First of all, great thread. Enjoyed reading thoughts/experiences of others in the industry from different parts of the country.
I've been in the restaurant/bar/management industry for 3+ years now...and have a feeling that it will always be a part of my life. Personally, I don't look at it from a "per night" perspective as far as my tips, but from a "per hour" perspective. Some nights I make $30/hr...some nights I make $10/hr. The way I see it, it all evens out in the end. You are going to have your shltty tippers...you are going to get stiffed...you are going to get bitched at for no reason. Unfortunately there are too many people in the world that look at us as servants rather than servers. Now Scal...you wanted the pros and cons of it all...so here you go.
PROS:
1. This is the biggest one for me, and nobody has mentioned it so far. You will ALWAYS have a job. No matter how terrible the economy, no matter what part of the country you live. I recently moved from New Hampshire to Florida to finally pursue the golf industry. I'm 30 years old, single, no kids...figured it was time to make a change. I arrived on a Wednesday, got hired on Thursday, started working on Friday, and had cash in my pocket on Saturday. Not sure there is any other industry in the world like that. You can get "laid off" or fired...and move on to the next restaurant down the street that very day. No reason to have a resume unless you want to get into a top level place or for management, as they will very rarely call previous employers.
2. Making $15-$20 an hour is better than most people in this world. As was mentioned several times before, if you are able to manage your money well...you can very easily make a solid living in this business. I've been on both sides of that fence however...making money now and working hard to save it, but it's entirely too easy to sit at the bar after your shift and have a few beers. That $100 you made in a night disappears down to $70 real fast after the bar takes it back.
3. The social aspect. If you are a male in this environment, you will have plenty of "options" if you catch my drift. The restaurant I came from in the Northeast had 5 couples that got married and are now starting their families. Everything because of working together at the restaurant. There is high turnover as well, so there is always new prospects coming in.
4. Every night/day is different. In the 3+ years I've been doing this, I've never had a day that was exactly the same as another day. Going into the day, you don't know what's going to happen. That's where the gambling comparisons come into play. Big parties/foreigners/good tippers/busy night/slow night...anything and everything is possible. When I was in the sales management field, every day was the same. Woke up at 8, in the office at 9, interviews from 10-12, training from 1-3, out in the field until 9. Go to bed, wake up, do the same thing 5 days a week. The money was overall better, but not by much.
CONS:
1. Stress. Dealing with people day in and day out is stressful. Now add in the fact that these people are going out and spending money and expect everything to be perfect. Throw in those people that have never been in the service industry in any way and don't know how to act/conduct themselves. Throw in the screaming kids with parents that don't know how to control them...so your sugars are now all over the table/floor and only 10% of the little buggers meal made it into their mouths.
2. Physically demanding. No, I'm not lifting bricks up and down stairs all day...but I am on my feet for 6-12 hours straight...I do walk 6 miles per shift...the floors are not nice and soft, generally concrete or tile. Being around people constantly also means that you are more prone to sickness.
3. You are instantly replaceable. If you get the manager/owner that just doesn't care or doesn't realize how much you do...you are constantly walking on eggshells. This is the situation where I'm at now...and it's a pain in the a$$. We've had 20 people quit or get fired since January 1st. I've also been in fantastic environments where the managers support the staff no matter what. You learn to adapt and adjust to each scenario.
4. No set money. It's a commission position essentially. You are gambling on your living on a daily basis. I've had shifts where I've walked away with $20. I've had shifts where I've walked away with $400...you just never know so it's incredibly difficult to budget. This also bleeds into a pro situation however as I've used this in my sports betting to be incredibly disciplined financially.
5. No benefits. There are very few restaurants out there that provide benefits, let alone good benefits. The restaurant I'm at now does not offer them at all because it's not a chain, not enough employees, and the owner is a d-bag that doesn't want to pony up a penny to help the staff. The last place I was at the insurance would have cost me $157 a month (single, healthy male) with a $10,000 deductible. You want vacation pay? You have to be full-time for 1+ year generally. After that, it's based on your claimed tips...so if you want to get good vacation pay, it's gonna hurt you on the IRS end of things because you'll have to claim all your tips.
Overall, I love the industry because it is a gamble every day and it's constant entertainment. It gives me enough money to pay all of my bills, as well as enough to save some money and still go out and have my fun from time to time. In the end, that's all you really ask for in a job. I'm not giving up on the golf industry, have several interviews in the next couple weeks...but like I said up above, I will more than likely always be involved in the restaurant business in some way.
It is always the BIG groups/orders when you get screwed the most. I personally, want very little to do with those, over the longhaul...I've hit a couple but can't tell you how many have been total "disasters" And oh yeah, them damn Canadiens
The IRS has come down strongly on making sure theuy get "the little guy's " money too..
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