Sarah Sketches

13 Jul 2012
Comments

7 notes

Super feel-good Friday. Watching this made me tear up quite a bit.

If you have ever worked waitstaff, you know it can be a tiring and often thankless job. A good tip can make someone’s day, week… MONTH.

I still remember when I was in high school working as a weekend waitress at Steak N’ Shake. A little old man would come in from time to time, sit in my section and order plain, black coffee. He’d make friendly conversation in between my waiting on other tables and ask how my schooling was going. He’d always leave behind a $10 tip.

My parent’s had hardly enough for us to barely scrape by on, so I used this money for my music lessons and doing Band activities through those extremely awkward high school years. Working hard in music allowed me to get enough of a scholarship to make college possible. Being in marching band taught me everything I value about hard work and positive leadership today.

Be good to your waitstaff - you never ever know how much it can mean to them.

Nowadays, every time I go to Steak N’ Shake, I make sure to pay it forward. It’s the least I can do.

I used to waitress in Michigan, where the minimum wage for tipped workers was $2.65 per hour. The Federal minimum wage for Tipped Employees is $2.13 per hour. That was set in 1992.

Most people don’t realize the tips are supposed to match up to at least minimum wage. Employers are required to match your pay if you didn’t make the state’s minimum wage but…. well who has ever had that happen? It’s also a factor that your wage is probably averaged out through the pay period. One “good” night might be enough for you to hit minimum wage for the whole two weeks.

Want to know what the wait staff in your state makes? Chart here: US Dept of Labor.