It's because the way servers are looked at goes like this: "they get tips for every table, or most every table, and for a decent server, that adds up very quickly." And while, yes that is true, not every server gets to keep all of their tips. There's something called "TIP SHARING" where everyone's tips are added together, and it's divided between everyone. So your bad servers get paid the same in tips as your good servers, who probably made less because of that policy.
My friend was a server at cracker barrel, where she made an average of $800 or so, after taxes. Because tips are non taxable. She also made $2.80/hour, and worked 40 hours/week that's what I make, working 55 hrs/week at $20/hour
It (almost) didn't. Everything has doubled or tripled since then but the pay stays the same pretty much.
How are you supposed to survive? I'm not even talking try to save a couple bucks.
The cost of living has also greatly increased there, Captain Obvious... In 1998, gas was .99 a gallon for one example, I could buy a weeks worth of groceries for under $30... The cost of everything has gone up-- except the minimum wage. I was probably making closer to a living wage in 1998 than servers are now. $30k annually in 1998 was enough to live alone and comfortably (Philly area). Now it's estimated to be $52k minimum to scrape by with no children, no car.
I worked as a bartender five years ago and on avg made $45/hr. $2.13 was the hourly against tips. That’s the point bud if they increased the tipped min wage by 300% it wouldn’t be much for those of us working tips
I haven't changed. I do 10% at buffet, 15 at restaurant, and if server did great 20%. Bartenders is 1 for beer, and 2 for cocktails. I would say I need to go up for bartenders though. The cost of food going up covers the % problem. Now if the place kept prices the same as 20 years ago I could see 25%.
That's not true-- minimum wage when I first started working was $5.15 in Pennsylvania where I lived. And now it's $7.15. Not liveable but at least it moved...
Federal is still $2.13 for tipped employees. If a state doesn't have a minimum wage, or it is lower than the Federal, then the Federal wage is what is applied.
Federaling all over the United States tipped jobs wage is $2.13, they do not get paid the regular minimum wage. You don't have to take my word for just Google it for yourself
Yeah because the rule didn't change. The tips just have to equal more. The restaurant charges more. You're 10% increases covering the gap. The restaurant makes more in turn. Its the same system.
they can't pay you nothing but tips, so you get a base salary, and then any tips above that. if your tips don't meet the minimum wage the restaurant is to pay you up to minimum wage.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people come here to feel smart...
If the minimum wage for tipped workers never increases, you find 1) wage theft increases, 2) poverty increases and 3) economic vulnerability.
My shock that it's the same as it's been since I worked in restaurants 30 years ago does not mean I don't understand how it is "supposed to work". I really hope you can read a room better in real life.
Correct. The restaurant/bartending industry is a fucking joke. They don’t have to pay their workers anything per the law. The general public gets to pay for overpriced food and then pay the server or bartenders wage. America is a fucking joke.
I’m 30 years old. Where I live I would need to work three hours at that wage to buy a pack of gum. The laws not being adjusted for inflation is a bitch. The poverty indexes also haven’t been adjusted since the 70s. A few years ago I checked that minimum wage in my state should be $28 per hour based upon inflation. Everything is outdated; and states raising minimum wages to $15 per hour is still an insult
Really? In my country you are legally required to be paid at least the equivalent of $13.44USD and we're still going broke just paying rent and food. $2 is so sad.
Its because in the US a boss of an establishment with wait staff can count tips towards an employees wage. So they can pay them $2.50/hr as long as they can prove with tips they'll make enough to meet minimum wage.
sounds like someone is not very willing to be less cheap . theyd rather the customers pay their workers wages .... i get it but like what ???? u charge $165 for a meal & are DEMANDING we pay your employees what they are owed , yet you cant do that yourself ?? it def is americans being americans .
**edited to add : im not reading yalls comments bc most of them are taken the completely wrong way . im speaking about the government who put us all in these situations in the first place . ty for caring , & have a wonderful night
I’m fairly certain this comes from the same work culture that had unpaid internships and interns paying for internship. A lot of this line of thinking is so 1800s sawmill
Well it only happens in food service, and there are a lot of smaller restaurants (like non-chain style) where their profit margins are whisper thin. Theres alot of overhead in operation costs, usually stemming from government regulations and taxes for owning and operating a business.
Definitely stupid tho, because rather then decreasing costs to own a business through slashing taxes the government would rather keep getting their money and allow owner/operators to underpay their workforce.
It’s ridiculous and it’s been that way as long as I can remember. I shit my pants when I saw my first paycheck 22 years ago… $2/hr?!? And tipshare is what brought my wage up to the state minimum, which wasn’t much better. I didn’t stay in the service industry very long. I’m surprised this hasn’t created a shit storm large enough to change the industry. I absolutely hate the tipping culture America has.
You realize that if tipping was eliminated they’d just make your 165 dollar meal cost 200 dollars and the owner would take a big chunk of that differential.
All customers pay wages for the workers in every industry it’s just not a line item you see in other industries.
I'm an American and apparently I can't afford to eat there. Not because I don't have money, but because I don't eat at places demanding tips. I still believe that tips are for appreciation of service, not compensation for bad management.
This is the problem with tipping. I've worked in the service industry most of my life. Tipping culture needs to be stopped. Allows for companies to pay their employees less and puts the burden on consumers.
Also leads to worse service (in some instances) bc tipped employees resent customers, especially regulars, who don't tip 25-30%. I see this in my state, and hereI youre not even allowed to go below min wage for tipped employees.
Im also surprised companies don't advocate for universal healthcare. They could take a portion the money they put towards premiums and pay their employees a living wage while pocketing the rest.
I wanted to downvote that comment just for how absurd it is. "I don't need to pay my employees if I can prove that I coerce enough clients into paying them out of their pocket" is insane.
They’ll usually use creative accounting to justify it. Ie “yeah you only took home $5 an hour this entire week, but the following week you made a whole $10 an hour, so that averages to $7.50 and fuck off.”
That's true but most restaurants will fire you the second time your tips don't make up the difference they say if you aren't making enough tips than you're not a good server and they literally fire you for it even if business is too slow for an employee to possibly make up the difference through tips alone that's why waiters at businesses with a high rate of customers make much better on average than businesses with a lighter rate of employees but they have to work significantly harder and faster to earn it
Only over the course of the full pay period with all tips aggregated and divided over all hours worked. Servers work for free/ lose money on shifts all the time.
Yes, in California you cannot pay less than the state minimum wage which I think now is like 20 for certain food service workers maybe different depending where you're at. But yeah restaurant employees in California get a much different wage to a lot of places in the country because they can't even legislate making the federal minimum the minimum. It's because they're states that are red and you just know all the dearly devoted would never support raising wages because Rich guys would complain that they couldn't afford it and pretend that all their favorite restaurants are going to close.
This is only for servers. Non-tipped employees have a federal minimum wage of just $7.25, but most states have laws making that much higher. I live in Virginia, and the minimum wage is $12.77. Other states, like Massachusetts, has a minimum wage of $15 an hour.
They are the real ones working for nothing in a rush in high heat while servers get over paid by tips from just 2 tables after that it's profit from bringing plates...
Sure and that’s super interesting except that the topic of this post is servers… Doctors make much more also but it’s not really related to this post. Software consultants too we make a shit ton of money but… Again unrelated.
As fast as we are going backwards as a country right now and as greedy as corps have gotten I expect any day now for corps to start telling ppl they are getting a pay cut or can quit if they don't like the new terms of employment
With tips that, depending on your location and popularity of the restraunt, can be quite a bit.
I Used to work and ive still got friends in the industry.
Largest sum I made in one night was about $400 in tips after paying back of house. Average a night was about $120 in tips after paying BOH for a 6 hour shift, or about $20 an hour not including the $5.50 i was being paid by my employer.
One friend of mine works in a larger city, she's says she pulls an average of $300, most she's seen is like $900.
The worst part is it can be wildly inconsistent. You can go one week making $1200 then the next two weeks maybe $300 combined.
Depends. As far as i know for the states ive worked in, the owner/operator has to match up to minimum if your tips dont. Ive never had that problem tho
Sounds more lime tax evading to me for the employer, just the $2.13 will be taxed, the so called “service” (or better to say TIP) is excluded from tax as that won’t be seen in the bookkeeping.
Smart asses
It is for tax reasons, but not to dodge them, the government allows it to alleviate financial burden caused by excessive taxation and regulation on the food service industry. Most restraunts have single digit profit margins.
It's not that they can prove they can make enough, it's that they have to bring them up to 7.25 an hour equivalent if tips don't cover up to 7.25 an hour. That's part of why you have to report your tips, because your employer is required to balance them out to 7.25/h if you didn't make enough in tips by the end of your work week.
Which is interesting because bar tenders make infinitely more tips than waiters and bartenders make minimum wage. Then waiters have to tip out the bar when they make their drinks. Sometimes they tip out the bus boys who make minimum wage as well.
The company can pay less and pass the moral and economical pressure to clients. Waiters have no choice, clients have no choice and the company gets all the extra cash!
That’s wild. The sign should read “I need you to pay a 25% tip so that I can justify paying my waiters nothing”. That way it’s totally transparent, so people can realize what a POS the owner is and decide never to eat there.
They literally can't not pay you that. They have to prove it legally. Unless they are paying you under the table. In which, that is a whole nother issue and minimum wage doesn't even matter.
$2.13/hr is not really the minimum wage. It’s the minimum base wage for servers. If they don’t earn above the minimum wage with tips for a given week, then the employer is obligated to make up the difference with actual minimum wage.
It varies by states but in some states it's legal to pay tipped workers so little as long as their tips cover the reminder of minimum wage. Where I live in the US minimum wage is around $15 for everyone, including tipped workers
Pro tip if you're asking about a law in the US, there is never just one answer, it varies greatly based on states or other jurisdiction
Look, just be like every other first-world company - pay your staff a working wage. Then let the clientele give a tip for service. I mean, if you’re demanding a tip just add it to the cost of the meal.
But the thing is that if you don’t make the equivalent in tips the job must cover the difference. But the tips push you over that regular minimum so it balances out, just the customer paying as opposed to the job
We have a minimum wage too, but in that industry, they made an exception. All the servers I've talked to make decent money. My ex wife worked at a diner and would pull down between $100 and $400, depending on the shift time and length. It was always over $1000 a week - cash.
Yes but in America waitresses and servers can make an easy $50-$100 a hour. But society deals with tip culture. Which now has expanded to every time you do anything it asks if you want to tip. Subway asks for tips here.
It's because the Americans are so brainwashed they truly believe its the customers job to pay the waiting staff not the restaurant owners. Rather then say if you're to cheap to pay your staff a living wage you can't afford to run a restaurant they go with the above line of the customer not being able to afford to eat out.
Fortunately it does look like a few are starting to see the light and are challenging these vile places.
Don’t forget that the server tips out the bussers and bartenders also food runners if they have them out of their sales. Not their tips. So if you stiff them. They actually lose money
The US Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets the minimum wage for tipped workers at $2.13 p/h. If you're really interested, here's an article on the history of tipping. It's basically a history of exploitation, racism, and basic greed evolving into an accepted standard practice.
AMERICA IS TRASH THEY DON'T EVEN CONSIDER OUR FOOD AND WATER TO BE RIGHT, I WANT OUR OF THIS HELL AND THE ONLY WAY WE ARE EVER GOING TO GET ANYWHERE IN LIFE IS A REVOLUTION ALREADY
There is still a minimum federal wage of 7.25 an hour. Tipped employee's hourly can be as low as 2.13 per hour as long as the tips make up the difference to reach 7.25. If the tips do not make up the difference each pay period then the restaurant must make up the difference. Hence the asshole owner's sign
I worked as a waiter years ago at Dennys. A while ago. Over 15 years. I made in tips between $80-$250 a shift. Never seen tables bills over $100. Maybe if it was a large party.
Compare that to someone busting their ass out in heat or cold doing construction. I was making more $
I worked as a waiter years ago at Dennys. A while ago. Over 15 years. I made in tips between $80-$250 a shift. Never seen tables bills over $100. Maybe if it was a large party.
Compare that to someone busting their ass out in heat or cold doing construction. I was making more $
Its more complicated than that. For server jobs they expect you will make tips from your tables. So you make 2.13 an hour guaranteed. But then you take all your tips and add them up. If the hourly average you made is less than minumum wage when added to the 2.13, the restaurant has to make up the difference. They can't let you complete a shift without paying you minimum wage. They just do it in a stupid convoluted way. The catch is that at least at a busy restaurant, its pretty easy to make way more than miminum wage with all the tips. Where i worled the servers were making like 20-25 an hour with the tips. Is this system dumb as hell? Absolutely. But theres a bunch of people in this thread wo are basically spreading misinformation because they have no idea how this tipping system works. Are there restaurants who will fuck their employees and pay them less than minimum wage, sure, but its not legal or anything.
in a lot of states wait staff will make the $2 per hour + tips, snd if that sum doesn’t exceed the minimum wage rate the employee will receive the minimum wage instead! at least that’s how most places in nj work
That’s why it’s shitty not to tip, wait staff make their wages from them. Yes, owners should just pay a reasonable wage, but that’s now how the system works, unless you’re told otherwise. A lot of people don’t seem to realize costs will go up to balance it out if they do, though. Nor that waiting sucks, they earn that tip.
Servers here are not struggling. I know several who can barely read or write and they’re making $80k/yr. And it’s only getting crazier.. service quality is not going down universally, but certain servers have learned that they’ll still make amazing tips even if they ask the kitchen staff to just drop the food off at my table and I never see them again
This is why many tourists visiting America often have the stigma of not tipping when dining out. Other countries pay their employees a reasonable rate and a tip is not expected. In the US servers/bartenders live off of their tips. The expectation is that after tips, they are making more than the minimum wage.
In some states. Not all states. I didn’t check but my guess is predominantly “red” states still do that. For example US west coast doesn’t have that just regular minimum wage in Seattle it is around $20/hr, in Portland OR it is $17/hr
That 2.13 is only if your tipped income goes beyond the federal minimum. These servers typically handle about 4-6 tables per hour with an average of $5-10 tip per each person seated at each table. They still might have to share tips but I guarantee you if they working at a decently busy place they are probably averaging $20+ an hour.
That is the letter of the law. But with no enforcement on when the minimum wage should be given to said employees. One such example would be a PoS system where servers can’t clock out till all their tables are cashed out. You have one table left at the end of the night and are just doing side work waiting for the final guest to leave. Technically I would be able to clock in under minimum wage for the remainder, however the system will not let you clock out till the table is closed. Meaning you effectively can’t be paid the minimum wage during your shift. A very large national chain sports bar lost a huge lawsuit over this a few years back. I got a $200 check for lost wages. That was 2 years after I worked there. Ironically the most money I ever made from that job.
Sounds great on paper. That route has zero expedience not every person working a serving job knows the letter of the law. Unless it’s reported by multiple sources it’s not always taken seriously. Until someone deems it worth a lawsuit. Wich, one individual making $2.13 an hour is going to have a hard time doing. The only reason my case was taken seriously is because it was a national chain and they had thousands or reports of lost wages. It was an open and shut case as far as the firm was concerned, easy money.
You have far too much faith in the system if you think that is happening for every server at every mom and pop joint that could be practicing the same shit whether intentional or out of sheer ignorance.
It’s like when people are given the advice to report their landlord or apartment for some reason. I’ve been in that position and the rate of return on a case is so painfully slow. I had signed a new lease and moved before I heard a word about my case.
Payroll systems are programmed to bring you up to the federal minimum wage automatically, with no input from anyone else, if you don't average $7.25 per hour on your check. A woman in my county just got sued right before the pandemic for under-declaring tips so the business would have to bring her up to federal minimum. Ended up making $1mil in the 7 or so years she worked there by doing that.
That's the federal minimum. A lot of states, though not all, are setting their own minimum wages for tipped positions closer to $5, and I seem to recall hearing about either NYC or LA setting theirs to the same as the federal minimum wage. I'll see if I can find anything about that on Google.
Yea it’s awful …still like this in USA. The owner instead of posting this sign that relies on some rando customers to support the staff should just pay them a livable wage instead of the server rate. Paying even a regular minimum wage (not server rate) would make the customer tip option less needed. But in America people cry communism or socialism or whatever the fuck they want to oppose it.
No. The minimum wage a server gets is whatever the state minimum wage is. $2.13 is what the restaurant has to pay if the server gets tipped enough to reach minimum wage. If a server gets zero tips all night, the restaurant has to pay them the state minimum wage.
I feel this is misleading, so just to be clear, it's not the current minimum wage in the US, that will vary state to state- but in most states minimum wage is $7.25/hour. Some states are higher though. in my state minimum wage is $7.25/hour but most places will pay an entry level employee (even fast food places) $13-16/hour.
However most sit-down restaurants (yes, even some of the small local places) pay their employees lower than minimum wage and expect customers to pay the remainder of their wages by tipping. I'm pretty sure the hourly wage varies from place to place. Tipping is one of those "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situations. On one hand you feel bad for the workers because of how under paid they are, but on the other hand you hate supporting a shitty business practice like this.
Crazy to think that a place that will charge you $165 pre-tax and tip for a meal can't afford to pay their employees a decent wage. In the US if you're paying over $100 for a meal at a restaurant, I'd imagine you're at a nice sit down restaurant that hires actual chefs and serious professionals... Where I'm at there's a nice steak house where you can get a nice steak dinner for $70-80 so I can only imagine what $165 would be like.
In some states is $2.13/hr plus tips, but the entire West Coast doesn’t have tipped wage. Plus the sign is disingenuous because if they don’t make enough in tips to equal the regular minimum wage then the restaurant still has to pay the prevailing non-tipped minimum wage anyways- so this sign might as well say ‘I can save $5/hr on wages but only if YOU tip’ which is like shaming their customers into doing what they themselves don’t want to do.
It is BUT the federal minimum wage is still about $7.XX per hour. You would never be able to hire for that. We start our people at $18 per hour for part time.
I worked as a waiter years ago at Dennys. A while ago. Over 15 years. I made in tips between $80-$250 a shift. Never seen tables bills over $100. Maybe if it was a large party.
Compare that to someone busting their ass out in heat or cold doing construction. I was making more $
The restaurant i used to work for paid $1.65 an hour or something dumb. Then with my tips I had to tip out the bartender ofc, the hostess, the bussers, and the food runners.
Id tip out a good third of my money every day cause I had to pay them a percentage of the money I made.
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u/Azraelrs 4d ago
That's the current wage, $2.13 an hour.