Do any of you work in retail and/or are a server at a restaurant and how do you like it?

Question

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/03/my-life-as-a-retail-worker-nasty-brutish-and-poor/284332/

Just read a very interesting but also depressing article about a guy would used to work for Politico, making a great salary and appearing on MSNBC/CNN, and then after making a comment about Mitt Romney (it was a real doozy

), lost his job and apparently had to work at Modell's/Dick's/Sports Authority (he never says which) as a floor worker for minimum wage part-time. It was a real shock to his self-worth and obviously standard of living but he gutted through it.

I will say this, after reading it I THANK GOD I do not work in retail. Everything he described from staying on your feet the whole shift, getting frisked by management, interactions with rude customers and worst of all, getting paid virtually nothing to do it all made me cringe the whole way through.

I also wanted to see if anyone here can expand on what he says about working in retail or if you are a server at a restaurant.

Are there ANY pros to this kind of job?

I could see, if you were in high school, getting a paycheck doing these jobs for $150 to $200 a week when you never earned a cent in your life could be great. But after years of doing it and bills and responsibilities increasing, it could become dreaded.

But the real horror stories I hear are not from retail workers but are from servers and that is universal from everyone I know who does it.

I'm always interested from hearing stories of people who work in these sectors because it is their stories are the driving force behind the minimum wage increase, which at this point, should be at the very least, $10 in my opinion (and that is actually on the low side).

Also, I don't know how you could gamble effectively and do one of these jobs. Where is the bankroll? How could you bet $50 on Syracuse to cover over Dayton and lose and know that is what you likely earned the entire day for staying on your feet/dealing with customers/everything described above? Too much to deal with on top of losing at gambling which is already a psychological pitfall to any state of happiness and that is when you have the money to bet, not when you earn minimum wage and must win...

scalabrine · Answer

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/03/my-life-as-a-retail-worker-nasty-brutish-and-poor/284332/

Just read a very interesting but also depressing article about a guy would used to work for Politico, making a great salary and appearing on MSNBC/CNN, and then after making a comment about Mitt Romney (it was a real doozy

), lost his job and apparently had to work at Modell's/Dick's/Sports Authority (he never says which) as a floor worker for minimum wage part-time. It was a real shock to his self-worth and obviously standard of living but he gutted through it.

I will say this, after reading it I THANK GOD I do not work in retail. Everything he described from staying on your feet the whole shift, getting frisked by management, interactions with rude customers and worst of all, getting paid virtually nothing to do it all made me cringe the whole way through.

I also wanted to see if anyone here can expand on what he says about working in retail or if you are a server at a restaurant.

Are there ANY pros to this kind of job?

I could see, if you were in high school, getting a paycheck doing these jobs for $150 to $200 a week when you never earned a cent in your life could be great. But after years of doing it and bills and responsibilities increasing, it could become dreaded.

But the real horror stories I hear are not from retail workers but are from servers and that is universal from everyone I know who does it.

I'm always interested from hearing stories of people who work in these sectors because it is their stories are the driving force behind the minimum wage increase, which at this point, should be at the very least, $10 in my opinion (and that is actually on the low side).

Also, I don't know how you could gamble effectively and do one of these jobs. Where is the bankroll? How could you bet $50 on Syracuse to cover over Dayton and lose and know that is what you likely earned the entire day for staying on your feet/dealing with customers/everything described above? Too much to deal with on top of losing at gambling which is already a psychological pitfall to any state of happiness and that is when you have the money to bet, not when you earn minimum wage and must win...

Johnzimbo34 · Answer

Never done it myself and sure wouldn&#x27;t want to. Though I would imagine working as a server at a high-end restaurant might provide a decent living if the tips are good.

Randisist · Answer

Excellent article. The guy really is a good writer.

scalabrine · Answer

I found it outstanding as well.I felt like I was vicariously working the floor of the establishment he was working at. And I soon thanked god I wasn&#x27;t employed there...

scalabrine · Answer

They do. But how many positions like that exist in comparison to the total number of service workers... 1/1000th of 1%?

TheGoldenGoose · Answer

Good read. Joseph Williams will find his back up the ladder. He's too talented a writer not to get back. I hope he has learned to stay off facebook and twitter. Nothing but trouble in your occupation Joe.

esplanade · Answer

You sound entitled and arrogant. I&#x27;m assuming the minimum wage increase will be paid for by the money tree in your back yard, right, because employers and customers don&#x27;t want to pay it. Everyone knows that it will cost the economy jobs and that it is actually a strongANTI-black course of action. You realize that right Scal, because your heart always seems to bleed for the underachievers, leeches, and criminals of society.

1129ken · Answer

Sliced cold cuts in a supermarket deli from 10 AM to 10 PM for $1.50 per hour ( minimum wage when I was a kid in 1967 ). Helped pay for expenses while I was going to school. Upside was great--someone was willing to give me a paycheck, for which I was, and remain, grateful.

ad1260 · Answer

I was a server at a steakhouse for 2 years right after college. Decent gig because my managers were awesome and my coworkers were generally pretty cool (as many of you know the service industry is full of felons/druggies/alcoholics, etc. which actually made for a pretty chill atmosphere). My bills were relatively minimal at the time but I couldn't imagine LIVING off of the wages for any real length of time. As for the money, it was decent. Definitely not great but a hell of a lot better than making minimum wage. For example, in a week if you worked 5 nights (always Friday/Saturday/Sunday night) and 2 others during the week….you would average between 400-500 bucks a week. Which puts minimum wage to shame not to mention you would accrue this in probably 30-35 hours a week max.

The most difficult thing was managing your money. As many of you know and because of the substance abuse problems that I mentioned above, many of your fellow coworkers would want to go grab some drinks after the majority of your shifts. Especially on Friday and Saturday nights when you had 100-150 bucks in your pocket after 5-6 hours of work. SO if you could manage to avoid doing that the majority of the time then you could actually save a little money. Waiting tables is the epitome of grinding---it's eerily similar to sports betting/poker.

Another big problem with waiting tables for a living is that it's actually pretty seasonal. For instance, in the summer time business is SLOW. Kids are out of school, families are on vacation, it's warm outside so families are grilling, etc. In the winter---it's $$$ time. Holiday parties, nasty weather, big family get togethers, etc. The spring and fall are sort of just "steady".

Also, the hours flat-out suck. It's awful having to wait around all day to go into work at 4 or 5 in the evening. Then getting home at 11-12 (assuming you don't go out for drinks) sucks. Then you are running around on your feet all night so when you get off/get home it takes a couple of hours to "wind down" because usually your adrenaline is running pretty high. Then if you work lunches, it generally sucks because the money is a fraction of what you make at dinner.

It's a great job for high school and college kids. I also worked with a ton of people that had "regular day jobs" but waited tables in the evening to earn extra cash…these people usually had a few kids/probably made a few poor decisions in their lives thus causing them to HAVE to wait tables at night 3 nights a week. I will say this, very few people (at least at the restaurant I worked at) actually were steady adults that this was their career job. Most people that worked with me were in some kind of transition phase in their lives. Like I was fresh out of college and looking for a teaching gig but couldn't find one so now I actually work for AT&T. However, I still have my job at the restaurant and work there on a "pick up shifts basis". Meaning, I'm never scheduled week to week and I might just pick up a shift once a month for some gas money…because in all honesty it's kind of a fun job in moderation.

Also, you have to get over getting stiffed quickly. You have to get it out of your mind instantly because if you dwell on it, it'll ruin your night and you'll just be pissy the rest of your shift. I've been stiffed on checks everywhere from $20 to $250….for no particular reason. Just gotta get over it and keep trucking because it's just a part of the business. I would say it's like getting moosed in sports betting (Oregon and Michigan State backers last night know what I'm talking about)….it's a sick beat but you gotta clear your head immediately and not let it linger because if you don't, you are gonna burn your bankroll.

I didn't proofread any of this so I hope it all makes sense.

BOL to all and GL to everyone betting the tournament this weekend and cheers to Opening Day on the horizon!

ad1260 · Answer

Oh, not to mention it&#x27;s pretty decent money for someone without any kind of real education or skill set.

TheGoldenGoose · Answer

"underachievers, leeches, and criminals of society"Absolutely NONE of which inhabit the world of the Corporate Fukks.

wallstreetcappers · Answer

Yeah I was a server during college for the same reasons listed above..the pay is good and you get paid every night.

The place I worked was probably the top of its class in the entire state I was from, we did some serious business and the tips were good but the work is hard and it grinds your body pretty harshly.

I enjoyed it, even with the stress and nightmares and worries..working with people your age in college, making good tips and good friendships..

I think if you work as a server or in retail you understand and appreciate what others are doing for you..it should be mandatory that everyone do work like this, it was a great experience for me. I also know if times were ever tough and I needed to I could do it again and survive..

Knoxpoker · Answer

This my friend is the problem... You are so far behind the times it is not even funny... You sound like the scumbag business owners that want everything for nothing... Well those days are coming to an end. The kids of today would rather sit home and not make 7.25 an hour . and I dont blaim them...When I was 14 I made 80 dollars a night as a bus boy.. No one I knew made anything close to that ... They were stocking shelves for 5 .75 and hour...How can these kids make less then what I made in 1988?????

Knoxpoker · Answer

Hey Wall you are right all the except that now the pay is awful anim d the kids that do it are as dumb as a box of rocks, because its all they can do..I was talking to a guy , he told me he was 28 he cooks at a  Ruby Tuesday and said they pay him 10 bucks an hour...I laughed.. But the good think about it  was that he said he takes so much food home a week that it makes it worth it ..He said he keeps a cooler in his car and steals 3 porterhouse steaks a night ... lol  I told him he was a smart guy .. good for him..!!!

TheGoldenGoose · Answer

The Corporate Fukks don&#x27;t understand that there is a price to be paid for ripping employees off at minimum wage.  I AM NOT condoning theft of company property.  I am a realist and understand that&#x27;s what is going to happen when an employee feels unappreciated.

TheGoldenGoose · Answer

That&#x27;s what the Corporate Fukks have turned this country into.

BWS77 · Answer

You got the &#x27;scumbag&#x27; part right!

kiwipride1983 · Answer

Curiously how much do McDonald workers get paid?

TheGoldenGoose · Answer

The minimum $7.25 per hourhttps://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/03/18/mcdonalds-reviews-wage-theft-claims-as-workers-in-30-cities-protest-for-overtime-pay/

esplanade · Answer

You sound like the type of guy that has his 6 kids in Jordans and flaunting the latest electrical gadgets, yet complains that he doesn&#x27;t get enough food stamps. Do you even have a clue?? Do you see how many retail vacancies are out there? How many businesses have closed? Did they close because they were too successful and the governmental burdens on them too low??

slamspurs · Answer

I&#x27;ve worked retail for many years when I was in college. Yes, the pay it low, and it&#x27;s a crappy job, but there were some benefits.&#xD;&#xA;Flexible scheduling:You can work any days of the week you want. I was able to work around my school schedule pretty easily. Also could do night shifts if I wanted, since I&#x27;m not really a morning person. &#xD;&#xA;Cheap health insurance: I only paid like $20 a pay period for it, just it case something bad happened. Never used it once though, not even for an annual checkup.&#xD;&#xA;The People: A lot of these guys you spend a lot of time with, and you really enjoy their company, as they are usually either young, or young minded. Made work fun at times. Also brought a sense of team, since you&#x27;re all there the same place, the same time, suffering together. &#xD;&#xA;Yeah, the job sucks, but they don&#x27;t expect too much of you. Just come to work, do the job, and not worry too much about anything. &#xD;&#xA;Waiters/Servers in my area make great money, but that must be a regional thing. A friend of mine worked in a casual dining establishment (prob $15-$22 a meal depending on what you get), and he made more money than I did with a college education working in an office.&#xD;&#xA;Fridays and Saturdays when the alcohol is flowing, my friend would probably make $300 a night in tips. Think $30 a table, times 10 tables a night, probably not that hard to do. Think he said he made like 70k that year. Not bad for taking food and drink orders and smiling (they get some Spanish people to bring out the food for them).&#xD;&#xA;Everyone usually does retail at some point in their life, that&#x27;s why a lot of people aren&#x27;t fool. Having worked in retail for 7 years, I&#x27;m nice to everyone I run into at a store. &#xD;&#xA;So neither job is really that bad, especially if you are really young or really old in retail, or any age as a Server as long as you find the right spot.

Getty3 · Answer

Outstanding comments.  The important parts are that retail/service jobs are entry level positions for young people to get into the workforce and learn discipline/responsibility without going to the military. The few which choose to make a career out of it will do fine financially, but most will go on to different career paths. Too many people want it all at once without going through the education of a few jobs. As you implied, these jobs are more life learning experiences than they are occupations.

Knoxpoker · Answer

To answer your question, yes I saw it in 2001 and after seeing that I became self sufficiant. I very rarely work , and I trade part time ... So my friend , sorry you have to depend on a job or a failing business to survive, but like I say , only the strong survive...Hey I bet I put more money in gas in my boat last summer then you made all year......lifes a girl aint it ....lol

ad1260 · Answer

Knoxpoker----you are probably one of the biggest tools on the Covers Forum. Who says that kind of stuff? "I bet I put more money in gas in my boat last summer then you made all year"&#x2026;&#x2026;.one of the silliest things I&#x27;ve ever read on here.

ad1260 · Answer

It takes quite a bit for me to show any animosity toward anyone but Jesus man, it makes my skin crawl when I see people making comments like that. BOL bud.

Do any of you work in retail and/or are a server at a restaurant and how do you like it?

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