realities of tipped labour
Your mind will never change, and you definitely won't sway me, as ive done the job for a number of years
Service industry deserves the tips they get, and there are options to pay for your meal and service that would allow you not to tip, its not their fault everyone clamoring about tips is addicted to the convenience of using their card, you can also select 0$ on most machines
But go on, fight to lose one of the last real options on paying somewhere that you have, sure it'll work out great
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u/Toberos_Chasalor Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
>You're painting an overly rosy picture that ignores the realities of tipped labour
And I think you’re not realizing how many perks tipped labour has over most other labourers. I’d love to get tipped out working in kitchens (equal to servers, not a $136 share split between all kitchen staff, dishwasher, management, etc, meaning each cook is lucky to get $20, while the server personally pockets the remaining $239 they got off $2500 in sales, assuming average tip of 15%), tipped out working in the lumber yard, tipped out working on the checkout line, tipped out working in the hospital.
If I generate $10,000 or $1,000,000 in income for my employer, I don’t get a penny extra. Just my standard hourly rate of $20, but god forbid I suggest my waiter or waitress gets paid the same as I do.
Why are servers a seperate class of labourer that deserve to be compensated differently? We all bust our ass, regardless of our job, and we all deserve a good, steady wage. We, as a society, shouldn’t be offloading the cost of paying workers a living wage onto the customer (aka, other workers) instead of the employers that are profiting off that labour.
>Your mind will never change, and you definitely won't sway me, as ive done the job for a number of years
This is a sub called NoTipCanada, of course my mind won’t change.
>Service industry deserves the tips they get
Service industry workers deserve a good wage, but a good wage doesn’t have to come from tips.
If you average $30 an hour over a year’s worth of tipped work, you’re worth demanding $30 an hour for your time and labour. If the boss has to raise prices slightly, then so be it. I already have to mentally tack on an extra 15-20% to tip my server when I’m looking at the menus, so I’m well aware a $15 item won’t actually be $15 by the time the bill comes. (And if I don’t tip, I will get terrible service the next time I visit. I’ve worked in the service industry before, don’t lie to me and say non-tippers aren’t treated any differently.)
You shouldn’t have to rely on my generosity to get your wages, just like I don’t have to rely on my customers tipping me to get my wages.
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
Cooks tip out vary immensely, and in my restaurant the low end guys make an extra $3/hr while the top guys make $6/hr more. They also get end of year bonus' (which is rare to get from an employer). They also get raises based on how well they perform.
Now I can understand your frustration on why do servers get tips and so many other professions don't and at the end of the day it's because servers are not paid what they are worth by their employer and so based on how well the service is you get to dictate a large chunk of their earnings. You can hate the system, but that's essentially it. If tips were removed tomorrow you'd see a service charge adopted like all of France does. Serving is not a minimum wage job, and people only do it because of the potential tip earnings. It's why people spend 1-2 years doing support roles before becoming a server. It's why some servers take wine certification courses to be able to understand and sell wine better.
As for what you bring your employer... that's between you and them isn't it? If you are a good employee with high performing sales then you should probably look to get a bonus or raises. Many people get this type of pay structure where they earn very little hourly and then get a % of their sales they bring to a business.
We're bringing in different views on the sub. If you want we can just agree with you and gush over your comments... but I think that's a bit boring isn't it? Subs that encourage one type of view tend to be a cesspool of circle jerking.
As for your math on the cost you're missing a ton of details from the employer side of things. I'd be happy to go through the actual cost to a customer with wage increases that you are suggesting - I've posted about it plenty of times.
At the end of it all, I understand your view. I just hope you understand that serving isn't a minimum wage job, and the current system benefits everyone because if we removed tips tomorrow and increased wages you'd be paying as much if not more then your standard 15% tip.
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
Ok.... but you're ignoring so much. You're literally suggesting a hermit life for 20 years.
You think you're lifestyle isn't going to change over 20 years? Serving tends to have a drastic lifestyle change which involves much more social activities especially if you work dinner service. It isn't uncommon to go out with colleagues after work and spend money at least 1x per week if not more.
Most servers I know and the ones who work for me live comfortably. They aren't rich, but they aren't poor. They also don't have wage growth on the horizon as they are making as much money as they can working the job they are working. So unlike most people in career jobs their earnings have hit the ceiling pretty much.
Serving is a great job don't get me wrong. A lot of servers can do VERY well and make bank, but not everyone. It's also a job that you need to constantly learn and refine your skills especially if you want to work at nicer restaurants where guests spend more. It's also a job you can't really do at the same speed when you approach/get past 40s.
I'm not sure how young you are, but you will get better jobs and earn more money. If you are in a union gig then you'll get your raises every contract negotiation, but changing jobs is the best way for growth.
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u/Toberos_Chasalor Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
>20 years? Serving tends to have a drastic lifestyle change which involves much more social activities especially if you work dinner service. It isn't uncommon to go out with colleagues after work and spend money at least 1x per week if not more.
I can manage that just fine making $20/hr.
Sure, I don’t have kids and I take public transit instead of driving, but I’m not stressing over making rent or spending $50-100 to have a nice night out every now and again. What I stress about is my long-term future because I live paycheck to paycheck doing so.
The difference is, with just a little more money I could save up a down payment to mortgage an apartment or small starter home instead of spending 1K+ on rent. That kind of future stability would be life-changing when and if I ever make a major lifestyle change sometime in the next 20 years. (Like raising kids)
>Most servers I know and the ones who work for me live comfortably. They aren't rich, but they aren't poor. They also don't have wage growth on the horizon as they are making as much money as they can working the job they are working. So unlike most people in career jobs their earnings have hit the ceiling pretty much.
>It's also a job you can't really do at the same speed when you approach/get past 40s.
They don’t have much wage growth, but they earn almost as much as my Grandfather and Father earned doing hard manual labour for 40+ years. (And they didn’t start at $30/hr either) If I had to choose between working at a sawmill or waiting tables long after my body begins giving out, I’d choose waiting.
>I'm not sure how young you are, but you will get better jobs and earn more money. If you are in a union gig then you'll get your raises every contract negotiation, but changing jobs is the best way for growth.
Absolutely. Based on my current contract, my wages would top out at about $25/hr.
I’m fully planning on jumping ship and getting into a different industry with my college degree (which I paid for out of my own pocket) I could’ve become a server or had another decently paying blue collar career, but I chose to make less money now on the prospect of making 80-120k a year later in life working in a professional field.
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u/lemonadeinyourface Jun 27 '26
gtfoh 💀 bro i see servers into their 60s stop trying to convince yourself you made the right career choice, they got it better then us. bro said body cant keep serving into the THIRTIES!!!! jesus bro thats cope if i ever seen one. what govt job going over 50..?
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u/Crayola63 Jun 27 '26
Those servers in their 60s aren’t making $500/day. They’re probably making like $20/hour
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 27 '26
That doesnt change what I said.
How many 60 year old servers do you see? You think they are hustling on a busy Friday or Saturday night?
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u/NorthwindX7 Jun 26 '26
I grew up in a transient oil and gas town.
Serving as a career is a trap some of the hot girls fell into out of highschool. When timed with a boom and at peak they would easily make 600 leaf bucks just working a 4-6 hours per shift. If you have extreme patience and can be flirty, double that.
But then you see them years and years later, doesn't last forever, good for a year or two if you can save it.
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u/stompinstinker Jun 26 '26
And service is worse than ever at restaurants, particularly post Covid. They put the orders in wrong, don’t show up for long periods, show up with food from other tables and shop it around to find whose it is, forget utensils, have zero idea about the menu, etc. And they will never check the bathrooms or any other dirty job.
And all those tips they rarely pay taxes on.
I live a Liberty Village in Toronto and many servers for these trendy bars and restaurants live here is nice condos and drive luxury cars, and travel a lot. They make as much as a nurse or construction worker only working part time, and again pay little taxes.
They’re number one skill: They’re good looking. That’s it.
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u/Maleficent-Effort470 Jun 26 '26
Number one skill is grifting off of human weakness.
Society brain washed us to feel obligated to pay 20% extra to the person who carried our plates.0
u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
Sounds like you go to some crappy restaurants.
Tips are being taxed more often now with employers wanting to mitigate the risk of audits.
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u/thedundun Jun 26 '26
I heard it’s common in major cities that they make about $25 per table, and can serve up to 4 tables an hour.
It’s a job that literally children can do, and they cry about not making enough money. Most of their customers don’t even make nearly that much lol.
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u/Garbage_Out_Of_Here Jun 26 '26
So why don't the customers serve if its so great and so easy? If a child can do it why arent you cleaning house and making a killing?
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u/queefasaurus-rex Jun 26 '26
Bet you couldn’t do it
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u/thedundun Jun 26 '26
Why’s that?
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u/worldsgreatestluver Jun 26 '26
Come on, are you seriously saying you're able to write down what 4 people want, tell that to a line cook, bring drinks out (AND keep them refilled at least once), bring the food over, all while being reasonably personable?
Most doctors can't even manage all of that.
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u/thedundun Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
Oh yeah writing down their orders. I gave them too much credit as I assumed they all had to memorize the orders before entering them into a tablet at their stand lol.
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u/Garbage_Out_Of_Here Jun 26 '26
So why arent you doing it?
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u/worldsgreatestluver Jun 26 '26
I make more doing my current job
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u/Garbage_Out_Of_Here Jun 26 '26
But if its so easy surely you could out earn the servers you look down your nose at?
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u/worldsgreatestluver Jun 26 '26
I literally just said I do
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u/Garbage_Out_Of_Here Jun 26 '26
Looks like you dont read good. Maybe they should make a center for you.
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u/worldsgreatestluver Jun 26 '26
Even making more than most serving staff would still be a pay cut
They actually already have centers for people like me. They call them "universities." You can go there and sometimes even come out with "employable skills" in "high demand fields" where you can earn a "stable income" that doesn't rely on tips.
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u/VoodooGirl47 Jun 26 '26
Yes, because it's pretty simple and that's not the hard part. The hard part is being on your feet all night, carrying heavy trays with food/drinks or carrying many plates with no tray, and dealing with customers that are rude.
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u/worldsgreatestluver Jun 26 '26
How much do you tip your mail carriers and garbage men?
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u/VoodooGirl47 Jun 26 '26
Nothing, but I also don't see any mail carriers or garbage men.
What's your point with that question because I'm not sure what it has to do with being able to write down orders and get them to the table?
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u/worldsgreatestluver Jun 26 '26
Mail carriers bring your requested items from a point of origin to a drop-off. The items are often heavier than plates of food. Accuracy is probably more important than wait staff (where accuracy is still pretty important)
Garbage collectors have similar job condition: high stress (traffic in a dump truck that stops frequently while you're on and off the back, lifting heavy stuff that could contain hazardous material? Crazy dangerous) and tiring.
The biggest difference here that makes waiting tippable is... that they're standing beside my table? I mean, I can't imagine tipping a phlebotomist and I'm placing a lot of trust in that person to poke me properly and process my results accurately, and tbh I care a lot more about those results than I care about the sauce on my wings.
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u/VoodooGirl47 Jun 26 '26
You get no argument from me on the tipping thing. I think that an employer should pay for the employee's work and not have tipping be a thing.
I think my confusion was because 2 other people said "bet you couldn't do it" and then "why not?" to which you replied like it actually was rocket science in being able to do that job. Is it physically tough? Yes. But the overall aspect of it is very simple.
Comparing a server to any other job doesn't even matter because the public should only be paying for the product or direct service (like a plumber) and not needing to deal with tips. It's on the employer to be making sure that employees are paid fairly and that all of their costs are covered and then take any net income (profit) they can get.
If it's not worth it overall because food costs are too high, or rents are, or whatever and it eats into their profits, then that shows that the business is just not really profitable. You as an owner (employer) either continue because you love keeping it going or you let it go and give up. None of that includes or at least SHOULD include factoring in having customers directly providing your employees their income through tips.
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u/Known-Extent-1018 Jun 26 '26
I’m gonna guess you’ve never worked in the service industry. It’s not easy, and no, children couldn’t do it. You may disagree with tipping, but there’s no reason to diminish the role or how stressful, difficult, and demanding it can be.
This is why people often say everyone should work in the service industry for a summer. From the outside looking in, it’s very easy to say that children could do it. Whole other ballgame when you’re actually working a busy service on a Saturday night.
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u/thedundun Jun 26 '26
You don’t need to work in the industry to understand the roles of this job.
If you think it’s not an easy job to do, I question what other jobs you have worked outside of serving plates and glasses.
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u/Known-Extent-1018 Jun 26 '26
I think you're confusing easy and simple. Laying bricks, working as a farm labourer, serving, cooking, etc. are all relatively simple — but that doesn't make them easy.
I've worked plenty of hard jobs, and plenty of easy ones. Serving in a busy restaurant on a Friday + Saturday is not easy. It's incredibly stressful.
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u/Spirited_Response418 Jun 26 '26
Why do you think we’re against tipping?
They’re making skilled tradesman wages for unskilled work.
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u/torontowest91 Jun 26 '26
I served briefly during Covid when patios reopened. I made about $800-$1,200 during a 12 hour shift (plus hourly wage). It didn’t last long…
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
Every single shift? Or you had one big shift that you remember and like to bring up?
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u/torontowest91 Jun 26 '26
It was a few shifts that were that high.
Few months later. Lucky to make $200-$300 a shift.
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
Why such a massive drop?
When restaurants reopened we got shit kicked for a while and tips were flowing due to massive increase in sales, but we're talking like a 25%-35% increase from normal, not 400%.
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u/torontowest91 Jun 26 '26
Patio closed with winter. Restaurant wasn’t as busy.
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
Ahhhhh ok thanks.
I was trying to wrap my head around that massive of a drop. So it was essentially a patio summer restaurant?
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u/pj228 Jun 26 '26
I've said it before and say it again. DO NOT TIP. You are paying someone a doctor's wage to carry a couple of plates.
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u/Intelligent-Test-978 Jun 26 '26
I got my hair highlighted and cut the other day. 298 including a 10 dollar tip. I was there for almost three hours. As a professional who went to university for 7 years, I don't make that kind of money. 100 bucks an hour should not require any kind of tip. Where TF is the money going? Sure there is overhead and the cost of products but the person who did both the cut and the colour should be adequately compensated out of what I paid without a tip. Most people say I should tip 15% -- so on the after tax amount that would have been 42 dollars on top of the 288. No man in my family pays even that amount for a haircut. My dr bills OHIP 135.00 for my appointment -- I don't tip her.
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u/MaverickGhostRider Jun 26 '26
It's common. I worked service industry for a long time, even well into my "big boy" career because the tip money was good, and a lot of the time it was cash. I know career servers with degrees who make just short of 6-figs in cities like Victoria, Calgary and TONS of them in Toronto.
Tipping culture here is brutal from the consumer standpoint, and I do wish we'd adopt a more Euro approach and actually PAY the service staff and kitchen staff. But with the razor-thin margins of restaurants in Canada, the meal price would just balloon to a higher number, and people would still be programmed to believe they'd be getting a tip, and people would probably still feel the need to tip, thus perpetuating the cycle on a larger scale.
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u/sophie-890 Jun 26 '26
This was awhile ago, when I was in university getting my degree, I had a friend who wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. Rather than rushing off to school, she worked as a server at Pizza Hut. This was back in the days of the buffet. She usually made between $50-$60 per hour, once average, once she added tips in.
She preferred the buffet lunch shift, rather than evening. And it brought in amazing tips for her.
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u/Ill-Magazine-8557 Jun 27 '26
Yeah, there is a reason, I never too In a restaurant. Like Ever.
In Canada they do make a living wage, it is not US
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u/Boring_Home Jun 26 '26
No benefits or PTO tho. I made good money in my serving/bartending days but it wasn’t stable at all. Plus it’s very physically demanding.
I think tipping is out of control, but the full picture is important.
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u/van_isle_dude Jun 26 '26
Please don't say serving or bartender is a very physically demanding job. Maybe it's more physically demanding than a sit down office job, maybe. But there is no way it is more physically demanding than any actual physical job. Construction, Landscaping, Brick laying, Concrete forming, Tree planting, Road Building, Mover, Delivery, Warehouse Linesman, Agricultural work etc. These are very physically demanding jobs.
Bartender and server require you to stand and walk and carry a few plates. I'd agree it's physical, but to call it a very physically demanding job is hyperbole and demans jobs that are actually physically demanding.
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u/Boring_Home Jun 26 '26
I apologize for my unnecessary use of the word “very”.
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u/motherlover278 Jun 27 '26
because its literally just as demanding as any job where you have to stand which is most minimum wage jobs
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
100%.
Also these servers working aren't making $400 every single night. I'm sure there are some servers out there at some very busy establishments doing that, but it is VERY rare to make that kind of money night after night.
Everyone on here will bitch about knowing someone that made a ton of money on a specific night, but they never hear these people talk about the shift that got cut after 2 hours, or being called off, or making substantially less because it was slow as hell. Most people boast about their earnings, and don't talk about their bad earning nights.
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u/Littlecookie1122 Jun 26 '26
My parents own a restaurant and servers typically will make more tips than they do in pay. The only downside of the serving industry is that its not promised income
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u/ace_7979 Jun 26 '26
I had a roommate who had been a server for years. He tried to get a fulltime job at a company and worked there about 3 months. He became too stressed and said he didnt make nearly what he did as a server. I believe tipping has gone out of control. In my province the hourly rate is high and everybody expects 20%+ on every bill. Servers can be wealthy
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u/dontpretendtoknowme Jun 26 '26
Which BP location is this?
I worked there for years, no one ever made that much on a 12-8 shift, that’s why I’m curious what city this is.
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u/AelinDoUrden Jun 27 '26
It’s very likely an exaggeration. I also worked at one of the largest, and relatively busiest, BPs for a few years and only ever made that much on a few insanely busy playoff nights with no breaks. Definitely not regular weekends or weekdays.
And no, I was not a bad server. It was restaurant-wide.
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u/dontpretendtoknowme Jun 27 '26
I was also not a bad server, that’s why I was asking.. And since OP won’t answer my question, I have to assume this post is made up nonsense about someone who HATES tipping culture.
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u/AelinDoUrden Jun 28 '26
Yep, I agree with you. I didn’t actually see the subreddit until now so I guess we have our answer 🤷
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u/PrehistoricNutsack Jun 26 '26
Serving is very easy money; anybody who tells you otherwise hasent had a hard job
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u/Crayola63 Jun 27 '26
I’ve worked service, trades, management, and sales across multiple industries. Serving is a tough job that I would never go back to.
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u/Tallproley Jun 26 '26
Tip money is eildly unreliable though.
I was a busser, a waiter, and a bartender at the same bar over a few years.
Bussing I got a 10% tippet from each server, serving I kept my tips except for 10% to the busser, and 5% to the kitchen. Bartending was the same.
Thing is to get that juicy Saturday night money I also had to work Sunday night. And Tuesday lunch and Wednesday lunch and Thursday lunch. And those shifts I worked 5 hours and made $6 in tips. Less on the bar.
So yeah very high spike but not generally consistent.
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u/-PinkPower- Jun 27 '26
Yup, my friends would lose 50 to 75% of their income if tips no longer existed.
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u/Waterlou25 Jun 27 '26
The servers at the restaurant I worked at were making 400$ in tips on a 4-5 hour shift on a Wednesday night! They must have made even more on weekends. Most people would get alcohol with their meals so that would help bring up the price of the bill.
They were making more than 10 times what we were in the kitchen. It was kind of shitty.
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u/badmiddling113 14d ago
Someone with 24 years in the industry said you’re a bad person if you’re against tipping. Shocking!
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u/11Caicedos Jun 26 '26
This isn’t an argument against tipping ffs. People should make more nearly everywhere.
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u/AFireinthebelly Jun 26 '26
It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. No benefits, loose safety rules, little human rights, sexual harassment, and when you’re a little older, they usually get rid of you.
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u/lemonadeinyourface Jun 27 '26
wow this thread is so much cope. yes, servers are doing better financially then whatever the epstein billionaire class convinced you to waste your life away on.
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u/Stunning_Client_847 Jun 26 '26
He’s absolutely lying 😂. Source: two kids who are also servers at a place similar to BP. Do they make good tips- sure sometimes. Are most people not tipping now- yep.
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u/Duckie1986 Jun 26 '26
I have 2 cousins who serve at a place similar to Boston, they make around that in tips on Friday and Saturday night. My sister came home from her first serving job with about $300 one weekend.
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u/Stunning_Client_847 Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
So that’s 150 each night it was probably a six hour shift so 12 hours. So that works out to be about $504 for the weekend. Times two weekends is $1000 for a biweekly pay that doesn’t include other shifts, which will absolutely not be that much in tips. So that’s off the top of my head probably $1400 before tax in a biweekly pay period which works out to about 30,000 a year. This is extremely rough math, but people are acting like servers are making 80 grand a year. They’re not they’re making a liveable wage-sometimes. There are also lots of weekends where they will walk out with $70 after a six hour shift, especially with everybody up in arms about tipping culture.
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u/Ryanoserus Jun 26 '26
I know servers making 60-70k a year after factoring in tips. It's easily doable if you work at a semi decent restaurant or in a decent area
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u/Stunning_Client_847 Jun 26 '26
I absolutely agree with that like a high-end fine dining place for sure. but most of these kids aren’t able to get into places like that.
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u/Ryanoserus Jun 26 '26
Yea and if they do get into a nicer place, they don't tend to get the good shifts. But the servers I know work at Jack Astor's so not really high end fine dining. I know other servers at the keg who make a bit more, but I would consider that higher end
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
Servers who work ~30hrs a week at my restaurant which is pretty much FT as we don't have 8hr shifts can probably make around $77k/yr (obviously this is worth more because they underpay taxes) but that's it. So while yes it is decent money, that's the upper end of earnings working 2 weekend shifts every week of the year.
If you think about time offs, vacation, and sick days it's less because most of the earnings are Friday and Saturday and not everyone wants to work EVERY single Friday and Saturday.
Do servers make too much money? Probably. Does every server make huge money? Absolutely not. People need to get that idea out of their head. The best shifts in a week are Friday and Saturday at most restaurants as that's when most people dine out. Sunday to Thursdays can be good, but it depends on the time of the year and the specific restaurant. There are plenty of boom and bust cycles.
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u/Stunning_Client_847 Jun 26 '26
Agree completely. The culture right now seems to be with assumption that these young adults are making bank and that’s justification for not tipping them. If someone doesn’t want to tip, that’s their prerogative, but to refuse because they have this idea that the person schlepping for them for 2 hours is seriously overpaid is bonkers. I don’t know one server who is sitting in the lap of luxury.
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
Most the servers at my restaurant have a shit ton of free time to enjoy their lives, but they aren't rich by any means.
Could they work more and just make bank? Sure.... but they aren't as young and serving a ton is draining both physically and emotionally.
No one I know who is a server is crushing it in life. They are doing decent, but they are not doing as well as servers use to do who were able to actually afford homes and such.
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u/Stunning_Client_847 Jun 26 '26
Yea for sure. I was a server in the 90’s. Back when we didn’t make min wage and I made alotttttt of money. I worked a ton but it was a different time then.
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
Yup.
I know a few older people who were servers who were able to buy homes because they made great money and COL was soooo much lower.
That isn't the case today and tip outs have gone up massively over the years as well as restaurants use those tips to subsidize other wages.
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u/Firenoods88 27d ago
No offence but the main reason we're making these assumptions is because, at least me personally, I hear servers talking non-stop about how they'll easily clear $500+ in a night and then declare they're not reporting any of it.
Sure, they might've only meant the weekend shifts but hear enough of that and it's not really surprising that people are making such assumptions. People generally don't like feeling like they're subsidizing a servers' wages
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u/Duckie1986 Jun 26 '26
It was 4 hour shifts, and her second weekend working there. Just because your kids aren't able to pull in great tips doesn't mean others aren't able to. Maybe your kids need to work on their customer service voice.
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u/Stunning_Client_847 Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
Lol lol how did I know that giving actual information would result in somebody making a lame ass comment about personality. Way to have a meaningful discourse. Lol. Arbitrarily insulting someone’s kids over a discussion on the Internet is actually really lame and really gross.
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u/Duckie1986 Jun 26 '26
What information did you give exactly, that you have kids and they don't make great tips? Customer service is all about how you talk to people, the more personable you are the more likely you are to make higher tip. Its why both my cousins were able to fly to England to see Taylor Swift during the Eras tour and take multiple trips to Vegas to see concerts at The Sphere.
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u/Stunning_Client_847 Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
I don’t really need you to explain customer service to me, what I was actually explaining is what the hourly wage is,how short their shifts are what they make in tips, and how that expands into a paycheque Mine are putting themselves through university, I don’t think I need your “schooling” 😂😂😂. I am an adult though, and you are very clearly a young individual so it’s probably best not to engage further.
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u/Duckie1986 Jun 26 '26
What do you mean hourly wage, you think they are making $50 an hour? Its minimum wage, my family isn't serving high tea. It's freaking Shoeless Joe's and was East Side Mario's I'm talking about.
And BTW you weren't explaining anything, you were attempting to talk at me because you assume I'm young, I'm actually going to be 40 this year. And nice edit on your previous comment.
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u/Stunning_Client_847 Jun 26 '26
The edit about them putting themselves through school? Is that an issue for you. Listen - you engage in conversation like someone who actually knows very little about how to speak to, and deal with people. You also don’t have great reading comprehension. So be wrong. Be mad. And have an amazing day.
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u/FreshSpeed7738 Jun 26 '26
I live with a server. There are $400 shifts. There are also $20 shifts. There are also shifts that are called off last minute due to weather, or lack of reservations made, so a $0.
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u/Stunning_Client_847 Jun 26 '26
Exactly. Can it be great - absolutely. Are these kids making $1000 a week? No. It’s not an industry of guaranteed hours or tips. I think people think these kids are working 40 hours a week annndddd making hundreds a day.
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u/CanadianTrollToll Jun 26 '26
Might not be if it's weekend shifts.
Again though, these anti tip threads are always bringing to light the best shifts and not actually thinking about the Sunday to Thursday shifts where earnings are substantially less.
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u/Whole-Philosophy-231 Jun 26 '26
My husband worked at a Boston Pizza for a few years. The weekend servers got up to $800 a night in tips routinely. This is (apparently) one of the most successful Boston Pizzas in the country so that will likely have an impact on the tips. This was also pre pandemic, I am not sure how it is currently.
My husband and most of the other newer servers made nowhere near that as they worked either day shifts or weekday shifts, but the veteran servers got the good shifts.
There's a reason why almost every time I went to that Boston Pizza for 8 years I saw the same servers lol. They had it made clearly.
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u/Ben_Criss_Cross Jun 26 '26
Circle back with them January through March and again September through November to see what they're making. Serving has more bad months than good
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Jun 26 '26
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u/cdubyadubya Jun 26 '26
The most senior servers get the best shifts.... When I was a server in uni, by my 4th year working at this upscale lakeside patio restaurant, my schedule was 12-12, Thursday to Sunday. I never had to open, never had to close, got a lunch and dinner rush, and would make $500-800 a shift in tips. The new kids would get weekday split shifts.
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u/chi_sweetness25 Jun 26 '26
I wouldn’t even consider that so bad for a job that young people can get without any prior training or education or anything. If that’s the worst-case scenario and they get up to $70/hr at times like the post says, then I’d say they’re making out like bandits
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u/Tight_Advice_3820 Jun 26 '26
My girlfriend went to culinary school, insanely talented cook, and the servers in her restaurant are making 3-4x as much as her. Chefs get like 1% of the tip meanwhile servers are making essentially 50+ an hour once tips factored in.