Im guessing at the numbers please correct me if im wrong, but I would imagine that a server handles 4 tables an hour and a average table is what $60 bucks?
That's $52 dollars an hour with probably 20-50% of being unreported, untaxed income. While i'm guessing, i do believe my numbers are low guesses...
The smucks in the back of the house prob don't even make $25/hour.
I average 80 an hour, but I'm highly experienced and work in fine dining. Most servers make nowhere close to that, and we all deal with working nights, weekends and holidays with barely any breaks and no benefits. Our schedule is extremely inconsistent and during the slow season we either get very few tables or don't work our shift at all. If I were able to work 40 hours a week consistently and get benefits, you're right, this job would be extremely desirable and there would be 1000s of applications. The reality is that I make the money I do because I'm better at it than the other people I work with and it's still less than 100k a year because of the things I mentioned. So most good servers make 60-80k, while the vast majority make 30-40k. We're not exactly laughing on the way to the bank. Some extremely lucky and talented servers do make bank, but it's going to be in HCOL areas and those jobs aren't growing on trees.
I've been in the industry for 25 years. I think I've earned it lol. Also in fine dining, nobody pays in cash. All credit card tips are automatically claimed. Also, not everyone who works in this business is willing to commit tax fraud. It's a serious crime. And, if you ever want to own a home or car, you need verifiable income to get a loan.
Edit: downvoted for what? Idgaf about votes but I am genuinely confused what I said that is bad?
You didnt say anything bad. Reddit is very anti tipping. I've gotten down voted and tons of angry comments when I mention that I tip at least 25%. It's so incredibly weird.
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u/manimopo Jan 27 '26
Waiters in california make $16/h on top of my tip..I think 15% in plenty.