Servers wages

[keswick1uk]

Can someone help me. I am from the UK and a friend disagreed with the tipping in the USA. Well, you will be pleased I very much disagreed with him but used the argument that your wages were very poor and there was no minimum wage in Florida and so the tip was your pay, effectively.

He said the USA have a federal minimum wage of $5.15. Now, I know thats not high...but who is right, him, or me?.........

Please do sound off to your hearts content. I'd love to win this one..he was so high and mighty and its not even his home country!

(You will be pleased to hear I am the one with the booking not him!)

 

[jel0511]

Yes, there is a minimum wage in the US, but it doesn't apply to wait staff. There is a separate minimum and it is MUCH lower than the current minimum wage. Wait staff here in the US, really rely on their tip income to provide most of their income. Here in the US, it is customary to tip between 15% and 20% of the total bill.

 

[Jestocost]

The federal minimum wage is $5.15 per hour, but tipped employees, including wait staff, only are required to receive $2.13 an hour. For a 40-hour work week, that would total a whopping $85.20. Florida does not have a separate minimum wage law, so the federal standard would apply. Most employers, and I assume that means WDW, take full advantage of the opportunity to pay the lowest possible rate.

In addition, companies with tipped employees are required to withhold taxes from their direct pay (hourly wages) based on tips received. Smaller restaurants usually will rely on employees reporting of tips, but many large food and beverage establishments estimate tips received based on hours worked or gross receipts. In that case, most or all of the wages can be erased by taxes and tips are all that are left. I don't know what the practice is at WDW, but I would guess they withhold based on some estimation. Maybe a current or former CM can speak to that.

The bottom line is that the direct wages received by wait staff are token, at best, and frequently are non-existent. In my book, you win the debate hands down!

 

[chobie]

Don't forget that health care is a privilege and not a right in this country. Though I would guess that many of the servers that work for Disney get health care benefits, you can bet that almost no servers in non-Disney places get health care. Even those that do offer it rarely give the servers enough hours to qualify for it and even then the co-pays and out-of-pocket expenses can keep most people from going to the doctor until it is a life-threatening emergency.

 

[CPM]

Originally posted by chobie
Don't forget that health care is a privilege and not a right in this country. Though I would guess that many of the servers that work for Disney get health care benefits, you can bet that almost no servers in non-Disney places get health care. Even those that do offer it rarely give the servers enough hours to qualify for it and even then the co-pays and out-of-pocket expenses can keep most people from going to the doctor until it is a life-threatening emergency.

I know that most chain restaurants offer it. It's probably the small guys that can't offer it to their employees. I have been in the business most of my life and will not work where it is not offered. You usually have to work a minimum of 30 hours a week to qualify.
The co-pays just keep growing, it's amazing.

 

[desertbloom]

I'm a waitress and the federal minimum wage is 2.63/hr. I have had many tables spent 200.00 on booze,kept me running like a mad woman all night and then stiffed me at the end. It is very frustrating how many people think a 5-10% tip is acceptable. I mean, if I do a lousy job that's one thing but when I bust my *ss all night and you leave a measly tip... it is very upsetting. Waitressing is hard and thankless work. People let their children throw carrots all over the floor, leave their booger rags on the table, ask for ketchup and when you get back, decide they want mustard too... and then a refill on their drink. Sorry to vent but i just don't think people really understand unless they have done the job. So if your server is good to you, please be good to them. I really love the people who leave me copies of the Bible as my tip...LOL. Maybe my landlord will take one as payment for the rent!! ) hehe.

 

[oogieboogie]

I tip 20-25% at disney. They always are worth it.

 

[suzannews]

Disney servers make $2.50 an hour.

 

[MikeWazowski]

Originally posted by oogieboogie
I tip 20-25% at disney. They always are worth it.

I agree "they always are wirth it" and find myself tipping more in WDW. Not, to say I would not tip that much for good service in the outside.

 

[pammy1027]

We use a "Pool System" at my company and automatically charge all guests 20% for all F&B charges. This money is distributed equitably to all employees in the service area. 100% of the gratuity is on their paychecks, so it's also taxed. From what I understand, cash tipped employees pretty much get away with claiming whatever amount of tips they want, so they probably aren't paying taxes on anything over minimum wage.

We pay our servers anywhere from $1.50 - $4.00 per hour, but guarantee them no less than minimum wage per hour. For the most part, they are making $35K per year and that's not too shabby and it's anyone's choice what profession they choose.

Hope this information helps...

 

[nigel-bigel]

From what I understand, cash tipped employees pretty much get away with claiming whatever amount of tips they want, so they probably aren't paying taxes on anything over minimum wage.

I waitressed for many years through college, and we had to claim as earned tipped income:

1. All tips received on a credit card.

2. 8% of all food and beverage sales paid by cash.

This was a while ago, but I do remember being told by management that the IRS rules assume waitstaff earns at least 8% of their sales in tips.

This all came about in the mid-80s. Before that, waiters could claim they made $1.00 per hour in tips, and the rest was untaxed!


Nicole

 

[Jestocost]

Originally posted by desertbloom
I'm a waitress and the federal minimum wage is 2.63/hr

Actually, it is $2.13 per hour. See here:

http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/q-a.htm

Originally posted by nigel-bigel
This was a while ago, but I do remember being told by management that the IRS rules assume waitstaff earns at least 8% of their sales in tips.

Good catch. You are, of course, correct. It is the responsibility of the employer to insure that withholding is done on at least 8 percent of gross receipts. The employee is technically responsible for reporting anything over and above that, but we know how that goes.

When I was a waiter in D.C. in the mid-80s we earned $2.08 per hour ($2.01 minimum plus 7 cents for uniform maintenance) and had withholding done for I think 7 percent of gross receipts. I actually used to average about 11-12 percent of sales, which is kind of lame, but I made a lot of money.

The thing I saw in D.C. that probably applies to WDW too is that you get a lot of people who are on the biggest trip of their lifetime and don't have a lot of experience with what is expected. As a result, I'd get people who would rave about the food, the service and everything else, then leave me $7 on a $110 tab. When you saw people counting out their payment in coins, you knew you were in trouble. Of course, I also waited on Senators and Representatives who certainly knew better, but were just jerks or cheapskates.

 

[minster22]

The days of paying only taxes on an assumed 8% tip are long gone. The IRS now has a program for tipped employees (Servers being only one of a group of tipped employees) where the employer enters into an agreement with the IRS that absolves them of responsibility of not withholding enough taxes from the employees. They agree to take out taxes on an agreed upon percentage of tips based on the average checks/credit card tips within that particular restaurant. In the restaurant I work in, the percentage is 13%. Now of course there are times when I do not actually get a 13% tip, yet it is what I pay taxes on.Admittedly, it usually goes the other way, but we do pay taxes very close to what we actually make in tips.Many restaurants do this because the IRS cannot come after the owner for not deducting the proper tax from an employees wages.

 

[floridafam]

Kind of off topic but...

I always tip in cash, even if I put the bill on my CC.

Is this okay? Does this make a difference to anyone?

 

[minster22]

Many people think that by giving cash as a tip, especially instead of the credit card tip that the server dooes not have to report the tip, or the full amount of the tip. With the system I described above , none of that matters because we pay taxes on a 13% tip whether it was cash, credit, 5% or 30%. I have heard that some restaurants do not pay credit card tips immediately to the servers, not really sure if that really happens or not. Thanks for thinking of us though!!

 

[CPM]

Originally posted by minster22
I have heard that some restaurants do not pay credit card tips immediately to the servers, not really sure if that really happens or not. Thanks for thinking of us though!!

yes, it really happens! I prefer the cash!

 

[jubileegirl]

Desertbloom, please say you were only joking about people leaving you a bible as a tip!

 

[minster22]

There have been many times I have gotten a small card with a Bible passage as my tip. I consider myself a very spiritual person and find this bordering on offensive. I know they mean well but ...........

 

[kozmo]

I always go in a big group,so they always figure in the tip,but i always give extra,because i have a big loud noisy group and take up a lot of space and extra tables.

 

[hmp2z]

We tip 20% of our total bill (even if it includes alcohol - there was a poster here who said they didn't have to tip on alcohol, but we always do!) for full service, and 15% for buffet. I think this is fairly normal. Some people I know only leave $1-2 for the buffet servers, which I think is just terrible! Just sit in the Golden Corral and watch those servers rush around, cleaning tables, getting everyone new plates, refilling drinks, and then try to tell me those people only deserve a dollar for all that work!
Cheers!
Heather W