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And today people hire illegals as a way to get as close to $0.00 as possible too.
Illegal immigration became a tidal wave in the 80’s. Employing undocumented people became a federal crime in 1986. The Federal Government has never pursued a large scale crackdown on undocumented labor. When they do, it’s a sensation. The employers typically get a slap on the risk.
Only a handful of states mandate eVerify of all employees. They don’t enforce it. These laws contain intended loopholes, grandfathering and exemptions for independent contractors.
Good wait staff in a typical Red Robin type restaurant often earn much more than that.
I know a 65K Applebees waiter and a bit more distantly know a 70+K Red Robin waiter. Note both are better than the norm to the point that seating in their sections is unavailable due to requests.
Sounds a tad anecdotal to me.
Most servers are part time and/ or work split shifts.
Before the credit card became the most common currency in restaurants, much of a server’s income was tax free. Not so much, anymore.
Most middle of the road restaurants have gone to “ pooled tips”. It encourages everyone to chip in to deliver a good experience and compensates for patrons who choose to not tip.
It also creates peer pressure to weed out slackers.
In places where tips are not pooled, the wait staff is usually expected to “ tip out” to bussers and bartenders.
And then there’s the table top tablet thing going on at many corporate- owned chain restaurants.
Servers don’t split their tips. Period. Now in strip clubs the dancers pay the house to dance and for the use of the outfits.
Sounds like you might be a tad out of step with practices in most corporate- owned chain restaurants where pooling of tips is customary.
In those establishments where tips are not pooled, it is expected the wait staff will tip out to bussers and bar staff. In some places, it’s a mandatory percentage of each check, regardless of the tip. In the case of a patron not tipping, it costs the server out of pocket to serve.
Its called a tip pool.... As I said, it is often used to subsidize employer labor cost of wait staff.
Each restaurant is a bit different but rarely are 100 percent tips kept by the server.
We aren't talking about strip clubs... But each club has their own pay/fee structure to attract certain talent. I say this as someone who covered bouncers on off shift and friends in that industry current and past.
Sounds like you might be a tad out of step with practices in most corporate- owned chain restaurants where pooling of tips is customary.
In those establishments where tips are not pooled, it is expected the wait staff will tip out to bussers and bar staff. In some places, it’s a mandatory percentage of each check, regardless of the tip. In the case of a patron not tipping, it costs the server out of pocket to serve.
Its called a tip pool.... As I said, it is often used to subsidize employer labor cost of wait staff.
Each restaurant is a bit different but rarely are 100 percent tips kept by the server.
We aren't talking about strip clubs... But each club has their own pay/fee structure to attract certain talent. I say this as someone who covered bouncers on off shift and friends in that industry current and past.
Maybe chain restaurants maybe. I used to be a server and never had to split my tips my wife worked as a waitress last year and didn’t split hers either. She kept all hers and so did I.
I am , by no means, a cheap person. I always tip more than the suggested amount, if I get good service. However, it has gotten way out of hand. I don't mind at a restaurant, or if a pizza is delivered to my door, but certain things do not fall into the category of being tip-worthy.
For example, I go through a Dunkin Donuts drive thru, and they have a cup for tips sitting there. What did that person do to deserve extra compensation...…….turn around and put a doughnut in a bag ?
I work retail and wait on people all day long, solve their problems, and research questions to get them the right answers. NEVER ONCE did I think I should be tipped, even though some customers have tried to give me money at the end.
We have friends who visit us from England, and they are always confused as to when and where to tip, as it is foreign to them. It really has gotten crazy.
Most servers are part time and/ or work split shifts.
Before the credit card became the most common currency in restaurants, much of a server’s income was tax free. Not so much, anymore.
Most middle of the road restaurants have gone to “ pooled tips”. It encourages everyone to chip in to deliver a good experience and compensates for patrons who choose to not tip.
It also creates peer pressure to weed out slackers.
In places where tips are not pooled, the wait staff is usually expected to “ tip out” to bussers and bartenders.
And then there’s the table top tablet thing going on at many corporate- owned chain restaurants.
Dunno about pools but kind of doubt it as I know the one pretty well.
BOTH deal with tip out of bussers. IIRC 10% of the tip. The one I know better goes above and beyond with the bussers as he wants (and gets) his tables cycled quickly. Yes he really is THAT good. We had a choice last time. Sit now with another wait staff or wait 15 mins for him. We waited. He knew our orders as we sat down, even my wife's laundry list of dos and donts. We only go there maybe 8 times a year, yet he knew.
The converse is that even when receiving poor or average service in the US, a tip is still expected and often aggressively pursued. And a lot of the time, the "service" is intrusive faux polite asking how everything is etc. Tipping doesn't necessarily increase the quality of service.
Unfortunately the expectation of tips is creeping in steadily in Australian restaurants. It's laughable. Here these people are being well paid, and as you say, the service cost is factored into the price already.
I waited tables while going college (yeah, I wasn't screaming that other people should be responsible for my college education), and most bad wait staff quit due to receiving poor tips.
No, it didn't guarantee good staff, because the ones who quit were usually replaced with equally bad people; however, regulars knew to ask to be seated in the sections with good servers and we had better staff due to the tipping system than if it were standard pay.
Additionally, I averaged about $15 an hour after tip-out. This was in 91 when $15 per hour was quite nice. I'd bet my hourly pay would have been $10 per hour under a pay structure. You made good money by doing a good job (I'm sure unions would hate that type of performance based compensation).
For years when tips of 15% were considered the norm, I tipped 20% on tax, and more if we kept asking for things. What I object to is being asked to tip at the counter before minimal "service" is even received.
The other night we went to a Panera-like chain restaurant where payment was made at the time of the order. They were using one of the new square credit card readers that "suggested" large tips. I hit "no tip." The man at the register craned his neck to watch what was being entered, then glared.
The customer places their order at the counter. Finds a table, not waits in an organized line for a hostess to show them to the next available table. Wipes down the table. Gets their silverware. Buses their table. Refills their own drinks. Returns to the counter for condiments etc. Turns out we did not have to wait for the food. I gave the young girl who dropped it off a $1 thank-you tip.
These employees do not fall within the tipped-minimum wage category that is less than the base wage. Our local minimum wages are far above the Federal base. Pressuring customers like this to extend where they should tip is unacceptable. The square credit card readers up the psychological pressure. Instead of ignoring the "tip jar" it's now necessary to hit "No" in front of the cashier.
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But don't take my word... 
