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For much of my adult life, I supplemented my income by working nights and weekends in bars and restaurants. Unless it is a small ‘hole in the wall’ in the middle of nowhere, I can tell you unequivocally that most waiters and bartenders make out like bandits. It was not unusual to take home $200-300. on a busy night - and these weren’t even the high end clubs.

I agree, even a place with a modest priced menu, if it is busy, there is no reason you shouldn’t be making a few hundred bucks a night as long as the place isn’t dead. I don’t know how many tables a typical waiter or waitress services, but if you assume 4 tables an hour, with a typical bill of $40-$50.. and average of 15% tip, you are going to make a few hundred bucks in an 8 hours shift.

I assume they typically handle more than 4 tables an hour.

And so long as the tips are given voluntarily there’s absolutely nothing wrong with people who deliver a service making out like “bandits”. It’s how a lot of hard working but otherwise saleable skills lacking people manage to feed themselves and their families. Taxes and government in general, on the other hand, is the genuine “banditry”.

Thanks for confirming what I suspected. I worked as a cab driver during my college years in a small midwestern town. If I made even 10% in tips, I considered myself lucky. Most of my fares were elderly, students and people who had decided to park their cars for the winter and use a cab because it was more reliable.

The waitresses were among the worst tippers. I was a genuinely nice young man in those days and had customers ask for me personally, none of whom were great tippers. But it was better to have a paying fare than none at all.

One notable exception was a black gal who worked at a couple of different go-go bars and lived in a seedy motel on the outskirts of town. She was always sweet, told me jokes that I would get banned for posting and told me that she asked for me personally because I treated her like a regular person, not a novelty or a piece of meat. Black folks were rare in that area of the country, but I was brought up to treat all people with common courtesy. Her tip was generally in the 15-20% range.

After living in Asia for 14 years where tips aren't expected, I've come to the conclusion that they are a subsidy for employers who want to pay rock bottom wages. Even now at the point in my life that I can take the Mrs. out to eat regularly, we often choose fast food so I am not bothered with waiting for tables and tipping. Chick-fil-A gives me as much or more satisfaction than your average sit down restaurant and THEY don't expect tips.