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from CnewsPubs.com - Opinion
Date August 24 2008 | Topic: Randall Grantham

Next time you’re in a bar and lookin’ for somethin’ to toast,
Don’t forget our friend who deserves it the most.
The bartender listens to our problems and deals with our weird trips.
And tries to make a living depending on our tips.
So hard to be a bartender.
Blues for Bartenders–Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin

By Randall Grantham, Community Columnist

People have been asking me to write this article for years. Even before the current economic downturn, this was a subject near and dear to the hearts of many employees who we come into contact with on a daily basis. These workers are suffering from the stumbling economy to a greater extent than everyone else (except those who have no jobs at all). And they’ve frequently asked me to address this issue.

Who are these people? They are the waiters and servers at your favorite restaurant. They are the people who bring you your food and drink. They have the power in their hands to make sure it’s served at the proper time and temperature. Or to have it served with that little something extra, that you may or may not have requested.

Most every other worker in the US and in the state of Florida has the right to receive a mandated minimum wage of $6.55 or $6.79 per hour, respectively. The workers who are on the front lines and also receive tips from customers need only be paid $3.77 in Florida or $2.13 by federal law.

This economic not-a-recession has cut through all of the workplace. Construction is down. Retail shopping has taken a hit. Real estate sales are low but recovering a bit. If you work in those sectors and can get work, your pay is pretty consistent.

What is happening in the food service industry is that people are still going out, yet they are cutting back when it comes to tips. This is especially true when you factor in the higher prices that are being charged on the menu as a result of the higher expenses that the restaurant business has to pay. What this means is that people are saving money on the backs of those who can afford it least!

I wasn’t always a good tipper. I used to be a terrible tipper, a cheapskate, a tight-wad. Who knows how many times somebody may have spit in my food. But then, I had an epiphany. It happened in Old Homosassa at a drive-thru liquor store.

We had run out of vodka and took the short drive to the bar/restaurant/liquor store by the old Sugar Mill ruins. (I won’t name the place, but if you can’t find it with those hints, stay home.) After we ordered the bottle and handed the attendant the money through the drive-up window, we were waiting for our change. I remember my wife telling me to tip the guy and I questioned her. “Why should I tip the drive-thru liquor store worker?” She insisted I tip the guy and I reluctantly gave him one dollar.

The next night we were out at one of the other local hangouts and happened to see the same guy who had waited on us at the liquor store. He waved at us and, the next thing I know, the waitress was bringing us two more drinks — compliments of our friend from the night before.

A $1 tip earned us two cocktails. That’s what I call a good return on an investment.

I’m not saying that this will happen to you. These servers are often single mothers, working students or people working a second job to support their families. They need and deserve these tips. The employers aren’t paying them squat and tips are assumed to make up the difference. Plus, as my experience shows, it’s good Karma.

This doesn’t necessarily apply to bartenders at your favorite drinking establishment. There, according to some in management (Bonnie), the people behind the bar make more than the managers directly above them. In that instance the heftiness of the tip is in your interest — if you want to be served promptly and would like some alcohol in your drink.

Overall, the rule is, “If you can’t afford to tip, you can’t afford to go out.”

From HispanicBusiness.com
Aug. 4, 2008
Daniel Victor–The Patriot-News

You just handed Molly Turner $3 after she poured you a $2.75 draft beer at Spice, the downtown Harrisburg hot spot. She hands you a quarter back.

This is the moment when the bartender, 38, makes a living. This is what decides whether the Lower Paxton Twp. resident can afford to take two beach trips per month like she used to, or whether she has to continue to live paycheck to paycheck.

It used to be most people would reach into their wallets and find another $1 bill to give her.

Now, Turner said, more and more people are just giving that quarter. And it has cost her a few hundred dollars per month.

“If you can’t afford to come out, then don’t come out,” she said.

Part of the problem for servers who count on tip money is that people are listening. People are going out less and spending less when they do go out during the economic downturn.

All of that cuts into servers’ earnings, and it’s forced John Burkholder, a Spice waiter, to work a lot harder.

Burkholder, 26, of Harrisburg, said he’s found that he has to step it up just to approach what he used to make on a lunch shift. He makes more trips to refill drinks and tries harder to anticipate needs.

Improving his performance as a waiter makes it more likely he’ll get the 20 percent tips he needs, he said. During lunch hour Wednesday, a group of five men and a group of three women left him 20 percent tips.

“You have to pretty much be the best server ever and make them feel like crap for leaving you anything less than you deserve,” he said.

Customers are more thrifty, too. Burkholder said people often order free water.

Turner said she’s noticed more people ask for a bar’s specialty and drink specials. Pitchers of beer are popular.

Several servers in the midstate said they’re hurt by fewer customers, rather than stinginess on tips.

Business usually booms in the summer at the Cocoa Grill, just off Hersheypark Drive in Hummelstown. The diner offers a quick meal for tourists, and it’s home to a load of regulars, largely senior citizens.

But this summer, waitress Mary Zeigler has seen her tips go down by about 25 percent.

Donna Becker of Lebanon often eats at the diner using her employee discount instead of cooking at home, she said.

Four waitresses who just got off the lunch shift Thursday had several theories, including decreased tourism and the uncertainty of an election year.

Some people spend less. Some share plates. Others might have ordered a cup of soup with a sandwich before, but not anymore.

“It doesn’t look like it’d affect our tip,” said Nancy Masker of Palmyra. “But if they were paying $10 before and now they’re paying $7, our tip goes down.”

When Aaron Aiken worked out the budget with his wife, they settled on $25 per month on entertainment.

That usually allows the 22-year-old from Highspire one or two outings per month, usually to the Capitol Diner or McDonald’s, he said.

But the few times he goes out, he still takes care of the wait staff, he said.

“When you go out to the diner, it’s not like you’re tipping a lot, because it’s just a small meal,” Aiken said. “If it’s a good waitress, I don’t skip out too much on the tip.”

HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR TIP: Ready for some mental math? Here’s a way to determine your tip without using a calculator. Let’s say your bill comes to $30.

Step 1: Move the decimal point over one place, so $30.00 becomes $3.00. That’s 10 percent of the bill — remember that number.

Step 2: To leave a 20 percent tip, multiply that number by two. $3 times 2 is $6, or 20 percent of your $30 bill. To leave a 15 percent tip, take the number you got for 10 percent and divide it by 2. In our example, $3 divided by 2 is $1.50. That’s 5 percent. Now take the number you got for 5 percent ($1.50) and add it to the number you got for 10 percent ($3). That’s $4.50, or 15 percent. Or, if you’re leaving a 20 percent tip, you can take the check’s total and divide by five.

A tip on tips: If you aren’t good at math, some cell phones have calculators. Check the tools on your phone menu.

Source: Copyright (C) 2008 The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa.