| > have servers that brag about huge payouts. I'm pretty sure that this is a form of Gambler's Fallacy. I've heard a story of a waiter who got a high rollers table one night and walked away with a $1,000 tip. But I heard it from a girl who worked with him. He was a 20-year industry veteran. She was some five years in at the time. The story was told another five years after it happened. Sure, it was a massive payout on one night of work... But they don't recount the stories of the hundred rainy sundays where nobody shows up, you close shop early and go home with less than minimum wage. They also save the story of how they couldn't get a mortgage because the bank can't see the income from tips. I've heard the story of feeling "stuck" in bartending a number of times. You make more than you could in any other career with no skills, but you can't do anything with the money, it isn't fulfilling, the hours suck, retraining is hard and so is starting at the bottom on a new career ladder. I know a few who've tried and failed to leave the industry and one who became an accountant for a fortune 500 (and now 'mom' too!). Anyways, I've gone off on a tangent. My original point was unless you're getting those big-tipping payouts every night (eg: the million dollar a year Vegas bottle service girls) serving likely isn't as good as it "feels" |
Definitely. In my experience the waitstaff who most vigorously support the tipping culture are the ones who don't keep exact track of their tips and heavily overestimate their average hourly pay. They are also the ones who gamble the most on scratch-offs, keno, etc.