Have you worked at a restaurant? What were tips like?

[Daria]

DS18 got two job offers today!  One is as a lifeguard at a gym that's a couple subway stops away.  The other is at a little restaurant that faces the same parking lot as our apartment building.  It would literally be a 2 min. walk.  He's torn.  He's a very extroverted kid who likes to be busy, so being a server is tempting, but on the other hand he's a fitness job, and he loves his his current job at a different gym.   

 

As expected the base pay for the lifeguard position is much higher than the server job, but subway fare will eat into his pay, plus he'll lose an hour to the commute.  Also, of course, there's the matter of tips.  Any ideas on how much to estimate tips would be?  Is there a formula?  The restaurant serves breakfast with an average price around $10 for an entree,  lunch around $10 - 12, and dinner around $20.  It's a tiny place, and is not usually empty but is certainly never full.  

[Peaceseeker]

Tips average 10-20% of the total bill. The better you are the higher your percentage in general. 10% would be considered a lower tip, 15% average, 20% a great tip. The other factors are volume of sales (how busy is this place?) and how many other servers are working. Hours vary and are flexible but can be irregular depending on the restaurant (if business is slow he may be called off, sent home, etc..)

 

I practically grew up in a restaurant as my mom was a server and I have served off and on for years. I still enjoy it occasionally (I manage a restaurant now). It is on your feet, physically active work with lots of talking and getting to know people. Extroverts usually do well as long as they stop chatting long enough to take care of all their tables.

 

I wouldn't be afraid to ask the manager about average tips for their restaurant. It will vary, but they probably have an idea of what their servers average for breakfast or lunch. I know a lot of young people have never worked for tips before so I often give them averages so they have a general idea. Of course it will go up and down with business and sales, but servers do have averages. He can also ask other servers about averages if that is ok with the company.

 

Even in the lowest end restaurant I worked at as a young teen, I made more than minimum wage with my tips and $2.13 an hour. I would guess most low end restaurants average at least $10-12 an hour and lots of servers average $15-$20 an hour or more at chain restaurants. It is rarely full time though. If he can gain experience, he can move on to other higher volume or higher priced restaurants and it can be a great side job for college since most servers jobs are part time.

 

Hope this helps!

Edited September 22, 2017 by CaliforniaDreaming

[Barb_]

Restaurant work can be...strange. There is a subculture in restaurant work that you may want to be aware of. There is a ready supply of cash and can be pretty heavily steeped in alcohol and sex. Late nights, lots of stress, different age groups, lots of cash. I worked in restaurants through college and so did my brother. Two of my kids did restaurant gigs at different times. Not discourage you, but just a heads up.

[Barb_]

Oh and congratulation to your son!

Good problem to have :)

[Peaceseeker]

How much does help does the restaurant need? Is the gym job part time as well? He may be able to do both depending on what they are looking for and if they don't conflict. Not sure how much work he is looking for, but it might be that he could pick up a couple of lifeguard shifts a week and a couple of serving shifts. Both are often part time positions and sometimes minimal hours.

[KungFuPanda]

I had a friend who worked in restaurants and made more than she ever made as a Montessori instructor.

[Seasider]

Restaurant work can be...strange. There is a subculture in restaurant work that you may want to be aware of. There is a ready supply of cash and can be pretty heavily steeped in alcohol and sex. Late nights, lots of stress, different age groups, lots of cash. I worked in restaurants through college and so did my brother. Two of my kids did restaurant gigs at different times. Not discourage you, but just a heads up.

True, but this sounds like a breakfast/lunch gig, though.

 

In many cases the law requires that servers make minimum wage, so the restaurant manager should be able to answer a question about whether their policy covers that (for example, if business is suoer slow). Nowadays many restaurants (bigger chains) do not pay out credit card tips to servers on a daily basis, it gets added to the paycheck. That's good for not letting easy-to-spend cash slip through your fingers, but not so good if you're a server used to taking home a chunk of cash every shift. A small independent restaurant may do things the old fashioned way, but more and more the govt is involved to make sure the appropriate level of income taxes are remitted. Your son would want to ask questions about these things up front.

 

Someone with a good personality and good work ethic can make a lot of money waiting tables. It's not usually something with a career path though, unless someone aspires to be a restaurant manager or owner. It's hard work with long days.

[Seasider]

I had a friend who worked in restaurants and made more than she ever made as a Montessori instructor.

His experience at a place like you describe may provide the experience he needs to later apply for a job at a higher end restaurant (like an expensive steak/seafood place). Servers in that sort of place make serious tips! Waiting tables is a great job for college students or others who need a flexible schedule and the ability to earn above minimum wage.

[Epicurean]

At a similar breakfast place, I made around $80 per day in tips. Better servers made about $100. Worse servers made $50. And then the $2.13 on top of that. Male servers always made more than women (I'm honestly not sure if that's because they were better at it or because traditionally a male waiter has socially higher status). With the one exception of beautiful women--if you were a gorgeous girl, you made bank no matter what.

[Carrie12345]

There are so many different factors.

 

I never worked in a breakfast setting, but I worked a few lunch shifts in a lunch/dinner setting. Lunches = less than dinner.  Weekend dinners equaled less than week day dinners because we were busier.  Regulars tended to mean more money than new or occasional diners. We had TV screens, so big sports events brought in more money than no event nights.  Turnover is everything. Some people who linger are respectful enough to boost their tip for time spent, while others figure they're done with table service and stick to the math of their bill without thought to the income you're losing from not seating a new table.

 

He should know what the tip split situation is.  If there are separate bussers, runners, bartenders, hostesses, etc., they usually get a cut of the wait staff tips.

[Daria]

I had a friend who worked in restaurants and made more than she ever made as a Montessori instructor.

Given that preschool teachers are some of the most underpaid people in this country that doesn't surprise me.

[Daria]

How much does help does the restaurant need? Is the gym job part time as well? He may be able to do both depending on what they are looking for and if they don't conflict. Not sure how much work he is looking for, but it might be that he could pick up a couple of lifeguard shifts a week and a couple of serving shifts. Both are often part time positions and sometimes minimal hours.

He's planning on keeping his job at his current gym, which he loves, but he only get 2 or 3 6 hour shifts a week from them so he's looking to add more. Given that he's still got school (he's a home school senior) I think 2 jobs is enough.

[teachermom2834]

My ds is a server at Cracker Barrel but works dinner shift- not breakfast. His pay is hit or miss. He only works 4 hour shifts- usually three hours on the floor and then he has odd jobs he has to do. So usually just making tips for 3 hours. With those short shifts just one bad tip or zero tip can hurt his take home pay. He has to make at least minimum wage, legally. He had only one night in several months with tips so bad that the store had to supplement to get him to minimum. He has had nights he makes over $16/hr (nice for a 17 yo!) . He probably averages $11/hr or so. If he worked longer shifts that would be higher I think because a lower percentage of his time would be the odd jobs during which time he doesn't make tips.

 

Another note- My ds works with people who are working to pay their bills and he will often give the other person the entire tip if it is a big party and they are supposed to split. He also sometimes leaves at the end of his shift without picking up the last tips for his tables if he thinks the person behind him who would collect the tip needs it more. I can't blame him for leaving a few bucks in tips for the single mom coming in behind him. But take the amounts I have listed as low for what he could be making. He is also only 17 and hasn't been at it very long so while he is cute I doubt he is particularly good ;)

Edited September 22, 2017 by teachermom2834

[SparklyUnicorn]

I agree, many factors.  How busy is the restaurant?  If it is very small, he might not earn much.  I worked in a small restaurant.  Not only did I not make much in tips, I had to split my tips with the dishwasher.  Also, working for a small family business can be difficult.  I was often asked to do jobs that took away from my chance to earn tips (not really legal, but good luck doing anything about it). 

 

Maybe you can go to the restaurant one night and see what it is like?  Or maybe you happen to know if it is busy. 

 

 

[Bluegoat]

It really varies I think.

 

Though most of my food service time was vending hotdogs.

 

When I worked a day shift down at the waterfront, I was lucky to make enough for bus fare.  Customers were a ix of tourists, tourism workers, and office workers in the noon to 1pm slot.

 

If I did a shift outside the bar at night (from about 11pm, wrapped up the cart about 3:30am)  I could make $100, $200.

 

Mind you, boys never made anything like that much.

[mytwomonkeys]

I was a waitress in the early 90’s. I was a terrible waitress (not for lack of trying) and I always made really good money. I think people felt sorry for me, lol. I switched to being a hostess. I always tip great now, restaurant work is a demanding job. Congrats to your son!

[skimomma]

It really varies, as others have said.  But all of the waitressing jobs I have had paid very well.  More than that, the connivence of being so close to home would be a big factor for me.  Lifeguarding can be pretty slow/boring/lonely.  Serving shifts tend to fly by because you are usually hustling and there is plenty of socializing.  With your ds already working one job in a gym, he might find the variety refreshing.  I also find serving experiences variable in job interviews.  Even after getting a masters in engineering, I found that I could always rely on serving situations for tricky interview questions.  It is relatable for everyone so easy fodder when you don't have a great career-related answer due to inexperience.

[Daria]

It really varies, as others have said.  But all of the waitressing jobs I have had paid very well.  More than that, the connivence of being so close to home would be a big factor for me.  Lifeguarding can be pretty slow/boring/lonely.  Serving shifts tend to fly by because you are usually hustling and there is plenty of socializing.  With your ds already working one job in a gym, he might find the variety refreshing.  I also find serving experiences variable in job interviews.  Even after getting a masters in engineering, I found that I could always rely on serving situations for tricky interview questions.  It is relatable for everyone so easy fodder when you don't have a great career-related answer due to inexperience.

 

I think that lifeguarding at this place would be very boring.  It's a small gym with a small indoor pool.  My experience of these places in the daytime is that you might get 1 or 2 adult lap swimmers at a time, with intervals with no one there.  The chances of one of them drowning is little to none, and there aren't kids to police.

 

I think my son would like a lifeguarding job at the nearby indoor public pool, where there is camaraderie between the 5 or 6 lifeguards per shift, and swimming lessons to watch (he'd like to move up to swim instructor), and a rotation of assignments, like the diving board and the water slide.  But the gym situation sounds much more boring, even to me, and he's much more extroverted than I am. 

 

But, that's just me. It's his decision.  I just wanted to give him a reasonable expectation of money, and then I'll butt out.

 

Here's a follow up question:  The restaurant has given him an appointment to come in.  I think maybe to fill out paperwork, but also maybe to shadow/train.  The gym hasn't said anything other than "we want you, next step is to email us your lifeguard certificate".  He doesn't know anything about hours or pay yet.  He was expecting to work for minimum wage, so he didn't ask about salary, but some places are higher for lifeguards.  How bad would it look for him to go to the restaurant training day, and then turn them down once he has the info from the other place?  

[Daria]

I agree, many factors.  How busy is the restaurant?  If it is very small, he might not earn much.  I worked in a small restaurant.  Not only did I not make much in tips, I had to split my tips with the dishwasher.  Also, working for a small family business can be difficult.  I was often asked to do jobs that took away from my chance to earn tips (not really legal, but good luck doing anything about it). 

 

Maybe you can go to the restaurant one night and see what it is like?  Or maybe you happen to know if it is busy. 

 

The restaurant's front and back walls are made of glass, and it's literally across the parking lot from my front door.  So, I have a pretty good sense of the crowd levels, which I'd say are low.  I imagine that breakfast/lunch on weekdays is probably just one server one busser.  We've eaten there a few times and the food is OK, but nothing special.  I much prefer the sushi place next door, so I don't go there often.  

[Barb_]

I assume they won't train him until he fills out the employee paperwork. If he'd rather lifeguard, he should probably call them and ask some pointed questions.