Why should i pay $14 to enter the US?

[Alidar Jarok]

The reason to take the job (and the justification for paying less than minimum wage) is tips. Most servers will make more than minimum wage at the end of the night after you factor in tips. Because of this, server minimum wage is different. 2.23 is minimum wage for them. It's just that it balances out. On bad nights, they could easily make less than minimum wage (after they pay bar tenders for making them drinks and bus boys, hosts, etc. a percentage of their tips), while on good nights they could make the equivalent of $15-20 an hour. But they're heavily dependent on tips either way.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

How do restaurants get away with not paying minimum wage? And why do people take such jobs? Or is it just a last resort because you can't find something else?

As Alidar said, it's legal and part of our minimum wage law. Legally, if you don't make $7.15 per hour from your tips and base pay, your employer is supposed to make up the shortfall--but in reality, most places will fire you for that.

People here do it because of the promise of high tips and the low barrier to entry. You don't need any special skills or qualifications to be a server. It's a good choice for people working through college or who otherwise need to work an irregular schedule--it's often the only realistic choice available under those circumstances. There is very high turnover, though.

 

[Defcon]

When I go to a restaurant I can't be expected to pay more than what is listed on the menu, everything else is optional IMO.

That's not to say that I don't tip (usually not the 15% obviously mandated in the US, though), but as I said that's an optional bonus I give for good service.

To list a low price and expect exceedingly more reeks of false advertisement for me anyway, just let the restaurant factor the cost for the service into the prices and let the people decide if and how much of a bonus they want to give for good service.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I think Australia actually charges you to leave the country. Quite cunning really.

 

[RoJoHen]

How do restaurants get away with not paying minimum wage? And why do people take such jobs? Or is it just a last resort because you can't find something else?

Because when everyone tips properly (properly being 20% of the bill), a server can actually make really good money. When I waited tables full time, factoring in the tips, I was making anywhere between $12 and $30/hour. I could work a 4-hour shift and walk out the door with $150.

That is why tipping is so important to a server. Tips are their livelihood.

Hell, I have a friend who waits tables and bartends at another local bar. She works open-close on Saturdays and makes $700. Yes, it's a really long day, but she could also afford to take the entire rest of the week off if she wanted with the money she made in tips.

I get that it's a cultural thing and that US is kind of the odd man out as far as tipping procedures go, but it really bothers me when foreigners decide not to do it just because that's not how they do it back home. When you travel to another country, you are expected to at least attempt to acclimate to some of their customs. And I'd say a custom that directly impacts a person's income is one you should try to follow.

 

[1001001]

Tipping servers is part of our economy, part of our culture. It's just how we do things here. "When in Rome...." and all that.

When an American goes to another country and ignores customs and culture, he's an "ugly American" (and rightly so). Why would anyone want to be like that? Does anyone really think that going to another country and thumbing your nose at their ways is a good way to enjoy their trip?

It may seem like a small thing, but tipping (or as we say "taking care of your people") is really an important part of the social contract here. All you're doing is hurting the person who's serving you food. That does not seem like a smart strategy to me, especially if you ever plan on going back...

 

[RoJoHen]

That does not seem like a smart strategy to me, especially if you ever plan on going back...

Indeed. Servers always remember the faces of their shitty customers.

 

[Sean Aaron]

How do restaurants get away with not paying minimum wage? And why do people take such jobs? Or is it just a last resort because you can't find something else?

Agreed. You sure as hell wouldn't get away with paying less than minimum wage here just because of tipping - I mean that is why it's called the "minimum wage!"

 

[RoJoHen]

How do restaurants get away with not paying minimum wage? And why do people take such jobs? Or is it just a last resort because you can't find something else?

Agreed. You sure as hell wouldn't get away with paying less than minimum wage here just because of tipping - I mean that is why it's called the "minimum wage!"

But businesses aren't really "getting away with" anything. Tipping is such a normal part of the culture in America that servers and waitstaff are almost always making at least minimum wage if not significantly more.

It's okay that you don't get it, though. Honestly, until you actually hold one of those jobs in the US, you're not really going to understand just how it works.

 

[Alex1939]

If I consistently got 10% tips, they'd fire me because they thought I was a lousy server. Not only did you probably ruin a waiter's mood by giving a 10% tip, you possibly got them in trouble with management. I know you might not like the custom, but it's a custom already factored into the price.

It's amazing to me that 10% is now considered a lousy tip.

 

[RoJoHen]

I think 10% has always been a lousy tip. My parents both worked in the service industry over 30 years ago and they always said 20% was the standard. They are the reason I tipped well even before I started waiting tables.

 

[Sean Aaron]

It's okay that you don't get it, though. Honestly, until you actually hold one of those jobs in the US, you're not really going to understand just how it works.

I don't get it because it doesn't make sense. People tip restaurant staff routinely here as well (in fact some restaurants automatically include gratuity in your bill), but that doesn't mean the legal minimum wage doesn't apply to them - it's not a selectively applied law.

 

[Alex1939]

Because when everyone tips properly (properly being 20% of the bill), a server can actually make really good money.

She works open-close on Saturdays and makes $700.

This is why it baffles me that 10% is considered such a lousy tip nowadays.

Good servers make a killing for not that much work.

The whole job is just to deliver my food without spilling it on me. And check my drinks. And don't constantly ask me if I need anything.

(fwiw, I usually tip between 15-20% anyway, and higher in appropriate circumstances.)

 

[RoJoHen]

The legal minimum wage DOES apply. They just have a different legal minimum wage.

Minimum wage in the state of Illinois is $8.50.
Minimum wage for tipped employees is $4.95.

If a server doesn't make at least $8.50 between their $4.95 wage and their tips, the employer is required to make up the difference, so they will never actually be making less than minimum wage.

But like I said, most servers make significantly more than minimum wage when you factor in tips.

For example, when I bartend on Monday nights, I usually make $150 in a 5-hour shift. Add that to my $4.95/hour wage. I'm making $34.95/hour one night per week. Employers don't NEED to pay the full minimum wage.

 

[RoJoHen]

Because when everyone tips properly (properly being 20% of the bill), a server can actually make really good money.

She works open-close on Saturdays and makes $700.

This is why it baffles me that 10% is considered such a lousy tip nowadays.

Good servers make a killing for not that much work.

Well, really, we say 20% is the standard because we know that lots of people are only going to tip 10% or less, and it makes us feel better to hate them for it.

 

[Sean Aaron]

Still seems crap. One wage to rule them all and in the shadows bind them. Tips are a reward for service. I don't think it's okay to be dependent upon them any more than I should be dependent upon getting called out for standby payment.

 

[RoJoHen]

Well, I don't know what else to say other than, "Good for you." That's how things work in the US, and I have benefited from it greatly.

My roommate just quit his full time job so he could go back and wait tables again in order to make more money. I have another friend who wishes she could do the same. I am considering it too.

I get that you don't like the principle of having to pay for another person's wages through tipping, but we just don't think about it that way here. If we eliminated the tipping custom, food and drinks would cost 2-3X as much as they do now to make up for the labor costs.

 

[Sean Aaron]

If we eliminated the tipping custom, food and drinks would cost 2-3X as much as they do now to make up for the labor costs.

It's not about eliminating the custom, it's about eliminating the unequal base wage. I know I'm paying more to eat out here than when I'm on holiday in the States, but that's not an issue because it's not really good to eat out all the time anyway.

And it's not "good for me" - I'm not a server; I don't benefit in any way. I'm just saying it's wrong for people to be dependent upon something that's not guaranteed as part of their living wage.

 

[RoJoHen]

I understand what you're saying, but the point is that American tipping culture has made it unnecessary for waitstaff to make the same minimum wage as other people. And honestly, if servers started making the same wage as everybody else and if food prices went up, you can bet that patrons would start tipping less and less to make up for it. It could be potentially harmful to the server's income.

As a server, I couldn't care less about my lower minimum wage. I do not live for my paychecks. It may sound bizarre and unfair to an outsider, but for those of us actually doing it, it really doesn't bother us.

 

[DonIago]

Aw man, this thread started out as high comedy, and then people had to bring up tipping and make it all serious...