Comments on: The Waitress

By: Erin

Erin — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 19:18:47 +0000

I am a waitress in Washington and I get paid minimum wage which is $8.55 and it is still expected to tip 15-20%. We still live off our tips though, because most of our paychecks goes to the IRS. We have to claim our tips, so we usually get less than half of our true paycheck. So yes, in Washington, we get paid minimum, and we still expect a tip.

By: Server Girl

Server Girl — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:52:51 +0000

Ugh! I totally hear you. I’m a server too. Incredibly, I work at a restaurant where parties of 6+ do NOT have tacked on gratuity. Yeah, that sucks. Especially when I get parties of kids who think 2 dollars is a GREAT tip on a 40 dollar check.

By: Aimee

Aimee — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:34:10 +0000

Charles H. – Waitresses in the US live off their tips. They don’t get paid minimum wage (which here is $7.25/hr) they get paid less, they only make about $2/hr so their tips are pretty much their income. It is expected to tip. If you didn’t tip here it would be considered VERY rude.

Anyway, I can’t believe they refused to pay the gratuity!! Do they not know large parties HAVE to pay it, it’s not about whether or not they want to. That’s in EVERY restaurant/diner. Ugh, that just makes me so mad that they refused AND that the owner didn’t back you up and just let them go.

By: Canaduck

Canaduck — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:13:26 +0000

Holy crap, this is a infuriating story. SHE’S A WAITRESS: SHE’S GETTING PAID $2.18 AN HOUR!!!

By: Rene

Rene — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:06:13 +0000

I understand not tipping in countries outside the U.S. where servers get actual paychecks but if you ever find yourself in America you should tip 20% of the total cost of the bill for good service. I’ve waited on many Europeans, most of them very nice, but they almost always leave you a handful of change for a tip which is really frustrating when all of your income comes from your tips.

By: Charles H. Gund

Charles H. Gund — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:42:39 +0000

I live in the UK, and I never tip. Don’t waiters get paid?

By: Emma

Emma — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:56:45 +0000

I am freaking glad I live in Australia where tipping is actually reserved for outstanding service and not just for doing your job – which admittedly we can do because waiters get paid a minimum (crappy, but minimum) wage. Incidentally, the consistently worst service I have ever had was in NYC, where tipping is akin to godliness – if I had had waiters that bad at home they wouldn’t have got a cent. And yeah yeah blah blah, I’ve worked in the service industry.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:11:31 +0000

Um, I think you guys might have misunderstood me or I didn’t make myself clear. I don’t force myself on every table. I only talk about that stuff when it’s appropriate & we are shooting the shit anyway. I did this in a small college town so it wasn’t unheard of to have multiple tables in a shift ask if I was a student there & what I was studying. And it’s not like I did it for so long that things fell behind. Geez Louise.

Or I just woke up, you guys were being sarcastic & I am misunderstanding.

By: serbiz

serbiz — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:56:25 +0000

Holy Christ, a waiter that wants to make small talk with the table. Yeah, I bet that’s real popular with all the other what’s-their-name waiters & waitresses, who have to pick up your slack.

By: Erika

Erika — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:35:41 +0000

Whoa Andrew, it seems you may have misunderstood what being a waiter is all about. Ask you about college and your life plans? Not gonna happen. You are there to give service, that’s your job. I say “please” and “thank you” and I expect you to do the same. I am there to have a nice meal, I am not there to get to know you. I don’t really care if/what you are studying or what your future goals are, and I don’t expect you to ask me about anything more personal than if the food is good, if I’d like to order something more etc.

And yes, I have worked as a waitress too. ^^