Oh yes, and about the wages and tips for servers thing. First off, I could never be a server because I lack patience, math skills and I can't carry more than two plates at once. So, hey, mad props to the servers out there.
I do kinda feel for the servers who are forced to accept lower than minimum wage just because they "might" get a lot of tips. That doesn't seem fair. If they're always working slow days, or the customers are cheap, then yeah, they could be making only $3 an hour!
HOWEVER, I don't want to hear it from servers who get paid minimum wage and THEN complain about how little they make. In 1998, I had a roommate who worked great weekday and weekend shifts as a server for a very popular bar and grill (one of those 250 beers on tap places). She received minimum wage plus tips. It's now $6.75 per hour, but I think minimum was about $5.25 at that time. She came home cranky one Friday night ranting about what a bad night it was and how she hardly got any tips. I asked her how much she made in tips and she said she "only" made $90!!!! That's *not* including the hourly wage! Flabbergasted, and not knowing what is normal, I asked her what she would normally make for a Friday night and she said it was usually around $150!!! Come on! The tips she would get in one evening was more than I made in one week!!!!!!!!!
I'm sorry, I don't want to hear anyone's whining about how they "hardly" make anything as a server....some of them make big $$$.
.....Kelly