Yes, restaurants owners have been taking in huge profits while Americans foot the bill for restaurant employee wages. In most industries, employers must pay their workers a minimum wage that can range, on an average, from $7-$12 depending on the city in which you live. But in certain states in the restaurant industry, employers can pay their servers a sub-minimum wage of $2.13 per hour. They expect the customers to subsidize the rest. A server literally lives off tips. That means their living wages are paid by the customers, not the company for which they work. That is how our current system works. And that how it will continue until the people speak out. And while we’re working this out, please don’t stop tipping. Not yet. Not until the system changes and we find solutions. In the mean time, there needs to be more public awareness.
You can investigate yourself. If you feel the gumption, ask restaurant managers/owners what they actually pay servers. Then ask if their servers have to split tips? Then ask if their servers have to clean floors, bathrooms, windows or any other work that would require a normal minimum wage. Then watch the uneasiness emerge. Some will lie, but it’s not easy to cover it up. And why should they lie? It’s legal and it’s been going on “forever.”
I was a server over 25 years ago. The wage was $2.00 an hour plus tips. Today, in many cities around the country, a server’s pay has increased by a mere $.13 cents — in over three decades.
Here's how things works in most restaurants: Servers come into work and are expected to do prep work. In some restaurants that means cleaning tables, filling condiments, preparing salad fixings. In other places that meant polishing the brass, vacuuming floors, cleaning windows, taking out trash, and cleaning toilets. Then it’s time to wait on customers who can be rude or downright verbally/sexually abusive. If you don't kiss their asses, they might not tip. And if you do kiss their ass, they might not tip.
Some servers leave work owing money. This is not an exaggeration. It happened to me while still in college. A couple with a large tab snuck out and I had to pay their bill out of my own pocket and didn’t make enough that day to cover the loss. The livelihood of servers depends upon their customer’s attitudes, finances, moods, and sometimes integrity. When you’re only making $2.13 an hour, you must please your boss, the chefs, the hosts, the bartender and the customers to make money. Sure, most employees in public service need to please their boss and customers, but they go home with a minimum wage either way.
And how about those tips? First, depending upon where you work, you will serve beverages, appetizers, entrees, coffee, dessert to a couple and maybe make a $5 tip. A bartender makes that serving one or two drinks (and gets a percentage of the server's tips). A counter person at a coffee shop might get a tip close to the same, just for ringing up your food. Do you see how servers get fucked?
And then there is abuse from the managers who, sometimes, take a cut of your tips. Sure it's illegal, but what are you going to do? Report it them, lose your job, get blacklisted from other restaurants for being a troublemaker and hope you get justice? Also, your tips are often split with the host, bus person, bartender, chefs (if you want your food on time). Yes, many customers blame the server when their food is late or tastes bad, or for all sorts of reasons not within a server’s control.
Now lets talk about one large detail I left out until now...