It never fails to shock me how a tip is demanded in the US. People simply refuse to listen to reason when we (yes, there are others!) tell them that leaving a tip isn’t necessary. Well, I’m hoping for too much here, but if you’re a waiter, here are 5 reasons why I will try my best not to give any money to you and why the reasons for tipping are crappy.
1. You act as if you’re my best friend
Just leave me alone ok? I don’t want to bloody chit chat with you. I want food. FOOD! Get it? It’s a restaurant. I go there to eat. I go because I want either Italian food, Chinese Food or something else which I can’t get in a McDonald’s. So I come to a restaurant to fulfill my cravings for it. I will pay for what I value – food. Not you.
Christ, you offend me – kneeling down next to my table, pretending to like me and chatting as if you’re my best friend when it’s obvious that all you’re after is the tip! I’m not a bloody money bag you know. I will pay the bill which includes the cost of the food, the environment and the salaries of the people involved – nothing more.
The only way to get money out of me that I don’t have to legally pay is by prying it out of my cold dead hands…
Bottom line: I don’t want to know your name, or interact with you for any longer than I have to in order to place my order. As far as I’m concerned, you’re the equivalent of a conveyor belt that brings me my food and a computer into which I input my order. Of course, I won’t be rude. But don’t expect me to interact with you any more than I would with some stranger.
Image Credit: cafemama
2. You don’t get paid enough
And this is my problem how exactly? It’s astonishing that customers are expected to make up for your employer’s cheapness in not paying you a decent wage. Please include the full cost in everyone’s bill thank you very much. I’ll pay it because I have to and the charge is there for me to see.
What’s really funny here is that no one seems to criticize the employers! All criticism is reserved for non tipping customers instead of the owners of the restaurant for not paying a decent wage. Wtf! Could it possibly be because you guys know you can make much more by tips and under report your income to the IRS?
3. You’ll spit in my food if I don’t tip you?
And I’ll shoot your kid if you don’t give me a million dollars. Seriously, am I even hearing this right? You’re actually using the threat of blackmail to make me pay you? Well as long as you’re openly claiming to be a criminal it’s all right I guess.
Fortunately that’s why I prefer buffets. Listen apart from it being illegal, this shows your poor integrity. But if you spit in someone’s food because they didn’t give you money you didn’t earn, then you’re a loser and deserve to be a waiter for the rest of your life.
4. Bringing me my food isn’t worthy of being paid extra
Did you cook it? Did you invent it? No. You picked it up and brought it to me. While it might not be easy, there are plenty of jobs which are much worse – shop floor workers for example. And I’ve been a shop floor manager, so I know. Face it – compared to other jobs, being a waiter is unskilled. You get paid what the market will think your services are worth. You don’t deserve more for your work over and above what your employer should pay you.
5. Money doesn’t grow on trees
I expect you to be grateful and pray for me at night if I tip you 10%. Be happy I gave you anything at all. I worked for the money in my wallet and by giving you some I didn’t have to, I’m doing you a favor. Learn to remember that when people give you something they don’t need to, it’s a favor. You don’t complain that they didn’t give you more!
By the way, the same thing above applies to all professions that demand tips including those on cruise liners.
So now that you understand why I won’t give you money you don’t deserve, stop with the “oh how could you?” attitude. I can. And I will.
Update: Here’s a rebuttal of the many silly justifications for tipping that people have given in the comments section.
I’m done in here btw. I have better things to do. Good day gentlemen.
In reply to Baghwad doesn’t deserve 20%
Let’s be honest here. You say you deserve tips only because you expect them. Your expectation is painting your reality. In reality you have no basis for claiming tips are deserved (when comparing a waiting job to other unskilled work that isn’t tip, or skilled work that isn’t tipped).
Anyways, I know you are gone. But you will probably come back and read this ;).
A waitress deserves poverty for having no education and skills. It is called reality.
Waitresses are like a five-year-old child. Tantrum prone and immature.
The child will grow up, the waitress never will.
In reply to $Bill
I’m a chef and you are full of shit obviously you don’t know they get paid way less than minimum wage, and their job basically is hospitality, that’s why you tip them I get paid well for what I do and I believe their entitled to their tips for putting up with people like you, and others. I think people that think this way are just cheap and prob work less than a waiter or waitress does sitting at a desk or in a office on your asses all day getting way over paid.
In reply to f u
You are full of shit and a liar.
http://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/faq/esa/flsa/002.htm
With or without tips, waitresses have to make federal minimum-wage by law. As far as I’m concerned they are overpaid. They really are only worth only $2.13 an hour. Too bad the law says they have to make minimum-wage.
In reply to $Bill
Your superiority complex is disturbing. You think you deserve more money for being “smart”?
Smart doesn’t make you a better or person or more deserving of entitlement than any other human being. Nobodys like you with egos that big are destroying the real purpose of life; to just live. This isn’t a fucking competition, i’m sorry you decided to slave years of your life to get to the inherently meaningless position you are in today, and that society has conditioned you to believe that you hold some kind of higher voice/power over who deserves what.
You’re just taking out your existential frustrations on people you percieve as inferior to you.
Your “hard work” means nothing. I hope you realize this when you die alone with all of your fucking intelligence and riches.
Everyone is just trying to fucking get by. There is not a single fucking server out there “living the american dream” on the salary they recieve. Seriously. If you really don’t believe in the tipping system, fight it on a bigger level, don’t pick on the pawns. Or just don’t go out to eat you fucking cheap and lazy bastard that can’t even cook his own fucking meal.
In reply to D
I’m going to ignore the problem with your logic regarding not going out to eat and people being lazy for going to a restaurant since I’ve covered that idiocy elsewhere.
What I will comment on is the fact that you talk about how the point of life is to live it. How are you living it if you aren’t experiencing things? Are you traveling? Are you experiencing real Japanese food in Japan? Are you seeing the flowers grow in the fields in Holland?
You specifically state that people working as servers aren’t living the dream. They aren’t LIVING. They are surviving, which, by your own statement, means they are ignoring the point of life.
People who go out and work their butts off to earn a good salary do so because it means not only do they get to experience more in life (and this LIVE more), but ensure their families do, as well.
In reply to $Bill
Trolls, trolls are all that I hear and see!
Perhaps, leave them alone?
But alas, no not one can do so, for the love of arguing feeds us all.
Maybe, each one of you, including the site owner can all get a job so sites like these wont make any money.
Maybe then we’ll all be so busy where these sort of sites wont come up on the internet because we will all be so preoccupied by our working that we cannot even think of having such frivolous discussions like the one all of you dimwits are having.
Get a life, please. No ones opinion actually matters and the sooner the human population figures this little fact of life out, the quicker our society will benefit from such trains of thought being gone.
I bet you all ado.
I would never even consider going out to eat and NOT tipping.. If I were that cheap I would stay home and cook. Most, not all but most servers are high school or college students working to make some extra money.. They serve because most restaurants are flexible with schedules for students..yes, they are aware AND agree to they wage, but they also hope to get tips!! They also run their tails off making sure you have full drinks and that your food is good etc.. Most servers are wonderfully polite and a pleasure to meet and interact with.. If you don’t want to be social then go to fast food or better yet stay home where you don’t have to have conversations!!
In reply to Upset mom
Most minimum wage and/or unskilled jobs employ high school and college age kids. Many, if not most, will help accommodate their schedule.
Those fast food workers you and everyone else mention work just as hard as servers – they still take your order, get your food, clean tables, make sure the condiments are filled, etc. Plus they also have to do food prep themselves – fries, McFlurries, etc. And they do it in a faster time by requirement.
Servers don’t hope to get tips, they expect them. Look through the comments here and you will repeatedly see entitled brats who state they deserve it and expect it. Why? Why do they deserve more than the minimum wage they earn? They don’t do more work than any other unskilled laborer that gets paid minimum wage, and they even have that benefit of getting a schedule they can work with.
People have repeatedly given reasons that have been refuted here, and it all boils down to them simply being entitled and believing they should get tips because they simply think they should. That is not valid reasoning.
In reply to What a joke
A waitress that expects to get a tip from me will be disappointed. I don’t give people extra money for doing their job.
When I was a kid, I was at waiter. It was the simplest, easiest, mind numbing job I ever had in my life. I couldn’t believe such a simple job had be paid minimum-wage.
Before that I had a paper route. Delivering papers was harder and more work then any waiter job.
With this being said, only mentally retarded people should be servers. A normal person should never do this job. A child could be a waiter with no training. Any adult that serves for a living is lazy and worthless.
In reply to $Bill
Oh,Bill!,let me tell you something.
You were a kid so you didn’t know that you were working in a shitty restaurant. They don’t care how you work because it was simple place with disorganize managment.At the age of 14,I know that people should not tip their server for doing their job.As I grew older things don’t seem the way I know anymore.With maturity and outgoing life style,I know that I should tip my server when I notice he or she is doing the good job.I do not spend my life going out eating in restaurants and not tipping servers.
In reply to Aloha
I’m sure when $Bill said he was a kid, he meant in his late teens or early 20s. I’m sure he wasn’t a child by any means.
In reply to What a joke
Just so you know I am a server and i do a lot of prep work thank you!!! If we’re so unskilled Mr. “I know it all “then why don’t you do it for one week and see how ignorant the public” you” are to deal with. If it wasn’t for us so called unskilled workers you wouldn’t be able to eat the so called foods you can’t get at McDonald’s!!! Just so you know some people depend on these jobs when they loose they’re so called real jobs that you supposedly have. Well Mr. Big shot I hope to god that one day you don’t end up losing your job due to budget cuts ect. And you have to get one of these jobs to support you family God forbid any woman in their right mind would ever be with someone so selfish and disrespectful. Not all servers expect tips but are very appreciative when they get them and when someone doesn’t leave a tip I don’t spit in their food I just assumed maybe I did something wrong and needed to be more attentive next time. I enjoy my job as a sever it gives me the flexibility to be home with my children at night and I’m able to attend all of they’re activities and be a parent which is first and Formost my top priority!!! You may have more money but money isn’t everything as long as I’m comfortable and my kids are happy that’s all that matters.. You Mr. Big shot need a reality check I hope your kids grow up to be better than you.. I truly feel sorry for you!!!
In reply to Michelle
Given that I’ve been homeless and done lots of volunteer work serving food I’d say you have no room for argument.
I’m also a single dad, and went through really rough times while I went to school but I showed my son the value of actual hard work and the understanding that if you want the money to pay for the things you’d like to have, and not just what you need to survive, that you have to EARN it.
Serving pays minimum wage because that is what the JOB is worth. It takes no real skill that other jobs don’t have, and has no special requirements to get the job.
In reply to What a joke
Servers do not get paid minimum wage, obviously you think you’re entitled to free service, which if I ever served on you I’d be damned if you got your food before waiting atleast an hour for being ignorant. If you don’t want to tip stay at home and serve yourself.
In reply to Server
“If an employee’s tips combined with the employer’s direct wages of at least $2.13 an hour do not equal the Federal minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference.”
http://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/faq/esa/flsa/002.htm
So are you a liar or just an idiot?
In reply to What a joke
Obviously you’re an idiot if you believe that. Many resteraunts estimate an 18% tip wage on every sale regardless.
In reply to Server
It’s the law, simpleton. And I bet it’s in your contract. Your employer must legally inform you of all these things to claim the tip credit. If they haven’t, and they do, they are breaking the law. If you get less than $5.12 an hour for tips (assuming Federal tip credit) and your employer fails to make up the difference, they are breaking the law.
In either case it’s up to you to report it and/or sue for unpaid wages. However, your employer being a criminal is not the customer’s problem, nor their responsibility to make up for it. And NOBODY is forcing you to work there.
In reply to What a joke
The last stupid waitress that that did this ended up getting fired and my dinner bill which was over $200 was comped.
In reply to What a joke
It’s not minimum wage you fuck tard. It’s like 2 dollars an hour. God you’re ignorant, and fucking retarded
In reply to JON
Federal law mandates that a tipped employee must receive federal minimum wage between what is paid by their employer and tips. If the amount in tips they receive do not equal $5.12 per hour, the employer must make up the difference. This means quite literally that if the server gets no tips, the law requires they be paid by the restaurant the full minimum wage.
http://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/faq/esa/flsa/002.htm
This has been stated and posted repeatedly throughout the comments, yet you halfwits can’t seem to read. Hell, legally servers have to be informed of this fact or the employee can’t even claim the tip credit.
It’s not the customer’s responsibility to pay the employee of the restaurant to do the job they were hired by the restaurant to do.
In reply to JON
I’m convinced that every waiter/waitress on this message board is dumber than a bag of rocks. Every single one denies getting minimum wage even though the link has been given 10,000 time proving them wrong
In reply to Zeus
Right? How the hell do they read through the comments enough to reply and bitch and say it, yet not see the damn link? It’s freaking all over the place!
In reply to Zeus
I completely agree with you. Waiters and waitresses are extremely stupid. They have no reading and comprehension skills. I posted that link hundreds of times.
In reply to What a joke
uI’m a chef and you are full of shit obviously you don’t know they get paid way less than minimum wage, and their job basically is hospitality, that’s why you tip them I get paid well for what I do and I believe their entitled to their tips for putting up with people like you, and others. I think people that think this way are just cheap and prob work less than a waiter or waitress does sitting at a desk or in a office on your asses all day getting way over paid.
In reply to none of your damn business.
My sister waitresses and she averages over $30 an hour in tips. The job and money is super easy.
In reply to none of your damn business.
The law says that with or without tips they must be paid minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Tips count as their income, but if they get $0 in tips the restaurant must legally make up the difference.
Based on your grammar I highly doubt you’re a chef, and more likely a cook at a place like Denny’s (if even that).
And while a cook might value a server, I’ve never met a single cook or chef who would say being a server is hard. Especially because servers tend to take out their frustrations on the cooks.
In reply to Upset mom
What a joke pretty much summed it up.
It’s kind of sad, and classist, the way things are going here. “Look at these poor people, of course you should give them some money! I mean look at them!” *sigh* Do you pat yourself on the back for helping those less fortunate waiters? Does it make you feel good inside?
That came off as an attack, but I really am curious to the answer to that question. It seems so insulting that the driving force…the only strong reason that supports tipping…is pity.
You need to get over yourself. Waiters are tipped Bc they do earn it. I work in a restaurant and servers bust their asses. Especially when it’s busy. They’re constantly moving and making sure you have everything you need and that everything is perfect meanwhile dealing with customers like you. If you don’t agree with tipping a server that clearly served you and tended to your every need while you were out then keep it to yourself and stay at home. No one cares.
In reply to Morgan
And you think people don’t bust their asses at pretty much every other job? You think they don’t deal with “bad” customers? Everything servers come here and whine about being so difficult about their job is common to most unskilled, minimum earning jobs, and most of it is something people have to deal with at most jobs in general.
Waiters don’t earn tips, they earn the minimum wage they are paid. They aren’t the special snowflakes of the job world that somehow deserve to be paid for a job they’re already paid to do.
In reply to Morgan
You are delusional to think anything you do is special. You have a pathetic job that requires no education or skills. The only reason you bust your ass is because you are unskilled.
Unskilled low paying jobs are punishment for not having a useful college degree or technical skills.
In reply to $Bill
How do you think some people pay for these college education. Not all people have wealthy mommy and daddy’s to hand them everything.
In reply to Server
It’s called grants and scholarships, or a job that actually pays more than minimum wage.
Expecting the customers to pay you for a job you are already paid to do for any reason, let alone because you don’t make enough to go to college, is absurd.
In reply to What a joke
It is everyone’s right to feel that you dont have to tip but I feel there are some holes in all these arguments.
1.The reality is, not everyone can get a grant or scholarship. There isn’t enough grant or scholarship money to literally fund nearly everyone that is going to university.
2. Whether you think it is lowly to work in a restaurant, you need to walk in those shoes for a month and see how hard it really is. I have a degree in biology and am working on even bigger goals, and know many people who are in school and working in a restaurant to fund medical school, undergrad,and grad school. When a large party comes in for example, It is ME, the server, who has to keep track of every little detail while the guests kick back and have fun.
Let 30 people and their screaming kids put pressure on you to get it all right and in the shortest amount of time possible. Let’s see how easy and fun it is to mastermind all that under pressure.
3.If you are mad about tipping, how about making change to the system and not go out to eat at all? The restaurant will have to change if someone decides to take the stand. The responsibility of taking a stand can just as easily rest on the guests as it can the servers. But no, you still bring yourself out to eat I bet? Money talks…BS walks.Put your time and money where your mouth is.
In reply to jen
1. There are plenty of grants for those who can’t actually afford college, though. The only people I’ve seen not get grants are people who try to make a career out of college and change majors three times, people whose families make enough where they should be able to save enough for college (even if they fail to), or people who don’t (or can’t) keep up with the work and keep their grades up.
Hell, not everyone can get into college, either, because they’re not smart enough, or don’t put in the work required, but that’s the point. People get rejected all the time for college, even when they can pay. But that’s part of the difficulty of getting into college, and part of why skilled labor earns more money.
2. Ah yes, because no other job at all has to deal with stressful situations. *eyeroll* Apparently you haven’t read my other comments. You talk about walking in others’ shoes, but entirely ignore the point – if you think it’s so hard, get an “easier” job that pays more. You said you have a degree, why aren’t you working in a lab or something, even if you’re trying to save for grad school? A *lot* of professions will happily accommodate your grad school schedule when you get in.
I’ve paid my dues. As stated elsewhere I’ve been poor, I’ve been homeless, I worked my ass off. I’ve had some pretty crappy jobs, but I was happy for the opportunity and didn’t whine about how “hard” it was because it honestly took very little effort. And I never, ever, asked the customers to give me extra money for a job I was already being paid to do, regardless of how low that pay was.
3. How did you even graduate college? You understand that if the patrons don’t go out to eat that there’s no restaurant, right? Even if they get takeout, there’s no need for servers. It’s called supply and demand. The only reason your job exists is because people come to the restaurant to eat, and tips certainly aren’t a fee.
You know what’s a better method of change? Talk to the majority conservatives who run the country right now. The ones who have gerrymandered their states so there’s little chance they’ll be replaced. Talk to them about the misrepresentation of tips on taxes. Talk to them about the entitled attitude of the tipped, and their unwillingness to do anything else because they’re actually getting paid by customers to do a job they’re already being paid to do. I’m sure, with some thought, they’d be happy to work on laws that abolish tips because they’re all for “encouraging” the American public to work harder if they want to earn more money.
In reply to Server
Well they should that’s not my problem.
It’s OK to admit you’re just an Asshole. Some people have compassion, and help out others, and then there’s you. Thats fine, just own up to it. As a college student who does struggle financially, though I do not work at a restaurant, I still tip generously when I go to one because I’m not that greedy and I also understand that they do work incredibly hard, and I’m OK with rewarding hard work. I personally enjoy the smile that waiters bring. It makes me more comfortable to ask questions to the waiter about the menu and makes the experience just more pleasant. Also, you tip after the meal has been served, if they’re spitting in your food, its for a different reason, which right now I totally understand why they would, you don’t seem like a pleasant customer. And maybe bringing the food to one table isn’t a hard job, but try keeping multiple tables happy. Full cups, food brought on time, all requests honored, you’re thinking narrowly about your table, not about what they’re doing. Now I’m not above giving small tips, but it’s when the service is actually bad. I’ve had rude waiters and ones that have spilled things on me, and it’s understandable to drop the tip in these cases, but a hard working, polite young adult has earned these tips, and they’ve earned not to be treated like trash, which is honestly what you appear to be.
In reply to reasonable 20%
So you tip the workers at a fast food place who work just as hard? What about the cashier at the store? You tip them too, right? They’re working hard, too. How about the guy at the deli counter? How about the factory workers who make all the crap you buy for pennies an hour? Do you mail them a fiver for the hard work they do to produce your clothes and electronics?
If you don’t tip everyone who you come in contact (directly or indirectly) with doing “hard work” that you benefit from, you are a hypocrite, plain and simple.
Hi Bhagwad:
I have a few questions regarding this post I wanted to ask you and was hoping you’d be able to answer them.
#1. Now this is what YOU wrote.
“Just leave me alone ok? I don’t want to bloody chit chat with you. I want food. FOOD! Get it? It’s a restaurant. I go there to eat. I go because I want either Italian food, Chinese Food or something else which I can’t get in a McDonald’s. So I come to a restaurant to fulfill my cravings for it. I will pay for what I value – food. Not you.
Christ, you offend me – kneeling down next to my table, pretending to like me and chatting as if you’re my best friend when it’s obvious that all you’re after is the tip! I’m not a bloody money bag you know. I will pay the bill which includes the cost of the food, the environment and the salaries of the people involved – nothing more.
The only way to get money out of me that I don’t have to legally pay is by prying it out of my cold dead hands…
Bottom line: I don’t want to know your name, or interact with you for any longer than I have to in order to place my order. As far as I’m concerned, you’re the equivalent of a conveyor belt that brings me my food and a computer into which I input my order. Of course, I won’t be rude. But don’t expect me to interact with you any more than I would with some stranger.”
My question is; “Do you SAY these things to people, or do you just think them?” I’m guessing you think these things and don’t say them. However, at the end of this first bit of your blog entry you claim “I wont be rude” Excuse me, your exact words were “Of course I wont be rude”.
Bhagwad, doesn’t “Christ you offend me” “I don’t want to know your name or interact with you for any longer than I have to” and”Just leave me alone ok, I don’t want to chit chat with you” constitute rude behavior? If a co-worker, neighbor, employer, delivery person or anyone you interact with said these things to you…you wouldn’t think they were rude?
#2 Tips are not DEMANDED. It is customary. You wont find many tipped employees who think poor service or rude service deserves a tip. So, you are mistaken here.
#3 Spitting in your food if you don’t tip. This is probably less common than you can imagine. Most tipped employees will simply try to move customers like you along efficiently and quietly and spend their time and energy on pleasant customers. This isn’t simply about how you don’t tip, wont tip, and don’t believe in it…It’s really more what you think about and how you treat fellow human beings.
#4 Have you ever politely and succinctly told a server or better yet a manager about your thoughts on their professions, and how you would like your dining experience to go PRIOR to being waited on? I know you wrote “Of course I wont be rude”, so how about this.
“Hi May I speak to the manager before being seated please? Hello, I don’t want to seem rude, but I don’t believe in tipping and frankly I find the friendliness of many servers and restaurant employees to be disingenuous, So, what I would really like is to give my order and be brought my food without any chit-chat. I will pay for the meal, and if the food is good, you may count on my future custom. Think we could do that?”
Nothing terribly rude there.Blunt, not very nice…but not rude.
Not like “Christ you offend me” or some of the other less-than pleasant remarks you wrote in this piece. You’d also probably get what you want. Food, no chit chat and done.
Have you done this Bhagwad? Maybe you have. I doubt it, as I find people are braver and more frank in blog posts than they are in person. If you HAVE done this, did it work out well for you?
#5. My final comment and question to you. This blog post has generated a great deal of traffic and lots of hits. That’s great!! It’s obviously a passionate subject for you, and based on many of the responses, it’s a pretty passionate subject to others.
So let me ask this( or more accurately these questions): Have you learned anything from the responses to this post? Have you changed your mind in any way? Would you maybe re-write some things that may have been misunderstood or that seem really nasty? The “Christ You Offend Me” really pops out at me.
Would you say that the practice or custom of tipping is something of a gray area; in that some tip, some don’t believe in it, it is such an ingrained “custom” that tipped employees get taxed upon their sales. some tip based on the level of service, some over tip automatically etc..
Do you feel that debates that could be considered grey areas, are answerable by rigid black and white answers or responses?
Do you feel that any worker in any job or position should be rewarded if they went the extra mile, were exceptionally efficient ( I’m not saying “nice” mind you as you have expressed that you neither appreciate that or believe it is sincere) I’m speaking of someone who may have gone out of their way to ensure your food was fast, the order perfect, and you had everything you wanted without having to ask…your needs anticipated.
Do you believe that there are people who are inherently pleasant and nice in their interactions with friends, strangers, the guy at the shoe store, the taxi driver or the pizza delivery man? People who find life is a little easier by just being nice and kind? Therefore, is it in the realm of possibility that some waiters and waitresses are nice people, pleasant people, or at least courteous? Or do they all “offend you”. If they “Offend You”, (<Your words) why would you interact with them? If restaurant employees offend you, why would you go to restaurants. Have food delivered, or cook for yourself, or go to buffets. Wouldn't that eliminate the contempt you have for them?
I hope you'll take the time to read and respond to this. Please note, I haven't called you any names. I haven't said you're cheap or petty. I haven't said you're mean or even wrong. I have no intention of changing your mind. You strike me as pretty stuck in your ways in these regards. You don't strike me as a stupid person, yet in some of your responses you're acting deliberately obtuse. I suspect you know full well where some of the things you wrote sound very mean spirited and contemptuous…Then why do you act as if they aren't offensive or rude. Do you feel saying something along the lines of "That may have come out more harsh than I meant it to" would take away from your arguments here?
Thanks for reading. I know this was long, so I DO appreciate your sticking with me. Hope to hear back from you. I'm very interested in what your thoughts are.
Sincerely
Scott
Your server is not EXPECTING ANYTHING from you?? UNLESS YOU WALK INTO THE RESAURANT AND SIT AT THEIR TABLE. In this country there is a system for eating at restaurants.. you walk in, you’re greeted and showed to a table by hourly employees.. and you’re sat a table, one of a few that a sever has been assigned to look after… There is a mutual agreement that you came into this restaurant and chose to dine in so you will be waited on by a server, who is required by his/her employer to serve you without knowing, in the end, what he/she will be getting from you. That is just how it works. There are two reasons why you are absolutely wrong in your opinion of this situation. The first is because in almost every restaurant you’ll go to there are hourly employees who will take your order and get it ready for you TO GO without any obligation or assumption that you’re going to tip. The other is that slavery was abolished 150 years ago… and since Here in 2016 America, our government doesn’t believe it’s right employ someone for less that 7.25(?) an hour. So considering my employer pays me 2.13, under the assumption that I’m essentially working for my guests… YES, I’m sorry but I do expect that if you sit in my section and I’m ready and willing to bring you anything I can get you to ensure you enjoy your meal.. You leave me SOMETHING. If you can’t afford to be waited on, don’t eat out.
In reply to Ella
>>>”Your server is not EXPECTING ANYTHING from you?? UNLESS YOU WALK INTO THE RESAURANT AND SIT AT THEIR TABLE. In this country there is a system for eating at restaurants.. you walk in, you’re greeted and showed to a table by hourly employees.. and you’re sat a table, one of a few that a sever has been assigned to look after… There is a mutual agreement that you came into this restaurant and chose to dine in so you will be waited on by a server, who is required by his/her employer to serve you without knowing, in the end, what he/she will be getting from you. That is just how it works.”<<>>”There are two reasons why you are absolutely wrong in your opinion of this situation. The first is because in almost every restaurant you’ll go to there are hourly employees who will take your order and get it ready for you TO GO without any obligation or assumption that you’re going to tip.”<<>>”The other is that slavery was abolished 150 years ago… and since Here in 2016 America, our government doesn’t believe it’s right employ someone for less that 7.25(?) an hour.”<<>>”So considering my employer pays me 2.13, under the assumption that I’m essentially working for my guests… YES, I’m sorry but I do expect that if you sit in my section and I’m ready and willing to bring you anything I can get you to ensure you enjoy your meal.. You leave me SOMETHING. If you can’t afford to be waited on, don’t eat out.”<<<
You're paid $7.25 per hour. Your employer gets a tip credit of up to 5.12 per hour out of that if you make more than $30 per month in tips regardless of hours worked, and at least 5.12 per hour worked. In other words, for them to take a tip credit out of your pay, you must earn enough tips to make 7.25 an hour with the reduced pay, and work enough hours to be able to make $30 in tips. If you don't make the equivalent of 7.25 an hour between your hourly pay and tips, your employer MUST pay you the difference. It's the law. http://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/faq/esa/flsa/002.htm
In addition, the employer has to inform you of all this stuff, or they also cannot take the tip credit. This is also law. I'd check your employment contract if I were you, because if you were never informed of any of this (your employment contract and paperwork counts as informing you) they can't claim the tip credit.
The "brief" of this is that you're confused – your employer doesn't pay you less because you CAN get tips, the law allows your employer to reduce your pay because you DO get tips. If you don't get tips, your employer has to pay you the full minimum wage. It is, under no circumstances, a requirement for customers to make up the difference, and should not be expected. If your employer doesn't follow the law, it's up to you to report and/or sue for it. You are not a slave, meaning you're not being forced to work there, so if you don't like it, don't work there.
In reply to What a joke
There was a lot more but I had added symbols to better separate quotes from responses and apparently those symbols deleted everything between them.
Most of it is summed up in that last paragraph, though.
In reply to What a joke
I’m completely aware of the process. However what I implied by pointing out my wage is that, because of taxes, I don’t see a dime of my hourly pay. I report my tips at the end of the day and I’m taxed on that money that I take home, so I literally don’t get a paycheck. So yes, I do usually make more than minimum wage. It can vary day by day and if it’s slow enough I may not.. But as I said before I am working for my guests. Frankly, whatever I make off my other tables is none of your business.. If I give good service to 40 people, I could make 100 or more for that party alone.. so that’s what they felt I deserved for the service that I gave THEM. So regardless how many tables it takes, if I am making enough from my other tables to reach minimum wage and you don’t tip me at all.. I am not getting shit for the time I specifically spent serving you. I am doing you a service… That is what you’re (supposed to be) paying me for.. So what annoys me the most is the excuse that you’re not tipping me because you’re assuming I make more than minimum wage and you don’t think we deserve to make so much… Being served is a luxury.. I’ll say again- If you can’t afford it, don’t eat out. “If you don’t like it, don’t work there” ?? I actually like being a server, it’s just people like you who don’t get the concept. You’re one of few who feel this way and it’s because again there is an understanding. So what I want to know is why you feel you should be served for free instead of taking an order to go?
In reply to Ella
No, see, that’s the problem – fist offnyou somehow believe your job is worth more than minimum wage. It’s not. It is an unskilled job, requires no education, and no matter how much you’d like to believe it’s difficult, it’s a pretty easy job compared to most other jobs (even unskilled jobs). In fact, this is legitimately why the tip credit exists – even the government feels it is wrong for you to earn too much at your job.
Everyone pays taxes, and actually that fact alone is why it is our business how much you make in tips. Many, many servers have stated directly or indirectly that they are underreporting tips on their taxes, but since there is little paler trail when people leave cash at the table, it’s pretty easy to do.
Again, there is no “understanding.” And there most certainly shouldn’t be one. This is a delusion. Your job is to serve tables. You are paid by your employer to do so (again, your net pay doesn’t matter, everyone pays taxes). You have a contract with your employer to do so. If you refuse to do so, you no longer have a job. If you show up at some restaurant you have not been employed by, and start waiting tables, you will be escorted out. You are not a freelancer employed by each customer. Your job includes providing good service – again, you will be fired if you fail to do so. Not by the customers, but by your employer: the restaurant.
In reply to Ella
Your job is to serve people at a restaurant. You are unskilled and not worth a penny over minimum-wage.
If it were up to me, you would make less than a dollar an hour because people like you are a joke.
Unskilled, no education, and you think you provide a valuable service. Newsflash: You are a modern day slave waiting on people with money that are important.
It should be an honor for you to wait on me hand and foot because I am important and wealthy you dumb bitch.
In reply to Ella
My waitress job is so hard. I had to get a third-grade education. I have no skills whatsoever. Carrying plates from the kitchen to the tables is so hard. They had to train me so I didn’t get lost from the kitchen to the dining room. I have to ask people what they want to eat, then I repeat it to the cooks who do all the work.
You should tip me because I feel so entitled. I am a child in an adult body. I like to think what I do is important, because the truth is my job is a joke for losers of society.
In reply to Ella
I suspect you need to look into how taxes actually work.
In reply to Ella
You should feel honored to wait on someone as important as me. In reality you should be tipping me for having to speak to you. I’m just there to eat a nice meal. Your already making minimum wage. No tip for you.
For the record, let’s start with the fact that I have waited tables before. I have also spent nine other years in food service, ten total. I have done fast food management and fine dining as well, so the argument I don’t know from first hand struggling is absolutely incorrect.
With that being said, while I don’t agree with the way the author of this article approaches the concept, I don’t agree with the pressure of having to tip either! I find it has become a standard to have to tip a server, no matter the service, and I have had some horrible experiences. I am the first person to write off incidents for bad days, or newcomers, because I have worked 12+ hours on the floor at a quick service establishment and know that rushes can be overwhelming.
But the argument that paying extra should be expected when you dine out, or that the service is seperate, is far reaching. McDonald’s workers, Wendy’s workers, Long John Silvers workers, Dairy Queen workers, they get paid minimum wage. At minimum wage they (me) make the food, or assist in the perpetuation, ring it in and handle money, deliver it, and clean the dining room and restrooms.
Sometimes they hand it out, but I have seen food being delivered to tables in many establishments and situations.
I’m not saying waiters don’t work, I’m just saying that the argument of fair pay is invalid. NOBODY in the food industry gets paid what they deserve. And if you go off of a scale, servers don’t do as much as general fast food workers who make minimum wage. The fact that there is an entitlement for waiters to get tips, who go home with way more than I do, when I’m working wait staff plus making your food and cleaning when your gone is definitely a custom that doesn’t make sense. And they are doing a fraction of a quick service workers job.
That being said, I don’t mind tipping for good service at all, I in fact tip well and uniquely, and I make less than the servers I tip.
But I can’t help but agree that servers entitlement to being tipped, while the rest of us are grateful to recieve a dollar here and there, is unfounded. Your company is required to pay you minimum wage, and can afford to, they simply don’t want to.
If they were that concerned with fair pay, they’d charge gratuity or factor it in!
In reply to Hospitality_Hierarchist
*preperation
In reply to Hospitality_Hierarchist
If you don’t like the pay scale of food service jobs. Select a profession that requires valuable skills and pays better. Food-service employees do not make much money because it is a simpleton profession. Factoring in gratuity is like welfare unacceptable.
In reply to $Bill
Factoring in the cost of paying servers to your total cost of running an establishment is business finance 101. The company should pay fair wage, not expect others to make up for it with tips that equate to tipping of the pay scale.
If it is such a simpletons profession, I worry you didn’t understand the mathematical concept behind it.
P.S.~ Knowing how to politely and elegantly handle condescending people, or people you disagree with in general, is not simple as you have just proven. It is also not simple to operate an entire business, navigate a computer system, and handle large amounts of money day in and out while being underpaid and overworked. If you disagree with the food service industry so much, perhaps you should stay home in protest and do everyone a favor.
(:
In reply to Hospitality_Hierarchist
You just confirmed how truly simple your profession is. A person with a real job does a lot more than that. Minimum wage is more than fair pay for any food service employee.
Like I said, if you don’t like the pay get a better job. Instead of bitching and moaning like a little girl, earn an MBA so you can get a real job. Shouldn’t you be filling somebody’s drink order?
In reply to $Bill
For the record, I am in school and will have my degree literally in three days. However, the response you supplied does not argue anything new nor prove a point. My post did not provide a list of total duties of working in the food industry, but simply elaborate on a few of them. But who are you to put a price on what somebody’s profession is worth that you know so little about?
If it were such easy work the turnover rate would not be astronomical in the entire industry. The problem is that people, such as yourself, develop a condescending attitude toward certain professions because it is entry level and your education makes you far superior to other people who also pay taxes and support the economy. How can you condemn someone who’s working? Would you rather they sit back and collect benefits for doing nothing? The benefits they would collect would equal what they work at, full time, on minimum wage pay. Not everyone is handed opportunity on a silver platter. Some of us have had to work to change things in our lives, and my point is that the food industry IS hard work. It is very demanding, and moreso demanding for quick service workers than servers. But you have absolutely no right to judge someone who is getting up and going to work when they could just as easily stay home and collect the same amount of money from the government. You should be able to live a fair life on wages from full time work, and the greed of corporations is the root of ideas such as your own. There is more than enough money in their pockets to pay fair wage, and yet you argue on their behalf. You are either a very bored millionaire or an egotistical brainwashed fool to side with corporate greed over equal wage/fair pay.
In reply to Hospitality_Hierarchist
Regardless of how $Bill states it, a job’s “worth” is valued by the effort it takes to get the job, the skill it takes to perform that job, and the amount people will accept as payment for that job.
The confusion is that there is any unfair wage for a job. A fair wage is any wage people accept for the job. If they feel the pay is not adequate for the job, they quit (or simply don’t accept it in the first place). At least, if they have any sense, they do.
For example, you mention getting a degree. The effort and knowledge it takes to get the degree is why degree holders get paid more (as long as they are using their degree, anyway). The higher the level of the degree, the more the job pays.
Do you feel like you should be paid minimum wage in your chosen major, despite your degree?
*Ordering takeout would literally solve all of your problems.
I work as a waitress/bartender. for the most part, I genuinely enjoy my job. I’m upbeat and friendly and I enjoy making connections with people, and I’ve had many people come in who have had a shitty day tell me that I’ve brightened up their day. I’m also college educated. I don’t expect a tip and I still take care of and genuinely enjoy the company of my non-tipping regulars. You know why I’m nice to people? Why I’m friendly and tell them my name? So they can see me as a person, not a meal tray with boobs. It also makes me more approachable if they need anything. Serving is a job that involves social interaction and clear communication, not just a quick 30 second exchange of money and goods.If you don’t enjoy being in a social setting, maybe you should rethink where you spend your time, or learn how to make some tasty Asian dishes at home. See also: takeout.
That being said, I wouldn’t be able do this job without tips. My boss could never pay me a high enough wage to make up for the money I make in tips. I tip the gas station clerk, I tip the fast food employees I see, even if it’s only 0.50-1.00, because they work hard too and really, I’m not going to starve without an extra dollar. Not every company can afford to pay their employee an amazing wage, so it doesn’t hurt as one person to another to help out a little. So if you don’t want to tip, cool. Just don’t be an entitled asshole.
In reply to Alyse
You really should stop doing drugs. You are nothing but a conveyor belt with boobs. The hired help shouldn’t only speak if spoken to.
In reply to Alyse
You understand if everyone gets takeout, you don’t have a job, right? You get that concept? Your very job exists simply because people come in and sit down.
And the problem is you somehow believe you deserve the money you make in tips for the job you perform. The job is unskilled labor and is intended to pay very little based on that fact. It’s why we have a minimum wage – because otherwise the job would pay even less. Hell, the tip credit exists as an attempt to ensure just that. The only reason they maintain a tipped wage is so there’s something to take for taxes.
If the establishment you work for can’t afford to pay you the $7.25 an hour you are due by law, that’s not the customer’s problem. And before somebody brings it up again, yes, by law you get $7.25 an hour whether you get tips or not because the employer must make up the difference if the tips do not add enough to wage to equal minimum wage. http://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/faq/esa/flsa/002.htm
And if your response is that you wouldn’t do the job for $7.25 an hour, that’s the entire point. There are people who most certainly would, while you can choose to move on to a real job.
Also, fast food employees can’t receive tips because, for them, it’s untaxed income. Every time I’ve seen anyone leave a tip for a fast food employee they will flat out state they cannot accept tips and will not touch it. I really, really doubt you tip them, and if you do you’re causing them to violate the law, and possibly violating the law yourself, depending on where you live.
Gas station clerks might accept tips if it’s a full-service station and they’re a pump jockey, but your average worker (again) can’t legally accept tips. Note that this has nothing to do with the tip credit, it’s entirely to do with paying taxes.
Okay so I have sat here and read all these hateful comments…. Now let me say this I am a waitress in two different restaurants. I may not have a degree but I have worked hard for what I have. Its not always an easy job to do. In one job I actually split my tips with the chef. My husband and I have everything that we need. The bills are paid. Cars have gas to get us to work. You wanna know why I am a server???
1. I like interacting with people.
2. I enjoy the work it keeps me busy. I am not one for sitting around doing nothing all day.
3. I work for small companies it’s like family.
4. Its fun. Yes it can be difficult.
Now let me say this I am not just a server. I am also a hosstes and bartender. Also I am learning how to roll sushi which is harder then it looks. I did not come up here to be mean or hateful. It is not that I am stupid or don’t want to work in y’alls opinion, I just like the challenges it brings and the new people I get to meet a daily basis.
In reply to Hardworker
The fact that you consider rolling sushi to be difficult at all speaks volumes about what you know of hard work and difficulty, let alone the fact that you say waiting tables can be difficult.
As for sharing tips with a chef/cook, the law specifically says a valid tip pool only includes those people who traditionally and regularly receive tips.
http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.pdf
Basically, if they don’t contribute to the tip pool, they shouldn’t be getting a share of it.
It’s fine if you like your job. However, it really isn’t a difficult job, nor is it a difficult job to get. That is why the job is a minimum wage job.
In reply to What a joke
I only make $2.13 an hour.
In reply to Elizabeth V.
Read the bloody link.
If you are only making $2.13 per hour including tips (which count as income), but before taxes, your employer is breaking the law.
If you are making $7.24 per hour including tips (which count as income), but before taxes, your employer is breaking the law.
If you do not make $7.25 an hour with tips, your employer must make up the difference. By law.
If your employer is breaking the law, it is up to you to report and/or sue them for it.
It is not, however, the customer’s concern or responsibility to pay for your poor life decisions.
In reply to What a joke
You are intitled to your opinion I work a hibachi grill and sushi bar and yes it can be hard as we don’t have small yables. Walk a day in my shoes and see what it’s like. Then tell me that my jobs are easy. My husband works with special needs kids every day. Not easy, but he also knows my job is every bit as demanding as his is. You need skills in all jobs the fact that you see it as unskilled job speaks volumes to who you are. Just because you don’t need a degree to work in this field don’t mean shit. Why shouldn’t I enjoy my jobs??? Just cause they aren’t to your standard of what you consider a job.
In reply to Hardworker
Again, I’ve walked a day “in your shoes.” I’ve done more. Zeus certainly does more.
And the “skills” you talk about in “unskilled” jobs are skills that pretty much anyone can have or do, except the most dimwitted buffoons. They have trained monkeys to wait tables. Not joking. I’ve linked it a couple times here.
More importantly, though, is the fact that none of the “skills” a server possess are beyond what fast food workers do. Fast food workers do everything (or some equivalent) of the work a server does, and they still get paid their crappy wage. On top of that, fast food workers have to do some prep work on food.
Unskilled labor is defined as:
“Unskilled labor is a segment of the work force associated with a low skill level or a limited economic value for the work performed (human capital). Unskilled labor is generally characterized by low education levels and small wages. Work that requires no specific education or experience is often available to workers who fall into the unskilled labor force.”
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/unskilled-labor.asp
Even the dictionary definition is:
“unskilled labor
noun
1.work that requires practically no training or experience for its adequate or competent performance.
2.the labor force employed for such work.”
And, again, you’re fine to enjoy your jobs, but that still doesn’t entitle you to tips.
In reply to Hardworker
Rolling sushi, wow you are a very simple person. I do believe you are a hard worker. The reason you work hard is because you do not have a college degree. Unskilled labor is punishment for having no skills.
I don’t understand how you enjoy the challenge of your unskilled job? There is no such thing as a challenge when you have an unskilled job.
In reply to $Bill
You wanna fip the bill for my college education?????? If not then shut the hell up cause really I would love nothing more then to go back to college problem is I don’t qualify for grants and most scholarships. And there is no way in hell I am taking out a student loan to be thousands of dollars in debt. So bite your tounge. I was in college 10 years ago had no choice but to drop out count afford it and I live in military town most of the jobs here at waitress or retail and I will never again do retail. To many pompas assholes thinking they are better than you.
In reply to Hardworker
Also unless you have walked a mile in my shoes you have no right to tell me about my jobs. Several days a week I am up at 6 am and won’t come home till at least 10 or 11pm so you tell me how unskilled I am to be able to say that I have worked 10 years at one job. Even if I had a stupid paper that says I have a degree that doesnt mean that I would find work in my chosen field. So how about you take your awful opinions and shove them where the sun don’t shine.
In reply to Hardworker
I’ve already explained how I, and Zeus, have done lots more work than you, and explained how I generally get up earlier, and go to bed as late as (if not later than) you.
Yet all you can do is sit and rant about how angry you are that your job is what it is because you can’t be arsed to do better. The fact that you’ve worked 10 years at that job is sad, and not something to be proud of. Working the same COMPANY for 10 years is one thing, but I know a stoner who was in the classes for the slower kids (not exactly special-ed, but the below-average students) in high school, and even SHE has been promoted to manager at her place of work.
In reply to Hardworker
You are finally catching on. All of us rich, pompous, highly educated assholes are better than you. To us you’re nothing more than a simpleton to be used for cheap labor.
All through history, the poor uneducated slobs cater to the rich and important. You are simply continuing the natural order of economics.
The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.
It is good to be king, now run to the kitchen and check on my Kobe beef and lobster tail. Also don’t speak unless you’re spoken to. The hired help constantly makes that mistake.
The reality of the situation is; you have made excuses and poor choices. This will now permanently effect your life and earning potential. Are you enjoying your life of misery and lack of money?
I know I am enjoying my Porsche 911 Turbo and beautiful waterfront home. I also enjoy watching people like you scrub my toilets and clean my home.
In reply to $Bill
You know what go to hell you pompase arrogant self serving asshole. I am no ones servent. L
Money isn’t everything. I have my wonderful husband. I can go visit with my family anytime I want. And God is in my life. You may be rich but you can’t take it with you when you die.
In reply to $Bill
You are not better then me. I have family people who love me. I live 20 mins. from the beach. I live in great place. Yes it may be a military town but there is nothing about my life that I would give up do I wish I could go to college sure. But I would never think I am above another person because they don’t have a degree. You have no love for others and I pity your wife if you have one. You will never I know the meaning of hard work. You just keep up your attitude karma is a bitch. Btw my husband does have a degree.
In reply to Hardworker
You live in a military town? They’ll pay for your college. It’s called the GI Bill.
Grants are income based, so if you don’t qualify it means your family has too much money.
You also have the option to move somewhere with better jobs.
In reply to What a joke
Not military myself
In reply to Hardworker
So join? That’s an option, and it pays better than server.
You have a lot of excuses. I was freaking homeless and still managed to go to college and get a degree. What’s stopping you?
In reply to What a joke
I can’t join they won’t take me first off, I am adhd and take meds for that secondly I use a rescue inhaler and was told I do not qualify. And yes I know how grants work I am not stupid.
In reply to Hardworker
Always have an excuse handy, don’t you? You have all sorts of options, yet you stick with the crappy job. Even if military isn’t an option, there’s moving, or commuting. You say you don’t have money for college, yet the fact that you don’t qualify for grants means your household makes enough to reasonably pay for it, and the fact that you don’t qualify for scholarships means either you don’t have need (as many are needs-based), or you didn’t do well enough in school to be considered for a scholarship (which says a lot, considering I had dropped out of high school and got my GED and still got scholarships).
Doesn’t matter, the entire point is nothing justifies tips. The fact that you make all sorts of reasons why doing anything else is too difficult for you to handle just shows exactly why it’s a minimum wage job.
In reply to What a joke
Go boil your head on water you egotistical ass.
In reply to Hardworker
I’m not egotistical by any means. I spend money on friends and family just because I feel like it. I readily pay more in taxes. I tutor students at the college even though I graduated a year ago. I’ve done plenty of volunteer work.
The fact that there’s no justifiable reason to pay somebody extra money to do something they’re already paid to do does not make me egotistical, nor does pointing out that making excuses that all boil down to “It’s too hard for me!” prove exactly why it’s a minimum wage job.
I’ve earned my income through dedication and hard work. I didn’t make excuses.
In reply to What a joke
I never said it was hard. Oh btw my husband has a degree. And thinks nothing like y’all
In reply to Hardworker
Well of course not, or he wouldn’t marry a person who has no motivation to accomplish anything meaningful in life.
In reply to What a joke
He has a dagree but it don’t mean a damn thing. You think he gets paid a shot tone of money. You are dead wrong he is a teacher assistant in the EC department at a local high school. We may make too much for grants but there is no money left at the end to pay for college.
In reply to Hardworker
He should’ve chosen a better career. I never went to college, besides some vocational education. I make close to seven figures a year by self-teaching myself in a set career and lots of hard work. Sure there is alot of trial and error, but dedicated is the important thing. I’m proof that you don’t need college to make a decent living.
In reply to Hardworker
Well that means your husband made a poor choice of career. I imagine you must not be very old (or your husband) because if he has been a TA for more than a year he’s screwing up somewhere. You have to look outside of your area for better work if there’s none in the area.
Also, if you don’t have money to at least save it means you’re living above your means and should probably cut back on spending.
Either way, you act as if student loans are some horrible thing. First, you don’t NEED to start paying them until you finish school (unless you drop out) and you even get a 6 month period to find a job. Second, as long as you pick a career where you’re actually going to get a job, you should have no problem paying them back. Third, paying student loans helps build credit.
In reply to What a joke
His degree unfortunately is one that he can’t use. Fire protection technology. Oh yes my husband is oh so smart. But he can’t use that degree because of medical issues. He has had cancer twice and he is still here. And for someone to tell me that I am living beyond our means doesn’t know me at all. We live in an apartment we have 2 Cars we don’t want for anything. Bills are paid. We have food in the house. So y’all go ahead think what you want. But I am blessed to be with my husband and have not 1 but 2 jobs that I really good at. I am a people person. Never been good at being tied to a desk all day. For those who say serving is easy here is my challenge To you I want you to get up 6 am leave to be at work at 7am then work there till 3pm go across town to go to your other job. Than be there at 4pm and not leave till 11 pm. Than know that you have to do it all over again the next day. So all of y’all can go screw yourselves.
Don’t bother responding I am done with you people. As a matter of fact I am headed to a friends house for some fun before work. Peace out and I hope that I never actually meet any of you.
In reply to Hardworker
I’ve already beaten your challenge. I work 7 days a week at least 14 hours a day. It’s not uncommon for me to work a 30 hour shift straight with no breaks (besides using the restroom). I’m a workaholic and my high pay reflects it. That’s why when I do find time to go out to eat, I expect to be catered to. You’re there to serve me, the paying customer. I will not tip you or become a friend. My spare time is very important.
In reply to Hardworker
Smart would mean choosing a profession that he can do and that actually makes money. Choosing a degree he can’t even use that only takes two years to get means he clearly didn’t have the intelligence to make that choice. That’s like saying somebody chose to go to college to be a typist despite being born with no hands.
And you clearly don’t understand what living beyond means is. If you do not have money to save you are spending more than you should be. That’s finances. You talk about the crap that you have, but the fact that you have to work two jobs to do it just shows you’re spending more than you should be. What do you do if a financial emergency comes up? Especially a medical one, like if you can’t work?
And you seem to have this funny belief that nobody else has worked hard. I get up at 5:30 AM to get get my son off to school by 6:30. When I was in school, that was a half hour drive to my early morning classes. Then I’d be running around campus all day to make it to all my classes (I took the full amount of credits because tuition was semester based, not credit based), then not be done there until 5 PM. THEN I’d go do tutoring for two hours, another half hour to get home, get my son fed, make sure his homework was done, and git him ready for bed. Then study and do homework because I had academic scholarships that required me to maintain a high GPA. For every hour in the classroom you generally expect 2-3 hours of homework. That means at full load (18 credits at my Uni) I was spending 54-72 hours between classes and homework, with an additional 10 hours of tutoring for money per week. This is the equivalent of having two full time jobs.
Like I said, I earned my income.
In reply to What a joke
I never said that I don’t have money I work two jobs because I want to not because I have to. I just don’t like to be bored and if that means I work two jobs then so be it. You don’t know me or what I do through on a daily basis so leave me be. I am done with y’all. ✌
In reply to Hardworker
She doesn’t know what she says, because she is stupid and wishy-washy. Working two jobs with no extra money left over for tuition is the definition of living beyond your means.
Educated people normally have one year of living expenses set aside for emergencys. She lives pay check to pay check.
Poor people and karma. Rich people make it happen, poor people have karma. Too bad karma does not pay the bills.
In reply to $Bill
Your the idiot I don’t live paycheck to paycheck. No I don’t have money to save up for college. However I have a degree in life you a are a stuck up rich kid with nothing. I may not own an expensive house or car. But I have friends real friends not ones that are only there because I have money. You will die alone and unhappy.
In reply to Hardworker
*You’re.
And while $Bill may come from a wealthy family, it sounds like Zeus and I have more life experience than you do.
In reply to What a joke
You wouldn’t say that if you actually knew me. But thankfully I will never have to meet any of you.
In reply to What a joke
You are correct, I do come from a wealthy family. However I am very proud to say that by using my education, and knowledge my father shared with me. I forged my own company. Everything I have I earned on my own.
I wanted more out of life so I made it happen. I don’t make excuses like that dumb bitch that lives in a military town.
In reply to Hardworker
A degree in life is also known as the school of hard knocks. It means you will be poor and struggle your entire life congratulations.
In reply to What a joke
OK. Now you’re lying. “You readily pay more in taxes” Yeah..No. You do not “readily pay more in taxes”. Like everyone else you pay what you have to, and deduct what you can.
In reply to Scott
I pay more taxes than a waitress. In fact, several servers here have either directly stated, or heavily implied, that they aren’t claiming all their tips on their taxes which means they’re not even paying what they SHOULD be in taxes.
Because of how taxes work, many (if not most) people with an income below $30,000 per year have effectively negative taxes. This means that with their deductions and various credits (like earned income credit) they get more back from income taxes than they actually pay in.
With tax brackets, I pay 10% out of my check for the first $9,275, like they do, then 15% on anything I make between that and $37,650, then 25% for anything I make above that up to $91,150…. You get the idea. http://taxfoundation.org/article/2016-tax-brackets
I can take deductions, but I don’t get those credits for people making low income. On top of that, people who make $258,250 or more have limits on deductions they can claim. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch29.html
So, no, I’m not lying. I pay more in taxes than a waitress, both in percentage of my income and in direct dollar amounts.
In reply to What a joke
Or better yet come and live a day in my shoes. Then tell me what options I have. I work hard for what I have. I don’t need someone telling me I am nothing because I don’t have a degree.
In reply to Hardworker
You are nothing, and you will always be nothing. You tell us you have a degree in life. That is called the school of hard knocks. You will struggle and be poor your whole life.
Your husband is a moron for getting a degree that doesn’t pay well. He married you so that it is understandable. Dumb people like to flock together. I am sure your kids will be morons as well.
In reply to $Bill
$Bill her husband didn’t get a degree that doesn’t pay well, he wasted 2 years of time and money going to college for a degree he can’t even use because of medical issues! lol
In reply to What a joke
It is so funny it is almost sad. A waste of time, money, and effort.
Maybe being very stupid is his medical condition.
In reply to $Bill
He is not a moron the degree would have been usful if he hadn’t gotten cancer he was a firefighter. Then got cancer after he beat that went to college where I first started seeing each other. It wasn’t till he got the second cancer that he was told that he could no longer use his degree. We made the necassary adjustments to ensure our future.
In reply to Hardworker
So, I looked a bit more into Fire Protection Technician and, though some schools offer degrees, generally it doesn’t require one (though some locations require certification which isn’t a degree).
However, having the degree should make all sorts of paths available, like fire inspector, or code enforcement officer. If he is able to work as a TA there is absolutely no reason he can’t use his degree.
I’ll also point out that the fact that you find so much joy in your jobs and working so many hours seems alarming. Your husband worked in a career with high cancer rates due to regular exposure to carcinogens ( http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/our-toxic-homes/404722/ ), yet you flat out admit you spend next to no time home with him. You outright state how much you love working and keeping busy, which keeps you away from him. Given the recurring cancer, one would think you, his loving wife, would prefer to spend time with him.
So either you simply don’t like being around him, or you’re working two jobs because it’s the only way you can afford to live (despite your statements otherwise).
In reply to What a joke
Okay first off I didn’t know him when he got the first cancer and that was because of the contamintion of water from living on base. I didn’t meet him till 2 years after that. Then he got cancer again as a result of the first one. Now he has been cancer free for 10 years. If I didn’t want to be with the man I wouldn’t have married him. Yes I have been with one company for 10 years. I have also moved up in pay. So unless you know me personally which you never will. I suggest you leave it be. I will no longer cater to your need to bring people down. I am happy with my life. If you don’t like it, oh well. Speaking of not spending time with my husband we actually just went to see a movie and have dinner. Just cause you are not happy with your personal life don’t take it out on me.
In reply to Hardworker
I bet your pay moved up from $2.13 to $2.75 an hour
In reply to Zeus
That shows you know nothing. Depeneding on which area I am working I make 4 to 8 an hour. So you don’t know everything.
In reply to Hardworker
Your excuses keep changing and/or making less sense lol
If he has been cancer free for 10 years there is definitely no reason he couldn’t use his degree, even ignoring the previously mentioned other careers involving his degree.
Getting a payrise is not the same as a promotion. Again, if you have been working there 10 years and haven’t made manager it’s SAD.
And I am perfectly happy with my life. You’re the one talking about how you like spending so much time working which is time away from your husband.
You’re also the one who keeps talking about how you’re done here, but YOU won’t leave it be. You clearly feel the need to come here to try to justify what boils down to excuses and poor life choices.
In reply to What a joke
You know what y’all ain’t worth my time I am defending my husband. I feel sorry for y’all that you get joy from tearing others down. Y’all need to think of others not just yourselves. I know that you will find something else to say to try to piss me off and I am not gonna play in to it. And no I have not made poor choices of I had I would still be living with my parents. I don’t want to be tied to a desk but I am going to be a kindergarten teacher just like my mother
In reply to Hardworker
You’re doing a bad job of defending your husband when you’re telling us he’s using an illness he had 10 years ago as an excuse not to use a degree that isn’t affected by that illness.
If you’re getting pissed about what’s written here, that’s your choice. You choose to keep coming back here and reading and responding.
As for thinking about others, I’ve mentioned several times I’ve done volunteer work. I’ve even donated to scholarship funds. I do all sorts of things for others.
But nothing justifies tipping a server because they’re already being paid a fair wage for their job. They may not like the crappy wage, but that’s the point – it’s not supposed to be a job you support yourself off of, it’s supposed to be something for people to earn some spending money at.
You mention how you’re going to be a teacher, yet you’ve spent 10 years doing nothing to accomplish that. Tipping allowed you to do that, and gave you all these excuses for doing it. If you weren’t tipped you would have moved on from that job long ago, just like high schoolers who decide they don’t want to work in fast food for their entire lives. For every “I can’t because…” you utter, there’s a guy like Nick Vujicic who is out there proving that nothing can hold them back.
Also, if you ever become a teacher I hope to hell you learn the difference between “you’re” and “your.”