Where do servers work that they make $2-$3 per hour?

Question

Seriously what country is this? This is the first that I have heard that servers make less then minimum wage. This does not happen where I am from that they dont' make at least min. wage.

Very interesting and eye opening about how different countires operate. As a tourist you wouldn't know this. I will ensure good tips when I travel in the U.S.A?

Answer 1

While it does depend upon the state and the size of the Resturant, many servers "make" less than minimum wage, they are garanteed minimum wage. What this means is that if they do not make up the difference between thier "wage" and minimum wage (which may be a different level than what is generally thought of as minimum wage) the Resturant will make up the difference. However, in those instances if the server is constantly not making better than minimum wage, they are not going to be employed long. The reasoning for the Resturant is that if they are serving thier customers properly, they should be getting decent tips. If they are not getting tips, they are not providing the proper service. Most Resturants will take into account "slow periods". Most people hear the term minimum wage and assume that every job is subject to minimum wage and it is really not true. Small resturants and farms are exempt from the minimum wage law.

Answer 2

I live in Indianapolis, Indiana and almost all servers in the state make 2.13 an hour. I was a server for almost two years and just started bartending at the resturant that I was serving and I only make 3.50 an hour. It's quite a bit less than minimum wage. That's why it's so important to tip at least 18% when tipping. Tips are servers and bartenders salaries....not there hourly wages. I typically only made 25 dollars every two weeks from my paycheck when I was a server ( I make a little more than that as a bartender, but not much).... Some servers where I work just get a blank check......due to how much they have claimed in tips due to taxes.

Answer 3

I work at an Olive Garden in Pennsylvania and I make 2.83 an hour. I've been a server for 15 years and that is the standard rate of pay in 95 percent of restaurants. EVERYBODY should have to be a server for at least one week of their lives and try to feed their family on it so that they can see what it is like! People will use any excuse in the book to justify leaving a bad tip ( the food took too long, the wait was to long, any bullcrap that they can think of to lower the tip no matter how hard their server worked. I think a 18 percent gratuity should be added to EVERY check not just large parties. I understand that occasionally you will have a bad server and a tip is not deserved. I had a table stiff me the other day because we were out of something! They actually wrote on the credit card slip NO _____ then no tip! Complete jerks as if this was my fault. And as for the person who answered that she thought that tipping was out of hand, I bet she's never served a day in her life! It's not her fault that the food took too long and most people don't consider that servers often work 10 to 12 hour days especially on weekends to make money and maybe she was standing around a little but oh well we are human and we do get tired, we're not robots just there to wait on idiots like her!

Answer 4

I have been a waitress for many years(10 to be exact), and the most I have EVER made at a job is 3.50 a hour and this is at a hotel bar. Where are you from? I would to love to know what state or facility that pays minimum wage plus tips, I would be making pretty good money if that was the case. Because pretty much every state I know (from family and friends) usually only pay at the most 3.00 an hour. We work our butts off for our tips and it really sucks when you work hard and do not get tipped. If people truly understood how much waitresses really make perhaps they would tip better. You go out for a meal you should except to tip well, unless the service was just horrific. But that is a whole other story.

Answer 5

When I first started waiting tables in the 70's min wage was $1.90 an hour. Then a few years later we got a huge raise to $2.01 an hour. I got out of the restaurant biz for many years and recently returned to find out that it had increased to $3.67 an hour, and we are set to receive another increase in Jan 08 to close to $4.00 an hour. Unlike some who are college students who do this job for geting through school, I do this to survive. I have many more responsibilities than they do. Such as child support, mortage, car payment, utilities, etc., etc. I am a seasoned professional who takes his job seriously. I'm not sure what country you are from, but, I hear that tipping is much different overseas. I will tell uou that the general consensus in this country is that if you get a table that has a foriegn accent, it is 70% to 90% sure that the tip is not going to be any better than 10%. Customary tipping used to be 15% for good service and 20% was for great service. Now it it seems that 20% is the norm or better. Some people order wine with dinner and dont tip on the wine. We still have to pay taxes on that, so please don't do that. Diners also dont realize that we don't get all of the tips that we get left. We have to tip out the bartenders, foodrunners, busboys, silverware rollers, etc., etc. That tip is not left to our discretion, it is usually a predertimined percentage set by the restaurant, somewhere between 3% and 9%. We also get charged a fee for each credit card used per table. It may sound weird but if you can please leave cash, then we dont get charged for credit cards. Thank You

Answer 6

Europe is different. However in the US, a server makes between 2-4 dollars an hour. I make 3.50 an hour plus tips. I have to report my tips as well to make sure that I am "making" at least minimum wage. However, some customers do not tip at ALL, whether their service was good or not. People are sometimes very rude, which is unfortunate, because they clearly don't understand how waitresses make their money. It is customary to leave between 10%-20%, with 15% being expected. However some customers do not even leave 10% because their bill was a lot, or just because they're cheap. If you don't have the money to tip, don't go out to eat. At the very least, even if my server is awful, I still leave 10% because I know how it is.

Answer 7

I am a server in the United States and I used to make $2.13 an hour when the minimum wage was $5.15. Now that they have raised the minimum wage to $6.84 I make about $4 an hour. And let me tell you, people tip so crappy! You are lucky to even get 10%!!! I mean, we don't even see our hourly wage because it all goes to taxes. My checks say "this is not a check" because it is zero dollars! And plus we have to tip out our co-workers 2.25% of our total sales, which can be over $30 a night!!! So there's even more money out of my pocket! Whatever I make in tips is all that I make. I mean the standard tip should be at LEAST 15% and a good tip would be 20%. People are so rude and disrespectful! Especially when we get parties of 6 or more. Then, you should be tipping like 25%! It is so frustrating! I have been stiffed soo many times, even had a co-worker get stiffed by a party with a check over $200!!! I wish everyone had to be a server for at least a month to see what it is like! Maybe then they'd think twice when they tip their server!

Answer 8

Standard server / bartender wages are $2.13 per hour in Kentucky, and from what I remember from living and working in Washington, D.C. it's the same - possibly Maryland and Virginia as well.

Not all hospitality establishments pay these hourly wages, but I'd say 95% do pay only $2.13 an hour.

Now --the important part -- servers mostly never receive a paycheck. I receive a check, but it is for $0 and actually says "This is not a check" on it. Taxes eat up every penny of the hourly wage when tips are included and taxed also.

Every credit card tip I receive is automatically reported to the IRS. Cash tips (100% of them) I am required to claim at the end of each shift.

Now, how would you like to be a server on April 15th? Many servers anually owe money in back taxes.

I would like to know where you are from...and if you have ever worked in a restaurant. I have been in the hospitality or "service" industry for 21 years. I am 38 years old. I was a dishwasher at 17. I have been a server and bartender since I was 20.

I also know the difference between "good" and "bad" service. Good service is never having to ask for anything - your needs should be anticipated. This does not include alcoholic beverages!!!

Now on to tipping standards in the industry - your tip should be AT LEAST 15% of the TOTAL (not subtotal) check.
However, 20% is the service standard with good service. A server going beyond your expectations should be tipped 25-30%, and i ya just love 'em throw them more money! All service professionals recognize this and will treat you like a king the next time you arrive.

Now, (WARNING: MINI-RANT) someone on here said something about being in a party of 6 or more, and there was an included gratuity (tip). (The waitress in question was talking to her friends intstead of giving refills --refills on what? water? tea? How much money did her friends tip on their bill? TIPS stands for Tips Insure Prompt Service!!!) Throw your server a $10 or $20 before you sit down! You will NOT be ignored! And then tip 20-25% on top of that! You want service?? PAY FOR IT! Trust me, it works, and I can prove it: just go out drinking with me! (End of rant lol)

Okay sorry, back to the included tips on checks. This varies from place to place on the minimum number of guests, and some places NEVER include the tip. This information should be printed on that establishment's menu...probably in small print at the bottom.

IMPORTANT : think about this: six of your friends arrive at your house for cocktails, and all six order different drinks.
How long will it take YOU, (or even more importantly, your two roommates entertaining 6 other guests each) to make those 18 drinks? And then garnish them and deliver them? While you are also entertaining 10 other guests in another area?
Or even 20? Now coordinate this with your kitchen staff who is dealing with your guests as well as another 50? And we don't work hard? Anyone who says servers don't work hard and I should get a "real" job can kiss my ***, or grow a pair and follow me for a weekend. Besides, we can out-party you and you're jealous.

Feel free to respond [e-mail]

Answer 9

I have worked in restaurants for the past nine years and have never made minimum wage. There is a separate minimum wage for "tipped employees" our tips are taxed and considered part of our income. There has been numerous times when my paycheck was for zero dollars because every cent of my hourly wage had been taken to pay taxes. I have never known any server in any state who makes the same minimum wage as say a cashier or other minimum wage employees. Different rules apply to restaurant employees. Hope that helps.

Answer 10

It is done in most of the major restaurants. Here in the US servers make what is called "waitress\waitor wages" about $3 an hour for thier wage because they make the rest of it in tips. Though there is a federal law that states that if they do not make enough tips to make the state minimum wage then the business has to compensate the difference.