$$How much is a server worth? $$

My world view will not be shaken if the "best" servers make more than most college educated folks. If someone like Jessica Simpson can make it rich, then anything can happen.

now, Steve P. - the hash pipe comment was uncalled for and i expect an apology

and i'll stick with my high end of $75 an hour

Shawn,

Regarding my comment, It was not meant specifically as an accusation that you are dabbling with mind altering substances...rather it was meant as a mildly humorous and somewhat broad suggestion that something has apparently affected your sense of reality. You sir...have my most sincere apology that my attempt at levity has offended you.

I would be more interested in Servers receiving a Standard Pay Grade with Benefits; including Health/Life Insurance. It makes SO much of a difference than just throwing money at people and hoping they make a better life by serving Food.


That's the last I have to say about this subject.

I may have low balled that estimate, the high end should probably op out around $75 per hour.

The ability to under estimate the amount of skill needed to execute the "serving" position amazes me.

The ability to multitask is obviously very undervalued.

In what other profession do the needs and wants of up to 30 individuals have to be managed by one person in a environment designed to place the product in the customers hands immediately.

Most of you multitask, but rarely do you have to provide an immediate response for all of your customers.

For instance, when i'm on the floor on a busy night this is what is going through my head on one pass to the counter/kitchen (roughly 3 to 5 minute time frame)-

OK Shawn, against my better judgment I'll (mostly) put the weak attempts at humor aside for a moment...and using my own experiences, try and explain why your previous post made me chuckle and shake my head in bewilderment.

I spent 25 years as an air traffic controller...29 years if you count military time. Using your "3 to 5 minute time frame", I tried to imagine what my typical "pass" consisted of and came up with the following:

Decend the United Airbus so it doesn't hit the Northwest 747
Climb the Piper so it doesn't smack the Cessna
Vector three aircraft onto final approach...at three different airports
Clear two or three other aircraft for departure.
Reroute the UPS 747 so that he saves 10 minutes and $1000 dollars worth of fuel on a overseas flight.
Cuss out my best friend for sticking me with the bar bill last night.
Yell at the supervisor to get off his dead ass and call down to the cafeteria to check the score of the game.
All the while constantly monitor the other 30 airplanes under my control.

So my question Shawn is if your hypothetical server is worth $75 an hour what was I worth ? I can assure you the FAA didn't think it was $75 dollars an hour.

I'm not trying to put what I did "up here" and what you do "down there"...I have the utmost respect for those of you who spend your day making our dining experiences positive. Rather I am attempting to explain through example why I believe your perception is perhaps a little out of touch with the reality of the working world.

And Steve, I think that sounds a little more important/stressful than someone getting their beer and pizza! lol

Wow ? You really know how to fish don't you ? No messing around with the little ones, just go right for the trophies OK, I'll look at the bait.

On one hand knowing how hard these folks work and how much effort most of them put into the job I'm inclined to be quite generous in my estimate. On the other hand their are a LOT of professions out there that are (in my mind) grossly under paid when you consider the importance of the position (teachers, police and firefighters come immediately to mind)...So my thought process ends up going something like "how does one justify xxx for a server when a teacher only makes xx".

Sorry, no numbers, I'm only nibbling...this is one hook I'm not swallowing

This is an easy one. For a restaurant of type X, you plot the long term demand for the jobs working as servers vs the long term supply of jobs and find the point where the two lines intersect.

Heck, dont even have to consider how "hard" they are working or the "value" they return.

Wow ? You really know how to fish don't you ? No messing around with the little ones, just go right for the trophies OK, I'll look at the bait.

On one hand knowing how hard these folks work and how much effort most of them put into the job I'm inclined to be quite generous in my estimate. On the other hand their are a LOT of professions out there that are (in my mind) grossly under paid when you consider the importance of the position (teachers, police and firefighters come immediately to mind)...So my thought process ends up going something like "how does one justify xxx for a server when a teacher only makes xx".

Sorry, no numbers, I'm only nibbling...this is one hook I'm not swallowing

This is an easy one. For a restaurant of type X, you plot the long term demand for the jobs working as servers vs the long term supply of jobs and find the point where the two lines intersect.

Heck, dont even have to consider how "hard" they are working or the "value" they return.

SH** !!! I think you've got it ! This is so simple....yet so profound !!! An awesome solution Rob, look for a little something extra in your paycheck next week.

Yep, here folks, is a perfect example of someone who is not paid for what they do...but for what they can do.

10 Jobs With High Pay and Minimal Schooling Required!

1. Air Traffic Controllers: $117,200
2. Industrial Production Managers: $77,670
3. First-Line Police and Detective Supervisors: $69,300
4. Funeral Director: $49,620
5. Police and Sheriff Patrol Officers: $47,460

Servers are worth more than all of these jobs? I don't think so.



http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/ar ... egotiation

10 Jobs With High Pay and Minimal Schooling Required!

1. Air Traffic Controllers: $117,200
2. Industrial Production Managers: $77,670
3. First-Line Police and Detective Supervisors: $69,300
4. Funeral Director: $49,620
5. Police and Sheriff Patrol Officers: $47,460

Servers are worth more than all of these jobs? I don't think so.



http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/ar ... egotiation

NBA players make a fortune....how do you place value on someone?

10 Jobs With High Pay and Minimal Schooling Required!

1. Air Traffic Controllers: $117,200
2. Industrial Production Managers: $77,670
3. First-Line Police and Detective Supervisors: $69,300
4. Funeral Director: $49,620
5. Police and Sheriff Patrol Officers: $47,460

Servers are worth more than all of these jobs? I don't think so.

I due be a purfect xample of number won.

NBA players make a fortune....how do you place value on someone?

By the amount of money people are willing to pay for them.

When people stop paying $100 for a NBA ticket the players value will go down. There are also a lot more servers than NBA players, supply and demand at work. A professional athlete is maybe the hardest job in the world to get.

My point is: if servers are making $100,000 per year, what will everyone else have to make to afford to eat in a restaurant? Welcome to the $100 entree at Olive Garden.

NBA players make a fortune....how do you place value on someone?

By the amount of money people are willing to pay for them.

When people stop paying $100 for a NBA ticket the players value will go down. There are also a lot more servers than NBA players, supply and demand at work. A professional athlete is maybe the hardest job in the world to get.

My point is: if servers are making $100,000 per year, what will everyone else have to make to afford to eat in a restaurant? Welcome to the $100 entree at Olive Garden.

When professional owners are charging an arm and a leg for a family of four to see a pro sports event, what part of that arm and a leg is the professional athlete not entitled to? I understand that pro athletes make too much (WAY TOO MUCH), but they are surely entitled to whatever their fair share of "too much" is -- for they possess a skill set very few have. [So am I making the same point as you, Justin?]

The $100 entree at Olive Garden brings up an important correction. Instead of arguing what servers fairly deserve in today's economy (as $75 dollars seems fair and ridiculous all at the same time), why don't we consider what incomes need to be corrected to be in line with what the most of us are making? For example, I'll prob make 45-55K as a starting college professor, if and when I get a job. On one hand, that income seems reasonable and livable. But, I also find myself wanting to make the "what is my actual value?" argument, and, in turn, argue for the equivalent to the server making $75 an hour.

Our last attempt at controlling corporate greed went over real well. We handed over a bunch of money to the richest of the rich to sustain their companies and then did little to curtail their salaries, bonuses, etc. Now that wasn't very smart was it? No wonder a server wants his share of the "out-of-control" pie! It's the American way, after all.

OK Shawn, against my better judgment I'll (mostly) put the weak attempts at humor aside for a moment...

Now Steve, don't do go and do anything drastic like putting aside the humor!

and i'll stick with my high end of $75 an hour

Okay, you can stick with it. Now how do you pay for it?

By the amount of money people are willing to pay for them.

Amen, and

My point is: if servers are making $100,000 per year, what will everyone else have to make to afford to eat in a restaurant? Welcome to the $100 entree at Olive Garden.

Amen.

Olive Garden isn't even worth the price they charge now...

We handed over a bunch of money to the richest of the rich to sustain their companies and then did little to curtail their salaries, bonuses, etc.

We never should have give that money out in the first place. For that matter, the government shouldn't have had so much money that such an option actually seemed like a good idea...

I completely agree with both of you on the pro sports thing, except that I'm not willing to say that professional athletes make too much money. Very few people have the necessary skill set, and for some reason people are willing to pay that kind of money, so they should get their share of the pie.

As for why people are willing to pay that kind of money, well I can only ascribe it to people's need to feel like they belong to a team and bicker with other people over why one side is better than the other. Apparently Republicans vs. Democrats is too complicated for some people, and they have to find their conflict elsewhere.