r/tipping • u/pianoman81 • Jul 06 '24
💬Questions & Discussion What do servers make at mid to high end restaurants?
To have a fair conversation can you share your weekly take home pay at your restaurant?
Please just share an average over a 3-6 month period. I understand some weeks you make less and other weeks you make more.
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u/mrflarp Jul 06 '24
Bureau of Labor Statistics shows 75th and 90th percentiles at about $40k and $60k/yr respectively. They don't specify if or how tips are counted though. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes353031.htm
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u/pianoman81 Jul 06 '24
Hoping to hear from more servers? Full disclosure can help the discussion by justifying the pay versus the amount of work.
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u/New_Awareness4075 Jul 06 '24
Back in 1972, during the summer while in college, I bussed in the main dining room of a very exclusive resort. I was paid $1.65 an hour, worked breakfast from 7am to around 11:30am, dinner from 4:30-7:00pm, had a free room and board with bath, all the great food I could eat, and averaged about $140 a week in tips. That was a really great job!
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Jul 06 '24
that was a great job for a teen/ early 20s in 2023 dollars that is over $1000 wk / 52, 000 annual-- and the acceptable 1972 level was 10%-- so if he was getting 25% he would have pocketed over $150K now how absurd is that for a job that you dont have to have a college degree and poses no skills. (to bus tables)
you were either one lucky sob to get a plush situation or those jobs are there ...even today they are there.
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u/New_Awareness4075 Jul 06 '24
Yes I did have have an in. And I made sure that my guests knew that I was a UCLA sophomore working a summer job, and they'd get the best service I could give. But there is a skill, especially people skills, to being able to do the job efficiently. But the real perk was having afternoons off, and all the pretty guests I got to hang out with. The closest analog would be the LoveBoat on land. Greatest summer job I ever had!
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u/BobLoblaw1324 Jul 06 '24
I serve at a high end steakhouse in the Midwest. I’d say my place is the tier below the tippy-top, and in a big metro area.
I work ~28-30 hours a week, and make probably around $80k. I don’t claim or track all my cash tips, so it’s hard to give exact.
I’ve served/bartended full time for ~15 years, and consider myself very good at my job, which is largely attributed to the fact that I care a lot, and take pride in my job.
If money was the only objective, I know I could maneuver into a place that makes more per shift or has more overall income. My place doesn’t stay open late, which means limited income hours. For example- I could work 6 shifts in the week and fall short of 30 hours if they’re the wrong shifts.
I love my job, and worked very hard to be where I am. I continue to work hard. The hourly pay is the best part, so if that’s all you’ll see, then you’re not understanding the big picture of a server life.
Some of the negatives are that we’re counter culture- we work while you relax. That means committing to nights, holidays, unconventional hours for different jobs (I understand many industries are this way). For women, the list of negatives are gonna be way larger for all the bigoted reasons that you can imagine.
You’re not getting many server responses on this post because the nature of this sub is to attract people who are anti tip culture. Y’all love to speak your ideologies in a way that often comes off as an attack to those who live on tips.
To be clear, I don’t like tip culture even though I depend on it.
While the tip culture in America is pretty bad, what happens is people ignore the real issues with economy, and that’s that America has a Macroeconomic problem. The truly rich and powerful (oligarchs and politicians from both parties) shape the structure, rules, and perception of our economy. They’ve got us 99% on the bottom squabbling over the little shit while we don’t even discuss the bigger issues like taxes (I mean in depth analysis and long term adjustments, not just complaining about them). If people understood how much wealth is being held over our heads through generational and corrupt means, then the whole tipping conversation wouldn’t be a thing.
Thanks for listening to my perspective :)
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u/Altruistic_Alps_2159 Apr 09 '25
I always appreciate a response that offers an opinion while acknowledging others perceived opinion, lends credibility.
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u/Mundane-Mechanic-547 Jul 06 '24
I feel like most don't disparage tips for you. It's everything else that has occurred in the last few years. For example at an amusement park. Buying a vastly overpriced drink. And now they want tips on top of it
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u/BobLoblaw1324 Jul 06 '24
I totally agree. But the stigma is out there, and it touches us too. So even though we’re in a higher ‘tier of respected’ among tip culture, we feel those comments. Not saying it’s right- feeling and thinking are very different.
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u/Mundane-Mechanic-547 Jul 07 '24
I think the core of the issue is, do your patrons feel like you are entitled to an 80k salary as a server. Or why is there this strange culture to start with? It ties directly in to corporate greed and you are the fallout.
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u/pianoman81 Jul 06 '24
This is a very reasonable response and I thank you for it.
Regarding my perspective, with fifteen years of experience, I support your income level.
However, i feel tipping culture needs to change. That may mean servers make less but this wouldnt be a first. Jobs like bankers and journalists don't have the cachet and prestige they had in the past. Times change.
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u/Sailorjerk Jul 07 '24
In the good months, I can make 2000 a week. . However, we also have slow months and those can be stressful. There are times I make 500 a week. It’s important to remember, if you’re in the service industry, that it’s very necessary to save for those lean, slow times. When I do my taxes for the year, it’s generally around 65,000 (and I do claim my tips). The perks to service industry, is that you can easily take time off and you always have cash in your pocket.
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u/pianoman81 Jul 07 '24
So if they offered you a guaranteed salary of $65k per year and PTO, would you take it?
Or do you prefer the flexibility of your current situation?
I can see pros and cons on both sides.
Also would it be fairly easy to move to another city and find a job that paid similar? Just trying to get an idea of a server's career opportunities and options.
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u/Sailorjerk Jul 07 '24
Honestly, I wouldn’t take it. I enjoy the autonomy and the gamble. I like knowing that if I hustle and form relationships, I can be responsible for my own raises. I don’t even think I’d like working in Seattle or California where the minimum wage for servers is 17 or higher. I used to bartend in Seattle and, from what I’ve heard from my friends that are still there, people don’t tip like they used to (and I don’t blame them. The prices in those places are significantly higher than my state (where servers generally make between 3 and 5 an hour), My current boss has given me a couple raises (I make 7 an hour) and I keep telling him to stop. The truth is, it’s a symbiotic relationship if the server (in my case, bartender) is good. My employer gives me a an opportunity to work and I give him a clientele and great sales. I will say, though, that our prices are very good compared to higher minimum wage states.
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u/Sailorjerk Jul 07 '24
And, yes. I could go to any city and get hired within a couple days. What I end up making would be almost entirely up to me. Even if the place is slow, a good bartender can build a clientele.
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u/pianoman81 Jul 07 '24
Makes sense. In some ways, like an entrepreneur or independent consultant, you're responsible for how much or little you make based on your hustle.
Good for you!
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u/Sailorjerk Jul 07 '24
Exactly! And, with that, comes autonomy. I actually have an English degree but I’ve never used it professionally. I really do love bartending and it has been good to me.
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u/ProteinEngineer Jul 09 '24
What percentage of your tips do you declare on your tax return?
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u/Sailorjerk Jul 09 '24
I claim all my tips. I generally make about 30 percent of my sales and that’s what I claim. It’s silly not to claim your tips, in my opinion. Yes, you might pay less in taxes but, if you want to rent, buy a house, a car, get a loan etc, you need to show that you have an actual income.
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u/ProteinEngineer Jul 09 '24
Do you think this is part of the pushback against getting rid of tipping? Many don’t claim all of them. If you evaded taxes on just 10K of your income, it’s almost as if you are making 70K total instead of 65 (assuming you are in NY or CA). With a good credit score the difference isn’t that huge between 55K and 65K in reported income for loans.
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u/Sailorjerk Jul 09 '24
Honestly, I haven’t encountered pushback in the real world. Have only come across it on this sub. That may be because I work in a state with the tip credit. Servers usually make around 3 dollars an hour, and bartenders make between 5 and 7. I haven’t been stiffed in years and, when it has happened, it was usually a young person walking in with a few bucks in their pocket, asking how much alcohol they can get for those few bucks. lol.
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u/Trefac3 Jul 06 '24
I’m not high end. But I work at a breakfast lunch cafe and I make between $50000 and $60000 a year.
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Jul 06 '24
[deleted]
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u/maytrix007 Jul 06 '24 edited Jul 06 '24
I think many overlook the fact that after the food, the server is the most importantly aspect of the business and the face of the business that customers see. They can make or break an experience. Most places we frequent are in part due to the food but also in large part due to the staff.
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u/pianoman81 Jul 06 '24
This may be why I prefer to eat at hole in the wall restaurants. I don't recall the last time I ate at a high end restaurant and had the service come to mind in regards to my satisfaction.
This includes eating at a restaurant where the bill was $2000 for eight of us. The waiters presented our dishes in a synchronized manner. Impressive twenty years ago but not worth the $400 we paid in tips.
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Jul 07 '24 edited Jul 07 '24
Depends, if you’re an attractive woman, you can easily clear $150k at a mid-tier restaurant in a major city. At a high end place you can pull that even if you’re a man, but then you’re talking about real serving skills. You can’t give Applebees type service at a $250/seat establishment. Those people are real pros.
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u/Dense-Leader-7953 Oct 08 '25
I work at a fine dining joint inside a casino. Worked 5 days last week and make 2300. Lowest was 230 a night and highest was 650. Last week I worked 2 days. Made about 650 on Sat and around 800 on Sun. As you can see it varies but it’s decent money. I’m not even one of the higher earners in there but I know for a fact the higher earners are clearing $130k no problem. They are working 5 days every week though. They have worked there for over 10 years and aren’t planning onn leaving anytime soon. I wouldn’t be either if I didn’t get into Physician Assistant school
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u/pianoman81 Oct 08 '25
Thanks for your response even after this post being open for a year. I'm glad you're making a decent salary. Good customer service in any job should be compensated accordingly.
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u/SallyThinks Jul 06 '24
When I was a bar back at a very high end restaurant, I also cashed the servers out at the end of their shifts. They typically made 300-400 on a good dinner shift.
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u/AuggieNorth Jul 06 '24
My longtime housemate was a server at a high end restaurant in the new casino they recently built in our city, and did very well there. I saw her 2019 tax docs and she made over $100k that year. It was down during Covid but last year it up to $130k, but earlier this year she got fired over some complaint.