Check Please!
It’s Friday early evening; after slaving through a tough work week you and a few coworkers head to a local pub for a drink and quick meal. A pleasant young hostess greets you at the door. Her peppy walk and full face of makeup hints that she she can’t be more than 23 years old. Only a few moments after she sits your party a young man walks over and introduces himself as your waiter. You ask him for a beer suggestion and he informs you he’s not old enough to drink. After a night of pleasant service you give him a 15% tip and ask what he’s doing working as a waiter on a Friday night. It is then that he tells you he works as a part-time waiter in order to help him finance school. He works long weekends and nights instead of going out with his buddies and hopes to become a dentist by the end of his schooling. Looking around the restaurant you notice; that he is not the only young hopeful in a uniform. The busboy, the food runner; the waitresses are all young ambitious and money hungry students that fast-pedal to a night shift after class in order to make ends meet.
As patrons of the restaurant we like to believe in good-faith that people tip at least 15% on every bill and are courteous to their staff and that this job is stepping stone that teaches young people the value of hard work rather than abuse their desperation. But the sad truth is most servers depend on tips, and still aren’t receiving enough.
According to NBC News, the lowest paid job in America includes food preparation and serving workers. The average server earns $8.71 an hour when tips are split or do not total the residing state’s minimum wage. Beyond the scope of students a collective 2.7 million people work in the food serving and preparation industry each year; and earn 18,000 annually.
Serving and food preparation jobs market themselves to young people; as they are well.. young, fresh-faced, and agile. In return serving jobs often cater to the frequently changing scheduling student schedule and need for fast cash.
When was the last time you gave a cash tip to your host/hostess? Another job that caters to students in the food industry is the job of host/hostess. While they may not be running your food out to you or taking your order; they are responsible for being the face of the establishment, answering phone calls, taking reservations and directing customer concerns. However; according to NBC most host/ hostess earn $9.23 an hour without tips.
Young people are encouraged to keep part time jobs. Society prides itself on producing hard workers but does little to protect and reward those who subject themselves to these types of service industry occupations.Tips are supposed to be a bonus for excellence, not a scapegoat for restaurant owners who want to avoid paying their employees minimum wage. How do we encourage young people to get ahead when our systems make them struggle to make ends meet?
