It’s Friday night. I should be on a date or hanging out with my friends. Instead I’m sweating, trying to remember a million things, when suddenly an accidental shift in balance results in my shirt being covered in a mixture of milk and ranch dressing.
Hello, my name is Lindsey, and I am the world’s worst waitress-or at least, I was on my first day.
Over Winter Break, I was in need of extra money. I decided the easiest way to earn some cash would be to pick up a few shifts at a local restaurant.
Let me be the first to admit I was wrong. Being a waitress is probably the hardest thing I have ever had to do-and this is coming from someone who had to live through the great Kellen Wilson v. Gordon Swift debate of 2005.
Drinks, bread, straws, napkins: you name it, and I managed to forget it. You could have cut the stress I was feeling with a dull butter knife, had I not forgotten to bring one to your table.
I also spilled drinks, broke a couple of glasses and slipped on a wet floor-but at least no one saw that.
When my first night was over, I ended up with three things: a sore back, a newfound appreciation for everyone who has ever served me at a restaurant and the surprising realization that people do not tip well.
Most people are probably oblivious to the fact that servers don’t earn minimum wage, which is $5.15 in Utah. Because they are expected to receive tips, employers can pay their waiters and waitresses much lower than that. Servers at my establishment earn $2.13 per hour, before taxes.
Not only that, but at the end of a shift, servers usually have to split their tips with two other people-the bartender and the busser who cleared their tables.
Being a server is an arduous task. Mistakes are made at any job-but when you’re a server, a mistake will cost you a portion of the only money you will make from a shift at work.
Many of us at the U work to put ourselves through school, or worked in high school to earn a college fund. Some of us support ourselves or even a family.
Waiting tables is an obvious choice for a pre-degree student looking for a flexible job-but $2.13 an hour obviously isn’t going to cover tuition, room and board at any university.
I applied to be a waitress so I could pay off some of my debt; I can’t imagine trying to support myself this way. Yet we all know people who are doing just that.
Waiters and waitresses work hard-they aren’t just begging for a handout. Please remember that they’re human when they make mistakes and that they might just be depending on your tips to make their rent that month.