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Been in food service for about 8 years in a variety of roles, from the back of house of small restaurants, to being a supervisor/assistant manager for the busiest cafe in Halifax, Canada. Still in Halifax now and will be for a few more years! Right now I'm bartending for Marriott, a gig that I've been enjoying quite a bit and have made some decent money with. It's also great for scheduling, as I'm going to school in the fall for a two year journalism program. Personally, I adore bartending, and have been practicing/writing about it in my free time. My bar at home has rapidly expanded, and I try to pick a different cocktail to practice every week or so and write a bit about, in as critical/academic a manner that I can. I figure if nothing else, it's good practice for school (26 in a few weeks, and haven't been to school in years). And, having people read the stuff I write and react positively is always a nice feeling! While I have issues with the hotel and how some things are done (lot's of red tape), I'm willing to overlook them to not have to deal with the issues that plague the industry. Wage theft, the poor treatment of staff (both back and front of house), lack of secure employment, and of course rampant sexual harassment are but a few of the issues. The most I deal with at my current place is a lack of control, and the occasional fuckup regarding a shift not being paid out correctly. That and under experienced supervisors/managers, but I can get around that usually. I'm willing to deal with these few issues and lower overall tips so as to not have to deal with all the other problems. The big issue right now though is for all of food service broadly speaking, as there is a huge drought regarding finding staff. The company at large is having problems everywhere, and I can speak to our own issues at my location. Both restaurants in my hotel are short staffed and have been for months now. The same issues are going on at a large number of places both big and small, around both the city and the country itself. I've been debating about going to a different, more cocktail focused bar, as there are a half dozen looking for bartenders alone right now. All told, I'd argue that these issues are somewhat justified as the earlier stated issues need to be addressed for people to actually want to come back to the industry. It's just kinda lovely right now as someone who works in it. That said, the food service industry desperately needs to tackle the previously mentioned problems in order for it to stay afloat. Current predictions are that things are going to get far worse if nothing gets done in the next few years. Figure I'll mention pay here: I make 15$/Hour at my current department (Bartending gigs in the hotel pay different depending on which department they are with). Tips vary wildly, and can range from a good 150-200$ on a busy night, to 50$ or less on a slow one. Good places in the city though can clear 500$ a night in tips alone, and that's just bartenders. Basic rule of thumb is servers make more in tips, but bartenders have A: More steady shifts and B: A higher base wage. When it's slow, I still make decent money, but when it's busy, my tips/tipout are far less than what our servers get. Being at the hotel, I tend to get less in tips than I would elsewhere as we are highly reliant on guests who are already staying with us, and are paying for rooms and such. In turn, they tend to tip far less. I do however get good benefits (at my previous 400$ dental visit, I paid maybe 50$ myself), at least while working full time. It's a job, and industry, all about trade offs and concessions to say the least.
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Aug 30, 2018 19:05
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 02:45 |
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