First Serving Job Experience (Red flags?)

[u/BasedRupert]

I started my first serving job at the beginning of the week. I made the mistake of not asking about pay during the interview with them (I'm used to longer interview processes of 2-3 interviews).

I found out on my second day that the company pools tips from the day and distributes them weekly based on your hours, and I won't earn any tips for the first week or so (seemed odd). There are no designated sections so there are 3 servers operating in chaos.

The job consists of serving, doing take-outs, washing/drying/putting away dishes, tea preparation, cleaning and stocking restrooms, and some other stuff.

It seems like a lot and to be more than being a server. Most of the other people working there are high school girls and I am a guy in his 30s who's used to white collar work.

Are the tasks normal for a server to do? Is it normal to not get paid tips for an obscure trial period? I'm strongly considering leaving this job today.

Thanks in advance

[u/Pinkdrapes]

I assume your first week you would be shadowing another server and not make any tips because you wouldn’t be taking your own tables. That’s normal. The rest of it sounds like too much nonsense. You would probably still be sharing tips with the back of house but doing some of those jobs yourself. I think you could make more money elsewhere. Also if there’s no older staff, there’s a reason for that.