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Should employers be allowed to pay tipped employees less than minimum wage?

Should employers be allowed to pay tipped employees less than minimum wage?

  • Yes

    Votes: 22 41.5%

  • No

    Votes: 31 58.5%

  • Don't know

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    53
Rocketman said:
I know 3 waitresses that make 1000 - 1200 per week
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They deserve every penny if they're either waiting on that many people a week or working in that high-end of a restaurant. It's hard work.
 
MaggieD said:
They deserve every penny if they're either waiting on that many people a week or working in that high-end of a restaurant. It's hard work.
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it is a coffee shop where breakfast is 5-6 bucks and lunch is 8-9 bucks
 
MaggieD said:
You must be joking. Apparently you don't know anyone who waits tables. You'd have to pay people at LEAST $20 an hour if they weren't tipped. And be willing to fire those who didn't know how to move their asses.
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You could also pay them minimum wage which also works. Part of the job is being fast, if your not fast enough your not doing your job right. I get paid minimum wage to make people's food, bring it to them, and on top take care of customers ordering other goods at the register. Where the hell are my tips?
 
0bserver92 said:
You could also pay them minimum wage which also works. Part of the job is being fast, if your not fast enough your not doing your job right. I get paid minimum wage to make people's food, bring it to them, and on top take care of customers ordering other goods at the register.
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Pay them minimum wage. That's great. But tipping remains or we'll never get a second cup of coffee for the rest of our lives. :rofl
 
MaggieD said:
Pay them minimum wage. That's great. But tipping remains or we'll never get a second cup of coffee for the rest of our lives. :rofl
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Again I don't paid tips and I do the exact same thing, it's my job to. Where the hell are my 20% tips?
 
MaggieD said:
You're a waiter and don't get tips? Go to another restaurant.
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I'm a barista but we also serve food that we take to people's tables and we have to do it within 2 minutes. I do not support paying people 20% to do their job correctly, I do it because it is my job, if I didn't I would be fired which is what it should be waiters.
 
0bserver92 said:
I'm a barista but we also serve food that we take to people's tables and we have to do it within 2 minutes.
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You're making more than minimum wage, yes?

At any rate, I understand there's quite a loyalty in baristas -- that they love their jobs more than most. But if you want to make more money, take that experience in excellent customer service to a family breakfast/lunch/dinner restaurant. You'll probably top what you're making by a significant amount. Work there for a couple of years; move up to a finer-dining chain restaurant; then move up to a high-end restaurant with dinner checks of $300-$500 a couple. You, too, can make $60-$75,000 a year waiting tables. ;)
 
MaggieD said:
You're making more than minimum wage, yes?

At any rate, I understand there's quite a loyalty in baristas -- that they love their jobs more than most. But if you want to make more money, take that experience in excellent customer service to a family breakfast/lunch/dinner restaurant. You'll probably top what you're making by a significant amount. Work there for a couple of years; move up to a finer-dining chain restaurant; then move up to a high-end restaurant with dinner checks of $300-$500 a couple. You, too, can make $60-$75,000 a year waiting tables. ;)
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Waiters should be put to the same standards as any other service worker including myself, they should be expected to their job correctly without having to be paid extra. I would have to drive a decent amount of time to work in a restaurant and there are no high end ones as I don't live close to a high end area. I am paid minimum student wage which is 9.60$/hour while the full minimum wage is 10.25$/hour.
 
0bserver92 said:
Waiters should be put to the same standards as any other service worker including myself, they should be expected to their job correctly without having to be paid extra. I would have to drive a decent amount of time to work in a restaurant and there are no high end ones as I don't live close to a high end area. I am paid minimum student wage which is 9.60$/hour while the full minimum wage is 10.25$/hour.
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Why try to drag others down to your level? Work your way up to theirs. It's customary to tip 15% in Canada. *shrug*

I'll bet you get tipped once in a while. Do you give it back? Do you have a tip jar on the counter? They do here.
 
MaggieD said:
Why try to drag others down to your level? Work your way up to theirs. It's customary to tip 15% in Canada. *shrug*

I'll bet you get tipped once in a while. Do you give it back? Do you have a tip jar on the counter? They do here.
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I get tipped by my friends who will give me usually a toonie. We do have a tip jar but most people just put small change like nickels and dimes even then it's rare (I have never seen anyone put anything larger) but we never see any of that money. It's not about dragging people down to my level it's about people doing their god damn job.
 
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radcen said:
I have heard conflicting stories regarding opposition to this. I have heard of some who object and the restaurant backs down. I have heard some who object, and have the police called on them.
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The only thing the police can do in that situation is refer the matter to the courts.

There is no real difference between being charged for a service you didn't receive and being charged for a product you didn't receive.
 
There is a reason it is called minum wage . Not the minum of minum wage
 
MaggieD said:
They deserve every penny if they're either waiting on that many people a week or working in that high-end of a restaurant. It's hard work.
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What exactly is hard about waiting on tables?

I did it in college. It's a matter of writing down an order, getting it to the kitchen, then delivering the food.

The best part is no matter how crappy you are at it, society dictates you be paid your wage plus a 15-25% tip!

I could literally have screwed up everything yet still find sympathy in complaining about only getting a 10% tip.
 
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Dapper Andy said:
What exactly is hard about waiting on tables?

I did it in college. It's a matter of writing down an order, getting it to the kitchen, then picking up the food.

The best part is no matter how crappy you are at it, society dictates they be paid their wage and 15-25% tip!
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Society doesn't dictate anything. If you get crappy service? You don't even leave a tip. If all you did was write down an order, deliver it to the kitchen and pick up the food, I'm sure you don't think it's difficult. But that is hardly what waitstaff does of a shift.

Waiters and waitresses are the faces of any restaurant. They are the "actors in a play." Their job is to make their customers' dining experiences pleasant one, handle complaints and turn a crabby customer into a friend, to anticipate their needs, to sell the daily specials thereby helping their employer use up leftovers and specially-priced product, help the restaurant increase the check amount through careful attention to drink refills and selling desserts. Keep water glasses full. Coffee cups. They double-check the kitchen staff to make sure orders are correct and cooked to customer request, and one helluva lot more. With a smile and a personality that assures customer retention and a terrific dining experience for every one of their guests.

In between, before or after they're doing all that? They're either bussing the tables themselves or making sure their bus staff is prompt and thorough in doing so, refilling condiments on tables, making sure seats and tables are clean, cleaning their service stations and a variety of other cleaning tasks as assigned by their employers.

So. If that's "all you did" in college when you worked as waitstaff in a restaurant? You didn't learn a thing.
 
MaggieD said:
Society doesn't dictate anything. If you get crappy service? You don't even leave a tip. If all you did was write down an order, deliver it to the kitchen and pick up the food, I'm sure you don't think it's difficult. But that is hardly what waitstaff does of a shift.
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I know many waitstaff that would adamantly disagree with you.

Waiters and waitresses are the faces of any restaurant. They are the "actors in a play." Their job is to make their customers' dining experiences pleasant one, handle complaints and turn a crabby customer into a friend, to anticipate their needs, to sell the daily specials thereby helping their employer use up leftovers and specially-priced product, help the restaurant increase the check amount through careful attention to drink refills and selling desserts. Keep water glasses full. Coffee cups. They double-check the kitchen staff to make sure orders are correct and cooked to customer request, and one helluva lot more. With a smile and a personality that assures customer retention and a terrific dining experience for every one of their guests.
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Maybe in the 50s. Today, you couldn't plead for that kind of service. I've said before that most waitstaff view tips as mandatory these days, not discretionary. It's no longer "to insure prompt service". It's "gimme my money, I'm your waitress".

In between, before or after they're doing all that? They're either bussing the tables themselves or making sure their bus staff is prompt and thorough in doing so, refilling condiments on tables, making sure seats and tables are clean, cleaning their service stations and a variety of other cleaning tasks as assigned by their employers.
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Where the hell are YOU eating that waitresses bus their own tables? I literally never see that. I see bus boys do that job exclusively.

So. If that's "all you did" in college when you worked as waitstaff in a restaurant? You didn't learn a thing.
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Kinda hoping that people don't become waiters/waitresses to "learn something". :D
 
Dapper Andy said:
The only thing the police can do in that situation is refer the matter to the courts.

There is no real difference between being charged for a service you didn't receive and being charged for a product you didn't receive.
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I have heard stories of people being arrested for refusing to pay the mandated tip, but only second-hand. Of course, even if the cop is over-zealous doesn't necessarily mean he's right.

Unless you didn't get your food at all, how did you not get the service you paid for? They only promise service. Nowhere is it implied that it will be good service. "Good" is subjective.
 
Gipper said:
I know many waitstaff that would adamantly disagree with you.

Maybe in the 50s. Today, you couldn't plead for that kind of service. I've said before that most waitstaff view tips as mandatory these days, not discretionary. It's no longer "to insure prompt service". It's "gimme my money, I'm your waitress".

Where the hell are YOU eating that waitresses bus their own tables? I literally never see that. I see bus boys do that job exclusively.

Kinda hoping that people don't become waiters/waitresses to "learn something". :D
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Maybe the Chicago area has more potential employees to choose from so has better employees. I don't know. But even at $20 breakfast family-type restaurants, we experience excellent service. Many of them bus their own tables. Not all. But they certainly do their own station clean-up. *shrug*

We go to all kinds of restaurants....from a $35 dinner to a $200 dinner (for two). We get excellent service; and they're doing exactly the kinds of things I wrote about. Maybe you need to upscale your choices. ;)

As to "learning something"? Are you kidding me?? People who don't learn from their (very often first) job at a restaurant are idiots.
 
MaggieD said:
Society doesn't dictate anything. If you get crappy service? You don't even leave a tip. If all you did was write down an order, deliver it to the kitchen and pick up the food, I'm sure you don't think it's difficult. But that is hardly what waitstaff does of a shift.

Waiters and waitresses are the faces of any restaurant. They are the "actors in a play." Their job is to make their customers' dining experiences pleasant one, handle complaints and turn a crabby customer into a friend, to anticipate their needs, to sell the daily specials thereby helping their employer use up leftovers and specially-priced product, help the restaurant increase the check amount through careful attention to drink refills and selling desserts. Keep water glasses full. Coffee cups. They double-check the kitchen staff to make sure orders are correct and cooked to customer request, and one helluva lot more. With a smile and a personality that assures customer retention and a terrific dining experience for every one of their guests.

In between, before or after they're doing all that? They're either bussing the tables themselves or making sure their bus staff is prompt and thorough in doing so, refilling condiments on tables, making sure seats and tables are clean, cleaning their service stations and a variety of other cleaning tasks as assigned by their employers.

So. If that's "all you did" in college when you worked as waitstaff in a restaurant? You didn't learn a thing.
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Agree with Maggie that serving is harder than simply writing stuff down and taking plates and drinks.


Gipper said:
I know many waitstaff that would adamantly disagree with you.

Maybe in the 50s. Today, you couldn't plead for that kind of service. I've said before that most waitstaff view tips as mandatory these days, not discretionary. It's no longer "to insure prompt service". It's "gimme my money, I'm your waitress".

Where the hell are YOU eating that waitresses bus their own tables? I literally never see that. I see bus boys do that job exclusively.

Kinda hoping that people don't become waiters/waitresses to "learn something". :D
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Agree with Gipper that tipping has become an entitlement mentality.
 
0bserver92 said:
it's about people doing their god damn job.
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Ahh, let it flow, young one. The republican side of the force is strong in you, it must be nurtured.
 
MaggieD said:
Society doesn't dictate anything. If you get crappy service? You don't even leave a tip. If all you did was write down an order, deliver it to the kitchen and pick up the food, I'm sure you don't think it's difficult. But that is hardly what waitstaff does of a shift.

Waiters and waitresses are the faces of any restaurant. They are the "actors in a play." Their job is to make their customers' dining experiences pleasant one, handle complaints and turn a crabby customer into a friend, to anticipate their needs, to sell the daily specials thereby helping their employer use up leftovers and specially-priced product, help the restaurant increase the check amount through careful attention to drink refills and selling desserts. Keep water glasses full. Coffee cups. They double-check the kitchen staff to make sure orders are correct and cooked to customer request, and one helluva lot more. With a smile and a personality that assures customer retention and a terrific dining experience for every one of their guests.

In between, before or after they're doing all that? They're either bussing the tables themselves or making sure their bus staff is prompt and thorough in doing so, refilling condiments on tables, making sure seats and tables are clean, cleaning their service stations and a variety of other cleaning tasks as assigned by their employers.

So. If that's "all you did" in college when you worked as waitstaff in a restaurant? You didn't learn a thing.
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When do we get to the hard stuff?

I know it's not socially polite to point it out but there's a reason why these jobs are staffed by high school drop outs.

Go to medical school then tell me how hard it is to keep a glass of water full.

In all seriousness, what would you say is the hardest part in keeping that glass of water full?

For me it was always remembering to pour the water it into the glass and not to throw it against the wall.
 
MaggieD said:
Maybe the Chicago area has more potential employees to choose from so has better employees. I don't know. But even at $20 breakfast family-type restaurants, we experience excellent service. Many of them bus their own tables. Not all. But they certainly do their own station clean-up. *shrug*

We go to all kinds of restaurants....from a $35 dinner to a $200 dinner (for two). We get excellent service; and they're doing exactly the kinds of things I wrote about. Maybe you need to upscale your choices. ;)
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You buying?

For all intents and purposes, they could rename the "dollar menu" the "Gipper menu".

I'm not always like that though. Once in a while, I'll take a date out to dinner for unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks for $5.95. This is what we call "splurging".
 
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