The continuation of being dumped on in Restaurants needs to end.

[Hermann]

Yesterday the lady friend and I went to Jose Pepper's (a local 6 location place) for Mexican/TexMex yesterday at about 3pm . I ordered the Taco and Enchilada combo with yummy rice (yes it was actually good, the first item I ate all of) and above average refried beans. The taco was good not great. The enchilada was great. The red sauce on top was muy bueno, spicy without being burning hot. Put the excess red sauce in the rice and beans. Mmmm
The item was $10.99, ate every bite and with tax and tip was $15. Tip was $3 in cash. The lady friend had a tamale platter which she ate every bite. She ordered cheese dip and a tea. Her total was $13.99. The cheese dip was gratis with the QR code on the door. I think she left a $3 tip also. For once a hot and properly preparred eat out meal at a "real" price. Let's hope the next outing is the same.

 

[jeepman3071]

This would be interesting to do the math on. Hours worked in a week/number of tables serviced/average cost of meal. Until then I'm highly skeptical.

+1

My guess is that you can make decent money... IF you work 24/7. Props to people who do it, but I wouldn't be able to.

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

This would be interesting to do the math on. Hours worked in a week/number of tables serviced/average cost of meal. Until then I'm highly skeptical.

Let's do some math-

Lunch shift - 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. I'm saying 10-4 because you need to show up at least 30 minutes before the doors open to do things...

10:30-11:00 am - 4 tables, avg 2 customers, avg tip $2, $16 earned.
11:00-1:00 pm - 5 tables per hour, avg 3 customers, avg $2.25 tip, $67.50 earned
1:00-2:00 pm - 4 tables, avg 2 customers, avg tip $2, $16 earned
2:00-4:00 pm - 2 tables, avg 2 customers, avg tip $2.15, $17.20 earned.

I'd say this is a M-Th routine, Multiply Friday by 1.25

$116.70/ day, $145.88 on Friday, 5 day earnings = $729.38, working 30 hours.

Dinner shift, 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm

4:00-6:00 pm, 5 tables, avg 2.5 customers, avg tip $3, $75.00 Earned
6:00-8:00 pm, 5 tables, avg 3.5 customers, avg tip $4.50, $157.50 Earned
8:00-9:00 pm, 3 tables, avg 2.5 customers, avg tip $3.75, $28.13 Earned

Friday multiplier of 1.3

$260.63 Daily, $338.82 on Friday, $1381.34 weekly earnings working 30 hours per week

Know that at many places, "tipping-out" is fairly mandatory, where the server is expected to share the tips with bus staff and sometimes even Kitchen staff, hostess, etc. Working in the evenings is rough on a family. Pretty much means you don't see your young kids.

Net on that $1381 is most likely going to be around $850 when it's all said and done, probably less. I realize my numbers might be slightly low, I'm accounting for all the crying and whining I hear from wait staff people about how poorly people tip, don't tip, etc. Unless you are working in a white tablecloth, high-end urban restaurant, I doubt you're making more than I predict.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Some people are total naturals at being servers. Those individuals are a treasure!

 

[aquariuscsm]

I always refuse to partake in a tipping pool. I always put the tip directly in my server’s hand. What they choose to do with if afterwards is their business. I also refuse to tip at the register. On a different note, I still always tip a bad server just as I would a good server, because we’re all human, and we never know what’s going on in their world.

 

[CKN]

Let's do some math-

Lunch shift - 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. I'm saying 10-4 because you need to show up at least 30 minutes before the doors open to do things...

10:30-11:00 am - 4 tables, avg 2 customers, avg tip $2, $16 earned.
11:00-1:00 pm - 5 tables per hour, avg 3 customers, avg $2.25 tip, $67.50 earned
1:00-2:00 pm - 4 tables, avg 2 customers, avg tip $2, $16 earned
2:00-4:00 pm - 2 tables, avg 2 customers, avg tip $2.15, $17.20 earned.

I'd say this is a M-Th routine, Multiply Friday by 1.25

$116.70/ day, $145.88 on Friday, 5 day earnings = $729.38, working 30 hours.

Dinner shift, 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm

4:00-6:00 pm, 5 tables, avg 2.5 customers, avg tip $3, $75.00 Earned
6:00-8:00 pm, 5 tables, avg 3.5 customers, avg tip $4.50, $157.50 Earned
8:00-9:00 pm, 3 tables, avg 2.5 customers, avg tip $3.75, $28.13 Earned

Friday multiplier of 1.3

$260.63 Daily, $338.82 on Friday, $1381.34 weekly earnings working 30 hours per week

Know that at many places, "tipping-out" is fairly mandatory, where the server is expected to share the tips with bus staff and sometimes even Kitchen staff, hostess, etc. Working in the evenings is rough on a family. Pretty much means you don't see your young kids.

Net on that $1381 is most likely going to be around $850 when it's all said and done, probably less. I realize my numbers might be slightly low, I'm accounting for all the crying and whining I hear from wait staff people about how poorly people tip, don't tip, etc. Unless you are working in a white tablecloth, high-end urban restaurant, I doubt you're making more than I predict.

Thanks for sharing that.

 

[mk378]

always refuse to partake in a tipping pool.

Then you're stiffing the busboy the dish washer etc who are paid less than minimum wage because they are "tipped."

 

[aquariuscsm]

Then you're stiffing the busboy the dish washer etc who are paid less than minimum wage because they are "tipped."

Then they should get a different job. Heck with that logic I should tip the Sysco guy that brings in their food, the cleaning crew that cleans their restaurant at night, the city sanitation guy who empties their dumpsters, the Cintas guy who washes their uniforms, and on and on. The only one that serves “ me” and provides “me” a service, is my server.

Now if the cook comes out and says hey how about I make you a special dish to see if you like it, then yes, I’d tip him very well.

The way a tipping pool works, is they collect all the tips each server gets, put it in a big vat, and distributed evenly among all the servers which is completely and totally unfair to my server.

 

[CKN]

Then they should get a different job. Heck with that logic I should tip the Sysco guy that brings in their food, the cleaning crew that cleans their restaurant at night, the city sanitation guy who empties their dumpsters, the Cintas guy who washes their uniforms, and on and on. The only one that serves “ me” and provides “me” a service, is my server.

Now if the cook comes out and says hey how about I make you a special dish to see if you like it for you when you only, then yes, I’d tip him very well.

The way a tipping pool works, is they collect all the tips each server gets, put it in a big vat, and distributed evenly among all the servers which is completely and totally unfair to my server.

But yet-I have known MANY SERVERS that says a good busboy is worth his weight in gold.......I don't think you understand the dynamics of the front end of a restaurant quite frankly.

 

[aquariuscsm]

But yet-I have known MANY SERVERS that says a good busboy is worth his weight in gold.......I don't think you understand the dynamics of the front end of a restaurant quite frankly.

Several close friends and relatives are current restaurants owners. In high school I helped them scrub down the restaurants at night to prepare for next day opening .So frankly I definitely know more than you.

 

[CKN]

Several close friends and relatives are current restaurants owners. In high school I helped them scrub down the restaurants at night to prepare for next day opening .So frankly I definitely know more than you.

The you should know how important the "support people" are to the servers. BTW-I worked in food service as well.

 

[aquariuscsm]

The you should know how important the "support people" are to the servers. BTW-I worked in food service as well.

Absolutely! The only place I still see bussers anymore are a small handful of the mom and pop Mexican restaurants. We always tip the guy or girl that refills are chips and salsa (they are always bussers). I always hand them at least a $20 bill. Now those guys are worth their weight in gold! But everywhere else we go out and eat, including the aforementioned restaurants, the server is in charge of everything in their designated area, including bussing.

 

[aquariuscsm]

In all honesty CKN, a majority of the times, the busser at the Mexican restaurants totally rival the servers in service and attentiveness, and we always tip them VERY well!

 

[Slow Car Sport Mode]

Flip side of this.. I've debated taking a second job at a Burger King or even a McDonalds for a day or two a week.. to work either every single day, or only one day off

Our local Texas Roadhouse hasn't changed except to expand to a larger building to seat all of the customers that line up to eat. The food and service is still consistently good. The prices haven't changed and the portions are still generous. The only thing that has changed over the years is they no longer have a bucket of peanuts on the table. And the place is always packed. You have to get there early unless you want to wait in line.

Glad they got rid of that stupid bucket of peanuts, to be honest.

Texas Roadhouse is my go-to if I am feeling accomplished and want to treat myself spending a whole $25 on a nice meal. Golden Corral exists as well, they do have LESS CHICKEN NOW but they are still a slightly more attractive option than Texas Roadhouse to me, which is for special occasions or life events mostly.

And I have the chance to take a job at a fast food restaurant for the weekends either one day a week or both days a week and I'm deciding not to because it would be expected of me to turn the restaurant around and well the level of stress working at that kind of a place I just don't think I can handle it given that I'm conditioning myself to work 10 hours a day in some extreme heat. That may sound a cop-out to some, but the reason I'm working all that time at the day job which is not a fast food restaurant by the way is to be able to have some pocket money and maybe even enjoy my days off a bit. I'm asking myself how much money I really want and how badly I want it.

So no I never did follow up on that Burger King that was hot to hire me because I can only imagine the level of hell that awaits me in there when I'm doing the work of three or four people and well that place usually didn't have anyone there anyway so I probably wouldn't be getting hours there anyway even though they have signs up they were ready to hire me pretty much the same day so.. that, to me, shows desperation.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Going back to tipping pools, A LOT of "fraud" per se happens with that business model. Some servers never see their fair share of the tips, the servers who are on "constant smoke break mode" will feel entitled to the majority of the tips, and sometime the tips are flat out stolen and the servers never see a single openly. Reminds me of working commission when sleazy sales staff "steal" others' commissions and sales.

 

[Pew]

Going back to tipping pools, A LOT of "fraud" per se happens with that business model. Some servers never see their fair share of the tips, the servers who are on "constant smoke break mode" will feel entitled to the majority of the tips, and sometime the tips are flat out stolen and the servers never see a single openly. Reminds me of working commission when sleazy sales staff "steal" others' commissions and sales.

That's why I'm completely against the European model of no tipping. You only need to be a server once to understand why I do not want to share my tips that I earned from my own tables with any other employee.

 

[football]

Walmart and Target pay $17-$21 an hour here , starting, for non skilled employees. Fast food still pays $12-$13. Fast food is dying and can’t find workers. Restaurants too…

 

[GON]

Walmart and Target pay $17-$21 an hour here , starting, for non skilled employees. Fast food still pays $12-$13. Fast food is dying and can’t find workers. Restaurants too…

Maybe franchise model of fast food has run it's course , with the exception of the chik fil a model where a franchisee is only allowed one store and must "work" the store he/she operates.

 

[Slow Car Sport Mode]

Maybe franchise model of fast food has run it's course , with the exception of the chik fil a model where a franchisee is only allowed one store and must "work" the store he/she operates.

I know in my case, working there just wouldn't be worth it. Never thought I would hear myself say that.

Then the whole discussion about "tipped" employees. Get a job valet parking high-end cars, if available, if you seek or factor in those. You're far more likely to hit pay dirt if you do. IMHO

 

[blkwtr]

I'm done with chain restaurants, and am now eating at locally owned establishments if at all possible.

Here's where I ate on Friday night: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaur...etto_House_of_Pasta-Saint_Louis_Missouri.html

Much better results overall.

I've eaten there a number of times, but many years ago. Great Italian food. It's in an area heavily populated by people of Italian origin called The Hill."