Do you really want people who make minimum wage waiting on you? Really good waiters and waitresses do the job because they make good money. The better they are at their job, the better restaurants they can work at, the more money they make.
A top line restaurant can bring a waiter several hundred a night in tips. And since tips are pooled, good wait staff tend to appreciate each other’s skills and will get a bad waiter fired if they are getting bad tips for bad service.
Waiting is one of the few team oriented work environments outside of sports. And winning teams make good money.
Right now, most waitstaff makes far less than minimum wage. Why is that fair?
Really good waiters and waitresses do the job because they make good money. The better they are at their job, the better restaurants they can work at, the more money they make.
I agree with you 100%. The restaurants that hire these people should recognize and reward such employees with generous pay and bonuses, just like any other employee working at just about any other employer is similarly rewarded.
And since tips are pooled, good wait staff tend to appreciate each others skills and will get a bad waiter fired if they are getting bad tips for bad service.
Is it really fair that your peers have a say in whether or not you'd be working? Shouldn't that be your boss' call? And again, why can't the restaurant do this, after all, it is their employees.