New wage rule for waiters and waitresses
 

Remember this next time you eat out. Read SPB 7210 their wages were just REDUCED as of 7/1/12 under this Senate bill.

Salaries Decreased!!!!
 

:undecided: For the life of me, I do not understand how any food business can get away with not paying their waiter/waitresses at least minimum wage! If they expect their customers to subsidize their help, then maybe they need to lower the absorbent prices on their meals!!!:sad:

I did a little research and found these three articles to be informative. One is from the Orlando Sentinel explaining the bill, and the others are opinion pieces that try to put it into some sort of perspective.

I'm not sure about this issue as of yet.

Senate bill could cut servers' hourly wages - Orlando Sentinel

The Case for SB 2106 and SPB 7210

Florida Minimum Wage Could Be Slashed For Restaurant Workers

:clap2:

Thanks for a post with references to BOTH sides of the issue.

Thanks for the various links, RichieLion.

Boycott the SOB's

According to the Sentinel article, one of the backers of the bill is Tampa-based OSI Restaurant Partners, owner of Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill chains. OSI Partners gave more than $120,000 to 32 Florida Republicans -- and $500 to one Democrat -- during the 2010 election cycle, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics

Donating money to the party of your choice isn't what this thread was about.

I will remember that the servers aren't getting near as much base pay and up my tip. That is what needs to happen, if we care.

This is really nothing new. While growing up in St. Petersburg my first two jobs while going to junior college in '68 - '69 were in the food business, and in both I made a $1.00 an hour plus tips even though minimum wage at the time was $2.60. You did make up for it in tips and as a kid I always liked having the cash in my pocket, but your right, it meant more money for the owners.

This is a topic i am very familiar with, since the founder of OSI was my college roommate and best friend. Yes, let's boycott a restaurant chain that has created thousands and thousands of jobs throughout this country,a company that gets financially involved in every community they have restaurants in,and a restaurant chain that serves quality food at reasonable prices.On top of that, he has personally given millions to cancer research, especially pediatric cancers.Finally , the OSI waiters and waitresses ,when their tips are included, make a very decent income.In Lexington , we have 4 OSI restaurants and i've never seen an ad in our local paper about hiring,it's all through word of mouth. Just remember ,restaurants are in the business to stay in business.

So he's wants the wages lowered then because the waiters will benefit,
how does that happen?

Please explain how this is not for his self interests.

I would bet the wait staff at the establishments mentioned could care less what their base pay as it is virtually dwarfed by the tips the make/earn.

What ever their base pay is has no effect on the amount I tip. It is based on the service provided.....I am a very generous tipper for those who earn it.
For the one's who do not they get much less accordingly. These are the folks who are more apt to be affected by a reduction in base pay. The better establishments usually weed out these types as they expect customer satisfaction.

Has there ever really been a satisfactory pay level for this industry?

A personal decision type issue of concern for some....probably not the servers though!

btk

Of course this bill is in the interests of the restauranteur, but it can also be in the interests of the employee if it indeed does not significantly reduce their "real" wages by affording more opportunity for increased hours available to work.

All restaurants hampered by the higher wage scale in place often understaff and thus the customer is inconvenienced. This new plan, I'm told, should lead to better service through added staff, resulting in a more successful business and better served clientele.

Will that all happen??..........it depends on how good the business is, I guess.

Sounds like every other big company. Take away from the workers so you can increase profit and give the CEO a bonus because the numbers are up. If you notice also very few resteraunts down here advertse the workers usualy move from location to location because someone tells them about an opening. They already know what places are good or bad. I think it's a bunch of crap to use the tips to meet the states minimum wage amount.

Know a few people who work in this industry, one at an OSI restaurant, one at a different chain and one at an independent place. All 3 work very hard and provide outstanding service. However they also make a lot of money. They work 4 or 5 dinner shifts from about 3:00 to 11:00 each week. They earn any where from $200 to $500 a night in tips. I would guess they don't pay taxes on all of that either. They are excellent at what they do and work hard, but they do earn an excellent wage.

I am still not sure where I stand on this issue because I am sure many others don't do as well. However it is a job that if you are good at it, work hard, be at a place that is higher end and has decent turnover, you can make very good money.

.....

Not blaming him at all, just saying he isn't promoting this for the employees.



On another note, it's funny when you go out to eat you do all the tip calculation for what ever %, but do you think the waiters really know what it should be?

You can call and give your opinion, we did
 

Marlene O'toole, House

Capitol Office
222 The Capitol
402 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300
Phone: (850) 488-5991
Map/Driving Directions
District Office:
916 Avenida Central
The Villages, FL 32159-5704
Phone: (352) 315-4445
Map/Driving Directions

Alan Hayes, state senate

Capitol Office:
324 Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
Phone: 850-487-5014
Map/Driving Directions
District Office:
871 South Central Avenue
Umatilla, FL 32784
Phone: 352-742-6441
Map/Driving Directions

We went to both their village offices a few months ago and was told by both that it was a dead issue for this year. I'll go back and see if anything changed.

Minimum wage in 1968 and 1969 was $1.60. If you were making a buck an hour plus tips that probably wasn't bad money. The minimum wage didn't hit $2.60 until 1978.

OK, I'm going to step in it.

I don't like tipping. I do tip, but what is a GOOD tip? Why is it based on the bill? When I eat at Frisch's Big Boy and have a $17.00 total dinner bill and a $3.40 (20% tip) verses a $50.00 total dinner bill will be a $10.00 (20%). I see them serving the same number of customers, bringing me the same number of drink refills and often cleaning their own tables. It just doesn't seem fair to me.

I do like to tip to reward good service, but I hate having to tip just to make sure the servers can have a decent wage.

That's my 2 cents.

at some resturants the bills for each server are added up and a % is reported to the goverment. So if some one over tips they win if someone stiffs them they loose all the way around.. not fair, but the goverment wants to make sure they get their money even if the servers don't

They have to be able to demonstrate that the server is making at least minimum wage with salary and tips combined. I don't think that's a problem for most servers.

By having this kind of system servers are able to make a lot more money. If they got paid minimum wage, the cost of the meal would increase and people wouldn't tip as much. I lived in country where there is no tipping and servers get minimum wage and they pretty much make minimum wage. Almost no one tips except for Americans who are so used to tipping that we feel guilty if we don't.

That is true in one sense, added staff, but what happens with increased staff is less tables assigned to a waitperson thus lessening the amount to be made. Some staff that we know from our area restaurants have left because of that reason.

The Reality . . .
 

Some people in TV have come up with a scheme. They order their food, then
complain that it didn't taste good using words like "bad", "sour", "rancid". The manager is called over, the bill is forgiven, then guess who pays the bill?

Yup, the server. They sometimes get stuck paying the bill - the manager accuses the server of not attending to the customer.

Also, many times, I have heard servers say people just get up and walk out without asking for a bill. Guess who pays for that? Servers have to keep an eye on all that they serve and stop them at the door if they try to skip out.

It's not easy work.

That I'm sure is illegal, no employe is responsible for a loss to an employer due to error or neglect.

If they steal from an employer that employer can not deduct the money.

Against the labor laws.

yes happens often