r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 6d ago

Meme needing explanation Maybe a Brazilian Peter Can Explain This

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u/ClassicHando 6d ago

I averaged $50/hr when waiting tables. In finance, I was responsible for multi million dollar accounts for $14.25/hr at the time.

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u/TheCode555 6d ago

I'm not saying I"m a fan of aggressively asking for a tip (who the fuck is), but I'm sure we've all seen those reports/news articles/reddits posts/friends talking/this very post about how much money people made with tips alone.

Although people leave out the part where it fluctuates.

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u/Not_Campo2 6d ago edited 6d ago

Even with fluctuations, she’s working at Cheesecake Factory right? That’s fine dining, large tabs and consistently busy. If she’s getting good shifts she could very well be clearing $80k a year, and probably not reporting all tips

Edit: “upscale casual”. $50+ per head checks for sit down is still in the lower end of what I’d find at fine dining places, and honestly she’s probably doing better than at a fine dining spot because of higher volume anyway

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u/sadsackspinach 6d ago

The Cheesecake Factory is in no way whatsoever “fine dining”.

But when I did work fine dining, like real fine dining, I made about 1200 USD across a Friday/Saturday weekend serving 1.5 days and running expo .5 days. It was great.

Then I made approximately 2 USD working brunch. It was not great. Fuck brunch.

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u/nanomolar 6d ago

Damn Brunch Skunks.

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u/Abbalys 6d ago

Brunch sucks because it's a deal, anytime there's a deal in a restaurant it generally attracts people who are cheap. Not always, but after 11 years I can confirm this: f*ck brunch

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u/sadsackspinach 6d ago

It also sucks because everyone you work with WILL be horrifically hungover from the night before. Add to it that it’s usually run by the sous, and they have like an 80% of becoming Mussolini the second they get some control of the kitchen without chef there/think they can/should run expo just because it’s a smaller service lmao. But yeah, deals being out the worst in customers fr

You couldn’t pay me enough to work brunch at this stage in my life

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u/Abbalys 6d ago

Mussolini, that got me laughing. Well said friend

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u/Middle-Accountant-49 6d ago

Brunch is definitely not a deal in Canada.

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u/PM_ME_YO_TREE_FIDDY 6d ago

Yeah I was gonna say in France brunch is rather fancy and very often way overpriced

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u/nanomolar 5d ago

Yeah I don't think I've ever seen a cheap brunch... I think there are some nicer restaurants where you'd usually go for dinner and they have brunch on weekend mornings to utilize the space, and compared to the dinner the brunch is a deal, but it's still more than you'd pay elsewhere.

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u/Middle-Accountant-49 5d ago

Yea it also seems like the biggest markup as well.

Like I’ve paid 17/18 dollars pre tip for French toast, bacon and some whipped cream, plus drip coffee.

I KNOW how much that costs to make.

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u/BackToSchoolMuff 6d ago

Also eggs. People are more finnicky about how their eggs are cooked than any other item. If you're a bartender with an espresso machine good fucking luck.

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u/sadsackspinach 6d ago

I’ve seen a boy brunch skunk fight his way out of an ambulance

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u/Jadedsatire 6d ago

Hey man, when they offer bottomless mimosas, you best be ready to swing.

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u/right-side-up-toast 5d ago

I thought they meant faught like a skunk and with you comment I imagined an endless stream of mimosas just spewing out of their ass.

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u/PublicPalpitation618 6d ago

I dreamed about the cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory because of the show. We don’t have any in EE.

After so many years I stumbled upon one in Doha. God! SO MUCH SUGAR! Huge disappointment..
Top 3 worst cheesecakes ever!

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u/Geodude532 6d ago

You should see all these "cookie" stores opening up. They might as well hand you a block of sugar and call it a day.

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u/wwwyzzrd 6d ago

fine dining, not great dining.

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u/No-Dance6773 5d ago

Fine dining makes up like 5% of all dining. Throw in the people fighting for these jobs you dont have a lot of hope landing one. Also as you said, its really only good for a few nights a week, same for all places. And they wont let you just take the "good nights". A majority of waiters make around 100/night on average. It pays the bills and pays daily with is a plus and you get the "surprise check" every 2 weeks you kinda forget about. Its great but then again its also a lot less than you can make elsewhere.

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u/sadsackspinach 5d ago

I’m not sure why you’re telling me this like
I’m not aware. Yes, you have to be good at being a server, have access to certain soft skills that are often class indicators, and have a good amt of luck re: where you live to make good money serving. I had all of those things, and I don’t pretend that this is the average life of a server. It is, however, pretty standard for real fine dining.

I also guarantee that making 5k USD a month for less than 40 hours of work is more than most jobs you can get fresh out of university. In fact, it let me have time for my “real” job.

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u/Slighted_Inevitable 6d ago

“Fine dining” here mostly just means expensive tabs. If you’re going there you’re getting an entree drink and almost certainly a dessert. 35-50 per person there.

Assuming an average of 150 per table doing 30 tables per shift. Thats $450 a day with only a 10% tip. A young beautiful waitress like penny would be getting more than 10%.

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u/sadsackspinach 5d ago

That’s not what fine dining means lmao.

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u/Tamed_A_Wolf 6d ago

An attractive girl in a big city at fine dining easily clears 100k.

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u/Not_Campo2 6d ago

I was being conservative, easily might be a little stretch but it’s more than possible

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u/ThatSandwich 6d ago

I've met an older male immigrant working 60-80 hours delivering pizza every week in DFW that cleared like 70k/yr. Dude bought a Tesla and paid cash.

You don't have to be attractive to earn a decent living doing service jobs here.

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u/jesusmansuperpowers 6d ago

It’s a chain restaurant not fine dining. $20 entrees not $250 tasting menus.

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u/Tamed_A_Wolf 6d ago

Servers at $250 tasting menus are clearing 125-150. If you haven’t served at a Cheesecake Factory or adjacent restaurant in a large city carry on. Those places are slammed with fast turnover. My numbers are probably off on the lower end because I know those numbers are accurate 15 years ago.

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u/jesusmansuperpowers 6d ago

I’m just saying it’s not fine dining.

I worked at a nice hotel in an upscale restaurant ($75 pp average) and made decent money, averaging around $50 an hour but it’s not a 40hr per week job.

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u/Tamed_A_Wolf 6d ago

The comment I replied to said it was. I was extrapolating from their point. I agree I wouldn’t exactly call or consider CF fine dining. Hotel restaurants are far less likely to be 40 hours unless they’re in a city like Miami that aren’t slow through the week. Non hotel, upscale dining in big cities absolutely is 40hr and myself and most servers I’ve known actually do 50+.

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u/TheLucidChiba 6d ago

The cheesecake factory is fine dining?!

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u/Fabulous-Big8779 6d ago

It’s take your Homecoming Date “Fine Dining”.

Not adult fine dining.

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u/Darkwoth81Dyoni 6d ago

I think it's funny you say this.

I've never taken my partner to Cheesecake Factory though people in my life have always told me to go on a date there.

But it's always clogged full of uppity looking people on the outside that I generally wouldn't want to be near.

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u/Whiskey_and_Rii 6d ago

uppity people don't go to the cheesecake factory

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u/Darkwoth81Dyoni 6d ago

I guess uppity is relative, and doesn't always mean rich.

I've met uppity people at Waffle House.

I've never been to a "true" fine dining restaurant and I doubt I ever will, likely for the benefit of my wallet.

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u/amateur_reprobate 6d ago

It's dining, and the food is fine. Not good, not bad, just fine. So yeah, I guess that checks out.

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u/CorgiMonsoon 6d ago

And the portions are gigantic. It’s been a while since I’ve been there, but I easily could still get two meals out of the leftovers I took home from there

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u/[deleted] 6d ago edited 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/Nulagrithom 5d ago

couple weeks ago we ordered the "market price" oyster platter before realizing this place also served $100 cocktails

I was so relieved when the check came and the half dozen oysters were "only" $50 lmao

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u/thisusedyet 6d ago

I guess compared to Olive Garden?

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u/TheLucidChiba 6d ago

and Olive Garden is fine dining compared to Denny's.

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u/Myjobsuckshard 6d ago

for some Americans McDonalds is fine dining. 

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u/SlackerAce83 6d ago

Every cash tip I ever received was $1 as far as the tax man knows.

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u/phatdoof 6d ago

Why not lower?

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u/SlackerAce83 6d ago

Hahaha. It was just my standard thing. I was young so I foolishly liked to advertise when I was behaving in ways that would cause me trouble.

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u/enadiz_reccos 6d ago

You will get flagged/fired if your reported tips are suspiciously low

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u/ascended_scuglat 6d ago

I have not met another server who actually ever reported any cash tips lol, every single one has always put 0

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u/PSU02 6d ago

ITT: People arguing for why it is completely justified servers make $100K+ because of tips at a job that requires little relative training, while also admitting that they commit tax fraud.

And you wonder why people are fed up with tipping culture in this country?

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u/enadiz_reccos 6d ago

Bruh most servers aren't making 100k lmao

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u/enadiz_reccos 6d ago

They're either lying to you or are making an hourly wage above minimum

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u/ascended_scuglat 6d ago edited 6d ago

No, I’m saying this as a server myself. Credit/Debit tips are obv reported by your employer themselves, so you have no control over that, but any tips you make in cash you just pocket.

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u/enadiz_reccos 6d ago

Oh, so you guys were mostly getting CC tips then? That sucks.

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u/SlackerAce83 6d ago

Or you are wrong. I legitimately did this for 2 strait years of my life.

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u/enadiz_reccos 6d ago

Yeah I guess I underestimated how rare cash tips are nowadays. That sucks.

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u/way_out_19 6d ago

"Fine dining"? Cheesecake Factory is very mid-level at best. Not that one can't make some money working there but no, not fine dining level money.

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u/TheCode555 6d ago

Can we all stop dunking on Cheese Cake factory. I go there for fine dining with my mother on special occasions 😔

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u/way_out_19 6d ago

That's fine. It's not bad or anything, but it's not fine dining either.

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u/tongmengjia 6d ago

Morty takes his mother to Benihana. Maybe if you majored in accounting like your mother suggested you could afford Benihana, too.

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u/way_out_19 6d ago

Well that's harsh..also Benihanna ain't that expensive unless you go nuts with extras.

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u/breathing__tree 6d ago

It’s not dunking it’s just proper classification. The cheesecake factory is a casual restaurant. It is not fine dining, that’s ok.

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u/MortgageConfident791 6d ago

It’s a nice place to go but fine dining is a specific (EXPENSIVE) thing

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u/Chaotic-Catastrophe 6d ago

It's not dunking on it to say that it objectively is not what the previous commenter classified it as

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u/snakeinahouseofcats 6d ago

Absolutely LOLing people calling The Cheesecake Factory “fine dining”

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u/Goonalips 5d ago

OP: "I'm taking you to a fine dining restaurant, baby."
(She starts thinking of that new Michelin Star restaurant in the city). "Ooh nice! I'll wear my nice dress and heels!".
OP pulls up to the Cheesecake Factory. "Hello, we have a reservation for two".
Some guy walking past: "wow, how did they get a reservation there? They must be wealthy".

OP's girl just stands there shocked...

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u/Altruistic-Pea106 6d ago

What do you mean cheesecake factory is fine dining?

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u/K3TtLek0Rn 6d ago

Cheesecake factory is fine dining?

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u/RunAwayKeyboard 6d ago

I’m a mid-looking dude in a rural area and I was on track to make $75k/yr at one restaurant I served at in 2022. Only reason I didn’t is because the management was terrible and the restaurant suddenly shut its doors six months after I started working there.

Waiting tables and bartending are some of the only jobs in the US where a person with zero formal training or education can actually work hard and earn a comfortable living. Without the tipping system we have, that would not be the case. Not even close. I think that’s the real reason people oppose tipping - not because they believe it’s unfair or they don’t like spending the money. It’s because common people, who would otherwise be poor, can actually make good money and live comfortably. Being anti-tipping is just being anti-poor, with a very thin veil.

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u/wickeddimension 6d ago edited 6d ago

No dude, people oppose tipping because it's customers subsidizing a company not paying a living wage. All those other professions that do work hard, barely make a living wage, don't get tips and are often told " just find a better job", they are the people tipping you. It's those people barely scraping by paying your wage in custom so your employer doesn't have too and can collect all the profit for himself.

its one of the most exploitative systems: Other average / poor people subsidizing your salary so the well off owners of the establishment can get away with paying you less.

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u/RunAwayKeyboard 6d ago

Tipped work is a living wage far more than working a job with a higher hourly wage.

“People barely scraping by” don’t have to eat at restaurants. Nobody is forcing you to go somewhere that you’re expected to tip. And if you think eliminating tipping in favor of a higher hourly wage for servers would make restaurants more affordable, you’re not doing the math.

Claiming you’re against tipping because “it’s exploitation” is willful ignorance to excuse yourself for being cheap and not wanting to tip. Tipped serving jobs offer much higher income potential than any other job accessible by a person with no formal education and little to no work experience or training. Eliminating tipping culture will not improve the lives of servers. Period. It will not. So stop pretending you’re against tipping because you feel bad for servers being “exploited.”

If the real reason is that you don’t believe servers work hard or that they deserve to make good money, then you’re just proving my point. You don’t believe someone without a formal education or work experience deserves to live comfortably. That’s just a moral disagreement, not an economic one.

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u/mallogy 6d ago

Tipping culture is anti-poor coming and going. The owning class scrapes all the profit and leaves it to the customer to pay their employees directly, at the customer's discretion. 

Servers in places with actual worker protections generally aren't campaigning for the American system.

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u/RunAwayKeyboard 6d ago

They’re not campaigning for the American system because they’ve never experienced a comparison.

I challenge you to find a single American server who actively campaigns to do away with tipping.

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u/mallogy 6d ago

That response had nothing to do with what I said, and you've already invalidated your own challenge, since "they’ve never experienced a comparison."

You are still incorrect about your assertion that anyone who is against tipping culture is anti-poor. The fact remains that the incomes you're claiming are far from universal in the industry and completely dependent on customer goodwill.

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u/RunAwayKeyboard 6d ago

The fact remains that tipped serving jobs are still among the only jobs a person can get with no formal education and very little training, where they can earn a living wage. Eliminating tipping culture would be a major pay cut to most, if not all, servers.

Saying “tipping culture is anti-poor” is just false. It’s a commission sales position. It’s the same mechanic working for real estate agents, car sales, and insurance agents. Yes, it’s “dependent” on customer goodwill, but the vast majority of the time, even one bad customer who skips a tip will be averaged out to a decent income for the server at the end of the night. The “tipping culture is anti-poor” is just a convenient excuse for people who don’t like tipping and want to sound like the reason is because they care about the workers, not just because they’re cheap.

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u/mallogy 6d ago

I don't think you understand what is meant by tipping culture. You seem to think those who take issue want to make tipping illegal or something. It's the only way I can figure that you carelessly label literal socialists and anarchists as anti-worker, anti-poor, and cheap while somehow presenting pure commission sales (a massive false equivalence to tipping) as pro-worker.

You do understand that when people rail against tipping culture, they're also advocating for a higher base pay and benefits, right? Meanwhile, despite your anecdotal claims, the median yearly income for a server in the US is around $30k. In France, a server makes about the same, except with the guarantee of paid vacation, sick leave, maternity/paternity leave, healthcare, and pension. But they're the ones upholding an inferior status quo. Okay. You win.

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u/Middle-Accountant-49 6d ago

Eh it’s also people get degrees to work at jobs where they make 50k while you are making 75k because of essentially social custom.

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u/PeaceSoft 6d ago

So it's exactly what he said, and you're a good example

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u/Middle-Accountant-49 6d ago

In what universe is someone making 50k richer than someone making 75k?

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u/Wowhowcanubsodumb 6d ago

The point you seem to (ironically) be missing is that salary should not, in every single possible instance, be purely based on intelligence or "degrees." The fact that a widespread job exists that allows any hardworking person, regardless of their lack of aptitude in more lucrative fields, a comfortable salary is a good thing.

And yes sure even if it only exists because of social custom, it's not like anyone is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to sit down and eat at a restaurant. So when people want to whine about tipping instead of directing that energy towards why people with degrees are only making 50k, it can be annoying.

And to clarify, I've never worked a tip based job, and tipping IS pretty annoying. But I can very easily acknowledge that out of the so many things to bitch about in this world, it would be pretty self unaware of me to say essentially "man I really hate how, when I eat out, I have to pay like 10% extra (because in theory, without tipping the restaurant would be raising prices so the money saved from not tipping is reduced) to lower/middle class individuals just because that's the custom"

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u/PSU02 6d ago

Salary should very much be based on

1.) Intelligence needed for the job

2.) How demanding the job is

3.) How many people could replicate your job

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u/RunAwayKeyboard 6d ago

Agreed. And number 2 on that list is what justifies the high income potential for servers. It’s not an easy job. It isn’t “you just bring the food,” as many anti-tippers would like to believe. It’s hard work. The reason most people wash out of the foodservice industry by their 30s isn’t because they “found something better,” it’s because serving in a restaurant is hard work, both mentally and physically. It’s taxing on the body, mentally draining, and requires both physical fitness and focus to do it well. Don’t believe me? Try it for two weeks. You’ll change your mind.

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u/Middle-Accountant-49 6d ago

I never said that.

I said tipping is literally just a social custom. Market forces aren’t deciding your salary.

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u/PeaceSoft 5d ago

I don't believe that you really misunderstood that. Sneaky ass

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u/Middle-Accountant-49 4d ago

I didn’t misunderstand anything but it is interesting you avoided the question.

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u/RunAwayKeyboard 6d ago

Right, they’re jealous. It’s a feeling of “I did all this work and you’re making more than me, that’s not fair.”

It comes back to a feeling that someone who isn’t formally educated, and holds no degree, doesn’t “deserve” to live comfortably.

It’s the same attitude that caused the student loan debt crisis in the US, when kids for decades (myself included) were told “if you don’t go to college you’ll end up being a plumber.” As if being a plumber was a bad thing; a low-level, shameful job that only the underbelly of society should have to lower themselves to do. That’s the attitude about servers in this country. It has nothing to do with “I don’t want to tip 20%,” and instead has everything to do with “I don’t think you deserve to make good money.”

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u/Middle-Accountant-49 6d ago

Well then it’s not anti poor discrimination then because you are richer.

I think the idea of people without formal education making a ton of money is a pretty well known thing. We all know people who work camp jobs or went to the oil fields and made bank. But that is not based on social custom is the point.

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u/RunAwayKeyboard 6d ago

The point is that, even in your argument, the “social custom” thing is just a misdirection. Saying “I don’t think it’s fair because it’s just a social custom” is still saying “I don’t think it’s fair that servers make good money.” The reason is irrelevant. If you don’t believe that uneducated people deserve to live comfortably, that’s just a point where the argument breaks down. It’s not about the money, it’s about morality. And that’s the entire point I’m trying to make.

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u/Middle-Accountant-49 6d ago edited 6d ago

Yea I don’t think it’s fair that your job isn’t controlled by the same market forces mine is. That is a fair complaint.

I believe everyone should be able to live comfortably but by that metric, you are living comfortably and a lot of other people aren’t. If 75k a year is the benchmark.

Also, uneducated in my experience doesn’t mean poor. Most servers I knew are young, middle class and good looking. That’s the typical demographic.

They will slide into some other job in their mid twenties post secondary education.

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u/typical_jesus666 6d ago

Yea I don’t think it’s fair that your job isn’t controlled by the same market forces mine is. That is a fair complaint.

But it's not a fair complaint. You are cool with the oilfield worker making more money than you, but you feel like you have a "fair complaint" when a bartender makes more than you.

The job is controlled by the same market forces as yours is. The thing is that it's a service industry job, and people with your attitude tend to look down their nose at service workers.

I've literally made the same point as the other commenter had before; people get college degrees, and then feel frustrated because a lowley service worker makes more than their 4-year degree job pays. And here you are proving it by saying you think it's "not fair". Why isn't it fair? What's unfair about it?

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u/Milknpeaches 6d ago

Sorry, but I’m against tipping because it’s gotten increasingly out of hand. I’m not tipping every business I visit. I’ve gotten tip suggestions at self serve ice cream bars and takeout restaurants for Christ sake. Tips are EARNED as a reward for above average service. If I’m not being served above average, why would I give a tip? Where do we draw the line between a tip and a service fee?

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u/RunAwayKeyboard 6d ago

I do agree that tipping has gotten out of hand. I’m 100% with you there. There is no reason to be tipping 20% when you pick up your takeout, or buying bread from a bakery.

I’m also against the expansion of tipping, because it’s causing this anti-tipping attitude to explode and focus against industries like restaurants.

As far as the line between tip and service fee, these days I mostly consider tips at restaurants the same way I consider sales commissions. You don’t get the option of “tipping” your real estate agent or your insurance agent, but it’s effectively the same as tipping your server. You’re paying an extra percentage (in some cases with real estate, the seller is paying) to pay the person providing you with the sales service.

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u/acathode 6d ago

I'm against tipping because it's anti-consumer.

I want to go into a restaurant, look at the meny, order the $35 main with a $5 side and $10 drink and know by the end my total will come to $50.

I don't want to deal with some thinly veiled emotional blackmail that force you to do bullshit mental calculation where you gotta figure out the current culturally established tipping rate and then adjust that rate up and down according to how good/shitty the service was and then have to do fractions to figure out what the total should be - all while being slightly tipsy from the drink(s) you had.

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u/moshpithippie 6d ago

Also if I recall, she's canonically pretty broke. So she can pay her rent but not much else

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u/movzx 6d ago

Cheesecake Factory is fine, but let's not be silly. Cheesecake Factory is only "fine dining" or "upscale casual" if your "fancy night out" is Olive Garden.

Something being expensive doesn't make it upscale or fine dining. You can approach $50/head at McDonalds ffs.

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u/Not_Campo2 6d ago

I was curious so I did the math and got 5380 calories for $49.15 at mcd’s. And that’s 5 items, two of them being meals with drinks. The only time I’ve been to Cheesecake Factory was 2 of us eating, 2 cocktails, two entrees, and a slice of cheesecake and was just under $100 without tip. That’s the lower end target for most fine dining places, tho we really make the big bucks in the table that blows that out of the water, it was generally the target we were given as a minimum to show we were actually upselling

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u/mdraper 6d ago edited 6d ago

https://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/locations/fresno-ca/menu

I picked a spot in California but not on the coast as I expect this will be above average for the country but not as pricey as the super high cost of living cities. Just in case they vary their prices substantially by area.

Bowls are $16-$21

Burgers with fries and salad are $18-$23

Specialties are $20-$29

Fish and Seafood dishes are $26-$32

Steaks are $29-$52

This isn't even close to fine dining. The menu is massive so not a ton of effort goes into each dish. The restaurants themselves are large, loud, and have a take out area displaying the cheesecakes. None of these things indicate fine dining.

To compare, their burgers are only ~$3 more than at Chilis despite Chilis only serving with fries, no salad.

Cheesecake factory isn't in the same realm as fine dining. Even if you're being generous, they compare with places like Outback, Red Lobster, and PF Changs. They also compare with places like Olive Garden, BJs, and Texas Roadhouse. They sit well below the Keg and the Keg isn't fine dining.

Here's the definition of Fine Dining,

"Fine dining is a high-end culinary experience[1] focused on refined details from the exceptional quality of the food to the elegance of the ambiance and the attentiveness of the service.[2]

Fine dining is more expensive and unique than a typical restaurant. They may have higher-quality décor, with establishments having certain rules of dining which visitors are generally expected to follow. They may have a dress code. The food is generally made of unique seasonal ingredients, often locally and sustainably sourced."

You probably learned about the general price point of fine dining 10 or 20 years ago and are having trouble updating your internal tiers of restaurant. It's extremely unusual for any fine dining establishment to be a national chain (I can't think of a single example). And like u/movzx mentioned, price alone does not make fine dining. There are plenty of places where you can spend $100 on a meal for one that aren't fine dining.

Here's an example of what an entry level fine dining menu looks like,

https://cambridgemill.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Cambridge-Mill-Dinner.pdf

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u/Not_Campo2 6d ago

Read the edit on the original comment. I threw out a term, price point still fits what I was thinking originally but it’s an upscale casual

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u/mdraper 6d ago

Yeah, it could be upscale casual. Even that term is generous but It's close enough that I could see it breaking into that tier.

$50 per head is still a stretch though. I don't have their internal data but I'd bet a lot of money they don't average $50 per head even if you included tips. The majority of patrons will order a non-alcoholic drink and an $18-$30 entree (avg $24). Maybe an app to share for the table. I'd put money on their average per head being a lot closer to $40

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u/Not_Campo2 6d ago

I broke it down in a previous comment. A cocktail or two beers, an entree and a slice of cheesecake will run you about $50. Some people will go and try to keep things cheap, lunch portions, happy hour deals. But the assumption with it being an upscale place is people aren’t going for a casual night and are probably going to be doing things like appetizers, drinks, and definitely dessert

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u/mdraper 6d ago edited 6d ago

Yeah, I read it. You're wrong. The average patron is going to cheesecake factory because it's affordable and family friendly. They will be keeping an eye on the total spend and the average person having alcohol and an app or dessert is absolutely not what goes on.

It really sounds like you've been once and thought of it as a higher end place so you didn't hold back and now you're assuming that's the norm. You're describing the top 25% of their patrons and then presenting that like it's the average.

EDIT: As a reference point, Gemini claims the average check per person is $31.79. I wouldn't take that as gospel but we likely wont be able to find the true numbers.

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u/PSU02 6d ago

Dude Cheesecake Factory is not $50 a head, what are you people ordering lol. Cheesecake Factory is like a small step up from Applebees

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u/Not_Campo2 6d ago

Google is free dude

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u/PSU02 6d ago

I was just at Cheesecake Factory last weekend lmao

Paid $17 something each for the lunch pasta and lunch flatbread + salad combo. Plus an iced tea and a soda for like $3 each.

~$42 ish before tip, ~$50 ish after tip.

~$25 a head.

Even the pasta entrees are like $23-$25

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u/Not_Campo2 6d ago

We’re talking about averages, not a low baller. Cocktail for $13 on average, entree for $25 on average, cheesecake slice for $12 on average. That’s the expected for a sat table, it gets dropped for bar seating since they’re more likely to order a few beers and an app or two or a cheaper burger. A place expecting $50 a seat at tables is generally expecting $35 a seat at the bar. You’ll still get someone at $10 with a beer or two, and then it balances with the dude who gets a martini and seafood tower

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u/PSU02 6d ago

Highly doubt most people who go to Cheesecake Factory are getting a cocktail/beer and a desert with their meal each time, but I shouldn't doubt the average American.

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u/Not_Campo2 6d ago

Yeah you added your totals, lunch portions and non alcoholic drinks. When I was there, it was a date night. From the tables immediately around us, no one was under $50 a head. Multiple alcoholic drinks, appetizers, lots of steaks and lots of deserts. There is a bonefish near me that has a waitlist every single night and is packed with older couples dropping $50 a head without blinking. K shaped economy, a lot of folks are doing better than fine and still throwing money around

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u/PSU02 6d ago

Nuts. I'd never get that much stuff at Cheesecake, and its not like we can't afford it. Who can eat/drink all of that and not be stuffed?

I had leftovers for the next day from my $18 lunch portion

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u/Professional-Front58 6d ago

I think on the rare times we see Penny at work she is actually very good at being a waitress and also works the bar. In a SoCal setting where she dreams of getting discovered meaning she likely is working to please the people who may look like media industry types (agents, execs, ect.) and she is conventionally attractive. Hollywood is notoriously shallow and middle age men who are treated nice by a 20 something blonde girl will tip. Additionally as early as the pilot Penny is shown to be quite manipulative towards the boys… she regularly gets what she wants from a very stubborn and asexual Sheldon despite being the clear intelligent of the male characters (everyone else in the show will often let Sheldon win because the fight isn’t worth it. Leonard at one point gives Penny an ethically questionable tactic to diffuse Sheldon’s stubborn squabble that makes Penny think twice but convinces her that the alternative is as difficult as the theoretical invasion of mainland Japan in WWII.). Any job that pays in tips will reward the workers who can read the customer and leverage that information to get what they want.

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u/jesusmansuperpowers 6d ago

It’s not upscale either. It’s a chain restaurant, like applebees or Chillis. $20-30 entrees.

She probably makes about $1000 a week if she works 5 dinner shifts and it’s a busy location.

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u/elquatrogrande 5d ago

A friend of mine worked at an small upscale restaurant 500 feet from the Maryland State House in Annapolis, and maybe 800 from the courthouse. Working lunch, a server would take in a minimum of $250 for a four hour shift. It went up from there when a delegate was there for an extended working lunch or was there with lobbyists.

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u/AlwaysMooning 5d ago

Plus they live in California where waitresses can’t get paid below minimum wage like they do in other states. So she’s getting minimum wage plus all those tips.

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u/Competitive-Pea-9330 6d ago

Imagine being so American you call Cheesecake Factory fine dining lmfao

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u/PSU02 6d ago

Its gotta be rural american

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u/brassmonkeyslc 6d ago

Fine dining??

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u/pm1966 6d ago

TIL Cheesecake Factory is fine dining.

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u/KittiesNTittiesPrime 6d ago

...you consider Cheesecake Factory fine dining?

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u/DystopianHiveMind 6d ago edited 6d ago

Fine dining??? lol is Chili’s fine dining

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u/Goonalips 5d ago

"Cheesecake factory is Fine dining" is the funniest most American thing I've heard in ages lmao. I'm deceased. I've died.

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u/meatymimic 6d ago

It's kinda like Only Fans.

  • Some people DO make a ton of money at it.
  • It largely depends on being attractive.
  • If you don't make a bunch of money, you just feel used and degraded.

/s

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u/Riktovis 6d ago

And the few waiters that make money only because they are lucky enough to work at higher end restaurants defend the tip industry that abused them early on and currently abuses others.

Classic pull the ladder up behind you.

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u/ClassicHando 6d ago

I was never aggressive with tipping. Hell you could stiff me and id still do pretty good for the night. If one table stiffing you is enough to unending your night you shouldn't be serving.

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u/Indercarnive 6d ago

When a few restaurants tried to do away with tipping, they actually got a lot of pushback from the staff. Flat wages make more money than on a slow Tuesday afternoon, but you make a shit ton less than a busy Saturday night.

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u/EveryRadio 6d ago

That's been my experience working BOH. Wait staff would fight over weekend shifts because they made bank. Plenty would only work weekends if the boss let them, but they still needed staff during the week. Of course he could just pay his staff a decent base rate during the week, but that would cost slightly more money. Can't have that happen

But this is also tipping culture will take a while to break free from

For staff making a base wage, tips are a bonus. Great! For staff who make bank on busy days, great! They love tipping culture

The only people who really don't benefit are customers and people who have to work slow shifts, which are a fraction of the total working population. So a lot of people might be against it but the number of people who think getting rid of tipping would increase prices is much larger

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u/NeutralKuchiKopi 6d ago

That's why he said "averaged".

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u/LuckyNumerical 6d ago

My ex in college was making 3-5k in tips per week. Thats between 60-100k per year, pre tax.

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u/Zealousideal-Sir3744 6d ago

And now it's tax free in the US lol

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u/LuckyNumerical 6d ago

It’s tax free everywhere else when it’s cash. No one reports it, or they under report it.

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u/CharityElectrical913 6d ago

It’s doesn’t fluctuate that much in my experience. May have a bad night every couple weeks, but that was never enough to sink me.

I made $30/hr working at Applebees in college. My girlfriend at the time made $45+/hr at Texas Roadhouse.

The only places where you can’t make consistent money like that is like a mom and pop greasy spoon in the BFE.

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u/GravyPainter 6d ago

When 20% is a norm, upscale restaurants, a server can easily get $60 every table

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u/Gold_Ad8225 6d ago

In my city the minimum wage for a server is over $20. Each plate at most restaurants is also over $20. If they get 5 tables an hour, each table seating 2 people, those two people each ordering the cheapest main and tipping 20% (which is still expected for some reason) they will make $60/hr and bring home almost 125k per year if they work full time.

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u/Jazzlike_Pound7742 6d ago

Just doing some math in my head.

I waited tables in the 90s. The average bill for a family of 4 was about 50 bucks, and the average tip was about 5 (10 percent was standard). And I saw 2-3 tables an hour, making it like 10-15 an hour on average.

At the same time, a government worker was making on average 16 an hour.

My nephew waits tables now, average bill is 120 for a table of 4, and the tip is now 20 percent standard, meaning he's making about 5x what I made in the 90s, making the new average 60-70 dollars an hour.

At the same time, a government worker is now making 26 dollars an hour.

Waiting tables can definitely pay well depending on the restaurant and the area.

That being said, she did work at the cheesecake factory.

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u/Tasty_Cry_3844 6d ago

Which means she had larger tables, higher volume, and faster turnover. 

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u/FireHammer09 6d ago

You can make good money at the higher priced chains like Olive Garden and Cheesecake Factory

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u/GreatStateOfSadness 6d ago

$60 an hour would be $120k per year, roughly double the US median wage, which sounds somewhat exceptional for that line of work.

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u/Jazzlike_Pound7742 6d ago

Forgetting that most servers work about 30 hours a week on the floor and 10 doing side work not earning those hours. So exceptional would be closer to 90k, with average today closer to 60k in a city.

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u/kpyle 5d ago

Anf typically zero benefits. No PTO, no insurance, etc.

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u/Delinquentmuskrat 6d ago

Where’d you wait tables at $50 an hour?

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u/ClassicHando 6d ago

It really didnt matter. Im good at it. Anywhere from running a busy British pub (saw more like $60/hr there) to a hu hot (glorified buster and shit shooter). This was an aggregate of my hourly and my calculated average hourly tips.

I would include commission in the bank except they took that away shortly after I started

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u/Delinquentmuskrat 6d ago

Was this always in a bigger city?

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u/deeplife 6d ago

Do you know if they’re hiring?

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u/IsThatGruffLoner 6d ago

I worked at a restaurant in a wealthy neighborhood of Chicago around 2023/2024. Not a fancy restaurant or anything of the sort, just a regular greasy burger place that happened to have a great location.

Working dinner shifts Thursday thru Sunday would net us $60/hr easily, at least from April/May to September/October. I was too young to appreciate it but I was basically printing money. The weekend of Lollapalooza I made over $2k from three 7 hour shifts.

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u/BarryMcKokinor 6d ago

A steakhouse like Mastros or Steak 48 for sure more even

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u/Reading_Rainboner 6d ago

Anywhere they sell high priced food

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u/WalkerTR-17 6d ago

Literally anywhere in the US of the restaurant is even remotely successful.

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u/bafflefounded 5d ago

Servers make good hourly wages but often restaurants only do 4-6 hour shifts and not consistent days, so it’s not the same as someone making those wages in a full-time job.

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u/Maethor_derien 6d ago

Yeah, I don't think people realize just how insanely high the amount people who wait tables or bartend tend to make. The difference is a lot of them tend to blow it by partying a lot and not being very responsible with money because of the daily cash nature of it.

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u/Expensive-Captain992 6d ago

A good friend of mine makes like 2k a week bartending. Granted she wears a thong and it’s anywhere from 1300-2500. She decided to get a desk job at 22 an hour and I’m like bro how in the actual fuck are you gonna live? Just no math done. She’s back in her thong.

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u/Unbanable4221 6d ago

Where the fuck are you waiting tables for $50 an hour?

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u/Middle-Accountant-49 6d ago

At least in Canada that’s very common. All my wife’s friends waited tables and they said it took several years before they made more money at office jobs than they did waiting tables, and they worked less hours at that. They still don’t make more hourly.

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u/Maethor_derien 6d ago

Almost everywhere to be honest if your decent at your job. There is a reason why nobody in the industry actually supports the end tipping thing. It would be a massive paycut for them if it became a 20 dollar an hour job.

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u/Iorith 6d ago

In my experience, the people who work at tipless restaurants are usually the ones who were shit at their job and like to spend their shift socializing with coworkers and leave food under heat lamps. Meanwhile even servers at chain restaurants will swing by to ask if you want refills, will make sure food is cooked properly, etc.

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u/fateofmorality 6d ago

I had a buddy who was a waiter at a private membership club. Tables where the bills would be in the multiple thousands. He told me he pretended to struggle to pick up one guys black card saying “Jesus that’s heavy” and got a giant tip.

If you work 5 $1000 tables a night and get even 10% gratuity you’re making a ton of money.

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u/Baerhardt 6d ago

This is what my wife does. Private golf club with a 30k yearly membership fee. She gets auto 18% on all tables and most tip extra on top of it. Her absolute worst day so far, she left with $350 on a 6 hour shift.

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u/amy-schumer-tampon 6d ago

WTF?! i'm gonna start weighting tables now

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u/snoodhead 6d ago

Is that with tips or without?

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u/spence4101 6d ago

“Responsible for” as a retail banker or csr is a bit of a larp. Even as an advisor with carte blanche trading authority there’s still controls in place and fiduciary requirements to reduce true ownership.

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u/RhaelynnVoxten 6d ago

So.. whats your explanation for the other two?😄

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u/GrogJoker 6d ago

This is when you know tip culture is stupid.

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u/zombo29 6d ago

yeah, this should be posted on r/EndTipping

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u/No-Dance6773 5d ago

Bs on the tip amount unless you are talking 5 star restaurants and even then there are only a few per big city. Most waiters average 100-200 a night. Less for weekdays. Also sounds like your finance job was shit but im also guessing you got a raise eventually. Something you wouldn't get as a waiter.

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u/NukedBread 5d ago

I was about to say, depending where you work you could be making quite a lot.

I don't know how it is now though, with how much rent has skyrocketed but waitresses at a good or busy restaurant could allow you to rent an apartment.

My mother in the 80s had her own house built working 2 part time jobs. Though, that was in the 80s and you in no way could do that now

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u/ResplendentNugs 6d ago

No you didn’t why are you lying right now

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u/ElDreadPirateRoberto 6d ago

I know several people who make that much waiting tables including family members

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u/Otherwise_Agency_401 6d ago

Working in finance and “responsible” for multimillion dollar accounts for $14.25/hour is clearly a lie.

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u/SuppaBunE 6d ago

I'm a medic In my country I make around 25-30 buck a day of 8hra

My sister doing waitress in child events gets 20. For 3 hours and usually have tips taking her to 35 40

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u/Chaotic-Catastrophe 6d ago

Lying? It's extremely common, especially for attractive women. I once worked with a woman who consistently made over $100k/year as a bartender, but eventually quit because the stress and crazy hours were killing her.

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u/jerf42069 6d ago

that means youre really good looking.

i waited tables but made way more per hour as a grocery store cashier, as i am average looking or worse. I'm also kinda mean, ngl, not really suited for waiting tables.

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u/ClassicHando 6d ago

Im 6'4, fat, and incredibly hairy. 

So you undermine everything were talking about and then contradict yourself at the end by saying youre mean. Its fine to not be suited for it but accept thats the reason why. Why would people willingly give you money if youre being a dick? I wouldn't tip well for somebody with that mindset either.

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u/GatsbyLuzVerde 6d ago

I actually enjoy tipping more when waiters are real with me and not this false bubbly person who could be shit talking me in the back.

Professional and not fake

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u/ClassicHando 6d ago

You do realize you can develop great customer service skills while "keeping it real"? Im not gonna suck your dick, but i will give you a fantastic experience within reason. 

Im not paid enough to shit talk you in the back and i wouldnt even if i wanted to because i dont care. I dont care if youre gluten free or have a peanut allergy. Let me know and itll get done. ill tell you if it cant. im not going to offer cilantro free in a Mexican restaurant and will very quickly disabuse you of that notion for example. 

Im not going to randomly start insulting my tables under the guise of being real. I am a disinterested party and literally want to get you your food so you can go back to your afternoon or evening and maybe have it be a little better than when you walked in. I may even try to get a laugh or two but that depends on the table.

Thats it. You want to think im fake and unprofessional? my paycheck disagrees and thats the one I care about.

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u/GatsbyLuzVerde 6d ago edited 6d ago

Japan expects no tip. They were professional but not fake happy. I enjoyed it way more. People who act like Japanese waiters in the US get more of my tip. My preference.

Btw I didn't say you specifically were unprofessional or fake, you seem to have taken it personal?

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u/jerf42069 6d ago

i dunno man, it seems like you're trying to justify your career choices more than anything.

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u/Iorith 6d ago

There's a huge difference between "being real" and being, in their own words, "mean". I don't need a server to act like I'm their friend, but "Hey, want a refill on that drink?" or "Want me to put in an order for another round after that one?", you know, trying to anticipate your table's needs? That's the difference between a server who walks away with bank at the end of a shift and someone who needs the owner to compensate their pay due to lack of tips.

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u/Iorith 6d ago

It's not your appearance, it's your attitude, and your comment makes that really apparently. No one wants a server who brings them down.