Ask HN: Would you swap your desk for a restaurant shift?

[dorcy]

My friend just came from working at her sister's restaurant and was telling me how hard of a day it was, and how they are struggling with employee turnover. Then it got me thinking, what if there was an app that corporate workers could use to pick up shifts at other struggling businesses? Would you ever use it?

[al_borland]

How would that work? Am I taking a vacation day from my corporate job so I can make $12/hr bussing tables? I’m not sure why I’d ever want to do that.

What would happen is this app would just turn into another form of gig work for unemployed people, and it would be a nightmare. Imagine going to a restaurant and no one knows what they’re doing, because they’re only there for a day. The restaurant would probably lose money due to waste and the bad reputation.

[throw455765]

You make a lot more than $12 an hour if you include tips.

Here in Seattle, at a regular sit down restaurant, servers can average almost $40 an hour, even more if they worked the dinner shift.

[al_borland]

How good do you think the tips will be for someone waiting table who has 0 experience and doesn’t know the menu? This also sounds like a big risk if they wait on a table with any food allergies.

That’s why I figured bussing tables, or some other back of house job would make more sense. Maybe the waitstaff shares tips with everyone; I think it depends on the place… but are full time waitstaff going to want to share tips with someone making $200k who is cosplaying as a service worker for a day?

[scarface_74]

This exists for bartenders.

https://www.shiftnow.com/blog/bartender-gig-apps

[brettgriffin]

That's for experienced bartenders to find new gigs. A lot service industry jobs have similar networks to help match a supply/demand mismatch.

The parent comment was asking why someone with a 'desk job', often making >$100/hr, would knock off work to go make a fraction of the hourly pay for significantly harder work.

[LarsAlereon]

They're struggling with employee turnover because the boss won't pay competitive wages. Why won't the boss pay competitive wages? I have some ideas, but rather than project I'll just say that's the problem to solve.

[muzani]

I ran a coffee cart once. The money simply doesn't add up unless you have economy of scale like Starbucks.

In software, you're being paid to work on a project that loses millions of dollars per year, until it becomes a unicorn then starts to make millions of dollars per week. A guy who can improve ad click rates by 0.1% is worth several millions. Even without the economy of scale, the profit margin is 90%

In the food industry, you're buying a steak for $10, selling it for $20. But there's labor, rent, utilities, etc. Very often it boils down to $18 costs for a $20 steak.

But your competitor just quit his job to become his own boss. His dad and wife thinks he's an idiot and should just stick with the corporate job. They all put down half a million dollars on the restaurant. The numbers differ, but it's usually half the price of large house in the area. He's losing $1000 per month, but on some months he makes $2000. He'll probably get divorced if he calls it quits, so he's plodding on hoping for more profitable months. He works 14 hour shifts with his wife and will do so until he's 70.

Some of these people are immigrants. Home might be at war. They have no way back and no other skills than cooking. The kids go to school and come home and prep stuff in the kitchen. They're not playing games or chatting on the internet. They're helping mom and dad eat.

In a free market, restaurants are the losers. They're the least efficient way to turn time into money. Even washing cars has a better profit margin.

[toomuchtodo]

This. Demographic trends means prime working age population is shrinking every year, while undocumented immigrants who filled these jobs are being deported or otherwise disincentivized from filling these jobs. Those seeking this labor are now exposed to the reality of the shrinking pool of workers in this part of the labor market.

I won’t work a shift, but I’ll help anyone who isn’t unionized yet unionize. Wages have been stagnant for decades, and the minimize wage isn’t a living wage. Therefore, this is a perfect time to push the wages and working condition quality up as demand for labor exceeds supply for the foreseeable future.

https://modernrestaurantmanagement.com/restaurant-industrys-... (“Beginning last year through 2027 4.1 million workers will retire annually, and there are not enough younger workers to replace them. If every unemployed worker found a job tomorrow, we would still be short by at least 1.2 million.”)

https://www.benefitnews.com/news/why-the-restaurant-industry...

https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...

https://www.axios.com/results?q=Labor%20shortage&sort=1

[throwmeaway222]

Because they have customers that say if you raise prices they will stop eating there

[coolguy4]

It would be cool to do some evening shifts at a restaurant, for the novelty and the social aspect (compared with staring at a screen all day)... plus the work is cognitively very simplistic... quite relaxing compared to corporate life. The problem is, if I have a day job as an engineer, my regular income puts me in a high tax bracket. So, not only would I be earning close to minimum wage, I would be taxed at the highest tax rate on the minimum wage... so it really would be a waste of time. Progressive tax rates are what makes it unviable for high income earners to pick up a weekend or evening job.

[MeetingsBrowser]

> the work is cognitively very simplistic... quite relaxing compared to corporate life.

I don't have a ton of experience with restaurant kitchens, but I don't think they are known for being relaxed environments.

[brettgriffin]

I worked both front and back of house in restaurants in high school and college. It is true that the work is cognitively simple, but there is nothing relaxing about the work. Even if you could do the work tax-free, I assure you, you don't want to do it if you do not have to.

[6510]

Would some cook/work for discounts scheme be possible from a tax perspective? Something like, you work for x hours and bring y friends or coworkers then get a z discount?

[m463]

I have friends who have done stuff like this for fun.

Not for the money.

For example, one roommate of mine had a good day job, but would work thursday nights as a waiter at a high-end restaurant. He enjoyed talking to people. He also enjoyed convincing people to try higher priced treats.

I almost did the same thing with bartending when I was young. A bartender I knew talked me out of it, saying there was a dark side with lots of habitual alcoholics and more.

[dakiol]

I always thought about picking up some physically demanding job on weekends (like carrying boxes or something like that). It would serve me as exercise and I would get paid. Problem is i’m picky about the timing (e.g., not early in the morning, not when it’s hot, etc.)

[scarface_74]

I was a fitness instructor for well over a decade teaching in the mornings before work and evenings

[toomuchtodo]

Part time UPS package handler.

[scarface_74]

Why would anyone do that?

[sebst]

Absolutely!

When I was in my twenties, a friend of mine had a catering lease at a golf club. I never worked seriously in the catering industry, but I always enjoyed helping out there (in service, in the warehouse, in the kitchen). It was a welcome change from constantly staring at a screen, and at the end of the day, it was a different kind of tiredness (the physical kind, you know).

[knikes]

No. I got into corporate work to get away from the hell that is restaurant/retail work.

[wmeredith]

Absolutely not. I've done food service work. It sucks. Back of house is disgusting and dangerous. Front of house is demoralizing and infuriating. And the pay sucks unless you're getting tipped out a high end place and the only way to get there is with years of experience.

[dankwizard]

NO WAY JOSE

until AI inevitably takes my job

then sure

[paulcole]

Absolutely not.

[bjourne]

What makes you think that the average HN reader is qualified for restaurant work?

[gaws]

> Would you swap your desk for a restaurant shift?

lol no.