Jobs & Careers >
Occupations (Other)
Get a Widget for this title
RSS FeedShould service industry employees earning tips receive the US federal minimum wage?
Results so far:
| No | 24% | 145 votes | Total: 613 votes | |
| Yes | 76% | 468 votes |
No
Write now
Print
Invite a writer™
Add to FavoritesMany customers complain about the "obligation" to tip individuals in the service industry. What they don't realize is that one way or another they will be paying for service. For example, let's just say for the sake of argument that tipping is no longer practiced. Let's say that signs were posted in all restaurants and hotel lobbies that tipping is not allowed. Probably most customers would be elated that they no longer have to calculate 15%-20% in their heads, or depending on what kind of tipper they have been, no longer have to dig for change. The fact is that the job of being a waitress is very hard work. You usually have to run around tables for very long shifts. I have worked 11 hours shifts before, many times without a break of any kind. A meal break was usually defined as grabbing a bread stick between tables. And I hope if your are considering being a waitress or waiter that you have a very strong bladder, because stopping to pee is many times out of the question. I worked in this industry for 4 years with frequent bladder infections for this very reason.
The job description includes much more than greeting guests, taking orders, and delivering food. The unbelievable rudeness of many people can catch even the toughest person off guard. The incredible mess that many people leave behind is also one of the job's "delightful" challenges. By the end of your shift, you are covered in food and grease, exhausted and so sore that it can be difficult to even move. Many restaurants also have side work. One restaurant I worked at had ridiculous amounts of side work. Cleaning light fixtures, polishing brass pots, and scraping gum off from under the seats were as commonplace as cleaning and filling up your work station. Sometimes it took me two hours to do my side work all to the tune of $2.13 per hour.
My point here is that no one in their right mind would do this job for minimum wage. Many people refuse to do this job for any price. I believe that I was a good server and I averaged about $14 an hour on a good day. The frustration that comes with the statement, "This is the best service I have ever received," only to find a 5% tip left on the table is indescribable. But thankfully, the many make up for the few. There are some great experiences that made the job worthwhile. For every rude person, there would be two genuinely nice people. For every lousy tip, there would be two awesome tips.
But back to my point, if it's true that no one would do this job for minimum wage, and if tipping was done away with, then the obvious recourse for the employer would be to pay employees what the job was worth. This in turn would translate higher costs to the customer in the form of higher menu prices, etc. So one way or the other, the customer is going to pay for full service, whether it be in the form of generous tipping, keeping the industry in it's present state or paying higher menu prices.
The present system of things puts the price for service in the control of the customer. The latter puts it in the control of the employer. Some restaurants have instigated no tipping policies and the servers are paid $10-$15 an hour salary. This is an attractive job feature for servers because there is nothing worse than working hard for someone for an hour or more and then have no control of the situation if the customer decides not to pay them at all. I actually had one family of 10 leave the table without tipping at all. I knew I had given good service, so even though it was against restaurant policy; I approached the father in the lobby as they were leaving. I asked him if everything was alright with the service. He said that the service was great. He hesitated and then said, "I didn't tip you because I know that God will provide for you. It's not my obligation." That one was tough to get over.
It is customary in this and many countries to pay for full service. Refusing to pay for full service is tantamount to stealing full service. McDonald's is right down the street for those who cannot afford or do not wish to pay for full service. The $2.13 an hour simply covers the taxes that the servers are required to pay on the tips that were received for the week. Most paydays I would receive a void check, because the entire hourly wage was taken for taxes. So in conclusion, no I don't think that service industry workers should receive minimum wage. I believe they should receive much more.
Learn more about this author, Author Name Withheld 20.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Yes
Lets be fair about this. Yes, minimum wage should be in place for the service industry employee. Off and on in my career as a waitress for over 29 years I have suffered the in humane wage that servers get by their employer. Why should we be discriminated against. It is a cop out for employers. All the other employees of restaurants, cooks, dishwashers all get minimum wage or more. When I used to serve food, I had the impression that a tip was directly from the customers. A bit extra for the appreciation of service they have received.
In Webster's New World Dictionary for the second definition for the word TIP it states "To give a small present of money to a waitress or waiter for some service." Exactly that a PRESENT or GIFT. that has nothing to do with whether or not the employer has the right to treat that employee any differently than his or her co-workers because the waitress gets a gift. To be honest it should not be any of their business whether or not waiters or waitress employees get a gift or not they hired us to do their job that needs to be done for the business. Sometimes, in most circumstances servers might not get a tip, maybe because the customer does not have it or they don't believe in it because they already have to pay for the food. If it isn't for the server taking the order, getting drinks, serving the food, making sure the customers are happy through out the whole meal, and the side word of cleaning up the mess, resetting the tables, the management would have to do it on top of their work for the pay they get. Or what about the dishwasher doing all of that work on top of their duties or for that matter what about the cook. Are they going to do all that extra work on top of cooking. It think not, especially if they only got MINIMUM WAGE or lower.
The server puts their self personally in front of the public. They have to deal with all the needs and wants of the customers, after all they are not in a fast food place. What about bartenders, which I had been one of those too, I was paid a regular wage plus tips, the Owner did not reduce my wage or tax my tips for getting the "GIFT". What makes it any different for the restaurant server. Management for restaurants get bonuses on top of their wage if the restaurant is run correctly, did they minimize their pay or tax their bonus, No. I have seen cooks get tips for excellent food, did they have to suffer getting a lower wage when they got tips, No! Dishwashers or bus-persons get at least a minimum wage and still get the money gift, usually out of the server's pocket. Did they suffer not making what everyone else does. What about raises? Other employee's get raises from their employers for work well done. In the many years as a server, who had to put up with the customer, be at their mercy to get extra, ever seen them get as many raises as other employees from their employer, no they still got below minimum wage.
In the first place, being a server is a gamble because their money is not consistent. Will the customers tip or not. Will they get customers or not? Will I even have a chance to pay that electric bill or get gas for my car? The pay is the same, below the FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE. The employer feel it is not their responsibility to make up for it. It is not fair for them to depend on the customers to provide the wage for the server that they employed. On top of all, the federal government taxes and deducts out of the checks the GIFTS we get on top of making us work for less. If the customer does not tip, we are still responsible to pay some taxes for food for that customer. It is like well I just took that customer out to lunch. What the Government or employer does not realize is without us, a piece of the puzzle of service would make their business fail. I am sure that they would not want to do it themselves for below minimum wage, so why should they make the server do it for less?
Learn more about this author, Helena Stone.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
