a question for servers
Establishment: any
Location: any
say a culinary student just graduated from wci and i’m guessing they paid around 55,000, new to restaurants basically they usually start around 10 an hr or less, a seasoned boh[5-7 yrs exp] worker can make about 13-15 an hr maybe, and a server can be inexperienced, train for a week or so and make an average of 18-30 an hr. so the question is, does anyone know of a job other than a stripper that can make that money per hr with a week or two training ? submitted from a 22 yr vet front and back of house.
Comments
LOL, this is why so many people are stuck in the service industry(FOH)including myself even though we have degrees!!!
we are one of seven states that are very spoiled or very lucky to not have the tip credit law that would allow the employer to reduce your minimum wage rate by 40 - 60 % for anyone making 20 - 30 dollars a week in tips. federal law allows a max reduction of 4.42 an hr keeping those servers a little closer to minimum wage only calculating of course all tips reported and as we know all servers are very honest people that claim all their wages and pay taxes just like everybody else that abides by the law. So are the other 43 states more realistic in their assessed value of a serving position or is the majority of our countries other servers being financially oppressed ? this law has been and still is being pushed in our state to become law although has failed to date, grows stronger in support every year. it seems progressively speaking that were not far behind. and can we say a big ‘reality check’ is coming ? I have always thought of it this way. A great server is a great server no matter where they work. the same great service serving a lobster or burger. the same great attitude, the same great work ethic. now why do people go to restaurants ? lets break down what a restaurant offers. food, drinks ,atmosphere and hopefully great service. so lets take away the food and drinks. the customer still gets great service in a very nice place. a servers sales would be terrible but their still providing great service.throw in the drinks, their sales go up by carrying a glass or glasses full of some sort of liquid whether it’s water or wine they still provide the same great service. add food, carrying a plate or plates to a table whether it’s filet mignon or sides of fries, same great service. is your service going to slack because they order french fries ? of course not. so why do they make more when it’s a steak or something more expensive ? their still giving the same great service. it’s because of that more expensive item, it’s the food and they didn’t make it and the alcoholic drink that most servers don’t have to make. it’s all the same great service of carrying plates and glasses with various consumables and keeping track of it all.could we say they work harder than the kitchen ? it goes back and forth with the waves of business but when the customer calculates gratuity, it’s always based on what they ate and drank. most pay that 15% because nowadays they have been made to feel they are obligated to do so and servers feel they are entitled. I guess the best way to figure the value of a server is to the job without food or alcohol. remember same great service, don’t slack and let me know how it goes. the cooks aren’t asking for anything more then what they’re entitled to also. oh yeah and since the service gratuity on the check doesn’t specify who it goes to, just remember the cooks are the major contributor to the reason that tip is so high. sometimes i feel so incredibly arrogant to think i earned all of that gratuity, that i’m worth more than 70% of the other servers in america and it’s ok to not claim all my income.
Uh Barbara, try again. When I was a server in NYC (a tip credit state) the BOH staff was still horribly paid. As were most managers. It was WHY I worked as a server for a very, very long time.
Employers generally will only pay what they have to recruit and maintain personnel for the job(s) at hand, across the board. If an employer pays better for a comparative position then they A) have a social conscience, B) recogize it’s ultimately cheaper to have less turnover, C) it’s a horrible work environment and they HAVE to pay better or D) any combination of the above.
The tip credit law really does not swing any of this one way or the other. What will drive up wages are either the location itself (to some degree) or the supply of qualified employees. BOH is overall a low paying position, across the country.
zumpie - I know this is a sore subject in Portland, but I respectfully disagree. Tipped employees always make more than hourly and that is why people who can do the job go for the FOH positions. However, in Northern VA where the minimum wage was $5.50(about 5 years ago), most restaurants I knew were paying $9.50 to $11.50 for a starting cook and the average was $15. That is $9.50 above minimum. I wonder how many cooks in Portland are making anything near that regardless of ability? Also, servers tipped out far less - 1% to the busser and 2% to the service bar - but not one penny to the kitchen. Out here, you are tipping the host, the busser, the cooks, even the manager sometimes(although you might not know it.) When you say the cooks in NYC were horribly paid, maybe that was all they were worth. I’m sure there were better paying jobs available if they were qualified for them. There are no better paying jobs for cooks in Portland. A restaurant has a labor budget, and if FOH is eating up 75% of that budget, then what you have left is for the kitchen. I suppose some “socially conscience” owner could pay more until he went out of business.
Barbara,
Sorry, but I worked at NY Times 2 & 3 star properties (which would be 4 or 5 stars here OR Arlington)and line cooks made the typical $11 - $12 per hour. $15 an hour would’ve been a really, really coveted position—and one with a fair amount of supervising and seniority.
Although I never had to tip the kitchen I did work at establishments in NYC where the managers were “captains” (though no uniform, more management functions than leading a team) and the tipping was on the level of full blown extortion. And I did know of restaurants where you did tip the kitchen, just as here I never worked at one–but I know they exist.
Honestly, your frame of reference sounds rather limited. And as someone who has also managed in multiple locations, it has far less to do with “afford” and far more to do with what the market will bear.
Oh, did I touch a nerve? If you’re going to repeatedly make declarations and claim superior knowledge, you do need to support it with actual facts. And not just your experience in one locale.
Sorry, Ladeedah, but I was far more amused than upset by Barbara’s comment. But I’m guessing you’re probably Barbara (and couldn’t come up with another weak rejoinder), so there it is.
Nope, not Barbara, just saw you get dissed on Things About Portland That Suck and thought that was funny. Hey Barb, you should check it out!
I haven’t posted on Things about Portland that Suck (a site I very much enjoy, BTW) in over a month. And yes, there are those who disagree with me (as there always will be, anywhere)–but that’s the point of blogs. I will tiptoe over and maybe diss back, though I suspect you’re referring to a very old post.
Oh, also–try to communicate clearly, so that you don’t come across as quite such a moron, ‘kay?
Moron? LOL, looks like I’m the one who touched a nerve there! The last one I remember is the post about Lake Oswego Moms where you got gangbanged for being a know it all. I also remember another post where you were called “gross” and “annoying”. Now someone else is calling you out and you’ve got sand in your vag over that. So “Try again”, Zumpie. Think you say that enough, BTW?
Was that clear enough for you, Dear?
Oh for pity’s sake! Apparently I HAVEN’T said enough (or you can’t read and/or comprehend plain English), Lahdeedah, because I already noted A) there were negative posts about me from awhile ago and B) not everyone always agrees with me (and is the point, once again, of blogs).
That said, if you actually read the LO Moms in its entirety, there are plenty of posters who support me and my rather sad adversaries are Tracy and Lake Oswego Black Mom, neither of who have effective debates or passable spelling and grammar.
They’re ultimately joined by my little stalker, whose complete argument is “I hate zumpie because she thinks she’s so smart”. Sorry, but I am hardly devastated by grade school level, unsubstatiated insults. And yes, that would be the same stalker who previously called me “annoying”.
To me, being lazy about facts, having nothing to support your opinion and then getting pissed off at the person who does come to the argument better prepared is just pathetic. I really don’t claim to know everything, but I do have a fair amount of experience and knowledge. Hardly something to be ashamed of.
Oh, again, LO Moms was 2 months ago—the other flimsy post was probably over 6 months ago. Again, you lose, DEAR.
And 6 months later, you’re still an annoying little know it all who needs to spare people of your “wisdom”.
Oh Ladeedah, how very much a day late and a dollar short you are. I’ve been an “annoying little know it all” (or have at least to sad stalkers with inadequate sparring abilities, such as yourself) for far, far longer (including on this very blog!) than a mere 6 months.
TRY AGAIN, newbie!
I’m not, you brought it up to support your argument in the first place. If you use it as ammo, I’ll discredit it. End of story
Once again, try again. Not pissed off in the least. Simply stating something as fact does not make it true.
“Sorry, Ladeedah, but I was far more amused than upset by Barbara’s comment. But I’m guessing you’re probably Barbara (and couldn’t come up with another weak rejoinder), so there it is” - Ouch, you’re not just a little know it all, your’re a Cee yoU Next Time. Thanks for the tip, Ladeedah - I will check out Things About Portland That Suck like Zumpie. 
Barbara, wouldn’t you just unravel in the drawer? Along with the notes your junior high school creator passed in study hall today?
Why are you talking about yourself, Barbara/LahDeeDah/Tube Sock? I am most assuredly none of the above.
Any body stupid enough to go to an LCB school is guaranteeing a future of disrespect.
LCB in America is nothing but a ripoff.
http://www.sfweekly.com/2007-06-06/news/burnt-chefs/
in fact fukk all for profit colleges period.
Actually, if you can’t figure it out for yourself, Barbara, I’m gonna guess your faulty math and weak assumptions about compensation are from your inability to read and/or process information fully.
You already used that lame one. And failed. Try Again (because it cannot be used often enough, apparently, with Barbara’s very weak efforts).
You could be a bartender, but that would require at least 3 months of training (with a qualified bartender) and on the job experience, to be a decent, “non-hack” type. I know a cocktail waitress who makes 70,000+, but you would need boobs.