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November 2012 Moms
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Any fellow waitresses?

karkissy09karkissy09 member
in November 2012 Moms
I recently started working 2 nights a week at a local restaurant. I got my first paycheck yesterday and am more than disappointed.

Starting rate is 4.00 an hour and for 8 hours worth of work I got 40 in tips. They combine tips and we get them with our paycheck in cash. According to my paystub I was supposed to get 50 in tips but only got 40.

8 hours of work and I got 65. I don't even feel like my time is worthwhile right now and I'm considering looking for a waitressing job elsewhere. Do you mind telling me how your checks and tips are set up and how much you make in general?
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Re: Any fellow waitresses?

  • ssmb_clarinetssmb_clarinet member
    I am not a waitress....but if I saw my check and it was that small I wouldn't even bother...hope you find something better soon!
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  • Jenner37Jenner37 member

    I serve 2 nights a week as well for a total of about 8 hours, I make $4.60 an hour or something, my pay checks are about $10-$20 a week aka nothing. I get to take my cash home the night I make it and its anywhere from $50-$120. 

    You should definitely look elsewhere. Also curious, how many tables in your section and how many servers are on the floor at a time, that usually determines how much you make. 

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  • atrinh11atrinh11 member

    I am not currently a waitress, but I have spent plenty of time in restaurants in the past. Honestly, I would never work at a place that pooled tips. I like to keep what I earned, and like PP said, bring it home with me that night. I feel like if you are a good server, some people recognize that and reward you with healthy tips. If I worked my a** off all night to get the best tips possible, I would not want to pool it with people who might not be working as hard, I would want to keep it.

    As far as server's hourly wages and paychecks, those are almost always a joke. When I first started serving in AZ, the hourly rate was $2.18. I almost fell out of my chair when they told me that. It has since gone up since then, but I have had more $0 paychecks than a person can imagine from my years serving. I originally started serving in Oregon, and there (and a few other states) servers make the ACTUAL minimum wage. The switch to the low server wage through me for a total loop at first.

    I would suggest looking for something different.

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  • karkissy09karkissy09 member
    I'm in a super small town. We have usually 2 waitresses and we don't have sections...we just take turns on tables. The owner bartends...probably making 5 to 10 drinks each weeknight and gets a 1/3 of our tips...
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  • Jenner37Jenner37 member

    imagekarkissy09:
    I'm in a super small town. We have usually 2 waitresses and we don't have sections...we just take turns on tables. The owner bartends...probably making 5 to 10 drinks each weeknight and gets a 1/3 of our tips...

    I cannot bold, but the fact that the owner gets any of your tips is BS! You definitely need to look elsewhere.

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  • karkissy09karkissy09 member
    Thanks for the input ladies! I gave my 2 weeks tonight. Such a relief!
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  • BabyMakes 3BabyMakes 3 member
    I used to waitress for a few years back in college. We absolutely did not pool tips! Yuck! It would really depend on the night or what hours I was working, but I would make close to 100 on a great night, and 30 or so on a so-so shift. We would give a bit to the hostess and that was it. And the hourly rate was minimum wage, which I think at the time was around $8.00. If I were you, I would stay there for a few months to get the experience, if you can afford it, and then move on to another maybe higher end restaurant. I worked in a small Bistro type place, but I had many people who moved on to higher end restaurants. Including a best friend who still works there and makes over $30,000 a year working 3 or 4 days a week!
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  • kateraidkateraid member
    What kind of restaurant do you work in? I work in a Steakhouse.  Canada is a bit different.  I make $8.90/hr and shifts are usually 5 hours tops (Just work dinner).  I can make anywhere from $100-$200 in tips a night.
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  • ironmom5ironmom5 member
    OP, is this your first serving job? If so, I'd start at a chain if you could. After that, it's easy to move around. If you can handle an Olive Garden on a Friday night, you can handle anything.

    It's slow at first, but I never made less than 9/hr, even at first. Paychecks are a joke, pretty much just the server wage to cover taxes and a few extra dollars to cover the drive to the bank lol.
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  • Sprite2012Sprite2012 member
    I waitressed for 4 years in college.  I also bartended for a year in college, then Saturday nights when I first started working out of college for about 3 years.  Just forget the paycheck.  All restaurants pay the minimum required by the state (in college I made $2.13/hour).  It's all about the tips.  You have to put in your time to get the good shifts, good sections, good tables.  No restaurant manager in their right mind would put a new server in their best sections.  You have to work your way up to it.  Waiting tables put me through college.  I didn't have help to pay bills, so I had to work on top of going to university full time.  I made $500-$700 per week when I was the lead server.  Be patient and you'll see the benefits!
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