I understand.
The point that re-nortex and I were referencing (if I am putting words in your mouth r-n, I apologize in advance) is that it is completely irrelevant how little their guaranteed wage is. The person must be a professional, and good at it, to make a living. To succeed, they MUST do their job, it is up to them.
If not, human nature dictates you will get Eastern Bloc quality service.
You nailed...and quite succinctly, I'll add. The only point that I can append, and was alluded to elsewhere in this thread, is that the restaurant business is especially risky with a high failure rate. Those who enter as owners and franchisees, the job creators, know that going in and it's up to them to make a go of it or to flounder.
With the margins being so thin in that business and the competition being what it is, saving pennies here and there often makes the difference between survival and perishing. Modulo government meddling, I am convinced that every employer pays the employee the correct wage. Note that I was careful to use the term "correct" as opposed to "fair" since there is a difference. And, obviously, if that employee is dissatisfied with the wage, other opportunities ought to be pursued.
Nothing ought to come between an employee and his workers, whether it be the government or union thugs. The only law applicable are the realities of economics.