>>21458423I had a friend who worked at Donkin Dunuts in high school. She worked at the driv-thrรผ and because there was a "tip" cup at the window they were allowed to pay her $2.50 AN HOUR. They would divvy up all the days' tips and nobody was making minimum wage, and the owner was always shitting kittens and putting them on "performance improvement watch" because if they don't clear minimum wage in tips+wage he had to pay the difference to ensure the paychecks were brought up to minimum wage.
It's fucked.
In saying that, it can be a good thing if you work at a proper restaurant and you do a good job, you'll make 5x your salary in tips. And it's because your customers love you. But that's not the usual outcome and of course it's never guaranteed and also unlikely. In places like Straya we have zero tipping culture and nobody expects to pay a tip or to get one, but actually you're still paying the tip because the food costs 3x as much.
Air go, the BEST case scenario from each culture is this: USA: your food is much cheaper and if your server(s) have made your dinner special they make 3x minimum wage. Australia: your food is way more expensive and your servers could literally shit in their hand at the table and they make 3x minimum wage.
Choose your own adventure.