Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
26
Yes.
There are currently proposals in the UK for the living wage to become the minimum wage. I have no idea how the government or campaigners come up with their hourly figure - but everyone agrees there should be one rate for London and a lower rate for the rest of the country., to reflect the higher living costs. There will still be regional differences that will benefit some people more than others but we are a small country and I think it would be difficult to do otherwise. We shall have to live with the resentment that, once again, London benefits at the expense of the rest.
Very true. But what do you do when the living wage for entry level workers needs to be low six figures to afford a home and family? Clearly six figure salaries for low level positions isn’t a viable option. It almost seems that a true living wage in cities like San Francisco just isn’t possible.
yes a living wage is relative. A lot of service workers in Key West can not afford to live there and drive a good in from Miami or the surrounding areas. No you can’t have a busboy making 6 figures
But if the house is splitting that 20% between servers and BOH, how much is your server actually getting? And, I guess, the follow-up question is… Shouid you care?
We should only care how much FOH takes home if we are also equally concerned with how much BOH takes home.
In Seattle, service staff is paid the full minimum wage of $11+ an hour. Several restaurants here have switched to a service charge that can be redistributed to be able to equalize pay for all employees.
Have to say your first paragraph completely escapes me. As to the second, my point is that we have no way of knowing how, or even if, the house distributes that extra charge. Sure, a raised minimum wage equalizes things at the bottom, but leaving distribution of raised prices solely to the house is different. I get to pay 20% more but still may feel my server isn’t getting what my culture has considered a deserved amount. The math just doesn’t add up for me.
From a worker’s standpoint, the labor market is least amount he will accept in exchange for his skills and time on the job.
From an employer’s standpoint, the labor market is the least amount necessary she will pay to obtain the skills she wants for the position.
At some level How the employer and employee arrive at their respective market rates for that business isn’t really the customer’s concern; the customer’s main interest in a particular business is whether the perceived quality of the goods and services are offered at a price he is willing to pay, not setting the business’s labor practices for the owner.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
35
Good economic summary there, BoneA.
As in any other industry, there are issues of supply and demand. An employee knows how much s/he needs to earn to pay their bills. It doesnt really matter how that wage is made up - wage, tips, sales bonus, profit share. The important thing is the amount and the reliability of it being paid. Staff, who do not earn enough for their needs, leave and find other jobs.
If the point is the business logic then sure. If the point is rewarding a server for good service then burying a 20% surcharge in menu prices, and having no idea how it may be used by the house, doesn’t help me. I just think it would take an industry-wide change and many years for this to settle out to where it is in other parts of the world. But, then, I tend to over-think things.
I guess what makes waiters and waitresses that much more special than many other employees?
If tipping is the solution for living wage of the your wait staff, then why not start tipping the food preparation workers, cashiers at supermarkets, movie theater ushers, lifeguards…etc.
Drove by a wildly successful carwash close to home here in SE Michigan, and noticed a “Help Wanted” sign. The sign read, in large print, $10 per hour. Under that come-on, in smaller type–much smaller, was the statement: Hourly rate based on average tips given. I laughed out loud!
This is exactly what I wonder whenever I read or hear such discussions, but have been timid to say it. If minimum wage is so horrible, shouldn’t we be tipping everyone who earns minimum wage and does a good job.
I am Pakistani-American. I have family members who get paid much less than $15/hr (stereotypically) working at gas stations and manage to get by. These are families with children from middle school through college. It is hard, but not impossible.
I know folks in the SF bay area who share apartments because of the outrageous expenses; 4 to an apartment is not uncommon. However, for varying reasons, it’s advantageous for them to live there for the time being. Most will likely migrate elsewhere after they’ve accomplished their goals.
Probably the best example is the number of people who endure a 1 - 2 hr commute by car, train & bus into NYC every day then spend more time in the subway followed by a good walk. Many of these people make well into the 6 figure range but can’t afford to live in the nicer areas of NYC.
And even then you have to add in utilities . More than $ 800.00 a week . Even if you are sharing the rent , that’s tough . Let alone even getting a apartment with 50 people applying for the same apartment that you want .
