Are all Restaurants Understaffed now (2021)?

[Dr Fear 1290]

47 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

KXAN did a story on this last week and interviewed the Docs owner crying about not being able to find or keep people but they never said what the pay was. Just googled their ad and he's offering a whopping $2.13+tips.

That is standard for servers.

[Gene Parmesan 4064]

Is there some sort of verification process that shows their tips + baseline wage equals at least minimum wage?

My wife was a Sonic server in high school and she got a little more than the actual minimum wage + tips.  So given the flexibility and that location having good tips that was a really attractive job for young person, but then I could see another location with different owners being a completely shitty job if the customer base doesn't tip or the owners decide to do fraction of the minimum wage.

[Js1 87174]

14 minutes ago, Gene Parmesan said:

Is there some sort of verification process that shows their tips + baseline wage equals at least minimum wage?

My wife was a Sonic server in high school and she got a little more than the actual minimum wage + tips.  So given the flexibility and that location having good tips that was a really attractive job for young person, but then I could see another location with different owners being a completely shitty job if the customer base doesn't tip or the owners decide to do fraction of the minimum wage.

There's a lot of ways restaurants get around it - charging employees for walked tables, breakage, uniform costs + forced tip pools. Restaurants can take credit card processing fees out of tips if they choose to (3%).  

Forced tips pools are the worst - if you get stiffed, you're still on the hook for tipping out the host, the busser, the runner and the bartender. 

[Hook1997 5509]

5 hours ago, Brew said:

They are not independent contractors. Tip income is reported through a W-2 and part of your unemployment earnings just like your base pay. If you work for a place that isn’t handling it correctly, you could pick it up like 1099 income I suppose but most are handling it more correctly than not at this point. They have to guarantee a minimum wage, so they have to at a minimum be reporting some tip income.

Idk but every person I asked at the restaurants I’ve been to said the people that didn’t come back are still getting the states and bonus unemployment’s from the pandemic so the 6 month or what not limit is not in effect and won’t end until August.  Maybe they were full of shit but I doubt it.

[Royalfan5 2384]

2 minutes ago, Hook1997 said:

Idk but every person I asked at the restaurants I’ve been to said the people that didn’t come back are still getting the states and bonus unemployment’s from the pandemic so the 6 month or what not limit is not in effect and won’t end until August.  Maybe they were full of shit but I doubt it.

At some point I want to hear from the people that aren't working their old food service jobs any more, and not the employers bitching about not being able to find workers. It seems like we are refusing to look at the full picture, and take whatever the employer says at face value and without questions, and assume that must be it. 

[4th&Five 41984]

1 hour ago, Dr Fear said:

That is standard for servers.

Which is why they can't find people.

[The Ace of Aces 5377]

13 hours ago, Enchubben said:

The TX ones do but not the increased federal programs. Those are set to expire around Labor Day though. 

There is some truth to this, especially if you hit the right profile and get the TX max plus federal, but the impact is overblown. I think service industry folks have just moved on to other gigs.

A lot of service industry folks are among the 600,000 dead Americans too. 

[Dr Fear 1290]

2 minutes ago, The Ace of Aces said:

A lot of service industry folks are among the 600,000 dead Americans too. 

Unless we are talking about the Waffle House, servers are generally younger and certainly a very small part of covid deaths.

[Gene Parmesan 4064]

9 minutes ago, Js1 said:

There's a lot of ways restaurants get around it - charging employees for walked tables, breakage, uniform costs + forced tip pools. Restaurants can take credit card processing fees out of tips if they choose to (3%).  

Forced tips pools are the worst - if you get stiffed, you're still on the hook for tipping out the host, the busser, the runner and the bartender. 

Wouldn't the person being stiffed be the benefactor of pooling tips?  

[NeverMarryAStripper 22276]

4 hours ago, Js1 said:

They can work at Bucees for wages in the mid-teens, health care and vacation. 

It’s the employers, not the workers. We as a country are so quick to blame workers and not greedy employers, many of whom made huge profits in 2020 with reduced headcounts and just doing to-go 

Yes it's a good job for unskilled labor, but they will work you to death.

[Bill Brasky 1622]

In the equation of $2.13/hr + tips, that "+ tips" is pretty good for the servers and bartenders I know right now.   Average days its 20-30/hr in tips and close to 50/hr on the weekends.   That may not be enough to get by in Austin but you can make a decent living in this shithole area making that much.  

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, The Ace of Aces said:

A lot of service industry folks are among the 600,000 dead Americans too. 

link?

define "a lot."

I work in a different aspect of the service industry, but am absolutely in the public almost every day.  No Covid deaths have been announced within our organization.  Hell, we've barely had any positives.

[Js1 87174]

 

[Brisketexan 106874]

I think we're seeing, in part, microcosms of what happened in Europe post-plague.  It's going to fall hardest on certain industries (those that paid the least, with the fewest benefits -- so yeah, service industry).  Many of those folks found that they could get jobs elsewhere paying the same or similar (or slightly better), with better conditions and benefits, so the demand for "serfs" is higher than the serf supply.  Which will drive up wages for the peasants, but will also result in short-term labor shortages.  That's my hypothesis as to one of the significant factors.

[cam4mav 772]

22 minutes ago, Hook1997 said:

Idk but every person I asked at the restaurants I’ve been to said the people that didn’t come back are still getting the states and bonus unemployment’s from the pandemic so the 6 month or what not limit is not in effect and won’t end until August.  Maybe they were full of shit but I doubt it.

 

18 minutes ago, Royalfan5 said:

At some point I want to hear from the people that aren't working their old food service jobs any more, and not the employers bitching about not being able to find workers. It seems like we are refusing to look at the full picture, and take whatever the employer says at face value and without questions, and assume that must be it. 

Small sample size, but of my 4 friends that worked waiting tables, up here in WA, 3 are now working elsewhere for equal/better pay/benefits and preferred schedule compared to their previous schedule, got a 9-5. The last one is working again at their old place as of January and getting full hours, original pay, and they are understaffed like everybody else.

[Dr Fear 1290]

1 minute ago, cam4mav said:

 

Small sample size, but of my 4 friends that worked waiting tables, up here in WA, 3 are now working elsewhere for equal/better pay/benefits and preferred schedule compared to their previous schedule, got a 9-5. The last one is working again at their old place as of January and getting full hours, original pay, and they are understaffed like everybody else.

Just curious, what are their ages and what type of jobs did they move to?

[cam4mav 772]

28-32, two took account executive outside sales roles in wireless and the other took a job working for a bank doing something with mortgages after studying and taking a test / getting certified, I have a vague understanding of that one. 

[BurdineBandit 846]

14 hours ago, Blotto said:

There's dozens of articles on this topic, and yes many owners cite enhanced government benefits as one of several contributing factors. And in areas with a high cost of living, many workers simply moved away when it became clear this was gonna drag on for awhile. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/dining/restaurant-worker-shortage.html

 

 

 

 

5 hours ago, Aqua Buddha said:

This is the most underrated angle to the restaurant, service, and hospitality industries.  Over the last 12 months, a lot of them simply found different jobs if their work was shut down or impacted.  The unemployment benefits are a factor but so are things like schools and day care availability.  

^^^ One of my favorite bars lost a bartender I enjoyed because she just found another job. The bar just reopened a month or two ago, so yeah being out of work since March 2020 will force people to find other avenues.

[Surly Bevo 25717]

14 minutes ago, cam4mav said:

I have a vague understanding of that one. 

The industry was/is red-hot with low rate refi activity....it's cooling a bit now so they better be good (not saying they are not) or they will get spit out the other side.  

[ChickenSandwich 9951]

1 hour ago, Gene Parmesan said:

Is there some sort of verification process that shows their tips + baseline wage equals at least minimum wage?

My wife was a Sonic server in high school and she got a little more than the actual minimum wage + tips.  So given the flexibility and that location having good tips that was a really attractive job for young person, but then I could see another location with different owners being a completely shitty job if the customer base doesn't tip or the owners decide to do fraction of the minimum wage.

Yes. Tips plus wage must be at least equal to minimum wage. 90-100% of cash tips go unreported. 
 

had two servers for a small 26 seat cafe that would make between 120-200 an hour during their 4 hour lunch. Off for the day at 3. All filed taxes showing minimum wage. 
 

no one is making $3 an hour. 

[Gene Parmesan 4064]

1 minute ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Yes. Tips plus wage must be at least equal to minimum wage. 90-100% of cash tips go unreported. 
 

had two servers for a small 26 seat cafe that would make between 120-200 an hour during their 4 hour lunch. Off for the day at 3. All filed taxes showing minimum wage. 
 

no one is making $3 an hour. 

I imagine cash tips have gone the way of the dodo bird though, or are there still a lot of cash payers left?

[jimmyjazz 47127]

15 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

In a city like Austin where the average home price is creeping towards 600k I’m not sure where someone that works in food service can afford to live. If you have to live in Georgetown or Belton to find a place you can afford to live I’m not sure why you’d drive to Austin to wait tables. 

I think this is half the explanation, the other part being expanded unemployment benefits, but regarding the latter, I'm not sure it makes a ton of sense to ride that horse until it dies and then suddenly be competing with a significantly expanded labor pool.

If Austin real estate (own or rent) is going to continue to approach that of San Francisco, Boston, etc., then I think Austin food prices are going to have to follow suit.  I just don't see how you sell $10 burgers and $12 enchilada plates, pay your staff shit, and expect people to line up to work.  If that were my career, I'd be living in Bastrop as well, and I'd be working somewhere near my home.

[cam4mav 772]

How many of y'all are actually paying cash when you go out to eat? 

Back when I waited tables early 2010's, it was probably 10% cash. Occasionally people paying with card would leave the tip in cash, more common with regulars. Tips end of shift would be between 10 and 20% cash, the rest reported through the POS from the credit transactions. 

Cash tips never ever got reported.

 

[ChickenSandwich 9951]

12 minutes ago, Gene Parmesan said:

I imagine cash tips have gone the way of the dodo bird though, or are there still a lot of cash payers left?

Certainly depends on location and type of customer. For whatever reason, a lot of people pay for booze in cash. 

[jimmyjazz 47127]

Purely anecdotal, but my college freshman daughter (no pics you freaks) started working at Thundercloud Subs a couple of months ago.  She gets $8/hr plus tips, and based on what I'm seeing, it seems to average about $15 total per hour worked.  Pretty easy gig, she likes her coworkers and managers, so she's happy enough for now.

Nobody should try to raise a family on those numbers, though.

[HenryJames 67322]

10 minutes ago, cam4mav said:

How many of y'all are actually paying cash when you go out to eat? 

Haven’t paid cash in years.

[CooterBrown 18287]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Purely anecdotal, but my college freshman daughter (no pics you freaks) started working at Thundercloud Subs a couple of months ago.  She gets $8/hr plus tips, and based on what I'm seeing, it seems to average about $15 total per hour worked.  Pretty easy gig, she likes her coworkers and managers, so she's happy enough for now.

Nobody should try to raise a family on those numbers, though.

I assume any job at Thundercloud comes with as many free bowl hits as you can handle per shift.

Edited May 10, 2021 by CooterBrown

[workswithseed 2204]

1 hour ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Yes. Tips plus wage must be at least equal to minimum wage. 90-100% of cash tips go unreported. 
 

had two servers for a small 26 seat cafe that would make between 120-200 an hour during their 4 hour lunch. Off for the day at 3. All filed taxes showing minimum wage. 
 

no one is making $3 an hour. 

This is a pretty good detail on Texas minimum wage for bartenders.

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Purely anecdotal, but my college freshman daughter (no pics you freaks) started working at Thundercloud Subs a couple of months ago.  She gets $8/hr plus tips, and based on what I'm seeing, it seems to average about $15 total per hour worked.  Pretty easy gig, she likes her coworkers and managers, so she's happy enough for now.

Nobody should try to raise a family on those numbers, though.

Is she trying to start one?

surly, not sorry.😁

[jimmyjazz 47127]

37 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

I assume any job at Thundercloud comes with as many free bowl hits as you can handle per shift.

I have it on very good authority that this is true.

Also, construction workers tip quite well.

[elfenix 34744]

2 hours ago, cam4mav said:

How many of y'all are actually paying cash when you go out to eat? 

i'm still spending down the $80 i had in my wallet last march when the shit hit the fan. 

[Michael Knight 13217]

Imagine hearing that people are reluctant to go back to work because they will make less money and thinking it's the workers fault for choosing not to work at a place that pays nothing.

Edited May 10, 2021 by Michael Knight

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

2 hours ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Yes. Tips plus wage must be at least equal to minimum wage. 90-100% of cash tips go unreported. 
 

had two servers for a small 26 seat cafe that would make between 120-200 an hour during their 4 hour lunch. Off for the day at 3. All filed taxes showing minimum wage. 
 

no one is making $3 an hour. 

Hey kids, tax fraud is fun!! Everyone’s doing it!

Edited May 10, 2021 by dingleberryswitzer

[Js1 87174]

 

[smuggs 9397]

3 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

I think we're seeing, in part, microcosms of what happened in Europe post-plague.  It's going to fall hardest on certain industries (those that paid the least, with the fewest benefits -- so yeah, service industry).  Many of those folks found that they could get jobs elsewhere paying the same or similar (or slightly better), with better conditions and benefits, so the demand for "serfs" is higher than the serf supply.  Which will drive up wages for the peasants, but will also result in short-term labor shortages.  That's my hypothesis as to one of the significant factors.

Chaucerburger never recovered after The Pestilence.

 

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by smuggs

[elfenix 34744]

3 hours ago, slorch said:

link?

 

 

Quote

Per occupation (Table 3), risk ratios for mortality comparing pandemic time to non-pandemic time were highest among cooks (RR=1.60), packaging and filling machine operators and tenders (RR=1.59), miscellaneous agricultural workers (RR=1.55), bakers (RR=1.50), and construction laborers (RR=1.49).

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.21.21250266v1.full#T3

[Royalfan5 2384]

20 minutes ago, Js1 said:

 

Now you know why in Sir-Mix-A-Lot's Posse on Broadway the women they picked up were alright with eating at Dick's over Taco Bell. 

[ChickenSandwich 9951]

23 minutes ago, Js1 said:

 

Again, BY LAW , no one is working for $2.13 an hour. 

[ChickenSandwich 9951]

54 minutes ago, Michael Knight said:

Imagine hearing that people are reluctant to go back to work because they will make less money and thinking it's the workers fault for choosing not to work at a place that pays nothing.

Or if you can make 80% of your Pre Covid income while sitting at home, why would you bother working?

Businesses competing with each other for labor is a good thing, them competing against the government money printing machine is not. 

Edited May 10, 2021 by ChickenSandwich

[Guest]

18 minutes ago, elfenix said:

 

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.21.21250266v1.full#T3

In California, interesting. Also weird that they singled out ‘cooks’ as opposed to servers or bartenders.
Not asking you to do the leg work, but would be interesting to compare those numbers with say... Texas who treated Cv-19 protocols much differently.

[Guest]

55 minutes ago, Michael Knight said:

Imagine hearing that people are reluctant to go back to work because they will make less money and thinking it's the workers fault for choosing not to work at a place that pays nothing.

Imagine  negging someone, even though they acknowledged your exact point, in expressly stating they didn’t blame the workers.   You don’t even like your own opinions if they happen to be under the wrong flag, I guess...

[ChickenSandwich 9951]

The Covid unemployment extra benefit was 600 a week or $15 an hour BEFORE state benefits, now it is $7.50/hr (plus state benefits) to simply not work. 
 

Currenlty in Texas the top unemployment benefits are receiving  $20.87 an hour. 
 

Dicks can’t compete with Uncle Sam. 

Edited May 10, 2021 by ChickenSandwich

[workswithseed 2204]

4 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

The Covid unemployment extra benefit was 600 a week or $15 an hour BEFORE state benefits, now it is $7.50/hr (plus state benefits) to simply not work. 
 

Currenlty in Texas the top unemployment benefits are receiving  $20.87 an hour. 

Holy shit. Why the fuck would I ever go back to work?

[BabaYaga 15623]

6 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Or if you can make 80% of your Pre Covid income while sitting at home, why would you bother working?

Businesses competing with each other for labor is a good thing, them competing against the government money printing machine is not. 

That this is even a topic of discussion is laughable.  They haven't "moved on".  They don't have to work.  So they don't.  They "side hustle" their asses off just enough to stay under the radar and keep getting checks.

Touting home prices is equally absurd.  They rent.  Often many under one rood.  Jesus, have none of you tards ever waited tables or bar tended? 

 

[Michael Knight 13217]

22 minutes ago, slorch said:

Imagine  negging someone, even though they acknowledged your exact point, in expressly stating they didn’t blame the workers.   You don’t even like your own opinions if they happen to be under the wrong flag, I guess...

I negged you because the op politely stated no cr, also cause you slorched it

[ztejas 44223]

2 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

I assume any job at Thundercloud comes with as many free bowl hits as you can handle per shift.

Unwritten rule but you're expected to be microdosing shrooms most shifts - especially the busy ones.

[cactusflinthead 27627]

3 hours ago, cam4mav said:

How many of y'all are actually paying cash when you go out to eat? 

Back when I waited tables early 2010's, it was probably 10% cash. Occasionally people paying with card would leave the tip in cash, more common with regulars. Tips end of shift would be between 10 and 20% cash, the rest reported through the POS from the credit transactions. 

Cash tips never ever got reported.

 

My favorite pho place is cash only.

Joe T's cash only as well. 

[Michael Knight 13217]

22 minutes ago, workswithseed said:

Holy shit. Why the fuck would I ever go back to work?

Keep going, take it one step at a time.

[Michael Knight 13217]

People having to wait 40 minutes for their food is all it takes to enact universal income.

[cactusflinthead 27627]

Cry me a fucking river