Server Wages in America

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The dining experience in America is a completely unique one. We all rely on our waiter or waitress when we go out to a sit down restaurant to take care of our needs. Many people do not realize the amount of work their server does for them in the hour they sit at that table, causing servers to be grossly under paid in comparison to other tipped professions. Server minimum wage should be raised because it is inconsistent payment, it is a poorly understood tradition, and it is a contributing factor in the stress levels of the servers. Server minimum wage should be raised because tips are too inconsistent of a payment option for people to be able to live off of comfortably. In most states the server minimum wage is only two dollars and thirteen cents. (Obringer) That amount is not nearly enough on days where the tips may be particularly low. This usually causes the server to view their customers differently based on the tip that is left at the end of their service. Most servers end the week with paychecks of zero dollars after all of the taxes are taken to make up for their tips. (Obringer) While it is true that the law says employers are to make up the amount that a server falls short of regular minimum wage, it usually doesn’t happen that way. (Obringer) Also, servers themselves know that certain things affect tips that aren’t usually included in most research on tipping influences. For instance many servers believe that gas prices affect the amount they are tipped or how busy the restaurant is. The thought is that the higher the gas prices the smaller the tip and vise versa. All the theories similar to this are why many servers and others alike believe that tips are too inconsistent of a form of payment to be able to live of... ... middle of paper ... ...Servers’ Tips: What Managers Can Do and Why They Should Do It. 30 04 2014 . McCarty, John A., et al. Tipping As a Consumer behavior: a Qualitative Investigation. 30 April 2014 . Obringer, Lee Ann. How Tipping Works. 2014. 29 04 2014 . Paulas, Rick. How Is the New Restaurant Tip Law Affecting Servers. 14 January 2014. KCET. 30 April 2014 . The US Tip System. 2014. 29 04 2014 . United, ROC. 16 Things the Restaurant Industry Doesn't Want You to Know. 10 02 2014. 29 04 2014 .

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