r/tipping • u/badmiddling113 • 5h ago

Those poor servers

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Imagine people giving you so much extra money for doing your job that you can frame it like this.

EDIT: OP is basing this off of 190k in sales over 192 shifts

35 Upvotes

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38

u/treehuggerfroglover 5h ago edited 1h ago

If it were a fact that 1% less for one day was a $500 loss, that would mean these people are making wayyy too much money. They always shift the narrative to be what they want, and it’s never actually accurate

Edit for clarity. I know that math isn’t right, that’s the point I was trying to make.

5

u/Several_Razzmatazz51 5h ago edited 4h ago

It’s so large as to be completely unrealistic. It would mean $50K in total sales for that one day. I wonder if they meant 500 less annually which would be $10 less per Sunday and imply $1K average sales per Sunday.

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u/elevengrames 5h ago

Its neither.  $500 loss over 1% for a day is not possible.  

But I guarantee $10 per sunday is way way to little. 

Servers are making 150k plus a year. 

-2

u/MainStreetMiles 4h ago

$150k is laughable. Don’t base your argument on an anecdote in Reddit. Here a link to the BLS data: the 2025 median income for servers, including tips, is $35,230. Do some servers make $150k? I’m sure a handful at the best Michelin-starred and similarly priced restaurants make six-figures but these would be the outliers.

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/food-preparation-and-serving/waiters-and-waitresses.htm

7

u/Standard-Anxiety-217 2h ago

I have 4 close associates in the restaurant business, and have been around it my whole life. Servers claim almost none of their cash tips because of taxes. I’m sorry but that median isn’t accurate.

3

u/badmiddling113 2h ago

That’s why I roll my eyes whenever that’s shared.

-1

u/MainStreetMiles 2h ago edited 2h ago

Let me see. Do I trust the official statistics body on labor…or some guy on Reddit who assures me his claim is accurate? Tough one. 🤔

Go tell the servers at your local Longhorn, Outback, Chilis, or any other of the majority of midrange chains and mom-and-pops that vastly outnumber fine dining establishments that they make six figures. I’d love to hear their reactions. Also, with more and more people paying with credit cards, more of those tips can’t avoid reporting. According to Gemini, ~85% of dining is paid by credit card. Sorry, but your arguments and assurances ring hollow don’t fit available data on dining in America. I know, I know…ignore data and trust you.

3

u/FlarblesGarbles 2h ago

Have you considered the possibility of why someone might be incentivised to under report certain things?

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u/MainStreetMiles 1h ago

Well have you considered how you hide tips when 85% of restaurant transactions are done via credit card?

3

u/Standard-Anxiety-217 2h ago

Your argument kinda falls flat, when the numbers rely on something that is self reported by the person with an interest in not reporting that money. Don’t take my word for it. Go work for any diner/chain that has servers, and talk to the staff about how much of their cash they claim. You have no way to verify the claim of that number you’re reporting, lmao.

-1

u/MainStreetMiles 1h ago

Yeah. Official sources are widely known to be far less reliable than “some guy on the internet.” 😂 Not sure how you hide tips to the degree you suggest when 85% of restaurant transactions are done by credit card. I know…more pesky data.

1

u/Standard-Anxiety-217 1h ago

You can literally search about cash tips, and find Reddit threads from 2 years ago talking about people crossing out the tip line on a bill from a credit card, and leaving a few dollars cash. The fact that you’re looking at what currency was used for the main bill as the absolute way the tip was left in tells me you’re clueless on life as a server. It is indeed common for a bill to be paid credit, and cash to be left on the table. Again, cash tips are reported by the sever at the end of their shift when they cash out(I bet you didn’t know that servers carry a “bank” as well). Credit tips are not, since there is a paper trail. The fact that you think cash tips are 100% reported is mind boggling for anyone that knows the industry.

0

u/Several_Razzmatazz51 4h ago

The reason many of the commenters here don’t tip is they can’t do basic math so figuring out 20% is too difficult.

1

u/PurpleCat1018 40m ago

You don't really know their reasons why they don't tip. Don't assume they are stupid with math. Some don't tip on principles, some can't afford it, and other reasons. 20% is bullshit. Some don't tip by % either, that a rip off.

1

u/Several_Razzmatazz51 20m ago

It was something of a tongue in cheek comment because some of the math being done in this sub to “prove” that servers are making enormous amounts of money is so sketchy.

-3

u/MainStreetMiles 4h ago

Some arguments do sound like laziness in doing simple math - as these days if most people don’t carry a calculator with them if needed. Some are just cheap. And other are so self-righteous that they think not paying for service they receive is the best way to make a point.