Being a waiter or waitress is somewhat of a mysterious job position in the minds of many. There are people who would like to try it but just don't know where to start or just feel they don't have what it takes. Some that feel they have what it takes think they need an "in" by knowing someone because they have no experience. And it certainly does help! There is a certain allure about earning your income from tips. I think it's the hard cold cash that makes it so appealing. But does it really pay that well? In a word, Yes.
The most important quality you need to have in this field is people skills. Your employer is putting you right out front, face to face with his income, the customers! Being a food server is a responsible position and not everyone is qualified to do it. You must be able to handle a lot of stress and multi-task. Things go wrong all the time in the restaurant business but you must be able to brush it off and most importantly not allow your customers to "read" it in your attitude or mood. Employers value their top waiters and waitresses very much. Almost as much as their top cook! (that's for another post!)
If you have what it takes it pays better than a lot of other jobs. The biggest problem with being paid cash everyday is you must learn to control your spending. Having self control over access to all of that cash everyday is key. That is your equivalent of a paycheck and you don't want to blow it a little at a time and end up with nothing on payday. Those that can develop a system of discipline by putting a budgeted amount away everyday will discover it can pay quite well.
You will get a paycheck from your employer but it will be very small. Not only is your base pay much lower than even regular minimum wage but your taxes are taken out of that paycheck too. Some businesses will have you report your tips on a daily basis but most will automatically deduct the tax by estimating your tips.
So how do they do that? While each state is different and each business is different, the most common method is to take a percentage (around 8%) of the total sales on the floor (restaurant) for each shift and divide it by the number of servers on the floor for that shift. That amount is what they estimate your tips to be and that amount will be used to figure out your required deductions on the paycheck.
For example, lets say a restaurant made $1,000 in sales for the 11-4 shift. 8% of $1,000 is $80.00. Now lets say there were 2 servers. Divide that $80.00 by 2. That means you would pay taxes on $40.00. (which would come out of your paycheck, not your tips)
Again, this is just a sample and the numbers will vary from place to place, but it's a reasonably accurate example in order to give you an idea of how it's usually done. And my point is that if you did $500 in sales, you'd likely make more like $70, not $40, but you will only be taxed on $40. It's not even unusual to make much more than that but your taxed amount would remain at $40.
What this means is if you add that up everyday you'll see that you are actually bringing home a significantly higher check in the course of the year than someone who actually pays taxes on an hourly paid job. It's pretty cool but most people don't think of this. Waiters and Waitresses can and do make good money, even without that little unseen bonus!
So where is the big money at? You'd be surprised! While it's certainly true you will make very healthy tips at a white table cloth style restaurant, this isn't for everyone and it's truly not necessarily the most lucrative. There is a lot to be said for the local family restaurant chain in your area. Every part of the state has at least one and I'm sure you know what I mean. These places usually do a terrific breakfast and dinner business. You will work hard at these places. Turnover is fast and you will make less tips per table but you will wait on more tables and with less effort than a dress code type restaurant. Pancake houses, truck stops and tourist cafes are great too! As long as the restaurant does a good business and you are busy you can bet you are going to make good money if you have the right attitude!
Another advantage of serving food is you will actually be getting exercise! Don't laugh at this. If you've never done it before you will soon discover just how much walking (fast) bending and turning you do. Most people will lose weight without even trying during their first 2 or 3 months! Because you are actually moving around, believe it or not, for most people your legs and feet will not ache nearly as much as if you were standing at a cash register or sales floor for 6 or 8 hours. Time goes by faster and when it's all over and you count your tips you'll feel satisfied and anxious for the next day!
It's a great feeling to know you actually control your income to some degree. The more tables you wait on, the more gratuity you earn. The more efficient you are, the bigger your tips. Or if you are in a very fancy restaurant, the more attentive you are and the higher you get the bill up by tactfully selling more wine or desserts, the higher your customers will tip. If you are a good waitress or waiter it's a win win situation for everyone from you to the customer to the owner of the restaurant. Do you have what it takes?
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you conveniently forgot to mention tipping out when mentioning how much money you actually make versus what is reported. to use your example, if you make $70, you'll probably tip out $20-30, making the difference between what you take home and the $40 declared pretty negligible if not non-existent to beging with.
ReplyDeleteMost places won't have you tipping out, especially someone with their first serving job. And it shouldn't be as much as you indicate at most places, though it can be at some. A bus person at 10% is high and bartender at 15-20% is normal, making this scenero come out to around $15-20.
ReplyDeleteThe $40 being "pretty negligible if not non-existent" is a stretch. Generally our taxes combined (State, Local, Fed, SSI) come out to about 15% of our gross pay. That's $6 per day on that $40.00. If you work 5 days a week that's $1560.00 a year in your pocket. And that's only using the $40 figure. Most instances are signifigantly higher.