Quote:
Originally Posted by Stitchawl
Exactly! And in no case does a beer or a cocktail cost $10-$15 dollars, even in New York City!
But in the US, it really is the customer who loses out in this situation. Some professional waitstaff at the larger resort hotels in Miami Beach, Palm Springs, etc., etc., earn $60,000-$100,000 a year, working only the few months of the 'high season.' That's all tip money, 'cuz they are only being paid about $3 an hour for salary.
As a child, my family used to vacation in the Catskills for a couple of weeks every summer. The same waiters used to come back year after year, working 3-4 winter months in Florida and 3-4 summer months in the Borscht Belt. My father would tip their waiter $100, and my waiter in the Children's Dinning Room another $50.
Stitchawl
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A long, long time ago, 'ere the advent of my military time, etc., I worked as waitstaff, putting myself through school, etc. Now, this was, let us say, long before the 80's. Ok, really, early 70's. Now, just hauling food, at lunch, at a busy restaurant, I was pulling down $30-$50 day, in tips. No booze.
When I moved to a country club, the tips DOUBLED. Again, lunch crowd--this time, booze, natch. When I then went to FL, and worked at the then-Beach Club Hotel in Naples, FL, I was easily making $150/night, on a regular night (more on weekends), hauling nothing but cocktails. Now, again: making $750-$1000 week doesn't sound like the same kind of dough that a Googler makes, but I was barely out of high school, going to school, and it was the 70's.
That was a LOT of money. you can pay a lot of rent and college tuition on $3-4K/month, working nights.
Just saying. It's all well and good for those who haven't worked in the biz to mock the idea that paying a higher wage--and eliminating tips--would solve all sorts of issues, but seriously, ask ANY professional waiter you know if he'd prefer that. Or any good cocktail waitress, or bartender. The IRS put a damper on it, with the bullcrap "declare yadda" stuff, because of all of you who think that tipping shouldn't exist EXCEPT for exceptional service, but...it was good dough, back then.
For those of you that do NOT know: the IRS
requires that your waitperson declares that they earned a certain percentage tip on your meal ticket. if you don't tip that person, you're not just
not tipping them--you're actually
costing them money that you never gave them. They are required to declare (I forget how much it is now) on every meal ticket that they serve. So, for those of you who believe that tipping is ONLY for exceptional service (at least, this is here in the US), please remember that. Your waitperson is paying taxes, based on that imaginary tip,
based on the amount of your meal. (Or, let me be clear: that's what it was changed to some years ago. It may have changed recently, but I don't believe so.)
Hitch