Just say NO! To “One Fair Wage”
I am so against "ONE FAIR WAGE" I am also against mandated minimum wage or mandated anything for that matter. Currently there is nothing stopping a business from paying more than the bare minimum. Businesses could/should be paying up for staff if they value an employee and want to retain said employee. As a person that listens to and understands the difficulties in recruiting, and retaining quality employees I see that people that view staff as being expendable or "dime a dozen" have a lot more turnover than others. People work in this industry for many different reasons.
Some people stay for a long time and sometimes people use this as a means to an end. Either way, most of us find joy in giving our guests a great experience. I for one am a person that started bar-tending because I knew that the harder I worked, and the better I was at my job, I would make more money. I would never want to work Front of house knowing that I capped out financially at a set dollar amount. I love making TIPS!
As a person that advocates and supports our industry as a whole, I don't want mandated minimums to be increased because in doing so will only lead to a snowball effect that will not benefit anyone in the long game. Believe it or not owners generally do not make much money. Usually 5-10 cents on the dollar trickle through to the owners. These folks are not going to choose to pay these new mandated minimums out of pocket so they will pass these charges onto the customers. Costs will go up! It might be a little cost here and there, but it will add up. When costs go up people can either choose to go out and pay the higher prices or go out less often or not at all. Less money will trickle through to the staff and on top of that we will have to pay for the higher menu costs as well whenever we want to go out.
One of the problems I have been seeing lately is what I call "tip entitlement." I hate the current theme that we "deserve" a tip and that tip should be a minimum of 20% I think we should all earn our keep and make our level of hospitality the best that we can offer. We have all been asked "what is your REAL job" or "what else do you do?" If we want to be treated as this is a true profession, then we need to act as professionals and as an employer then you should treat your staff as professionals as well. Be leaders, and lead your staff by example, and if you pay the minimum you will likely experience high turnover and get the bare minimum from your staff. As some/most of you know,
In The Weeds is creating a movement for those that make $2.13 per hour and celebrating those that work in this industry wagering their smiles and personality in order to get tips. In The Weeds put together the collaboration beer called 2.13 as a way of tipping our hats to our industry and to create a beer to be proud to sell and to drink as members of this exclusive club. We are an amazing family and unique as can be. We literally rely on society to pay our bills, but I personally wouldn't have it any other way. I can make a living off 2.13 an hour and so can pretty much everyone else so long as society plays along and is aware of the culture of tipping. Society will pay for it one way or another. Either they’re mandated by increased menu items, or they can tip at their discretion. Do not forget however that as employees that are working for tips we need to be hospitable, genuine, positive, problem solvers, and professional in order to EARN a generous gratuity.
