"Trent Moorehead" wrote in message
...

Waitstaff make well below minimum wage and depend on tips to
make up the difference.

And that's the *problem*.

If you had said that you worked as a waiter
for 5 years, then you'd have an argument there.

I'm just pointing out that the idea of working retail, without
getting "tips", can and does work.

My wife was a waitress for a while. She made a pile of money,
but only made $2.35/hr. before tips.

So her employer was grossly underpaying her.
What's your point?

(And before you point out that other restaurants pay the
same, I'll simply point out that they are equally at fault.)

There are some weird policies in restaurants that the patrons
never know about.

And those "policies" are *wrong*. IMO.
Is there some rule that policies are "right", just because
they are in force?

We both gained a lot of respect for good waitpeople after
her tenure. It's harder than it looks.

One doesn't need to realize that servers work hard,
to realize that the problem comes from their employers
underpaying them.

I don't know, I like the thought that the waiter/waitress is
working for ME.

???
Do you tip the department store salesperson as well,
because they are "working for YOU"? Surely you
tip the shoe salesman, right? Do you tip the server
at Mickey-D's? Aren't they working for you as well?
(And yes, Mickey-D servers sometimes have to bring
the food to your table, or to you car, so yo *BETTER*
tip them, right?)

Just imagine what kind of service you'd get in a restaurant
if the waitstaff was salaried.

That would depend on the ethics of the waitstaff, and
on the employer.

There would be no incentive for them to work for you,
just as long as the boss is happy, and he/she's not around
most of the time.

So you're basing your theoretical argument on ignorance
of the boss? Sounds pretty lame to me. If the boss isn't
aware of how his business operates, that's another issue
entirely.

You seem to be almost intentionally avoiding the real
situation of waitstaff working for a proper wage (who
says they have to be salaried?), and if their work isn't
acceptable, then (1) the boss will notice, or (2) the
customers will complain, and that person will be
fired. It seems to me that job security is a pretty good
incentive to do a good job. (But that's just me.)

Other retail outlets do this all the time. Why is it
so hard to conceive that the food industry could/should
work in the same way?

I think the problem is that a lot of people have never
waited tables and don't know how the game works.

I thikn the problem is that a lot of people never realize
that the game is designed with *bad* rules.

Waiters and waitresses are really working for YOU,

So is everyone else that you don't tip.

so you should pay them accordingly.

That's why the business doesn't charge "cost" for their
goods, because they have to pay their staff. And so
we actually *do* pay for the staff, only we do it through
the cost of goods, rather than "tipping".

But, if you get decent to great service, you're just being
cheap if you don't tip.

Not at all.
I paid for the service when I paid my bill.
If the employer underpays his/her staff, that's the
employer's problem.

Either that, or you are ignorant to the facts I just outlined.

sigh
What arrogance!

So no one's allowed to disagree with you, anyone
who disagrees with you is "ignorant", because you
are always right, and anyone who disagrees with you
is "therefore" wrong? You are the supreme authority,
you are the centre of the universe? Is that it?

Why don't you try opening your mind to the fact that
you might not know everything, and that you might
just be wrong once in a while?

-Trent

--
Jeff Shirton jshirton at cogeco dot
ca

Keep thy airspeed up, lest the earth come from below
and smite thee. - William Kershner
Challenge me (Theophilus) for a game of chess at Chessworld.net!