I do love an interesting thread, but surely this will end soon.
Steve H., my apologies for warping your statements. And yes, i feel $10 at the low end starting wage for a server is too low.
Justin, we're talking servers...not fast food counter workers, not cooks, air traffic controllers, teachers, or nurses.
Everyone we're discussing what servers are "worth" - not what they're actually taking home, not what impact it has on the price of your meal, not the overall impact on society of these hypothetical wages.....
Steve A., thanks for bring up some numbers
I agree with Matthew D, if in terms of going Robin Hood, he would be implying that we determine what positions are being grossly overpaid considering their "worth" and redistribute that wealth among those who are undervalued in their professions.
Kyle, of course brings up the valid point of health care in the restaurant profession, which has a huge impact.
Now, obviously Paul and i disagree and love to warp each others words to fit our perceptions. So, i'll keep this as brief as possible.
The negative bias i perceive in your statements relates directly to you opinion that "serving" is a temporary position for most people.
I hold the contrary opinion that many people do "serve" as a career choice.
Many servers i know, left serving after receiving their bachelors degrees only to return to serving after working in their "career" for a few years. And many BAs, BSs, MAs have found that they are more financially secure (and generally happier) serving than working in the areas in which they hold degrees.
We obviously disagree on the issue of public safety, but just to be clear nurses don't make what i would consider to be "good" money and certainly don't make anywhere near what they are "worth".
They do get paid to wash their hands, however you may view it. They are also paid to follow specific sets of guidelines laid out to insure the safety and well being of their patients/guests/customers.
Any nurses that want to speak up about hand washing procedures at the hospitals would surely be able to enlighten us about the amount of time you spend washing your hands while at work.
my guess is this - six times and hour at least, lets say it takes an even minute to wash/dry to make the math easy, an 8 hour shift; so high estimate is 48 minutes of an eight hour shift spent washing their hands (4 hours out of forty) , lets low ball it at 12 minutes (3 times and hour, 30 seconds to wash)... still 1 hour of a forty hour week being paid to wash your hands
Servers are paid to serve, really?
Then i suppose we can all stop washing our hands now, sheesh thank goodness because that was a lot of work.
you know, every time we handle the money, handle food, clear an empty plate, i'll use a lot less lotion for sure, no more dry skin for me
Everyone can stop wearing aprons and all black, all orders will be placed at the counter and all orders will be "served" to the customers. No more need for ServSafe classes, no need to know any ingredients that may contain allergens, no need to check to see if anything is expired in the front of house...all we have to do is serve the food to the customers.....SWEET
This apparently is the heart of our disagreements Paul, because i believe that "servers" are paid to do much more than serve.
Is it not the server who listened diligently to your oh, so complicated order and your explanation of your allergy to foreign green ingredients and how each item of food must not touch any other item of food on the plate?
Was it not the server who hand rolled each piece of polished silverware which you now place at your lips?
Was it not the server who cleaned off the baby vomit from the previous guests visit to your now sanitized and sparkling table top?
Was it not the server who spoke up to the angry chef about the unsavory brown lettuce placed upon your salad?
Was it not the server who cleaned out the ice bin after a wayward glass shattered near by?
Was it not the server who cut you off after four drinks and made you drink two cups of coffee and four waters before he let you leave the bar?
Wasn't it the server who remembered your name and your favorite drink?
And yes Kyle, the point is moot, most servers are not high school students.
Some are college students, but as many former college students will attest "just trying to make money on the side" is not how i would describe serving.
More like trying to pay rent, books, groceries, a few beers, the phone bill, and a party or two.
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Paul, i agree to disagree
If the chains wouldn't take it too seriously that would be a great tag line for a local food forum/network "Rob from the Chains and Give to the Locals"
shawn
