I am a waiter, in fact, I just got home from my work. I love my job, I use the opportunity to improve myself and trying to deal with compassion when customers get mad and being rude to me.
4
Wait, Whaaat?
" If leaving the industry entirely is the primary path toward recovery, then we are not actually solving our problems. We are running away from them."
Talk about a twist at the end! Now I got a crick in my neck! Thanks a lot!
In my days in the business, I worked the dinner crowd and I worked breakfast. Still I'm not sure which comes first here, chicken or egg.
Do people who wait, "drink?"("" to include the drugs and the betting) Or do "drinkers" go to work in the industry? At least half the appeal of working in the industry is the lack of permanence. The job, the restaurant could be gone any day. Or you'll go someplace else. It's not like they don't eat in Omaha. Every where you go, someone wants someone to get them something to eat! And they're willing to pay.
That kind of job has an appeal to a certain kind of a person.
Not saying everybody who is in the industry "drinks." I'm saying, if you don't "drink," you're in the wrong job, you'll never be your happiest.
And if you want to stop "drinking," you're going to have to get out of that industry. (I'd say "more than likely" but I don't want to give false hope.)
" If leaving the industry entirely is the primary path toward recovery, then we are not actually solving our problems. We are running away from them."
Talk about a twist at the end! Now I got a crick in my neck! Thanks a lot!
In my days in the business, I worked the dinner crowd and I worked breakfast. Still I'm not sure which comes first here, chicken or egg.
Do people who wait, "drink?"("" to include the drugs and the betting) Or do "drinkers" go to work in the industry? At least half the appeal of working in the industry is the lack of permanence. The job, the restaurant could be gone any day. Or you'll go someplace else. It's not like they don't eat in Omaha. Every where you go, someone wants someone to get them something to eat! And they're willing to pay.
That kind of job has an appeal to a certain kind of a person.
Not saying everybody who is in the industry "drinks." I'm saying, if you don't "drink," you're in the wrong job, you'll never be your happiest.
And if you want to stop "drinking," you're going to have to get out of that industry. (I'd say "more than likely" but I don't want to give false hope.)
3
Another reason never to eat in restaurants.
Read Down and Out in Paris and London, by George Orwell. The prospect of eating anything in a restaurant will disgust you.
Read Down and Out in Paris and London, by George Orwell. The prospect of eating anything in a restaurant will disgust you.
1
I am confused! How does low pay lead to coke addiction? Coke is not cheap. Also, I know people who raise families, own homes, vacation annually AND party like rock stars on what a server makes in three shifts a week, so...boo hoo.
1
I was a waiter in college. The man who owned the popular steakhouse I worked in was a bully who belittled the women who worked for him and sexually harassed them. He was also a drunk who drank every night at work. My colleagues were mostly older. I was the only college student out of the dozen or so of us.
One night I was invited to go hang out with about half of the servers, after work at about 11:30 pm. Back then we made about $35 to $75 a night in tips. My colleagues spent at least $25 each on alcohol after work that night. (I couldn't spend that much because I needed virtually every penny I made. )
Our line chef worked as a trashman by day and he put in another 7 hours a night at the restaurant. He would sit at the bar, after we were closed, and drink Crown Royals, giving much of his pay right back to the owner. Our manager did pretty much the same.
That was in 1975. Seems like it's still the same.
One night I was invited to go hang out with about half of the servers, after work at about 11:30 pm. Back then we made about $35 to $75 a night in tips. My colleagues spent at least $25 each on alcohol after work that night. (I couldn't spend that much because I needed virtually every penny I made. )
Our line chef worked as a trashman by day and he put in another 7 hours a night at the restaurant. He would sit at the bar, after we were closed, and drink Crown Royals, giving much of his pay right back to the owner. Our manager did pretty much the same.
That was in 1975. Seems like it's still the same.
4
I always found restaurants where the staff are blitzed to be great fun. And if you're going to splurge & part with your hard earned bucks, why not join in? Now don't get me wrong. I don't want to see people caught up in alcoholism, but there's nothing worse than a stiff necked joint herding people in & out like cattle.
And yes there are functioning alcoholics. Back in the day they weren't necessarily summarily fired.
And yes there are functioning alcoholics. Back in the day they weren't necessarily summarily fired.
3
I know someone who works during baseball season at Fenway Park in the Green Monster suites. He is a lifelong alcoholic and addicted to percocet. He was also a very heavy smoker His employer appears to do NO drug testing while hiring or during the work season so he shows up at work hung over or somewhat stoned. He quit a lifelong smoking habit when his apt. building banned it. Could he quit the drink and drugs if his employee tested him randomly at work? Perhaps. But if his employer never holds him accountable, he will never quit his addictions.
If an industry is aware of the problem, they should act to correct it, not just fire people when they are completely incapable of doing their jobs. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
If an industry is aware of the problem, they should act to correct it, not just fire people when they are completely incapable of doing their jobs. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
3
The restaurant and bar business does not create alcoholism. Rather, alcoholics are drawn to the restaurant and bar business. I am a recovering alcoholic and have been sober for 26 years.
7
Most servers will tell you that kitchens are often sadistic places. A violently enraged and bullying chef as personified by the loathsome Gordon Ramsey of Hell's Kitchen notoriety is common. The nasty attitude of such a chef, more often than not, pervades the entirety of a kitchen staff, who take it out on servers. Screaming at waiters, taunting, throwing things, is so common as to be unremarkable. Kitchens are far behind in the sexual revolution: male servers are suspected to be gay (which subjects them to derision) and women are supposed to join in on the after hours drinking and put out. Restaurants are rarely scrutinized by anyone who enforces employment standards. All restaurant work is basically transient, cooks don't need to have stellar mental health references, if they can produce food. Job security for a server? You have to be kidding. Negotiation? You don't like it, you quit. Unions are ineffectual, if not run by restaurant owners. I've waited tables here and there, when I've needed an the job, for about 40 years, in well over a dozen places, from greasy spoons to very expensive places with refined menus. I've never worked in a happy, healthy, friendly kitchen, not once.
7
Actually a some drinkers become waiters. Easy to get to work at 4 or 5 or 6 pm rather than 9 am. Bet there's much lower junkie population among servers who regulary work breakfast shifts.
4
RE: Addiction is a disease, and in some ways, it is contagious. As much as we might want to imagine we are, none of us are completely immune.
It might be a disease but is often caused by moral failure. Who uses illegal drugs? People who think nothing of abusing their bodies and doing business with criminals. BIG MORAL FAILURE
It might be a disease but is often caused by moral failure. Who uses illegal drugs? People who think nothing of abusing their bodies and doing business with criminals. BIG MORAL FAILURE
2
One of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco is across from the Hustler club. Waiting outside for our table, the dancers would come outside for a break and were very drunk. Maybe they were 21, but probably not. It was sad.
1
People who have too much job stress drink to relieve the stress. People who are unemployed drink to relieve their money worries. Lawyers and doctors have substance abuse problems cause they had to study too hard to get their degrees. I got hired at a restaurant service bar -- where you don't deal with customers -- just cause I don't drink. I've known general managers at car dealerships who had multiple martinis at lunch. We all know people like that. At some point you run out of rationalizations -- or there are just too many.
I was talking once with a grad student from France about the cultural factor in substance abuse. I offered up the theory that the French have fewer problems with alcohol because they learn to drink at home with meals in a social environment. He disagreed. He said the French have a huge alcoholism problem, and worse, they don't recognize it's a problem.
I think there is a big cultural factor -- how much we are willing to tolerate before people are ostracized by friends or fired by bosses or arrested. People like to drink, it doesn't seem to require an excuse.
I was talking once with a grad student from France about the cultural factor in substance abuse. I offered up the theory that the French have fewer problems with alcohol because they learn to drink at home with meals in a social environment. He disagreed. He said the French have a huge alcoholism problem, and worse, they don't recognize it's a problem.
I think there is a big cultural factor -- how much we are willing to tolerate before people are ostracized by friends or fired by bosses or arrested. People like to drink, it doesn't seem to require an excuse.
3
Sales in another industry saddled with drug and alcohol abuse. Having worked in both restaurants and sales, it's hard to say which has the bigger stressors and likewise, 'self-medicating' behaviors.
1
This article hits home. After my divorce I found myself waitressing and bartending ... along with binge drinking and dabbling in drugs, mostly because they were part of the scene and also because my life was a disaster and I couldn't stop. I was fired at least twice for drinking, but that did not stop me. I eventually got my Masters and found a 9-5 but had to rebuild my career from the ground up at age 35. You can make a decent career in the service industry, but I couldn't. I made, and spent, a lot of money, but I was miserable.
5
I think my own experience sums up the subject of why bartenders drink: Availability and no cost. It's like a job perk, although unknown to the owner.
I am an alcoholic. In the army in CID work, I was assigned an undercover job to discover the source of thefts at the officers' club. I was assigned to work as a bar helper, not to serve, just to keep things clean and in supply. My first night there, I got so drunk from pouring myself extra heavy portions, that I threw up on the lawn outside and could hardly get home. Don't try to gloss over it with talk about stress. A drunk is a drunk. And he will deal with stress by drinking, whether as a bartender or any other occupation.
I am an alcoholic. In the army in CID work, I was assigned an undercover job to discover the source of thefts at the officers' club. I was assigned to work as a bar helper, not to serve, just to keep things clean and in supply. My first night there, I got so drunk from pouring myself extra heavy portions, that I threw up on the lawn outside and could hardly get home. Don't try to gloss over it with talk about stress. A drunk is a drunk. And he will deal with stress by drinking, whether as a bartender or any other occupation.
5
Why is this any different from any other industry where people toil, hustle and generally struggle to make ends meet. I lived it as a youngster, which is why I left it. Point being, we all make choices. The restaurant industry is rife with poorly run operations managed by people who could do no better. Shall we feel bad for all people in retail, hospitality, and so forth? When people are stuck in terrible jobs, bad trend often take hold. We're talking about a major part of the workforce. In short, get used to it or get out.
I have great memories of my first job. It was in food service. I bussed tables, cleaned up a lot of junk, worked like a fool for a pittance of salary plus whatever small share of tips got shared with us. But It was great experience, I made great friends and together we got to kid around with attractive adult waitresses who were a lot lighter on their feet than our English teachers.
I was also seventeen. Wouldn't want to be in that business as an adult. If I were, I would drink. (Likely more than I do now.) The only upside would be if I got fired there would probably be some other joint happy to let me to work for whatever their patrons deemed to scratch onto their credit card voucher.
I was also seventeen. Wouldn't want to be in that business as an adult. If I were, I would drink. (Likely more than I do now.) The only upside would be if I got fired there would probably be some other joint happy to let me to work for whatever their patrons deemed to scratch onto their credit card voucher.
2
What can be done about this?
1) Incorporate a "service fee" into the bill, ensuring no-one gets stiffed.
2) Seek minimum wages, as recently put in place in San Francisco (and health benefits)..
3) Tips; "expected" tips have risen from 10% in the 1940s to 20% today., but that figure varies immensely geographically (highest on the California coast, and Northeast) and the IRS I am told imputes to servers income, only an 11% tip nationally to all servers bills. Tip in cash where-ever possible. Even tip at fast food chains. Nevertheless, don't tip at all, is the server is rude, obnoxious etc. but recognize that problems with food are often out of his/her control.
4) There are sanitary codes for food handlers; and inspections; hair, hand washing, etc. etc. Obvious intoxication or drug abuse should be subject to the same controls.
1) Incorporate a "service fee" into the bill, ensuring no-one gets stiffed.
2) Seek minimum wages, as recently put in place in San Francisco (and health benefits)..
3) Tips; "expected" tips have risen from 10% in the 1940s to 20% today., but that figure varies immensely geographically (highest on the California coast, and Northeast) and the IRS I am told imputes to servers income, only an 11% tip nationally to all servers bills. Tip in cash where-ever possible. Even tip at fast food chains. Nevertheless, don't tip at all, is the server is rude, obnoxious etc. but recognize that problems with food are often out of his/her control.
4) There are sanitary codes for food handlers; and inspections; hair, hand washing, etc. etc. Obvious intoxication or drug abuse should be subject to the same controls.
1
In France being a waiter is seen as an honorable profession that you train for in a special school for up to four years. The waiter often knows best and the customer is not automatically king. A colleague was told at the Eiffel Tower restaurant that he could not have a certain wine with a certain dish. "But it is my money," he protested. "But it is our restaurant, and you can go now," was the answer. If French waiters are seen as rude it is often because an innocent tourist can break three rules by just getting a coffee: not saying "bonjour;" sitting down without asking for permission; picking up a coffee at the bar and then taking it to the patio/terrasse, where prices are much higher. But this is a profession that has some dignity.
6
I was "in the life" from 1980 to 1984, routinely working 14 hour shifts so I could afford to live on my own without a roommate. I viewed the hard-earned money I spent at the bar after I clocked out as a "cost of having the job." Our managers encouraged us to hang around, and we did not get discounts on drinks. I probably could have afforded a nice vacation with all the cash I spent making sure I "was accepted." If I had any children today, I would let them wait tables for no more than 1 year tops, and preferably at a family-friendly, soft drink only, establishment.
8
I spent eight years working for the Magic Pan Creperie in the nineteen seventies and early eighties. Based on this article, nothing has changed. I remember being invited into the manager's office on one occasion and offered a line of cocaine. Based on this article, nothing has changed.
I started work there in 1976. In January of 1984, I went into rehab for my alcoholism. I've been sober ever since, and I've also not worked in the restaurant business.
I started work there in 1976. In January of 1984, I went into rehab for my alcoholism. I've been sober ever since, and I've also not worked in the restaurant business.
8
Yeah well that was the late 70s as much as it was the Industry. I worked in So Cal Restaurants then too.
Those were wild times! Then came AIDS and the world changed! But until then, it was wild!
Those were wild times! Then came AIDS and the world changed! But until then, it was wild!
1
Unmentioned here is that the writer, who evidently moonlights as a college instructor while waiting tables (or vice versa?), is subject to the widespread policy of American universities and colleges which exploit the labor of legions of part-time instructors who have no benefits, job security, pensions, tenure, you name it -- just like restaurant employees! Even the respectable higher education establishment is not above exploiting its workers like so many other industries today. And this at a time when tuitions, and salaries for university administrators and tenured faculty, are at record levels and rising, though inflation is low.
32
Salaries for administrators, often well over two or three million dollars (if you count the special retirement bonuses) are soaring. Tenured faculty? We have it much better than the adjuncts, but are paid about as well as public school teachers if you include retirement benefits.
3
Actually, I think that a survey would find something similar to the conditions detailed in the article, with PhD students who are serving as adjunct faculty. The last year as I was writing my dissertation, I taught a total of 10 classes in two semesters. I was not the only person in my program with a substance abuse problem. I think it is a dirty little secret in academia.
7
A piece in one of the newspapers the other day, states that, "4 out of 10 people fail a drug test, when it is needed for many jobs, around machines," We seem to be horrified if any train or subway conductor runs off the rails, and is found to have drugs in their system. We're hypocritical, in that we demand more of some than others. That is the nature of we are as animals, looking at the other instead of facing ourselves. In a small town, most of the people including the men usually talk about people who have less problems than themselves, but they can never look at themselves, as people with lots of bad behavior seem to never look inward, and it is now the norm!
10
MKK: "We're hypocritical, in that we demand more of some than others."
Not exactly. Train operators are responsible for large, expensive equipment filled with thousands of people.
In contrast, servers have nowhere near that degree of responsibility, although I suppose that if you tried hard enough, you could probably find a horror story about an intoxicated server causing mass casualties or extensive property damage.
Not exactly. Train operators are responsible for large, expensive equipment filled with thousands of people.
In contrast, servers have nowhere near that degree of responsibility, although I suppose that if you tried hard enough, you could probably find a horror story about an intoxicated server causing mass casualties or extensive property damage.
2 Mary Kay Klassen,
I ask in all sincerity Do you think that 4 out of 10 is historically high or low?
Is it better to make the people sober or the machines safer?
People are going to do what they do. Isn't that what you're saying (rightfully so, IMHO)? The work is not done on making machines that employ people the way they are.
I ask in all sincerity Do you think that 4 out of 10 is historically high or low?
Is it better to make the people sober or the machines safer?
People are going to do what they do. Isn't that what you're saying (rightfully so, IMHO)? The work is not done on making machines that employ people the way they are.
All of this is depicted in a new novel I just read, called "Sweetbitter".
6
I don't see how anyone can not start their day without a nice stiff drink. Any profession.
7
I've had many awful jobs in my life, however, never thought of
alcohol as a cure/crutch. I've had a bad marriage, death of a spouse and many more tragedies, but I didn't turn to drugs.
We all have our ways of dealing with our lives. I recall that dentists have their own AA group. There is no escaping.
alcohol as a cure/crutch. I've had a bad marriage, death of a spouse and many more tragedies, but I didn't turn to drugs.
We all have our ways of dealing with our lives. I recall that dentists have their own AA group. There is no escaping.
6
To all those patting themselves on the back for tipping 20%, how about tipping 30% like a lot of people do.
8
Stop with the tip inflation. 15% is fine. In inexpensive places the food is devilvered and check presented no table side service ever and the servers make it up on volume. In expensive places 15% for a $300 check for two is fine
16
Tipping 15% means you are cheap. That's that.
1
how about paying servers a living wage and providing benefits instead of throwing them on the seas of alms beggars?
I spent almost 40 years in restaurants. The service industry exposes every raw emotion. You're nice to people when you're angry. You laugh with people when you're sad. You're a 24/7 raw nerve on every shift. Not to mention the absence of personal space - figuratively and literally. You reach around, over, touch, push... The demands of the job and layouts of most restaurants demand it. Your personal life is also constantly on your sleeve. Coupled with the uncertainty of your pay, job status, security of the business - it's no wonder that it's awash in sex, drugs, and rock & roll.
19
So you flush your hard earned money away on booze, cigarettes, cocaine and gambling and the take away is...if we had unions this would prevent this?
You then state that the "top fields for alcohol and illicit drug use...construction and mining". I'm pretty sure they have strong union support in each of those industries.
How about admit that your friends have a problem and no amount of "union" or higher wages would fix that.
You then state that the "top fields for alcohol and illicit drug use...construction and mining". I'm pretty sure they have strong union support in each of those industries.
How about admit that your friends have a problem and no amount of "union" or higher wages would fix that.
10
dennis ---
I believe her point was the lack of worker protections that unions normally fight for: working conditions, counseling programs, medical insurance. If construction and mining have the next-highest rates of substance abuse, I wonder if workers in those fields have options available to them besides immediate termination.
I believe her point was the lack of worker protections that unions normally fight for: working conditions, counseling programs, medical insurance. If construction and mining have the next-highest rates of substance abuse, I wonder if workers in those fields have options available to them besides immediate termination.
1
No evidence of unions in the construction industry in Florida! It used to be a place for the college disinclined to make a career and a good middle class living. No more. No unions, and an abundance if illegal immigrants who will work hard for whatever wage is offered. I worked in construction engineering, but now advise young men against any career plans in construction.
3
The foodservice industry needs to highlight the lifestyles of employees who are turning to things like meditation, fitness, and nutrition to manage and overcome their shift-related stress. Rather than allowing the demands of restaurant industry to tear them down, they're transforming shift-related stress into fuel for their own personal development. Not everyone who works in this industry is turning to booze and bong hits after they clock out.
There are chefs who surf and shoot hoops to bring down their blood pressure before service; bartenders who rock climb and cycle to increase their energy levels and improve focus; waiters who work out and journal to process a tense shift, and managers who use massage and music therapy to increase their emotional intelligence. These are the new cultural heroes of the hospitality industry, and their stories should be told far and wide!
There are chefs who surf and shoot hoops to bring down their blood pressure before service; bartenders who rock climb and cycle to increase their energy levels and improve focus; waiters who work out and journal to process a tense shift, and managers who use massage and music therapy to increase their emotional intelligence. These are the new cultural heroes of the hospitality industry, and their stories should be told far and wide!
9
Yeah, huge surprise here, front page news. Waiters, bartenders, stockbrokers, cabdrivers, entertainers, yes, they all have one thing in common they all drink and use drugs why are we also surprised?
The New York Times really has to get a grasp on some of the silly articles that do nothing but tell us what we already know and dress it up at some new idea or revelation.
Laaaaaaazy
The New York Times really has to get a grasp on some of the silly articles that do nothing but tell us what we already know and dress it up at some new idea or revelation.
Laaaaaaazy
12
America runs on alcohol and drugs, both legal and illegal. That’s the larger issue.
14
Thank you for this Ms. Bronson. It appears we have much in common, including years in the restaurant industry and UNLV. You wouldn't flinch a bit at some of the alcohol and drug-fueled anecdotes of former co-workers, and and could probably match and perhaps top them. Yet I suspect many genteel NYT readers would be aghast.
I was hardly a sheltered teen growing up in Vegas in single-parent home in a lowsy apartment, but I'm still a bit somewhat stunned at the things I saw as a dishwasher/busboy/server from 16-21 in the service industry.
I was hardly a sheltered teen growing up in Vegas in single-parent home in a lowsy apartment, but I'm still a bit somewhat stunned at the things I saw as a dishwasher/busboy/server from 16-21 in the service industry.
3
I am confused by this article. Is the author justifying drinking on the job because there isn't enough money in it? When does that excuse bad behavior. Drinking on the job is never right, never a solution to any "problem"; abusive drinking only leads to bad. No unionizing is going to spare an active alcohol abuser. How does somebody use a drunk staggering employee as an example?
7
The emphasis in (American, not European) restaurants is on cheerfulness, chippiness and joie de vivre which essentially abuse the servers' emotional authenticity and equilibrium.
Hence, I see two separate issues : when drinking is done for bonding after (or during) the shift I get that. When it's done for self-medication and numbing, perhaps one should take a step back and find a different type of job (if possible).
Hence, I see two separate issues : when drinking is done for bonding after (or during) the shift I get that. When it's done for self-medication and numbing, perhaps one should take a step back and find a different type of job (if possible).
7
Why Waiters Drink. And Why It Matters.
It is clear that many aspects of the food service industry need to change. First, the stress of the job combined with low pay and long hours is a root cause of waiters drinking and abusing drugs. Waiters must rely on tips for most of their earnings, as restaurant owners may only pay their waiters a few dollars per hour. This itself puts a lot of stress on them. Also, restaurants are often understaffed, causing waiters to pick up extra tables. If waiters are responsible for seven or eight tables at a time for an eight-hour shift, they are likely to make a mistake at some point. This puts too much stress on servers, as they now think that if they make a mistake, they will not receive a good tip. With all of this in mind, it is understandable that waiters drink and abuse drugs because it makes them feel less stressed. But this cannot be the solution. I am deeply outraged that executives in the industry are not taking more initiative to solve this problem. Drinking and abusing drugs could lead to addiction which ruins people’s lives. Some restaurants have the mindset that they could neglect their servers, thinking that there will always be a replacement. In such a high-stress environment, managers need to offer their staff support so that they do not resort to alcohol or drugs. In addition, major changes, such as raising wages, must occur to prevent future servers from abusing alcohol and drugs during their shifts.
It is clear that many aspects of the food service industry need to change. First, the stress of the job combined with low pay and long hours is a root cause of waiters drinking and abusing drugs. Waiters must rely on tips for most of their earnings, as restaurant owners may only pay their waiters a few dollars per hour. This itself puts a lot of stress on them. Also, restaurants are often understaffed, causing waiters to pick up extra tables. If waiters are responsible for seven or eight tables at a time for an eight-hour shift, they are likely to make a mistake at some point. This puts too much stress on servers, as they now think that if they make a mistake, they will not receive a good tip. With all of this in mind, it is understandable that waiters drink and abuse drugs because it makes them feel less stressed. But this cannot be the solution. I am deeply outraged that executives in the industry are not taking more initiative to solve this problem. Drinking and abusing drugs could lead to addiction which ruins people’s lives. Some restaurants have the mindset that they could neglect their servers, thinking that there will always be a replacement. In such a high-stress environment, managers need to offer their staff support so that they do not resort to alcohol or drugs. In addition, major changes, such as raising wages, must occur to prevent future servers from abusing alcohol and drugs during their shifts.
3
Went to a casual dining chain "restaurant and pub" a while back and I'm pretty sure the waitress was under the influence of something, I realized towards the end of the meal.
Can you blame her? I think forced labor as a server in a corporate chain restaurant was part of the CIA torture program for Guantanomo detainees.
Many of the issues the author describes exist in other industries. I saw it in IT. Managers usually made less than most of their staff members. Most people worked long hours, often 50-60 hours per week and on call 24X7, with no overtime pay. They also, might travel a lot being away from home 2-5 days per week - though not every week. If ever there is a temptation to drink when one comes "home" (a hotel) from the site they're working at and see other people from that job arrive at the hotel at the end of the day.
I work in IT. You're comparing the work to restaurant service? Shame on you.
High degree of drug and alcohol abuse in the restaurant industry?
Doesn't surprise me. The restaurant industry is odd. Much of it, certainly the worst, seems a leftover from pre-democratic days--is an industry incompatible with modern politics. I read in Brillat-Savarin that France had much to do with the birth of the industry, but it seems France has always tried to elevate the industry while outside of France all too often the worst of the industry has existed. In other words, the industry has always been politically primitive in the sense that customers arrive, are treated as royalty, and the restaurant help play the role of commoners at feet of king and queen.
In France this fundamental nature has always been elevated by cooks and help having genuine pride, being true "king's court" out to serve the king and queen. But outside of France the worst of industry has existed, just the customers arriving and expecting royal treatment and the help there just to serve them. In other words, all too often the rawness of a just plain unequal relationship between customers and help has existed apart from high quality food experience which just leads to arrogance of customers and humiliation of help.
Ask anyone what they think of the food industry in the U.S. People go and eat but who wants to work there? Who really thinks food service is a dignified job? Most restaurants are not pride in food and service, just places where you pay for a meal and expect people to serve the meal.
Doesn't surprise me. The restaurant industry is odd. Much of it, certainly the worst, seems a leftover from pre-democratic days--is an industry incompatible with modern politics. I read in Brillat-Savarin that France had much to do with the birth of the industry, but it seems France has always tried to elevate the industry while outside of France all too often the worst of the industry has existed. In other words, the industry has always been politically primitive in the sense that customers arrive, are treated as royalty, and the restaurant help play the role of commoners at feet of king and queen.
In France this fundamental nature has always been elevated by cooks and help having genuine pride, being true "king's court" out to serve the king and queen. But outside of France the worst of industry has existed, just the customers arriving and expecting royal treatment and the help there just to serve them. In other words, all too often the rawness of a just plain unequal relationship between customers and help has existed apart from high quality food experience which just leads to arrogance of customers and humiliation of help.
Ask anyone what they think of the food industry in the U.S. People go and eat but who wants to work there? Who really thinks food service is a dignified job? Most restaurants are not pride in food and service, just places where you pay for a meal and expect people to serve the meal.
2
I have never worked in a restaurant, but I can imagine, at best, it's a grueling job. Throw into that mix demanding and obnoxious customers, I once saw a patron repeatedly use the flash on his I-Phone to try to summon a waiter to take his payment, I I got a tiny taste of what it can be like. It was acrid and bitter.
8
A good server does not have to be asked repeatedly for the check.
A Salton Sea of bitter service jobs evaporating as the onrushing
desert storm of automation sweeps everything away into a pile of dust.
desert storm of automation sweeps everything away into a pile of dust.
8
one wonders if alcohol and drug abuse is also prevalent among waiters in in Europe? And if there are better social benefits supplied by the job and the states there?
4
In Europe a service charge is usually included in the bill. In Australia whether or not it is, I discovered a tip is not expected in restaurants.
This is a function of the hospitality industry in general particularly if the front-line staff is dependent on gratuities for their livelihoods. The very nature of this arrangement between ownership and employees damages the wait staff and ultimately creates this behavior to the advantage of ownership.
A much healthier work-life balance could achieved through a normal hourly wage plus tips with the a zero-tolerance to drugs or alcohol. This would incentivize employees and employers and create a much healthier work environment for everyone.
A much healthier work-life balance could achieved through a normal hourly wage plus tips with the a zero-tolerance to drugs or alcohol. This would incentivize employees and employers and create a much healthier work environment for everyone.
1
Ahhh, there's nothing I enjoy more than a good casino sports book.
Still think you don't need the copy editors, hunh?
Still think you don't need the copy editors, hunh?
5
I could be missing your point here, but I wonder whether you are familiar with what "casino sports book[s]" actually are. They are at all the major properties in vegas, and many smaller ones as well.
1
@ Maggie Topkis, NYC "nothing I enjoy more than a good casino sports book"
No copy-editors needed. It's a legitimate phrase; means the place in the casino dedicated to betting on off-premises sporting events.
Mr Google taught me that, since I too had never tripped over it before, but instead of just assuming it must be a typo, I looked it up.
That's why I loves me some internets.
Learn something new every day -- if you want to.
No copy-editors needed. It's a legitimate phrase; means the place in the casino dedicated to betting on off-premises sporting events.
Mr Google taught me that, since I too had never tripped over it before, but instead of just assuming it must be a typo, I looked it up.
That's why I loves me some internets.
Learn something new every day -- if you want to.
also, there is a lot of cash on hand that is easy to spend and a big trigger for a lot of people. As an addictions counselor I hear these stories a lot! and feel for anyone trying to get clean and sober in that environment. It's not impossible but it can be very challenging. It's unfortunate that well paying jobs that don't require a lot of education and pay well for working hard are in such short supply.
5
I believe Feeling part of the all is basic, very important to first what you offer.
Juan Pedro
Juan Pedro
2
Self control and mindfulness maybe should be classes beginning in grade school. Not DARE programs. How to say no. What to think when around booze, food, cannabis, other drugs may need to be a class for all students. If one adds up all addictions, obesity, cigarettes, alcohol, drugs then vast majority of Americans are addicts it seems. Obesity alone is 40% in some states.
Otherwise we cant stop the coming addiction crisis that seems to be rolling over everything.
Otherwise we cant stop the coming addiction crisis that seems to be rolling over everything.
5
Glad things have gone well for you.
2
Mickey,
Have you met Michael from San Jose? You two are... peas... pods. whole nine.
Have you met Michael from San Jose? You two are... peas... pods. whole nine.
So true, saw all of this in the 80's when I waited tables at swank restaurants in the Nations' Capital. Throw in the fact that you can probably drink all night for $10 a night based on the bartender knowing that you are in the food industry and will reciprocate and tip generously, it's so easy to become an alcoholic. I saw it all, wait staff and customers. Probably should write a book on the backroom deals cut at the Pisces Private Club in Georgetown on M Street.
4
I know about the drinking and the stupid attitudes of customers. My brief stint as a diner waitress included making sure the cooks had plenty of cold beers to counteract the deadly heat in the kitchen. Servers, etc. should be paid good wages, no tipping to be used as a way of humiliating staff. There is also a lot of smoking out the back door, another stress reliever. But at least non-smoking workers don't have to endure those dangerous conditions anymore.
5
Really work is humilating? You should start a restaraunt and pay service good wages.
I knew a guy who drank a tall boy and smoked a joint before waiting tables at a busy tourist bistro. He seemed to do fine, but he graduated from Northwestern.
3
I found all of these recent comments interesting and yes stress is a driver for alcohol and drug abuse. Yet it is important to realize and burn into your brain that the pressure (stressors) to perform as a server, bartender, lawyer, lobbyist, mechanic, pilot etc. are the pressures you must cope with for a good performance. Why impair your skills, blunt your desire to excel. threaten your employment or risk going to jail for a DUI.
12 hours bottle to throttle? A very low threshold in my opinion and not good enough to be my wingman, partner, spouse, employee etc.
Get a grip and show some discipline for your own well being. By doing so you will be looking out for number one. Don't throw your life down the bottle.
Finally, don't think my grandmother was a member of the WCTU. A single malt scotch, Negro Modelo or hard lemonade all taste great to me.
12 hours bottle to throttle? A very low threshold in my opinion and not good enough to be my wingman, partner, spouse, employee etc.
Get a grip and show some discipline for your own well being. By doing so you will be looking out for number one. Don't throw your life down the bottle.
Finally, don't think my grandmother was a member of the WCTU. A single malt scotch, Negro Modelo or hard lemonade all taste great to me.
7
Actually helpful to the discussion? Or simply insultingly smug?
5
Andy,
I thought it was pretty funny, myself.
Grandma and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (too funny!)
I thought it was pretty funny, myself.
Grandma and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (too funny!)
We just went to a nice restaurant, had great service and tipped 25%. Now I'm wondering if that was enough. Because all food service jobs are HIGH stress.
(And I should know better ... my brother used to own a family-style restaurant. The saving grace there: no liquor license, no bar. No issues? Not entirely, but at least it wasn't via 'being served' there.)
Anyway, appreciate this eye-opening, and maybe moreso, confirming article.
It's a tough, tough industry, at every level, and very difficult to find good, reliable help. I think it's one reason restaurants close / turn over so often. The good places, the long-haulers ... you start to realize they have 'career servers,' and the best of the best of those remember you as a regular customer, and even your preferences, when you come in every 3rd week or so. And I think they weed out -- by necessity -- anyone with a clear problem.
Note to self: tip even better :)
(And I should know better ... my brother used to own a family-style restaurant. The saving grace there: no liquor license, no bar. No issues? Not entirely, but at least it wasn't via 'being served' there.)
Anyway, appreciate this eye-opening, and maybe moreso, confirming article.
It's a tough, tough industry, at every level, and very difficult to find good, reliable help. I think it's one reason restaurants close / turn over so often. The good places, the long-haulers ... you start to realize they have 'career servers,' and the best of the best of those remember you as a regular customer, and even your preferences, when you come in every 3rd week or so. And I think they weed out -- by necessity -- anyone with a clear problem.
Note to self: tip even better :)
10
@ jazz one, Wisconsin "Note to self: tip even better"
Thank you SO much for writing that.
This one comment was almost enough to offset the dozen or so "they're just waitstaff, who cares," and "addiction isn't a disease, it's a moral failing," and "stupid, whiny liberals!" posts I've found so far in the thread.
I'll do the same.
Maybe we can start a movement.
Thank you SO much for writing that.
This one comment was almost enough to offset the dozen or so "they're just waitstaff, who cares," and "addiction isn't a disease, it's a moral failing," and "stupid, whiny liberals!" posts I've found so far in the thread.
I'll do the same.
Maybe we can start a movement.
1
I wish I had thought of all these factors when I allowed my teenage son to work at a local upscale restaurant his senior year in high school. Local ordinance allowed 18 yr. olds to serve alcohol (not bartend) to the tables. Of course, we made it clear he was not to touch the stuff himself and I believe he didn't. But years later and after college (which is awash in booze), we found out he had a drinking problem when he got a DUI. I cannot say for sure that his early work experience with alcohol started him down that terrible path to alcoholism because alcohol is so big a part of our culture, But if I had it to do over, I would forbid him to work anywhere alcohol was served.
2
Thanks Annie. As a recovering alcoholic, I believe it's wired into us. We blame our parents, our jobs, our stresses (which are no different than anyone else's), and find cold comfort in alcohol and other drugs.
I hope your sone is going through a phase, as the majority if people are not wired to be addicts.
But having dated a woman who was a very good server at high-end restaurants, there is a culture in that business that encourages drinking. Best to stay away fib there are any doubts.
I hope your sone is going through a phase, as the majority if people are not wired to be addicts.
But having dated a woman who was a very good server at high-end restaurants, there is a culture in that business that encourages drinking. Best to stay away fib there are any doubts.
2
As much as I am personally touched by your story, I'm not sure "take care of your own" is the message here. Unless it's about taking care of everyone (my brother's keeper) , it's more of the same "I'm all right, Jack..."
1
That will not stop a kid from drinking. In my first ring suburb, parents are shocked, shocked, that kids drink before they can get working oapers.
2
I have worked as a waiter. The idea of regularly drinking on the job is crazy to me. Doesn't really sound like fun. I can relate to blowing off steam after a long shift. I think that it is a matter of being disciplined and knowing when to cut yourself off. How many drinks to you really need to decompress? One or two should do it. If it doesn't, you may have a deeper issue.
I did know a veteran waiter who said he worked at a place where one night everyone was on LSD- the kitchen staff, the waiters- everybody. Now that could be interesting.
I did know a veteran waiter who said he worked at a place where one night everyone was on LSD- the kitchen staff, the waiters- everybody. Now that could be interesting.
2
I'm a nurse practitioner, but worked part-time as a waitress in a fine dining restaurant during college. It never ceases to amaze me how many similarities can be drawn between the two professions: both are very much "customer service" driven, and the pressure as an NP to sustain trusting, satisfactory relationships with patients often feels very much like how it felt to keep my restaurant clients happy and coming back. Obviously there are many differences between these two roles, but I can empathize with the individuals highlighted in this article: I've seen many colleagues pound Adderall in the morning, coffee with lunch, and then Xanax to get through a 35-patient day. I've read several articles about how Millennials are more likely to turn to substances in order to meet their work demands, and anecdotally, I am a witness to this problem.
7
Your comment suggests a lot of questions. Here are a few:
How is that "35-patient day" determined?
Are you given a list that you have to get through?
What happens if you don't get through all the patients?
Are you paid a fixed salary or by the patient?
How is that "35-patient day" determined?
Are you given a list that you have to get through?
What happens if you don't get through all the patients?
Are you paid a fixed salary or by the patient?
3
1) If you are an employee, the patients are assigned to you. The higher ups determine how many patients you should see.
2) Yes, there is a list/panel of patients for each shift.
3) You DO get through all the patients, otherwise you don't go home.
4) NPs employed by hospitals/clinics are generally paid a fixed salary. In private practice it might be different.
2) Yes, there is a list/panel of patients for each shift.
3) You DO get through all the patients, otherwise you don't go home.
4) NPs employed by hospitals/clinics are generally paid a fixed salary. In private practice it might be different.
3
Coverage of addiction (let alone any health issue/coverage) is not going to happen in the Service industry with our privatized system. Jobs are too fleeting, turnover too high, and rate of health conditions (addiction) too high. Not even mentioning the price - a plan with meaningful addiction coverage would cost more than most took home.
This is why even as a right-leaning centrist I believe we must have single payer health insurance. Forget about the moral arguments - it makes fiscal sense.
This is why even as a right-leaning centrist I believe we must have single payer health insurance. Forget about the moral arguments - it makes fiscal sense.
18
Since food eaten out is usually high in calories and portions, the people that eat out often are overweight and obese, so they are first of all addicts, before they order any alcohol, too. It is really that America is a nation of addicts, alcohol, cigarettes, food, heroin, pain killers, etc. That is not a surprise, because a society built on borrowed money, is able to keep it flowing, and guess what, most people are not normal anymore, but chasing the shallow life that is now called existence, but is nothing of the kind! In other words, they have no inner peace, little self control, and can't figure it out, either!
2
MKK: "Since food eaten out is usually high in calories and portions, ..."
Even McDonald's sells fruits and salads, so what do you mean by "usually"? Are referring to fast food or fine dining?
Even McDonald's sells fruits and salads, so what do you mean by "usually"? Are referring to fast food or fine dining?
3
So everyone who dines out frequently is too fat for your liking? That is an outrageous generalization. It's a slur, really. I am growing increasingly disappointed in the NYT comment editing system.
5
Except for the salads at fast food places, most everything eaten out is high in calories. Even in Minneapolis, where restaurants serve food that is soup, salads, and pastas, people still consume a large quantity of alcohol. I have spent lots of years eating out, not because I personally chose that, as I grow all my own vegetables, etc. but had both children and spouses, who are all skinny, live in New York, and one now lives in Minneapolis, so know about lifestyles, etc. My sister, because of stress and getting up to commute to a teaching job, when from average weight to obese just because she had regular soda, not a coffee drinker. She said she needed it for the sugar. My husband's sister is obese, and eats out at least 4-5 times a week, and drinks lots of alcohol. She is a retired nurse. People know what they are doing is not healthy, it is just that the doctors have everyone on blood pressure medicine and cholesterol drugs, which work after a fashion, but most are candidates for diabetes, sooner or later.
1
She's working in the wrong restaurants.
3
Boy, does this take me back. As a waiter in a dozen different states over nearly 20 years, as well as being a casino dealer in Vegas in the 80s, I recognize this phenomenon as the norm in so-called service industries, so much so that I don't remember too many of my co-workers citing it as a "problem". And thanks for pointing out that gambling is at least as damaging, arguably more insidious, and equally difficult to avoid--at least in places where it's legal.
Americans love their mind-numbing, be it from heroin or TV, alcohol, cocaine, weed, video poker or the real thing. Who do we think is responsible for the "demand" part of the equation that fuels drug cartels? Oh yeah, I forgot--non-whites. Just ask Jeff Sessions. Or his boss.
Americans love their mind-numbing, be it from heroin or TV, alcohol, cocaine, weed, video poker or the real thing. Who do we think is responsible for the "demand" part of the equation that fuels drug cartels? Oh yeah, I forgot--non-whites. Just ask Jeff Sessions. Or his boss.
5
AH: "Oh yeah, I forgot--non-whites. Just ask Jeff Sessions. Or his boss."
If you want to complain about Sessions, try finding something he is actually doing "wrong". In fact, the DoJ is going after the MS-13 gang, which is responsible for murdering "non-whites" on Long Island. Do you have a problem with that?
On Long Island, Sessions Vows to Eradicate MS-13 Gang
By LIZ ROBBINS
APRIL 28, 2017
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/28/nyregion/jeff-sessions-ms-13-gang-lon...
If you want to complain about Sessions, try finding something he is actually doing "wrong". In fact, the DoJ is going after the MS-13 gang, which is responsible for murdering "non-whites" on Long Island. Do you have a problem with that?
On Long Island, Sessions Vows to Eradicate MS-13 Gang
By LIZ ROBBINS
APRIL 28, 2017
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/28/nyregion/jeff-sessions-ms-13-gang-lon...
1
I can't believe it's the stress as much as it's the party lifestyle and proximity to booze in the hospitality industry. Look, I"m not saying waiting tables isn't stressful, but try working a 12-hour shift as an RN on a med/surg unit. People's lives are at stake and there's rarely time to take a break. I can't imagine how a shift at a casino, restaurant, bar, etc., could compare. Nurses and other hospital workers have substance abuse issues, too, no doubt about it. But to think that those in the hospitality industry have some sort of special stressors just doesn't add up.
7
CK: "But to think that those in the hospitality industry have some sort of special stressors just doesn't add up."
Not to discount your excellent points, but RN's have professional degrees and are licensed. And they are paid good salaries with benefits.
Per Google searches for "registered nurse" and "registered nurse salary".
Disclaimer: I am not an RN, and salaries may vary depending on various factors.
Not to discount your excellent points, but RN's have professional degrees and are licensed. And they are paid good salaries with benefits.
Per Google searches for "registered nurse" and "registered nurse salary".
Disclaimer: I am not an RN, and salaries may vary depending on various factors.
4
Point duly noted, PAU. But I don't think all restaurant and bar jobs are low paying. An RN can expect to make $35 an hour with a 2-year community college degree, which is pretty good money for the investment. But for a popular restaurant or busy nightclub, where one makes money it tips, that income is not out of reach. And a lot of people in hospitality have degrees. I mean there are only so many jobs for art history majors. This article focuses on an industry where alcohol plays an outsized role, so why look elsewhere? I don't think it's any unique pressures as much as it's the lifestyle. I've not been a nurse (God bless 'em all), but I've been a cocktail waitress. After the bar closed, the party began -- it was just part of the culture.
2
CK: "And a lot of people in hospitality have degrees."
A degree is not required to work as a server.* In contrast, a degree and license are required to work as an RN.
That difference has economic consequences -- the barrier to entry as a server is lower than the barrier to entry as an RN. That lower barrier to entry means that there is a greater supply of people who could work as servers than as RNs, so the wages of servers is reduced compared to the wages of RNs. In reality, demand for servers and RNs also affects wages, so the foregoing is an oversimplification.
CK: "After the bar closed, the party began -- it was just part of the culture."
Who pays for the booze?
*In some cases a server may be required to get a license (e.g. a bartender), but getting one is much easier than going to nursing school. (per Google search for "bartender license")
A degree is not required to work as a server.* In contrast, a degree and license are required to work as an RN.
That difference has economic consequences -- the barrier to entry as a server is lower than the barrier to entry as an RN. That lower barrier to entry means that there is a greater supply of people who could work as servers than as RNs, so the wages of servers is reduced compared to the wages of RNs. In reality, demand for servers and RNs also affects wages, so the foregoing is an oversimplification.
CK: "After the bar closed, the party began -- it was just part of the culture."
Who pays for the booze?
*In some cases a server may be required to get a license (e.g. a bartender), but getting one is much easier than going to nursing school. (per Google search for "bartender license")
Responsible parties for much of this issue also lies with owners of food service and hospitality establishments.
They have ultimate control of wages, working conditions, staffing, greed or generosity in the culture of how employees are treated and remunerated.
The whole flawed concept of food and drink servers' dependence on gratuities creates its own dependence, as owners have been allowed license to pay lousy wages.
No other business model, service or otherwise, has so honed this expected and really coercive mechanism to extract more money from patrons.
They have ultimate control of wages, working conditions, staffing, greed or generosity in the culture of how employees are treated and remunerated.
The whole flawed concept of food and drink servers' dependence on gratuities creates its own dependence, as owners have been allowed license to pay lousy wages.
No other business model, service or otherwise, has so honed this expected and really coercive mechanism to extract more money from patrons.
3
I have had excellent, top of the line service in Paris and Copenhagen, without so much as a dime laid on the table beyond what's written on my bill. I know a 12% service charge is added in Paris , no idea in Denmark. I may pay more for the food but no more than the price of a meal in comparable places in the US, and quite often much less for better food AND service. Some Americans like to complain about French servers, but simply don't understand the very personal contact they receive from PROFESSIONALS paid a living wage. They really don't appreciate the sense of humour and the absence of pressure to churn tables.
Americans expect servers to be slaves and pay accordingly. Yet US customers also accept the being chumps, to pay to sit and enjoy themselves. the only winners in that game are the establishment owners. Brothel or slavery, I don't see much diffetence.
The expression here is "the table is not rented". Woe upon the server who pushes clients to buy another drink/dish/spend, s/he is quickly faces the reality of a discerning client who pays the servers' wages and understands the economics of dining out for both client and server. Neither expect nor brook exploitation.
I can't help to imagine it is heritage from "bygone" days. I'm not holding my breath about seeing that change any time soon.
Americans expect servers to be slaves and pay accordingly. Yet US customers also accept the being chumps, to pay to sit and enjoy themselves. the only winners in that game are the establishment owners. Brothel or slavery, I don't see much diffetence.
The expression here is "the table is not rented". Woe upon the server who pushes clients to buy another drink/dish/spend, s/he is quickly faces the reality of a discerning client who pays the servers' wages and understands the economics of dining out for both client and server. Neither expect nor brook exploitation.
I can't help to imagine it is heritage from "bygone" days. I'm not holding my breath about seeing that change any time soon.
3
My parents ran a diner on route 17 in NJ back in the 50s. When I was in high school in the 70s, they encouraged me to waitress at the local HoJos during the summer to "see what the public is really like." But what I find most interesting about this article is that it doesn't acknowledge that waitressing was a life preserver for many women in the 20th century when they didn't have the skills or life circumstances for anything better. But these jobs, including those for bank tellers, cashiers, and gas station attendants, are disappearing or gone and we aren't being realistic about creating job opportunities for those who will never have the skills, talent, knowledge, education, ambition, or life circumstances for much better. And those with skills are creating AI and robots to take even more jobs away. That is enough to drive one to drink.
24
Think "Five Easy Pieces..."
5
Paul: You need to explain your "Five Easy Pieces" reference, if you expect anyone to get your point.
Those of us of a certain age got it right away. And I assume the reference was to the infamous chicken salad sandwich scene but Karen Black's character was also a waitress. in any case, both waitresses exemplify my argument- what would these women be doing today? Low level health care workers?
Single-payer healthcare and living wages would alleviate many of the issues. Adequate time off demanded by unions would alleviate the balance.
10
What is a living wage for a menial job? Most people working such jobs are not supporting themselves, or didn't used to be -- they were part time, secondary jobs for students or homemakers or retirees.
Maybe the problem is thinking you can LIVE off of the income from waiting tables or ringing a cash register or flipping burgers.
I was in a family-type restaurant a few months ago, where we were seated by a hostess -- then did our OWN ordering on an iPad-like device. Someone brought our food, but our bill came up on the tablet device! (along with a request for a tip, plus suggested tip amount!)
So 80% of the task of waiting on us, was done on a computer ALREADY. The hostess could easily be eliminated by an AI program on a big screen computer. We could have been directed to our table with another device, or a small robot of some kind. A robotic gurney could have delivered our food.
The restaurant of the future won't have any employees besides in the kitchen, and even THERE, much of the food prep will be done elsewhere and delivered in microwaveable portions.
Demand $15 an hour, and you'll get this sooner and not later.
Maybe the problem is thinking you can LIVE off of the income from waiting tables or ringing a cash register or flipping burgers.
I was in a family-type restaurant a few months ago, where we were seated by a hostess -- then did our OWN ordering on an iPad-like device. Someone brought our food, but our bill came up on the tablet device! (along with a request for a tip, plus suggested tip amount!)
So 80% of the task of waiting on us, was done on a computer ALREADY. The hostess could easily be eliminated by an AI program on a big screen computer. We could have been directed to our table with another device, or a small robot of some kind. A robotic gurney could have delivered our food.
The restaurant of the future won't have any employees besides in the kitchen, and even THERE, much of the food prep will be done elsewhere and delivered in microwaveable portions.
Demand $15 an hour, and you'll get this sooner and not later.
3
Maybe you have very bad taste in establishments, or you seem to be absolutely relishing the moment you have zero human contact.
Stay home and order in, everyone will be better off.
Stay home and order in, everyone will be better off.
Shocking that no one has blamed Trump yet, but the comments are still open so...
6
no need, you just did, and very effectively I might add. kudos!
7
Ok- here's some blame:
1) obsessed with killing ACA, which would provide for substance abuse treatment for people;
2) hell bent on destroying organized labor - which fights for member benefits, including health plans and resources that cover alcohol and drug abuse recovery:
3) commitment to cut social programs (that Trump voters in red states disproportionately rely on) and roll back taxes (that fund the programs referred to above) so that Wall Street fat cats (many of which are now sitting in the WH) can get yet more $$ (will it ever be enough? NO. )
Speaking of taxes- what is he hiding ?????
Speaking of which - WHERE ARE HIS TAXES AND WHAT IS HE HIDING? Don't you wonder ?
1) obsessed with killing ACA, which would provide for substance abuse treatment for people;
2) hell bent on destroying organized labor - which fights for member benefits, including health plans and resources that cover alcohol and drug abuse recovery:
3) commitment to cut social programs (that Trump voters in red states disproportionately rely on) and roll back taxes (that fund the programs referred to above) so that Wall Street fat cats (many of which are now sitting in the WH) can get yet more $$ (will it ever be enough? NO. )
Speaking of taxes- what is he hiding ?????
Speaking of which - WHERE ARE HIS TAXES AND WHAT IS HE HIDING? Don't you wonder ?
5
RS: "... no one has blamed Trump yet ..."
I just posted a reply to a comment complaining about Sessions and "his boss" (apparently for supposedly being racist):
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/opinion/why-waiters-drink-and-why-it-...
r mackinnon: "obsessed with killing ACA, which would provide for substance abuse treatment for people;"
I'm not sure what you mean, but "killing ACA" would not prevent health insurance providers from covering "substance abuse treatment for people".
I just posted a reply to a comment complaining about Sessions and "his boss" (apparently for supposedly being racist):
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/opinion/why-waiters-drink-and-why-it-...
r mackinnon: "obsessed with killing ACA, which would provide for substance abuse treatment for people;"
I'm not sure what you mean, but "killing ACA" would not prevent health insurance providers from covering "substance abuse treatment for people".
Never a drinker, I avoid people who drink and places that depend on alcohol sales. Which is not to say that I don't possess dark vices. Chocolate milk, sugar Cokes, beef tongue sandwiches on rye, kosher hot dogs wrapped in baloney -- smothered in sauerkraut and served with thick onion rings -- spaghetti Caruso and chicken marsala are among them.
2
Um, who cares
4
Whoa nelly!
This authors solutions, while understandable, simply mean higher expenses. And, that's not going to happen. Sad.
4
Untrue.
I have had excellent, top of the line service in Paris and Copenhagen, without so much as a dime laid on the table beyond what's written on my bill. I know a 12% service charge is added in Paris , no idea in Denmark. I may pay more for the food but no more than the price of a meal in comparable places in the US, and quite often much less for better food AND service. Some Americans like to complain about French servers, but simply don't understand the very personal contact they receive from PROFESSIONALS paid a living wage. They really don't appreciate the sense of humour and the absence of pressure to churn tables.
Americans expect servers to be slaves and pay accordingly. Yet US customers also accept the being chumps, to pay to sit and enjoy themselves. the only winners in that game are the establishment owners. Brothel or slavery, I don't see much diffetence.
The expression here is "the table is not rented". Woe upon the server who pushes clients to buy another drink/dish/spend, s/he is quickly faces the reality of a discerning client who pays the servers' wages and understands the economics of dining out for both client and server. Neither expect nor brook exploitation.
I can't help to imagine it is heritage from "bygone" days. I'm not holding my breath about seeing that change any time soon.
I have had excellent, top of the line service in Paris and Copenhagen, without so much as a dime laid on the table beyond what's written on my bill. I know a 12% service charge is added in Paris , no idea in Denmark. I may pay more for the food but no more than the price of a meal in comparable places in the US, and quite often much less for better food AND service. Some Americans like to complain about French servers, but simply don't understand the very personal contact they receive from PROFESSIONALS paid a living wage. They really don't appreciate the sense of humour and the absence of pressure to churn tables.
Americans expect servers to be slaves and pay accordingly. Yet US customers also accept the being chumps, to pay to sit and enjoy themselves. the only winners in that game are the establishment owners. Brothel or slavery, I don't see much diffetence.
The expression here is "the table is not rented". Woe upon the server who pushes clients to buy another drink/dish/spend, s/he is quickly faces the reality of a discerning client who pays the servers' wages and understands the economics of dining out for both client and server. Neither expect nor brook exploitation.
I can't help to imagine it is heritage from "bygone" days. I'm not holding my breath about seeing that change any time soon.
1
The mention of construction rang true.
When one is paid to by the sq. ft., board feet, piece work, and or hourly, anything that offered performance enhancing, focus, mood elevating, pain management was imbibed. Cannabis and Speed mostly.
Alcohol not so much except by the painters it seemed. ?! Of course everyone tossed back a few brews after work to rehydrate and commiserate.
I think it is the human animal and condition, that will imbibe in adulterates to enhance, alleviate, elevate our daily grind. From Adderall in our hospitals and university's to steroids in our police force and caffeinated drinks for everyone in-between. We all ( with a few teetotalers excepted of course...) partake of some sort of help mate.
Yours maybe sugar?!
It is the human condition.
When one is paid to by the sq. ft., board feet, piece work, and or hourly, anything that offered performance enhancing, focus, mood elevating, pain management was imbibed. Cannabis and Speed mostly.
Alcohol not so much except by the painters it seemed. ?! Of course everyone tossed back a few brews after work to rehydrate and commiserate.
I think it is the human animal and condition, that will imbibe in adulterates to enhance, alleviate, elevate our daily grind. From Adderall in our hospitals and university's to steroids in our police force and caffeinated drinks for everyone in-between. We all ( with a few teetotalers excepted of course...) partake of some sort of help mate.
Yours maybe sugar?!
It is the human condition.
5
I fail to see what makes waiting tables or making cocktails more stressful than, for example, working long hours as a lawyer, serving the needs of demanding clients. People abuse alcohol and drugs because they choose to take alcohol and drugs. Full stop. It happens across the full spectrum of class and employment.
10
If you don't understand how working in any type of service industry is stressful, then you have never worked in a service based industry.
11
This is a personal account. is it invalid as such?
nice try at deflection.
nice try at deflection.
1
I trade stocks 65 hrs a week. That's pretty stressful, but I don't drink much or abuse drugs. Mostly I run, lift weights, and take long fast drives to reduce stress.
I think the drinking and drugs come before the stress. The people who succeed at high stress white collar jobs are the ones are probably the ones who reduce stress without using substances. My college gf's dad was a high powered attorney and an alcoholic. His alcoholism destroyed his marriage and almost destroyed his career. He was very intelligent and driven. If he had been a bit less so, his drinking might have caused an early exit from law school into a service sector job. I think a lot of substance abusing waiters are people who flushed out of white collar work or graduate school because of how they reduce stress (drinking and drugs). I reduce stress with running, skiing, lifting, sex, and auto racing. I feel lucky. I am perfectly suited for high stress white collar work.
I think the drinking and drugs come before the stress. The people who succeed at high stress white collar jobs are the ones are probably the ones who reduce stress without using substances. My college gf's dad was a high powered attorney and an alcoholic. His alcoholism destroyed his marriage and almost destroyed his career. He was very intelligent and driven. If he had been a bit less so, his drinking might have caused an early exit from law school into a service sector job. I think a lot of substance abusing waiters are people who flushed out of white collar work or graduate school because of how they reduce stress (drinking and drugs). I reduce stress with running, skiing, lifting, sex, and auto racing. I feel lucky. I am perfectly suited for high stress white collar work.
1
Speaking as one who has struggled a lifetime with alcohol addiction, now with 11 years sober, the availability or non-availability of alcohol has never been a factor in abuse. For those of us with that affliction, we are very resourceful in making sure we have our supply at all times. It consumes much of our time planning the where and when of purchase. I am sure that waiters are tempted by the easy supply, but I don't believe that affects the percentage of those prone to abuse. People get stuck in low-paying jobs for many reasons.
11
@ Jan, Oregon
Congratulations on your 11 years clean; a most gratifying accomplishment.
Not an easy path, and it never becomes so -- but it does get easiER with every passing year.
I wish you many, many more years of success in living your healthy and sober life.
Congratulations on your 11 years clean; a most gratifying accomplishment.
Not an easy path, and it never becomes so -- but it does get easiER with every passing year.
I wish you many, many more years of success in living your healthy and sober life.
1
I worked in food service and restaurants from 16 till 25. Starting from a cashier position to a full bar tender. Worked through my 4 year degree.
I found that most of my co-workers would drink on the job consistently so I started doing it as well.
When your a server, even at high class establishments, the job becomes mindless. You don't need to be creative or use your brain to serve people. We drank because it would pass the time during an 8 hour on your feet constantly shift. Making rehab more available or increasing the wages won't make a difference in the industry. It's the nature of the job.
I now work 50 hours a week in B2B sales. My company drinks a lot with sponsored events and the lifestyle. However, no one is getting sloshed on the job.
I found that most of my co-workers would drink on the job consistently so I started doing it as well.
When your a server, even at high class establishments, the job becomes mindless. You don't need to be creative or use your brain to serve people. We drank because it would pass the time during an 8 hour on your feet constantly shift. Making rehab more available or increasing the wages won't make a difference in the industry. It's the nature of the job.
I now work 50 hours a week in B2B sales. My company drinks a lot with sponsored events and the lifestyle. However, no one is getting sloshed on the job.
3
Substance abuse among food-service employees is the result of customers (you all) demanding cheap dining. In a capitalist market economy, the only real solution is to regulate the food-service industry forcing the customers to pay more for their ready-to-eat food to increase the wages of the employees and reduce the number of hours they work. If you have a mouth and you are hungry and you have enough money to pay for someone else to go shopping, cook the food, serve it to you and clean up after you, treating you like royalty, then you can pay the true cost of the service. Or you can do all that work yourself, saving a lot of money -- the same money you want to save at restaurants.
This is a powerful example of externalizing the cost a product, in the case the cost of your meal: by demanding below-cost food-service, restaurant owners pay low wages to food-service employees and demand long work hours laying waste to the employees, essentially, extracting a pound of flesh for payment.
Laying waste to the employees is a direct cost to them and to their lives. Alcohol is the medicine taken to "cure" or "manage" the pain and suffering, however, like a lot of medicine, alcohol is damaging and and happens to take a bad situation and make it worse. The balance paid to offset your cheap meal comes from the actual mind and body of the food-service employee.
This is a powerful example of externalizing the cost a product, in the case the cost of your meal: by demanding below-cost food-service, restaurant owners pay low wages to food-service employees and demand long work hours laying waste to the employees, essentially, extracting a pound of flesh for payment.
Laying waste to the employees is a direct cost to them and to their lives. Alcohol is the medicine taken to "cure" or "manage" the pain and suffering, however, like a lot of medicine, alcohol is damaging and and happens to take a bad situation and make it worse. The balance paid to offset your cheap meal comes from the actual mind and body of the food-service employee.
9
You want me to pay more than 49 dollars for a strip steak at Wolfgang's? More than 8 dollars for a salmon roll at Nobu? More than 34 dollars for a trout entree at Balthazar? None of that seems like below cost to me.
Yup. Wolfgang's treats you like a king, then you pay like a king. The rent at a place like Balthazar's, Nobu's and Wolfgang's is quite high, the cost of ingredients is below cost because the farmers and fishermen rarely make more than a mediocre wage, and of course all the other overhead costs are very expensive since kitchens are basically a concentration of energy-consuming devices. Then of course, there's the people who deserve living wages in very expensive cities, decent health insurance, retirement savings and work hours that permit them to raise families and spend time with them.
You do not deserve a break today, and you may not have it your way.
You do not deserve a break today, and you may not have it your way.
I live in Italy and when we eat out locally we always recognize the waiters as here waitering is seen as a respected career, You never see ' casual' staff and no one tips as it's not done in Italy. The attitutude is the waiter gets paid a wage and they do a good job and don t have to 'beg' for tips.
24
This shocks me, so I'm clearly out of touch. I grew up (literally from learning to walk to out of college) in a Pennsylvania coal mining saloon. Family owned and operated, nobody drank on the job. Nobody. Those who showed up having had a few were not served alcohol - ever. Food was great - three US Congressmen ate there and talked to the patrons. Times have really changed.
6
I know some of this is not possible for every waiter or restaurant worker, but is the voice of my experience, take anything that works for you.
Never work breakfast - people in bad moods, in a hurry, need everything now, and small checks = small tips..
Always hang out with other restaurant people and keep your ears open and mouth shut.
Always work at the best place you can. Always have your eye on the next rung. Listen, and find out who on the next rung needs help, and get that job, etc etc.
The best places, you do the least work and get the best tips. They have hostesses, sommeliers, bus boys between courses and helping deliver to tables, carts, great chefs cooking food people don't complain about and big tabs = big tips.
Don't complain about sharing tips. Always give more than required - on the side so the other wait staff doesn't get mad. It pays back several times over. If the hostess has a high tip party and low one to seat and she gets a bigger piece of my action - guess which table I get. Same for the chef who has an end piece prime rib and a great inside cut, and the busboy who knows more tables turned in my section, more tips for us both. Truly all boats rise.
At any level you're working, keep your eye on a job above you, like closing, and if the guy who closes doesn't show up - offer to. Before you know it, you're managing and drinking with the owners and treating your own staff well, breaking the cycle..
Words from an ex-waitress. Luck.
Never work breakfast - people in bad moods, in a hurry, need everything now, and small checks = small tips..
Always hang out with other restaurant people and keep your ears open and mouth shut.
Always work at the best place you can. Always have your eye on the next rung. Listen, and find out who on the next rung needs help, and get that job, etc etc.
The best places, you do the least work and get the best tips. They have hostesses, sommeliers, bus boys between courses and helping deliver to tables, carts, great chefs cooking food people don't complain about and big tabs = big tips.
Don't complain about sharing tips. Always give more than required - on the side so the other wait staff doesn't get mad. It pays back several times over. If the hostess has a high tip party and low one to seat and she gets a bigger piece of my action - guess which table I get. Same for the chef who has an end piece prime rib and a great inside cut, and the busboy who knows more tables turned in my section, more tips for us both. Truly all boats rise.
At any level you're working, keep your eye on a job above you, like closing, and if the guy who closes doesn't show up - offer to. Before you know it, you're managing and drinking with the owners and treating your own staff well, breaking the cycle..
Words from an ex-waitress. Luck.
14
Fabulous advice. Thanks for sharing!
4
Depends where you work for breakfasts. Those can be some of the best paying jobs around on volume and percentage. So the meal costs a couple of bucks, more often than not people will leave a fiver and they're gone in half an hour.
1
I suggest reading Nickeled and Dimed to Death by Barbara Ehrenreich. As one wag said: It was the most expensive book I ever read since I started tipping 20 percent and more from then on .
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BAJ25W/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UT...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BAJ25W/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UT...
9
I lived in Paris off-&-on for nearly a decade. Same neighborhood. Got to know the locals rather well, although only on-sight because my high-school French had atrophied.
Parisian neighborhoods socially orbit some small coffee/wine/fast food joints called "brasseries" interspersed with restaurants, some top-flight, most serving ethnic cuisine. In my neighborhood the best was a cous-cous establishment that had there for at least a half century. Famous. Packed every night. Because I ate there several times a month I knew the waiters. And because I might stop for "un expresse" (shot of expresso) at a nearby brasserie in the late afternoon I got to know their drinking habits. They got thoroughly smashed before their shift on beer, Amstel blond or Kronenbourg "1644". I watched one knock back four Amstels in as many minutes, chug them one-after-another, shouting "un autre!" after finishing each. I marvelled at his stamina. I could never do that. Because he was already at it when I arrived those might have been his fourth, fifth and sixth of the night. Then, out the door.
Later that same month I watched him stumble through his shift -- eyes glazed, expressionless, a zombie. Bored stiff. Burned out. Miserable.
And trapped. The restaurant couldn't fire him because French law prevents it. And he could not afford to quit even to be retrained for another profession. Without employment mobility he was marooned, forced to work a job he hated. So he self-medicated to get through each day.
Parisian neighborhoods socially orbit some small coffee/wine/fast food joints called "brasseries" interspersed with restaurants, some top-flight, most serving ethnic cuisine. In my neighborhood the best was a cous-cous establishment that had there for at least a half century. Famous. Packed every night. Because I ate there several times a month I knew the waiters. And because I might stop for "un expresse" (shot of expresso) at a nearby brasserie in the late afternoon I got to know their drinking habits. They got thoroughly smashed before their shift on beer, Amstel blond or Kronenbourg "1644". I watched one knock back four Amstels in as many minutes, chug them one-after-another, shouting "un autre!" after finishing each. I marvelled at his stamina. I could never do that. Because he was already at it when I arrived those might have been his fourth, fifth and sixth of the night. Then, out the door.
Later that same month I watched him stumble through his shift -- eyes glazed, expressionless, a zombie. Bored stiff. Burned out. Miserable.
And trapped. The restaurant couldn't fire him because French law prevents it. And he could not afford to quit even to be retrained for another profession. Without employment mobility he was marooned, forced to work a job he hated. So he self-medicated to get through each day.
3
PS it's 1664, a somewhat less than nasty beer that I refuse to drink.
1
Service staff are highly mobile in France. No need to stick around for the health insurance (dream about that, suckers). Good staff can move at will in Paris and just about anywhere. I've lived here more than 20 years and know plenty of service staff, including MY OWN SON. At the very least, unlike YOUR zombie acquaintance, I'm not worried about him being unemployed.
2
I spent over 12 years cooking in in Manhattan and Hoboken. Drinking and drugging before, during and after the shift was the reality. From the lead cook at my first "real' cooking job having a pitcher of Rusty Nails as part of his 'mise en place' to the bartender having the 'good stuff' , drugs and booze were as much a part of the job as cooking. Showing up to work @ 2pm (hung over or not), prepping my station, working service and breaking down, all the while taking a quick break whenever possible to smoke or slam down a beer. heading to the bars that close at 4pc and then to whatever after hours were open. Home by 6am or so, sleep a few hours and do it all over again the next day. I don't blame stress or the environment for my use and abuse of alcohol and drugs. I'd already been doing that for years before starting on my career. But in retrospect there was a feeling that this behavior was if not encouraged deemed "normal". I think people inclined to use and abuse will find their fellow users and abusers especially in the fast paced high pressure atmosphere of a restaurant. I have been sober for over 11 years and look back fondly on my time in the business. i also think back on the people who have died from this disease who i once worked with, many talented folks who could not escape their addiction.
47
This jumped out at me: "I found myself walking back to my car after a shift, disappointed in the amount of cash tips I fed, like Monopoly money, into a video poker machine." Gambling can be an addiction for some people. My book, She Bets Her Life discusses gambling addiction in women: https://www.amazon.com/She-Bets-Her-Life-Addiction/dp/1580052983
3
Ms.Bronson speaks the truth! I waited tables through my three year graduate degree. I remember seeing some of the same restaurant staff still working there several years after I graduated and started my professional career. They had been in school as well. It's hard to imagine food service jobs being substantial enough for most people.
1
The minimum wage must be tied to the wages of congress. It is just that simple. No one in congress is worth more than 8 times the minimum wage. All staffers should get only the minimum wage! Serving your country is an honor... perhaps it should also be a sacrifice!
The first question we should ask our representatives for the senate and congress is what they consider to be a livable wage. And the second question is can they get people to work for them when they pay that amount???
The first question we should ask our representatives for the senate and congress is what they consider to be a livable wage. And the second question is can they get people to work for them when they pay that amount???
6
I worked as a bartender for two years in a cozy, neighborhood bar that had a jazz trio on Saturday nights. My shift started at 8; at 10 I had my first shot of Jack Daniels, and one more on the hour until 1 am, when I quit for the night so I would be sober for my trip home. I can't imagine engaging in all the banter and putting up with all the alcohol-egos without it. But woe to me if I ever lost my capacity to handle myself. The neighborhood was in transition from working-class Irish to bohemian to lesbian, to yuppie and occasionally one of the Irish sons would storm the bar, brandishing guns and generally try to intimidate me, the lone female bartender I was eventually fired from the bar because I refused to snort cocaine in the back room with the owner. He hired an exotic dancer from the Tenderloin who had never worked in a bar to take my place. Oh well. . . .it's a crazy business.
7
Alcohol is a base poison.
1
Patrick: But the people who work the hardest to ban it are Islamic terrorists. Go figure.
2
The only difference between medicine and poison is the dose.
You also forgot to mention smoking! I knew a ton of people who picked up that habit from being in/around bars, and it gave them an excuse to actually go outside for a few minutes every couple of hours...
I personally didn't smoke, but I did lie to my manager to say I was going to take a "smoke break" just to stand outside and breathe non-bar air for a few minutes...
I personally didn't smoke, but I did lie to my manager to say I was going to take a "smoke break" just to stand outside and breathe non-bar air for a few minutes...
9
It is free for most waiters and they apparently like or are addicted to the high. And today we are legalizing marijuana all over the U.S. so it is exactly the same deal. Would you like to be in a plane, bus, or train with someone stoned? Or how about a car accident? Something for the libs to think about. People do unfortunate when drunk or stoned.
3
Jan, I'm in Colorado right now. It's a purple state. Lots of conservatives here voted to make marijuana legal. And the state is still here. In fact I hear tourists from fully red states express surprise at how they can't even tell marijuana is legal, because everything is so quiet and normal, it's like nothing at all has changed. Except for all that tax money pouring into the state coffers. Over half a billion dollars since this experiment began.
7
I reckon that marijuana lessens the potential for road rage or getting into a bar fight. Unlike, say, alcohol.
2
Jan,
Those that partake come from all of the spectrum. As the 75% approval of legalization proves. I'd much prefer to travel with those that are high as apposed to those that pontificate upon things that seem to be beyond their perspective much less knowledge.
As for your car accident screed. Those not under the influence far outnumber those that are. Thus your point is/was?
Something for the Cons to think about. You know, those that spout off about free will, states rights, self determination, i.e. FREEDOM!
Those that partake come from all of the spectrum. As the 75% approval of legalization proves. I'd much prefer to travel with those that are high as apposed to those that pontificate upon things that seem to be beyond their perspective much less knowledge.
As for your car accident screed. Those not under the influence far outnumber those that are. Thus your point is/was?
Something for the Cons to think about. You know, those that spout off about free will, states rights, self determination, i.e. FREEDOM!
3
If I were stuck in a job like that I would drink myself silly too.
5
Wow, I wonder why an industry with low wages, inconsistent schedules, and a high level of abuse and subhuman treatment, including verbal and sometimes physical abuse and harassment by customers, would correlate with high levels of substance abuse by those employed in that industry.
Real head-scratcher, that one.
Real head-scratcher, that one.
22
"Plus, the problem goes all the way to the top. The same report on substance abuse found that across all industries, one in 10 managers is abusing controlled substances"
The problem goes beyond managers but to the owners of the restaurant as well. I work at an Indian restaurant near Union Sq. Recently, I watched the owner and his friends do drugs in front of the staff while we all catered to his friends and their ego. On top of that I was tipped $200 for a comped $2000 meal! Everyone here drinks including the managers since the beer fridge upstairs is pretty accessible to all staff members. Hospitality used to mean something, now it's just a joke!
The problem goes beyond managers but to the owners of the restaurant as well. I work at an Indian restaurant near Union Sq. Recently, I watched the owner and his friends do drugs in front of the staff while we all catered to his friends and their ego. On top of that I was tipped $200 for a comped $2000 meal! Everyone here drinks including the managers since the beer fridge upstairs is pretty accessible to all staff members. Hospitality used to mean something, now it's just a joke!
2
Restaurant employees work weekends and holidays, often past midnight. So their social group tends to be other restaurant workers, and at 2 am few places are open to relax and unwind other than bars.
What's sad is that when a restaurant worker stops drinking he loses his social network. One of the hardest things for a recovering alcoholic is the wary distancing of friends and the subsequent loss of companionship.
What's sad is that when a restaurant worker stops drinking he loses his social network. One of the hardest things for a recovering alcoholic is the wary distancing of friends and the subsequent loss of companionship.
7
Waiting tables pays better than most jobs ever can. The pressure to perform is a constant grind but the rewards can be worth it if alcoholism isn't a personal issue. I work at a culinary academy so we see the drama, trauma and wreckage that alcohol and drugs can do to well intended people. The industry is not centralized, so it's nearly impossible to employ common-sense ground rules and worker protections. If we're being honest here, the only solution is a single payer healthcare system that takes the burden off the employer and it can protect the worker who, "wants," to recover, too.
3
My lord. I simply cannot take this anymore. The NYT has become so full of everything-is-terrible articles that drinking is the only logical response. This piece, plus the one on suntan lotion poisoning the sea (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/19/opinion/sunday/sunscreen-poisoning-oc... has put me over the top. Make mine a double, and hurry, please.
More seriously, come on. Show me a job that isn't stressful and I'll show you a professional mattress tester. Dentists and physicians have the highest suicide rates, followed by cops. Not sure where waiters, waitresses and kitchen workers rank, but they are not in the top ten, according to a 2015 report from Mental Health Daily. "We share with manual labor industries like construction and mining the physical toll of our work." But not the death rate. Roofers and ironworkers are in the top ten for the highest death rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. No restaurant jobs are close. And ask roofers, framers and landscapers about "physical tolls."
My guess is, a fair number of folks who like to drink gravitate toward the food and beverage industry because drinking is, to some degree, tolerated by restaurants and bars. I know that I've seen it in establishments that I patronize. A few free drinks are often seen as a fringe benefit.
But back to my point. Please, stop running so many things-are-awful stories. At some point, it just gets old, which helps explain why so many folks tune out the media.
More seriously, come on. Show me a job that isn't stressful and I'll show you a professional mattress tester. Dentists and physicians have the highest suicide rates, followed by cops. Not sure where waiters, waitresses and kitchen workers rank, but they are not in the top ten, according to a 2015 report from Mental Health Daily. "We share with manual labor industries like construction and mining the physical toll of our work." But not the death rate. Roofers and ironworkers are in the top ten for the highest death rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. No restaurant jobs are close. And ask roofers, framers and landscapers about "physical tolls."
My guess is, a fair number of folks who like to drink gravitate toward the food and beverage industry because drinking is, to some degree, tolerated by restaurants and bars. I know that I've seen it in establishments that I patronize. A few free drinks are often seen as a fringe benefit.
But back to my point. Please, stop running so many things-are-awful stories. At some point, it just gets old, which helps explain why so many folks tune out the media.
6
Read the Christian Science Monitor for not-so-grim news. Great reporting, but not dismal.
7
I'm not sure those death statistics are really comparable here. Those numbers don't include death by addiction (liver disease, car crashes, over doses etc). Those numbers only include deaths directly attributed by the industry - roofer falling off roof for example. As to suicide rates - if those numbers included "suicide" by long term addiction the ranking of restaurant staff might be very different. I think the point of the article is to show that addiction is a big problem in the restaurant industry and as that industry makes up more of the total job pool, society might wish to explore ways to improve those statistics.
1
Umm..excuse me,
Fair enough. But my original point, I think, remains valid: Every job is stressful. That's why they call it "work." I've dated enough bartenders and waitresses to know that the food service industry isn't an easy way to make a living (and to teach me to tip well), but what industry is?
The larger point is, I'm sick, thoroughly sick, and tired of articles like these that start with a woe-is-us premise, then move on to bemoan the lack of adequate health care. News flash: Most everyone in this country doesn't have adequate health care, but that is, or should be, a separate issue because it's a common malaise. Doesn't matter whether you work construction or wait tables. I say this as someone who supports Medicare for everyone.
As for the premise that food and beverage industry workers have anything akin to the physical toll experienced by construction workers and miners, that's sheer rubbish. Yes, standing on your feet all day isn't easy. But it's a darn sight easier than nailing shingles to a roof in 90 degree weather, or laboring underground in coal mine.
End of day, this comes off as nothing more than a bunch of whining. At some point, personal responsibility has to kick in. A waiter becomes a lush due to job stress. What about an air traffic controller? Or a neurosurgeon? Sorry, but I flat-out don't buy that waiters have it so tough that they are doomed to a life of alcoholism. This article was plain silly. I expect better from NYT.
Fair enough. But my original point, I think, remains valid: Every job is stressful. That's why they call it "work." I've dated enough bartenders and waitresses to know that the food service industry isn't an easy way to make a living (and to teach me to tip well), but what industry is?
The larger point is, I'm sick, thoroughly sick, and tired of articles like these that start with a woe-is-us premise, then move on to bemoan the lack of adequate health care. News flash: Most everyone in this country doesn't have adequate health care, but that is, or should be, a separate issue because it's a common malaise. Doesn't matter whether you work construction or wait tables. I say this as someone who supports Medicare for everyone.
As for the premise that food and beverage industry workers have anything akin to the physical toll experienced by construction workers and miners, that's sheer rubbish. Yes, standing on your feet all day isn't easy. But it's a darn sight easier than nailing shingles to a roof in 90 degree weather, or laboring underground in coal mine.
End of day, this comes off as nothing more than a bunch of whining. At some point, personal responsibility has to kick in. A waiter becomes a lush due to job stress. What about an air traffic controller? Or a neurosurgeon? Sorry, but I flat-out don't buy that waiters have it so tough that they are doomed to a life of alcoholism. This article was plain silly. I expect better from NYT.
1
If it wasn't alcohol it was coffee.
2
no - it was alcohol.
"coffee" - Really? coffee; what a terrible alternative! LOL :)
Ken, as a longtime chef, and a guy who opened the doors at Union Square Cafe for three years, and was the first in as head chef at places on Long Island, the order of business always was open the door, turn off the alarm system, turn on the lights, then fire up the coffee pot, before even turning on the stoves.
2
Asheville Carolina is simultaneously a tourist/restaurant haven (The Baseball Team is actually named the Tourists) and "Beer City U.S.A" with more breweries per capita than anywhere in the U.S.
How do you think that is playing out in the the service industry...
How do you think that is playing out in the the service industry...
1
That must explain why everyone sings Asheville's praises.
Isn't drinking on the job stealing on the job?
1
Not necessarily. I don't know if it is still the case, but for many years, Local 6 of the Hotel and Restaurant union had it in the contract that the employer provided two beers per day per worker.
4
Yes, drinking on the job is viewed as stealing in many cases. It depends on the establishment. In many cases, management in bars and restaurants tolerates drinking on the job, particularly if the employee in question is a high performer who brings in business. They'd rather have a bartender who takes a nip or two who doesn't dip into the till and can banter with customers and adroitly handle drunks than a teetotaler who plays it strictly by the book, doesn't know how to handle drunks and is so boring that patrons go elsewhere.
The best bartenders I've known drink on the job. They know which regulars get heavy pours to keep them coming in and which get light ones because they can't handle their liquor. They know how to act interested when a patron just keeps talking, and they know how to keep the jukebox (if there is one) going without scaring anyone away. They have personality and know how to act as if they'd be doing this for free even when they'd rather be anywhere else. If I had to do all the things that a good bartender must do, I'd drink, too. It ain't easy.
The best bartenders I've known drink on the job. They know which regulars get heavy pours to keep them coming in and which get light ones because they can't handle their liquor. They know how to act interested when a patron just keeps talking, and they know how to keep the jukebox (if there is one) going without scaring anyone away. They have personality and know how to act as if they'd be doing this for free even when they'd rather be anywhere else. If I had to do all the things that a good bartender must do, I'd drink, too. It ain't easy.
1
In Milwaukee for decades and decades, all workers in breweries could drink the product. One of the perks of the job. Had designated times for 'beer breaks.' In hindsight, this seems amazing and frankly, weird, but it was 'tradition' for a long, long while.
(We still have some local breweries ... and maybe it still goes on?)
(We still have some local breweries ... and maybe it still goes on?)
1
this is part of the "acceptable level of risk" that permeates US business and culture
1
Hospitality/food service work in the US is largely slavery.
On the other side are the lowlifes who leave a couple of dollars on the table after spending as much as they like on an extravagant affair.
On the other side are the lowlifes who leave a couple of dollars on the table after spending as much as they like on an extravagant affair.
7
If you think being a server drives you to drink, try being a dishwasher.
8
NOPE
The Clark Institute of Art (Williamstown) has a fine arts painting that sheds light on the tip problem.
It depicts a family -
Husband playing a mandolin while looking at his wife with love,
Wife is looking at her mother with appreciation
Mother looking at her granddaughter with fulfillment
Granddaughter (with tambourine) looking with awe at the instrument her father is using to express his love for her mother. A complete sustaining circle.
It's a picture of contentment and -- a family circle.
It represents what we all want. To be part of something greater.
Successful restaurants are invitations into a circle like that.
The motive is hospitality, acceptance, trust, friends. sanctuary.
it says you, the customer and employee, are valued and appreciated.
People are hungry for that.
A restaurant's product is more than food.
People persons understand and give freely. Willing to serve.
Some do so with grace. Others only when tip time comes.
Reducing people (customers & attendants) to commodities is dehumanizing and causes sustaining circles (businesses) to fall apart.
Restaurants are cultural as well as culinary.
They foster a sense of community.
Tip skimmers, whether IRS or Restaraunt owner can easily destroy community & culture.
The IRS should take a closer look at Presidents who claim immense losses and take huge tax writes while living as billionaires.
It depicts a family -
Husband playing a mandolin while looking at his wife with love,
Wife is looking at her mother with appreciation
Mother looking at her granddaughter with fulfillment
Granddaughter (with tambourine) looking with awe at the instrument her father is using to express his love for her mother. A complete sustaining circle.
It's a picture of contentment and -- a family circle.
It represents what we all want. To be part of something greater.
Successful restaurants are invitations into a circle like that.
The motive is hospitality, acceptance, trust, friends. sanctuary.
it says you, the customer and employee, are valued and appreciated.
People are hungry for that.
A restaurant's product is more than food.
People persons understand and give freely. Willing to serve.
Some do so with grace. Others only when tip time comes.
Reducing people (customers & attendants) to commodities is dehumanizing and causes sustaining circles (businesses) to fall apart.
Restaurants are cultural as well as culinary.
They foster a sense of community.
Tip skimmers, whether IRS or Restaraunt owner can easily destroy community & culture.
The IRS should take a closer look at Presidents who claim immense losses and take huge tax writes while living as billionaires.
3
I've often told people the hardest job that I ever had was waiting tables in college. But exploitation of workers in this country has only increased since Reagans infamous destruction of the air traffic controllers union. Don't expect an increase in pay, better hours or mental health care. You are a commodity in today's capitalistic system.
8
It is HARD work, you are absolutely correct. I helped my brother one summer during a restaurant expansion while he was still figuring out what he needed for full-time staff. My duties hostessing, bussing tables, doing coffee and water refills, etc.
Tough work, physical (I had calves of steel then; missing them now!) and I completely lost my appetite. The food there was great, but smell it long enough, cart off enough dirty plates, etc. ... for a while, was no longer appealing.
Very demanding work, and maybe everyone should have a stint at it ... I had my full-time++ 'career' job at the time -- admin. at an ad agency and that was a LOT on its own -- and did the short-term restaurant gig on weekends -- and it was character-building. I went back to my desk and computer and cubicle in gratitude every Monday ...
Tough work, physical (I had calves of steel then; missing them now!) and I completely lost my appetite. The food there was great, but smell it long enough, cart off enough dirty plates, etc. ... for a while, was no longer appealing.
Very demanding work, and maybe everyone should have a stint at it ... I had my full-time++ 'career' job at the time -- admin. at an ad agency and that was a LOT on its own -- and did the short-term restaurant gig on weekends -- and it was character-building. I went back to my desk and computer and cubicle in gratitude every Monday ...
2
The author fails to mention that the restaurant industry and hotel executives have consistently spoken out against higher minimum wages and benefits for their employees. The mentality that labor is expendable is a product of political decisions that allow employers to exploit their workers, with the sanction of the state.
It is heart breaking to observe the self harm that many of these service industry workers exhibit. Showing respect for any working person is first on the list of things to do; tipping well is second; and not acting like a jerk is appreciated in all walks of life.
It is heart breaking to observe the self harm that many of these service industry workers exhibit. Showing respect for any working person is first on the list of things to do; tipping well is second; and not acting like a jerk is appreciated in all walks of life.
6
Drinking is a problem not just in the food industry but everywhere. The stress of being a waiter or waitress contributes to the drinking problem. A lot of customers in restaurants are rude and want their order yesterday. Sometimes I feel that these people feel that waiters and waitress are beneath them. They are entitled.
6
I read it mainly because my daughter is in the food service industry (though not waitressing) and tends to drink maybe once a week. The article, however, does nothing to give some kind of insight at all. It's pretty shallow and superficial and seems out of place in a website like this.
Working in a bar made me hate the industry. We figured out (with some careful record keeping) that 40% of the profits were from the same twenty people, where each spent hundreds of dollars a week. We could see them becoming sicker with addiction each month. They lost relationships, jobs, cars, respect and one even lost his life while I was working there (during one year.) This is the dark side of "Cheers."
5
As a former waiter, restaurant manager, and catering server - I agree the industry is physically and psychologically taxing - if you're a kitchen worker, the hours are long, the work is physically challenging, the heat is often punishing, and the pace is often very fast. If you're front of the house, you are required to be "on" - to be physically hustling on all levels, and polite, pleasant, psychologically adept at adjusting to and pleasing all personality types, and often diffusing the rudeness, sexual harassment, unrealistic expectations, or tempers of some customers. Do this for 8 hours minimum, on your feet, without sitting down, often running up and down stairs, carrying heavy cases of wine, supplies, plates, etc., and for those who work doubles, 12-16 hours. It takes a lot out of you. It is no wonder that a lot of us had a drink at the end of the shift, it was not only refreshing, it was a way to soothe shot nerves, and immediately slow down the pace of your mind and body to normal levels. But having one drink after work never turned average people into alcoholics & those who had a serious drinking problem could play it off as being social. My two cents is that if restaurant/food jobs offered workers health insurance, this would change things. I had a co-worker who had mental health issues, and they drank excessively to deal with problems and stress. Having insurance & access to therapy changed everything for that person.
78
The most interesting thing that Ms. Bronson says in this well written piece is that
"....addiction is contagious"
I have never heard it referred to in those terms but I think it is often true.
Thanks for the perspective.
"....addiction is contagious"
I have never heard it referred to in those terms but I think it is often true.
Thanks for the perspective.
4
Restaurant jobs are a refuge for marijuana users who cannot pass the drug tests which have become ubiquitous for even warehouse jobs today. I see more wait staff who party regularly and even some who can do hard drugs and keep it together for their shifts. Many years ago I knew 2 salad chefs at an Italian restaurant who were speed freaks but handled the pressures of their jobs very well. The reality is that these jobs may be the best many recreational drug users in our society.
4
I could have written this story about factory work in the 1970s. When one has a job that is menial the attraction of getting wasted is profound. And when one is stuck in a menial job as a "career" the black hole of addiction is very powerful.
What saved me was hope for a better future (realized!), but when a job that should be a transition position becomes permanent then we have a problem about upward mobility in society. This means that it is time to address the problem, not the symptom.
What saved me was hope for a better future (realized!), but when a job that should be a transition position becomes permanent then we have a problem about upward mobility in society. This means that it is time to address the problem, not the symptom.
5
Thank you for raising awareness. I worked for 20 years as a waiter and was never offered a single paid sick day. Not at Chili's, mind you, but world class restaurants.
The U.S. is so obsessed with industries that are long gone that we are ignoring the industry in front of us.
The U.S. is so obsessed with industries that are long gone that we are ignoring the industry in front of us.
5
Nobody will "give you" sick days unless you and other workers demand it.
In 20 years, what attempts did you make -- YOU personally -- to form a union at the restaurant? And if not, why not? Weren't the other workers interested in higher wages and health insurance?
In 20 years, what attempts did you make -- YOU personally -- to form a union at the restaurant? And if not, why not? Weren't the other workers interested in higher wages and health insurance?
Here is the underline reason for at least some waiter/waitresses: I have two bachelor's degrees and a master's degree and I am a waiter at a local seafood restaurant. No, it is not a joke. I am certain, I am not alone.
Bleak Future is the reason
Bleak Future is the reason
14
I am curious to know what was your field of study.
3
Voice, waiters earn a lot more than adjunct professors.
4
@Paul, perhaps rightfully so...?
1
I have been a Chef for 15 years. Substance abuse has always been an issue in our industry and it is not due to the fact that we are a mistreated bunch but because we work in an environment that is filled with high stress, anxiety, drama and tight schedules. Alcohol is readily available and drugs are usually just a Sous Chef away.
9
This is the human cost of a shift to low-wage, low-skilled economy. Where is the future we were promised in Star Trek of everyone well-educated and involved in interesting work with tedious and repetitive tasks automated?
8
This won't be resolved until we stop treating vast segments of our labor force as disposable. Quite simply, the average American does not view restaurant work as a "real job", so its employees are marginalized and infantilized while simultaneously experiencing real duress from low pay and poor working conditions.
I worked as a bartender in Sweden for three years, and it was like night and day compared to when I worked in the same industry in the US.
My vacation pay was pro-rated based on my weekly hours such that I always got the paid equivalent of eight weeks per full-time year. I made between 20 and 30 dollars an hour, depending on whether I was working unsociable hours or not (unsociable tier 1: after 8 PM, unsociable tier 2: after 1AM). The monthly schedule HAD to be posted at least one month before it occurred, and we nearly all had contracts that guaranteed a set number of hours per month. Not to mention, my tax rate was low, netting 17% effective. I could go on and on.
I can already hear people saying 'well eating out is more expensive there' or 'service is not as good there' but that actually begs the question of viewing workers as disposable. What I mean is this: during slavery, service was probably amazing but we decided the social cost wasn't worth it. Today, the social cost is harsh but obviously less harsh. So we may decide it is OK to keep 20-30 percent of our population as 'semi-throwaway bodies', but let's at least be honest about the decision.
I worked as a bartender in Sweden for three years, and it was like night and day compared to when I worked in the same industry in the US.
My vacation pay was pro-rated based on my weekly hours such that I always got the paid equivalent of eight weeks per full-time year. I made between 20 and 30 dollars an hour, depending on whether I was working unsociable hours or not (unsociable tier 1: after 8 PM, unsociable tier 2: after 1AM). The monthly schedule HAD to be posted at least one month before it occurred, and we nearly all had contracts that guaranteed a set number of hours per month. Not to mention, my tax rate was low, netting 17% effective. I could go on and on.
I can already hear people saying 'well eating out is more expensive there' or 'service is not as good there' but that actually begs the question of viewing workers as disposable. What I mean is this: during slavery, service was probably amazing but we decided the social cost wasn't worth it. Today, the social cost is harsh but obviously less harsh. So we may decide it is OK to keep 20-30 percent of our population as 'semi-throwaway bodies', but let's at least be honest about the decision.
21
Wow the truth is most of us from the USA have no experience of being workers treated with decency, fairness and respect. Many in the USA never travel to other countries so naturally think their experience is the norm. Thanks for your insight.
5
Why did you ever leave? Most of us in the USA never experience anything nearly as great as what you describe in Sweden...
3
My employer owns a restaurant in NYC. We have a policy of drug tests and background checks for all new hires. Unfortunately, two years ago Bill de Blasio imposed a gag order on NYC employers. This prevents us from advising applicants that they will be subject to pre-employment testing and background checks. The law requires that we remain silent about the testing and checking that we will do until after we advertise the job, interview candidates, and then make a contingent offer of employment. It is incredible to me how many candidates do not make it through this process. Before, they would self-select out, knowing that we would be conducting these checks.
6
Wow - it must cost your employer a fortune to do all those drug tests on people who wouldn't have normally applied if they new they were going to be tested.
1
Every profession/ person has their problems. All up to the individual.
2
Too bad there was no reminder in the article about the addiction to easy, ignorant thinking--thanks so much for illustrating the costs of such addiction, Crossing!
1
If it were all up to the individual, then statistically speaking, we should not see patterns across different jobs or segments of the economy: addiction should be randomly distributed. If the proportion of addicts in a given industry is statistically significantly higher or lower than average, then it is something structural about that industry (whether it causes/prevents or attracts/repels addicts).
2
Unions, fair pay, decent hours, and safe, healthy food. With no sick leave for restaurant workers, getting a side order of the virus du jour is free with every meal.
10
And the American culture of victimhood marches on.
6
Or at $2.15 an hour maybe another Confederate tradition besides torches and flags has lingered past its usefulness...?
4
Based on my experience people in food service fall for the siren song of cash in your pocket at the end of shift change. It's all quite alluring. Worse, once your grueling shift is over, it's easy to go to a bar afterwards and chill out. The vast majority of food / beverage servers in my home town are also smokers. Many weren't before they started working in the industry.
It's the food service merry-go-round. If you fall to addiction, you could easily end up with a police record. Now it's harder than ever to get a job outside the industry because of your record. You're right back in it, the cycle continues.
A raise in wages might help, but the indsutry is incredibly competitive and most servers are hooked on the tips anyhow. Cash in your pocket, every night.
It's the food service merry-go-round. If you fall to addiction, you could easily end up with a police record. Now it's harder than ever to get a job outside the industry because of your record. You're right back in it, the cycle continues.
A raise in wages might help, but the indsutry is incredibly competitive and most servers are hooked on the tips anyhow. Cash in your pocket, every night.
4
I smoked while I was a server. Not because I am an addict or because "all the cool kids are doing it" but rather because it was literally the only way to get a break during an 8-hour shift. Also, this was before smoking in restaurants was made illegal so I was choking on smoke all day anyway. I figured at least if I was the one smoking I would get to be someplace quiet for 6 minutes!
4
The overwork in the service industry contributes to this addiction problem. Yes, people need addiction counseling but more importantly they need sane hours and good pay. That would do a lot to assuage the feeling of helplessness that leads to the addiction.
6
I waitressed in my twenties while pursuing other things. Didn't have a problem with alcohol but I did learn about efficiency (never walk around with empty hands!) and got over any shyness I may have had. I loved those days actually, eating good food, coming home with cash in my pockets... Usually I worked either a lunch shift OR a dinner shift, so the hours weren't bad. The chefs, on the other hand, worked brutal hours and were usually pretty crazy, and often drank. Maybe we should be talking about chefs and cooks!
13
Really, the waitstaff have the easier job in a restaurant! You want brutality, look in the kitchen -- start early, leave late -- crazy busy -- hot! dangerous! fire! burns! cuts from knives! -- it is 10 times the work of waiting tables, and unless you are a top chef, you probably earn less than the waitstaff.
One word: Access
"My dearest friends are those I toiled alongside in horrible restaurant jobs." Not every restaurant job is horrible. The service industry does not have a monopoly on workplace stress or substance abuse. I agree that the industry could improve access to treatment and therapy.
3
You imply the author claims all restaurant service jobs are horrible. She hasn't even claimed those horrible restaurant jobs were her entire experience in the industry, only that the relationships she forged there remain. In other words her citation is specific, while YOUR implication that a generalisation muddied rather than clarifies.
Reading skills or something else?
Reading skills or something else?
1
A recent study estimates that 1 in 8 American adults are alcoholics (excluding other kinds of drug addicts, I presume), so none of the numbers here should be surprising.
1
Since this article will draw many readers worried about their own dependency problem, or their concerns about it becoming more exacerbated, let me share the best reference source I have ever come across on addiction and dependency: Susan Cheever's (John's daughter) book on addiction. Desire: Where Sex Meets Addiction. And although she does discuss her sex addition, the book is truly a secular bible for understanding alcohol and substance abuse, both one's own, and in general. You won't regret checking it out.
3
Funny No talk by the Times this article about how undocumented workers definitely keep this industry paying the lowest wages possible. unpaid overtime the norm and unionization impossible - especially among kitchen staff.
This is a classic example of an industry negatively affected by an influx of undocumented people willing to take less than living wage and put up with endless abuse without complaint. Legal workers as you point out will be sacked and replaced.
The whole sector suffers and as you point out society does too
This is a classic example of an industry negatively affected by an influx of undocumented people willing to take less than living wage and put up with endless abuse without complaint. Legal workers as you point out will be sacked and replaced.
The whole sector suffers and as you point out society does too
11
And your logical conclusion is to blame the undocumented for needing work? Here's a novel idea: How about we make legal immigration easier, then immigrants would have the same rights as American workers, and would no longer suffer the same sort of abuse and low wages as they do now.
5
Why not blame the restaurateurs who CHOOSE to run their businesses this way? Those who CHOOSE to treat their staff like disposable trash and try to spend as little as possible? I've worked for both well-run and poorly run restaurants. At the well-run one, the owners actually cared about building a staff that was a team (most of us were seasonal), and treated us with respect. Same for the kitchen staff. At the poorly run place, the owners treated everyone like disposable dirt, when they weren't screaming at each other at the top of their lungs in Farsi, which none of us spoke. (The owner's brother was the acting head chef, after the real chef quit in a huff, and was sleeping with the manager. The owner would also bring in his MUCH younger girlfriend, who had a whole entourage of shifty Eastern Europeans of her own. There was drama.) That place was a dump, and filthy to boot. I'm shocked it's still in business and no one has been poisoned.
The restaurant industry is rife with exploitation. How many hours are these people working? Is their schedule consistent? But rather than blame the owners, we should look to ourselves. No one I know, no matter how wealthy is willing to pay the cost of a dinner that is sourced from ethical farms, cooked by people making a living wage, or presented by people with health insurance. We won't pay $20 for a salad, no matter how gourmet. Every comment on food "sustainability" is hypocrisy until the human element is considered.
7
When I was in college, I waited tables at a very popular restaurant. We regularly worked 10-hour shifts with no breaks of any kind. If people "camped out" at one of your tables or you had a couple bad tippers, it could ruin your night. Out of our night's tips, we were expected to tip the busboys, the bartender, and the cooks. The one perk? All the beer you could drink for those who liked to imbibe -- which was most. Drugs flowed freely. Cooks were the worst, often so intoxicated that orders were mixed up and food came out slow. Of course, patrons would punish the server for these problems by tipping less. It's a tough industry.
77
Decades in kitchens and never once saw wait staff tip out cooks. In some localities it is not even legal to do so.
2
We actually had to tip out the kitchen in a restaurant in Berkeley. And it most likely was nowhere close to legal to have to do so.
1
I bar tended for 18 years on the Upper West Side. I grew into a raging alcoholic, and eventually ended up in rehab and have now been sober for over two years.
I don't blame the bar, though. They were and still are like a family to me, fully supportive before, during and after my disease got the best of me.
No real commentary here, just thought I'd share!
I don't blame the bar, though. They were and still are like a family to me, fully supportive before, during and after my disease got the best of me.
No real commentary here, just thought I'd share!
131
Congrats on your sobriety! Best wishes.
5
Keep up the good work staying sober. There's always someone out there willing to help if you find yourself in a low moment.
3
Thank you for sharing and congratulations on your sobriety. As a mental health professional with several years experience working in an outpatient treatment facility I have the upmost respect for those who accept responsibility for their choices. Life can be hard enough and adding an addiction on top of that can be monumental. Good luck to you.
3
Having worked in and managed a number of restaurants earlier in my life, this article comes as no surprise. Just visit the walk in coolers sometime.
7
A friend who was a restaurant owner/chef once told me when you see a waiter riding to work on a bicycle don't think "healthy," think "DUI."
12
Not so much. I worked on Long Island, near Mineola, where many busboys and dishwashers bicycled to work, because they either didn't have a license or more frequently, no car. Almost all were sending money home to their home countries.
My best food runner died bicycling home after a shift when he was hit by a drunk driver. A helmet migh have saved him.
My best food runner died bicycling home after a shift when he was hit by a drunk driver. A helmet migh have saved him.
1
People get stuck. Repetitive behavior patterns develop harden over time if underlying issues are not addressed. This 1% culture is exploiting the working class but we are conspiring with the powers that be in ruining our own lives. We need to make money to live but we don't need to kill our souls with addiction. Addiction to drugs and alcohol or tech, or rampant consumerism. For most, it is a choice to use or abuse. Find out that which drives you in these behaviors and heal yourself. There is no other choice really.
5
There is a difference between someone drinking and an addict .
However the mention about tips gets me going. Will someone tell me what is so skill required and noble about bringing food to a table?? The managers and cooks and kitchen workers do a much nobler and harder work than servers. This tipping in the USA is stupid and keeps me away from restaurants when I'm there. Before you get going, yes Jane , I've worked as a waiter and cook so know what I speak of.
However the mention about tips gets me going. Will someone tell me what is so skill required and noble about bringing food to a table?? The managers and cooks and kitchen workers do a much nobler and harder work than servers. This tipping in the USA is stupid and keeps me away from restaurants when I'm there. Before you get going, yes Jane , I've worked as a waiter and cook so know what I speak of.
3
The tip culture is a sickness in itself but the sickest part of it is blaming the victims. Hint : as a customer, you're not the victim here.
Are you really shaming waiters because the businesses that employ them are legally allowed to pay slave wages?
Are you really shaming waiters because the businesses that employ them are legally allowed to pay slave wages?
3
when you were a waiter, were you making $2.15 an hour? Because that's what waiters in the US are making and that's why they are desperate for tips. Making $8.00 an hour is already unlivable, but $2.15? you might as well just light $2.15 on fire instead of paying for heat or gas. Unless the law is changed so service workers can be paid the minimum wage like every other worker, it is a customer's obligation to tip service staff. If you don't, you are taking part in the criminal exploitation of that worker.
4
You have clearly never actually worked as a server. It's not just "carrying food to a table". It's managing the entire dining experience. Being personable, helpful, timing courses correctly, keeping beverages filled and making recommendations for a minimum of four different tables (with different timings, different personalities, and different needs) takes skill. You have to be efficient, strategic, and outgoing to only the correct extent. You also have to deal with screaming kids, petulant customers, not-infrequent sexual harassment, and the physical toll of carrying food, drinks and dirty dishes for hours all followed by doing restaurant cleaning and restocking duties before you leave. All for extremely low wages. You don't like tipping? Well, the server often doesn't particularly like having to be a friendly face every day with angry cooks and irritated bartenders on one side and hangry customers on the other. I would say the good ones more than earn their 20%. If you hate it so much please stay home.
2
The story reinforces my aversion to restaurants, chefs, waitresses, and holier than thou foodies, nutritionists, and happy hour regulars of all stripes.
3
Unfortunately drinking and waiting is not new and seems to be part of the culture. The French "pourboirs" means tip, but translates literally as "for drinks". In Sweden, a waiter's tip is "dricks" and translates as, you guessed it, "drinks."
2
Barkeep in Telluride years ago. The real residents were mostly younger people supporting their skiing by working in bars and restaurants. (The other major job was construction.) Customers would disappear to the restrooms and come back sniffing, rubbing their noses. Pot was real common and overlooked by the marshal as long as you didn't make it public. (If enforced they would have had to arrest half the town.)
At the time it was illegal for a barkeeper to drink while working. Wait staff was included. I always was sober/clean while working. It's a demanding job that requires full attention and skill. Drunks are often stupid. Hard to imagine trying to do the job in an "altered state."
When the bars closed at 2:00AM everyone would still be hyped up from work, to wired to go to sleep. Where would we go, what would we do? Small town, nothing open. By unspoken agreement we'd gather in the back of a bar and have a private hour or so. People then drank or got high.
Tending bar was crazy hard particularly on something like a full moon. People drank because it changed them. Sometimes the change wasn't good
I really can't imagine being stuck in the business as the only way to make a living. It's amazing just how rude hungry or drunk people can be. It really could "drive one to drink."
At the time it was illegal for a barkeeper to drink while working. Wait staff was included. I always was sober/clean while working. It's a demanding job that requires full attention and skill. Drunks are often stupid. Hard to imagine trying to do the job in an "altered state."
When the bars closed at 2:00AM everyone would still be hyped up from work, to wired to go to sleep. Where would we go, what would we do? Small town, nothing open. By unspoken agreement we'd gather in the back of a bar and have a private hour or so. People then drank or got high.
Tending bar was crazy hard particularly on something like a full moon. People drank because it changed them. Sometimes the change wasn't good
I really can't imagine being stuck in the business as the only way to make a living. It's amazing just how rude hungry or drunk people can be. It really could "drive one to drink."
79
We need to start treating service work as less than. We need to take the European model. Servers should not rely on tips for a living wage. They should be earning money for their hard work! They not only serve food, they put up with moods, they deal with customers whose grasp of etiquette is rarely firm, and they are often witness to the worst people dish out to each other over dinner tables. That we have the saying "treat her/him like the help" is indicative of exactly what we do to people we then expect to bring us our food and do so with a smile. It is shameful, and we should be ashamed.
10
Americans are encouraged to believe in something called the pursuit of happiness. But happiness is an innate quality that comes from deep within the self. Therefore Americans are in pursuit of something that can never be attained in the material world, and as such are chronically frustrated and disappointed. So they seek a substitute for happiness, in the form of gambling, or casual sex, or alcohol, or drugs, or pornography....all of which are highly addictive, and all of which are promoted aggressively by diabolical people who know how to exploit human weakness for the sake of profit. This is why so many Americans are addicted in one way or another.
2
You are absolutely right. The soullessness of American society has a terrible impact on everyone, especially our young people. We need to be a society of values and tolerance. People will be happy when their lives have meaning.
I know someone who waited tables at a chain restaurant to put himself through college. On a particularly busy Sunday afternoon he had a large party of demanding diners. He had no help, plus he had other tables. When it came time for them to leave, they left him with a tip of one cent for each person at the table, as well as a "God bless."
Is it any wonder why wait staff drinks? It's got to be one of the hardest and least-appreciated jobs there are. I know I couldn't do it. Hats off to those who do.
Is it any wonder why wait staff drinks? It's got to be one of the hardest and least-appreciated jobs there are. I know I couldn't do it. Hats off to those who do.
14
My first waitressing job was at a family style restaurant/ice cream parlor in NJ called Huff's, now closed. (We were allowed to eat our 'ice cream' mistakes, and I gained 6lbs in the 8 wks before college.)
My next waitressing job was in Ithaca NY @ a college bar that was extremely popular when I was a sophomore there in the 1970's. Three nights a week, closing at 1AM-2AM, we all hung out afterwards counting our tips and having drinks until 3-4AM.
I am very lucky I didn't have a drinking issue from any of my serving jobs, but I almost think it is something you're 'born with' when it comes to abusing alcohol or drugs, as if there is a 'switch' that gets turned on at some point.
If I have > 1 drink, I totally feel it now, so I guess that's old age setting in.
My next waitressing job was in Ithaca NY @ a college bar that was extremely popular when I was a sophomore there in the 1970's. Three nights a week, closing at 1AM-2AM, we all hung out afterwards counting our tips and having drinks until 3-4AM.
I am very lucky I didn't have a drinking issue from any of my serving jobs, but I almost think it is something you're 'born with' when it comes to abusing alcohol or drugs, as if there is a 'switch' that gets turned on at some point.
If I have > 1 drink, I totally feel it now, so I guess that's old age setting in.
4
Good luck dealing with this. One of the attractions of the business are the benefits like free food and booze. If you don't partake you are usually not one of the team and are regarded with amusement and suspicion.
In many kitchens, at the end of the evening shift, free beer for the workers is a longstanding tradition. God help the bartender who tries to put a stop to it.
Raising wages won't stop anything. The hotel and restaurant business has always been a partying one because showing people a good time is what they do for a living. They're very good at it.
In many kitchens, at the end of the evening shift, free beer for the workers is a longstanding tradition. God help the bartender who tries to put a stop to it.
Raising wages won't stop anything. The hotel and restaurant business has always been a partying one because showing people a good time is what they do for a living. They're very good at it.
1
17 percent seems terribly low. I'm guessing the report includes all restaurants. Working at Denny's doesn't carry the same abuse risk as working at a casino bar. I also noticed the report lumps food services together with accommodations. This distorts the picture further. I imagine rural motels only suffer substance abuse out of sheer boredom. There's also reporting issues. I didn't read through the methodology but I don't think the indecent rate is very well captured. In short, the problem is probably much bigger than the figures suggest. That's after controlling for demographics.
In my food service experience, inebriation was not only expected but encouraged. One of the fringe benefits of working at one place was a shift drink served while closing the restaurant. This was typically a beer and a shot. On busy weekends though, the kitchen manager would generally buy PBR for the group and serve it in coffee cups throughout the night. The middle managers all had more serious drug addictions than alcohol. Minor alternative abuse by subordinates was therefore tolerated as well. The only sober person in the restaurant each shift was a nursing mother.
To top everything off, they'd send you out with a wad a tips into a nightlife with no less than 7 bars within a 4 block radius and no shortage of late night parties. Be back at work tomorrow afternoon was the only rule. I'd say the biggest obstruction for a drunk was finding a sober ride home at night. Fortunately I walked to work.
In my food service experience, inebriation was not only expected but encouraged. One of the fringe benefits of working at one place was a shift drink served while closing the restaurant. This was typically a beer and a shot. On busy weekends though, the kitchen manager would generally buy PBR for the group and serve it in coffee cups throughout the night. The middle managers all had more serious drug addictions than alcohol. Minor alternative abuse by subordinates was therefore tolerated as well. The only sober person in the restaurant each shift was a nursing mother.
To top everything off, they'd send you out with a wad a tips into a nightlife with no less than 7 bars within a 4 block radius and no shortage of late night parties. Be back at work tomorrow afternoon was the only rule. I'd say the biggest obstruction for a drunk was finding a sober ride home at night. Fortunately I walked to work.
6
A friend, a very talented chef, managed to drink and snort cocaine to the point where first he lost his successful restaurant and then he died, age 40. I don't know about today, but 15 years ago, cocaine use was ubiquitous among line cooks and many servers partied with the guys after shifts. The entire subculture was crazy and in all likelihood still is. In construction and coal mining, intravenous drug use, prescription drug abuse and cocaine are everywhere, again a destructive subculture consuming mostly young men.
6
"Over drinks, cigarettes and video poker..."
"In Las Vegas, many bar and casino workers become addicted not only to substances, but also to the gambling services their employers provide."
alcohol, nicotine and gambling can all be forms of addiction. cocaine too.
on the bright side, restaurants in many states are now smoke-free, so that asthma from second-hand smoke is at a much lower risk. NV and Las Vegas in particular, however, might still have smoking rooms. (can you report?) COPD from direct smoking will be largely up to you.
p.s. tobacco and alcohol are drugs.
"In Las Vegas, many bar and casino workers become addicted not only to substances, but also to the gambling services their employers provide."
alcohol, nicotine and gambling can all be forms of addiction. cocaine too.
on the bright side, restaurants in many states are now smoke-free, so that asthma from second-hand smoke is at a much lower risk. NV and Las Vegas in particular, however, might still have smoking rooms. (can you report?) COPD from direct smoking will be largely up to you.
p.s. tobacco and alcohol are drugs.
1
Aldous Huxley invented the drug, Soma, for his novel "Brave New World." A drug at once euphoric and pleasurable. A drug designed to make the world bearable for those whose lot it will be to labor under a government with no empathy for them. Sound familiar? Bigly familiar?
6
Ever notice the people in the TV commercials for casino gambling establishments? They're good looking, elegant, smiling, happy.
Ever go to a gambling casino to see who is actually in there? Scruffy looking people with cigarettes dangling from their lips, half-consumed alcoholic drinks by their side, dropping all sorts of money into machines and at tables at all hours waiting for that that big score that never comes, and if it did come, they'd gamble it all back and then some.
This is legalized theft.
Ever go to a gambling casino to see who is actually in there? Scruffy looking people with cigarettes dangling from their lips, half-consumed alcoholic drinks by their side, dropping all sorts of money into machines and at tables at all hours waiting for that that big score that never comes, and if it did come, they'd gamble it all back and then some.
This is legalized theft.
4
"Ever go to a gambling casino to see who is actually in there?"
no, because i can already guess the answer with high probability. you can't lose if you don't play.
p.s. like tobacco taxes, state finance departments surreptitiously desire gambling and lottery taxes. legalized, voluntary taxation. (cannabis taxes are next.)
no, because i can already guess the answer with high probability. you can't lose if you don't play.
p.s. like tobacco taxes, state finance departments surreptitiously desire gambling and lottery taxes. legalized, voluntary taxation. (cannabis taxes are next.)
Reading all the drinking stories I was forced to re-live my own childhood with an alcoholic father. I could never understand why my dad, who when not drunk was a gem of a man, would get so drunk and be a terrible person. I had to convince myself that as an adult I would never do that to my kids and proceeded thru adulthood and old age never getting drunk. I guess I was lucky. We all have one addiction or another. Hopefully our addiction does not harm anyone.
3
Although I am patronizing restaurants much more rarely than before the ban on smoking went into effect, I sympathize with the patrons who expose themselves to the atmosphere of inebriated staff. One never knows, whether George Orwell's "waiter sticking the finger in the soup" would not also occur in a restaurant that is eating in.
I have been in the industry for 40+ years. The ubiquitous-ness (?) of alcohol (and drug use) is accurate. I would guess it's fairly universal in our society. Watch just about any TV show and you will see a lot of alcohol use and reference. How many jokes about needing a glass (or bottle) of wine can one hear in one evening? But who knows if that's a reflection of our culture or a contributing factor? (Both, I'd guess.) Alcohol consumption is glorified constantly in the media....as we grow up we are taught it's a fundamental part of adulthood.
I miss the days of quaaludes....they were like taking a drunk pill without one's body having to process the alcohol.
I miss the days of quaaludes....they were like taking a drunk pill without one's body having to process the alcohol.
2
You have this backwards. Painters, contractors, subs, laborers and other self-employed individuals, self-emplyed attorneys see positions to skip
background checks and employment requirements because jobs with strict hours don't work for them.
Does the average restaurant or bar owner really care if he hires someone who works odd hours and is an addict. Probably no. Can an addicted attorney stay employed if he is his own employer? Maybe. But certainly not in a large company or firm.
Addicts as well as previous felons etc seek out jobs with few background checks and odd hours. I've known these folks and this is what they do. It's reality.
background checks and employment requirements because jobs with strict hours don't work for them.
Does the average restaurant or bar owner really care if he hires someone who works odd hours and is an addict. Probably no. Can an addicted attorney stay employed if he is his own employer? Maybe. But certainly not in a large company or firm.
Addicts as well as previous felons etc seek out jobs with few background checks and odd hours. I've known these folks and this is what they do. It's reality.
5
I have worked at multiple types of restaurants--from Pizza Hut to an upscale casino restaurant to a popular Irish pub--and I can attest that this issue exists in all of them. At Pizza Hut--definitely the worst job I've ever had--we were so underpaid and overworked, much of the staff smoked marijuana before and during shifts, just to ease the stress. At the casino restaurant, also one of the worst jobs I've had, I definitely had co-workers who arrived drunk, and our general manager was known to be a coke addict. The Irish pub, on the other hand, is the best service job I've had, with good pay and a management team that respects its employees. However, while I rarely see employees here arrive drunk or high, after a long night at the pub, most of the wait staff will hang out and get drunk. They could increase our pay and offer us benefits and we'd still just want to drink with each other after those stressful nights.
This is really a culture issue more than an issue of poor wages. Restaurants require their workers to handle a lot of stress, non-stop, for an entire shift. There is no sitting down and taking a break, and unless customers are prepared for longer waits and less prompt service, restaurant culture is not about to change. During those long shifts, your co-workers start to seem like fellow soldiers in battle against the increasingly loud and drunk customers. After that battle, you just want to sit down and commiserate with each other over some drinks.
This is really a culture issue more than an issue of poor wages. Restaurants require their workers to handle a lot of stress, non-stop, for an entire shift. There is no sitting down and taking a break, and unless customers are prepared for longer waits and less prompt service, restaurant culture is not about to change. During those long shifts, your co-workers start to seem like fellow soldiers in battle against the increasingly loud and drunk customers. After that battle, you just want to sit down and commiserate with each other over some drinks.
99
There may be a subtle selection process occurring when people choose to be waiters and waitresses. Those with an affinity to alcohol abuse may be attracted to these jobs as a source of readily available supply. Thus the data may be skewed and not representative of a random slice of society.
3
I eat out a lot, but haven't run into many obviously impaired restaurant workers. The woman who dropped an Irish coffee in my lap was a glaring exception. But I worked in the medical business for years, where I can promise you there is a lot of stress.
What would you rather have? A tipsy bartender or an ophthalmologist with a secret?
What would you rather have? A tipsy bartender or an ophthalmologist with a secret?
3
We cannot ignore the social culture of restaurant work. We simply cannot blame it on "difficult work." I have a friend who manages several restaurants. I've noticed she would fire an employee and they would have a new job by nights end. The restaurant industry rarely seems to do any cursory background checks at all. I worked in restaurants as a college student. I saw the drinking and drug use. I believe the owners and managers have to establish a culture - like every other industry - that this is not welcome here.
I know this is the New York Times, but can we, at least on this topic, give personal responsibility the benefit of the doubt?
I know this is the New York Times, but can we, at least on this topic, give personal responsibility the benefit of the doubt?
2
I have a feeling it won't get the nearly the same readership because the "personal responsibility" mantra is smugly inauthentic, but perhaps you could try to submit your own op-ed ?
2
Every year or so an article like this is published about some particular line of work or profession. In the last year I have read one about doctors and drugs (pressure) and lawyers and alcohol (pressure). Instead of stereotyping, which is never helpful, society must recognize that addiction problems visit people in all walks of life. The latest scientific thinking is that there is a biochemical aspect to addiction, as well as, perhaps a genetic aspect. Let's stop stereotyping and encourage more research into this near universal problem.
5
English Lit/Journalism 101 :
The NYT attracts a general and varied readership, to whom the facts of issues surrounding addiction might not be acquired knowledge. This is a personal account, as perhaps might have been the other pieces to which you refer. Using a personal account can be an effective rhetorical technique in relaying a message to a general readership, as opposed to scientific or professional publications which may have their own publishing standards and traditions. Personal accounts allow for identification by the generral readership, hence more success in getting the message across simply because the person may be more willing to read it to the end rather than a dry list of facts and prescriptions.
Regards.
The NYT attracts a general and varied readership, to whom the facts of issues surrounding addiction might not be acquired knowledge. This is a personal account, as perhaps might have been the other pieces to which you refer. Using a personal account can be an effective rhetorical technique in relaying a message to a general readership, as opposed to scientific or professional publications which may have their own publishing standards and traditions. Personal accounts allow for identification by the generral readership, hence more success in getting the message across simply because the person may be more willing to read it to the end rather than a dry list of facts and prescriptions.
Regards.
5
As long as those of us who have never had to work like this look down our noses and insinuate that all of this legitimate concern is just whining, and that people have choices, the chasm that has opened in this country will only get wider. Many people do NOT have choices, they have to take a job, any job. The fact that a waiter gets to the end of her shift and is run down, exhausted, and feels she has nothing to show for all of that effort really tore at my heart. We can all come up with scenarios that we think could make things better - a cheerleading manager who compliments his staff every night and fosters an achieving team spirit, for example, but realistically how many managers have the extra energy and motivation? Service in the hospitality industry is grueling, underpaid, and uninsured. And these are also people who work around sharp implements and open flames. No wonder they need a drink after the tensions of the day evaporate. There is no simple solution, but a higher minimum wage, workplace safety standards and health insurance for all would go an awfully long way to make a lot of lives better.
6
My family owned a restaurant for almost 70 years. There was insurance, but owning and managing a restaurant means long hours and often having to tend bar, drink with customers and cook.
I lost my mother at 65 and my brother at 62 to restaurant induced alcoholism.
It is intrinsic to the business.
I lost my mother at 65 and my brother at 62 to restaurant induced alcoholism.
It is intrinsic to the business.
5
Not sure how this relates to alcohol, but with regard to cocaine and gambling, I think having so much income come in the form of cash in the pocket is problematic.
I think the drug problem may be greater than the alcohol problem. Every higher end restaurant I've been working in has had at least one wait staff who doubled as a low volume drug dealer.
I think the drug problem may be greater than the alcohol problem. Every higher end restaurant I've been working in has had at least one wait staff who doubled as a low volume drug dealer.
6
Not too much illuminating here. Long hours, lotta cash, liquor, and management, co-workers, public and now computers all against you that drive you to drink.
2
I know a lot of people who have worked in restaurants and bars. I also know a lot of people who have owned them. In my experience, the problems of substance abuse are far greater amongst the owners of these places than the employees. I have never met a more dysfunctional - and sometimes abusive - group of people than restaurant owners! But their psyches don't allow them to function in any other world and they know it.
8
Several family members who started waiting tables in college either moved on to a career rather quickly after graduation or stay in it too long because the tips were good and the long hours at night tending bar meant days off to soak up the sun and plenty of cash in her purse from generous tips. By the time she was in her late twenties, they realized all of their friends had moved on to stable careers and positive relationships and she was left behind in a rocky on and off again relationship with an excellent example of the type to whom you refer - an alcohol-fueled partner who spent a significant amount of time either in jail or on probation for DUI. Though it has been at least six years since she left the restaurant life, unfortunately, she remains connected to this man because they had a child together. She will never get back those post-college years she spent climbing to the pinnacle of economic success - serving bar on the busiest nights of the week where she earned more cash in tips than she earns now in her stable job with health insurance and a retirement plan. Nor will she ever experience the joy of having her first child with a supportive and attentive partner. I don't know what the answer is, but I do know that at a certain critical point each server decided to either get out or stay in the restaurant life because it suits their personalities - and, as you say, cannot fuction in a job or relationship outside of the one they have chosen.
1
Waiters in outlets that serve drinks drink partly because it is so available. In many places, waiters can have a free drink or two as they wait for the last parties to leave. The drinks and camaraderie are a perk of sorts. But also a risk.
3
This doesn't solve anyone's problem, only that I avoided becoming one myself.
I went to culinary school in the mid-'90s in Boston. After two years of tasting back-of-house life plus hearing fellow students' war stories, as both waitstaff and line cooks, the last thing I wanted to do upon earning a chef's diploma was work in a restaurant.
As I get older, I'm more wary of eating in restaurants too. Luckily, I'm happy to cook for family and friends.
I went to culinary school in the mid-'90s in Boston. After two years of tasting back-of-house life plus hearing fellow students' war stories, as both waitstaff and line cooks, the last thing I wanted to do upon earning a chef's diploma was work in a restaurant.
As I get older, I'm more wary of eating in restaurants too. Luckily, I'm happy to cook for family and friends.
5
I had the time of my life waiting tables and bar tending in midtown NYC steakhouses. The hopelessness of being a waiter was heavy at times. The money was great and I'm thankful for the opportunity as a college graduate who "never knew what he wanted to be when he grew up." I became a civil servant at age 29. The stigma that "career waiters" face is really bad, and could be alleviated with increased union representation and medical insurance. There is increased temptation to drink while working in restaurants or bars, and it was certainly fun to do so after the shift, but stealing alcohol and substance abuse are always personal choices.
8
As a Food Service Manager with 50 years, drugs and alcohol have always been on the fringes but certainly not a major concern. These were mostly high end 5 star properties. The employees had great benefits such as healthcare, maternity leave, 401 Ks, vacation, sick days, discounts in the shops and travel. Many employees in Hawaii bought homes and retired after 30 years. Also, kids going to school were able to support themselves.
I know my experiences are the exception and not the rule, food service can be brutal!
I know my experiences are the exception and not the rule, food service can be brutal!
4
The San Francisco Chronicle's article dated June 17, 2002: S.F. Restaurant Loses Tips Reporting Case to IRS. This is a Supreme Court Case.
Throughout the 1990s and culminating in the 2002 Supreme Court case, the IRS made a special point of pursuing waiters. Using this Supreme Court case, waiters are taxed not just on money they actually receive - but the money the IRS believes they receive. With the Supreme Court case, the IRS can use credit card tips to extrapolate amounts they think the waiters receive.
This is even more appalling, when you consider that at the very same time period - the millionaire and billionaire executives at about 150 high tech companies were illegally backdating their stock options. However, rather than pursue this - they told the agent in the case, they would stop at nothing, if she did not agree to approve the contract with the high tech company (and pretend it was all her idea), saying that even if the stock option backdating was illegal, she deemed it to be legal - allowing billions of dollars to go untaxed. This also, by the way, is a method for executives to take billions from the company - without it appearing on financial statements to the SEC.
Throughout the 1990s and culminating in the 2002 Supreme Court case, the IRS made a special point of pursuing waiters. Using this Supreme Court case, waiters are taxed not just on money they actually receive - but the money the IRS believes they receive. With the Supreme Court case, the IRS can use credit card tips to extrapolate amounts they think the waiters receive.
This is even more appalling, when you consider that at the very same time period - the millionaire and billionaire executives at about 150 high tech companies were illegally backdating their stock options. However, rather than pursue this - they told the agent in the case, they would stop at nothing, if she did not agree to approve the contract with the high tech company (and pretend it was all her idea), saying that even if the stock option backdating was illegal, she deemed it to be legal - allowing billions of dollars to go untaxed. This also, by the way, is a method for executives to take billions from the company - without it appearing on financial statements to the SEC.
30
You are confusing withholding with taxes due. Should excess income be withheld from the waiter she/he will get it back when the tax return is processed.
No - I am not confusing anything. I have a Masters Degree in Accounting with a specialization in Taxation from the University of Texas at Austin (rated #1 in the U.S.). And I have spent a lifetime in tax.
But don't take my word for it. If you read the Supreme Court case, it is not about withholding. It is about how much "income" will get taxed for Social Security. Refer to United States v. Fior D'Italia Inc 536 U.S. 238 2002
Please go ahead and read it - and then get back to me, so we can discuss it.
But don't take my word for it. If you read the Supreme Court case, it is not about withholding. It is about how much "income" will get taxed for Social Security. Refer to United States v. Fior D'Italia Inc 536 U.S. 238 2002
Please go ahead and read it - and then get back to me, so we can discuss it.
2
Please read United States v. Fior D'Italia 536 U.S. 238 (June 2002) as well as David Cay Johnston's August 4, 2004 "Tech Company Settled Tax Case Without an Audit".
I am not confusing anything. I have a Masters Degree in Accounting with a specialization in tax from the University of Texas at Austin (rated number 1 in the U.S. for graduate programs in accounting by U.S. News and World Report - just above Wharton). I have spent my life in taxes - working, teaching.
The Supreme Court Case United States v. Fior D'Italia 536 U.S. 238 discusses the amount of "income" to be taxed for Social Security purposes on restaurant workers - not withholding.
I am not confusing anything. I have a Masters Degree in Accounting with a specialization in tax from the University of Texas at Austin (rated number 1 in the U.S. for graduate programs in accounting by U.S. News and World Report - just above Wharton). I have spent my life in taxes - working, teaching.
The Supreme Court Case United States v. Fior D'Italia 536 U.S. 238 discusses the amount of "income" to be taxed for Social Security purposes on restaurant workers - not withholding.
3
There is a really dark side to this. I have a relative who worked in a high end French Restaurant, who died of alcohol poisoning at 27. She left behind two beautiful daughters, one of whom has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Its not just the damage these people do to themselves, they can also pass it on to the completely innocent.
11
I worked with a friend serving banquets at a high-end hotel. He died at 34 of an alcohol related aneurysm. My condolences to you and your family.
2
Though it has been some time since I worked in a restaurant, I supported myself and earned enough money to put myself through graduate school on the tips I earned waiting tables.
I drink...as not only a former waiter but former sommelier and teacher for wine appreciation classes...more than the average person. Yet I know when to stop, and do not depend on alcohol or drugs to fuel or further my life.
As a waiter I never felt demeaned. Customers behaved poorly, but not more than I have encountered in the larger business world. Most people are kind, polite, and respectful.
I remember a workplace with a feeling of warmth and camaraderie. Learning. Striving for excellence. Still, the people i worked with remain a part of me; I wish I was able to track them and find out how they were. Upstanding family men; hard working men and women in their early adult years; Jimmy, a gay man of consummate elegance who was welcomed in the restaurant rather than mocked and belittled, in his late 50s and still carrying trays of dinners overhead; Horace with his easy smile and great kindness; Jim, working with me as a second job to distance himself from a failing marriage...I could go on.
But we worked and then left. The scenario you describe is one I have witnessed in other work places and some people have fallen, despite others efforts, off the deep end.
It is a societal problem and an individual one, not a problem confined to one industry.
I drink...as not only a former waiter but former sommelier and teacher for wine appreciation classes...more than the average person. Yet I know when to stop, and do not depend on alcohol or drugs to fuel or further my life.
As a waiter I never felt demeaned. Customers behaved poorly, but not more than I have encountered in the larger business world. Most people are kind, polite, and respectful.
I remember a workplace with a feeling of warmth and camaraderie. Learning. Striving for excellence. Still, the people i worked with remain a part of me; I wish I was able to track them and find out how they were. Upstanding family men; hard working men and women in their early adult years; Jimmy, a gay man of consummate elegance who was welcomed in the restaurant rather than mocked and belittled, in his late 50s and still carrying trays of dinners overhead; Horace with his easy smile and great kindness; Jim, working with me as a second job to distance himself from a failing marriage...I could go on.
But we worked and then left. The scenario you describe is one I have witnessed in other work places and some people have fallen, despite others efforts, off the deep end.
It is a societal problem and an individual one, not a problem confined to one industry.
14
Sorry to say that this is an old, familiar story. My dad spent his adult life in the food services industry, as a maitre d' and headwaiter. He trained as a waiter in his native Belgium, where waiting tables was considered a professional occupation. As a result, he took his job too seriously to drink during work hours. But drinking after closing time was a problem for him, as it was for many of the men and women he worked with. It created problems for my parents' marriage, not surprisingly, although they stuck it out together. Things changed for the better only when my dad got a job with Marriott, which, at the time—late 1960s—had very strict policies about employees drinking or having affairs with co-workers. For example, no employee of a Marriott hotel could drink at that hotel, off duty or not. That helped a lot.
19
JW Marriott the company founder was a Mormon and they do not drink alcohol. Interestingly his son who was 2nd CEO of the company until 2012 supported pro LGBT policies which are counter to the Mormon faith. Now its publicly traded with a non.Marriott CEO so probably not so rigid about drug and booze use. But how great that helped your dad.
Have none of you read "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain? I was a kid (14) when I started working in a restaurant next to a bar. It was ok because the kids (High school) kids worked the restaurant but the adults who worked in the bar were a mess. Although I always enjoyed restaurant work for the hustle and bustle but knew that doing it as an adult would be difficult especially if you wanted a life...at all.
6
I worked as a waitress for 6 years to pay for my college education. I was so proud of the work ethic I've learned and how I was able to pay my bills as a server, that I would tell everyone about it, until my mom told me to stop because having worked as a waitress was not as glamorous as I thought... this is how little importance this job has for many people! I greatly feel for those who have to do it for years and years and I do believe that the long hours, little social mobility and statues it offers leads those in the industry to rely in alcohol and other abuses to cope. Something definitely needs to be done!
17
Your Mom probably meant well, but if you were able to pay for all or part of your own college using your earnings, that's definitely something to be proud of! So many of us love to go out to eat and yet don't honor the many people who are part of the dining experience. Continue to be proud of your achievement!
4
Emotional labor, a term coined by Arlie Hochschild(I think) can take a more of a toll on some workers than others. Working as a waiter or waitress is somewhat like being on a treadmill, lots of steps and energy expended but you haven't produced something tangible. As Ms. Hochschild also wrote, it is invisible labor.
22
This is another in a long line of "somebody oughta do somethin' about it" articles.
.........yet everybody who is supposedly being "victimized" (by alcohol, by stress of the job, etc.) in the restaurant business is there by their own choice.
I too am "victimized" by the restaurant business: overpriced food served by servers who think it's cute to not writing down orders and then get them wrong, overpriced alcohol, unhealthy food, crowding, so much noise that it is hard to have a conversation, 20% tips, etc.
So I choose to not go to restaurants.
Everyone who steps foot into one, whether as an owner, worker or customer, could choose to go elsewhere to be happy.
.........yet everybody who is supposedly being "victimized" (by alcohol, by stress of the job, etc.) in the restaurant business is there by their own choice.
I too am "victimized" by the restaurant business: overpriced food served by servers who think it's cute to not writing down orders and then get them wrong, overpriced alcohol, unhealthy food, crowding, so much noise that it is hard to have a conversation, 20% tips, etc.
So I choose to not go to restaurants.
Everyone who steps foot into one, whether as an owner, worker or customer, could choose to go elsewhere to be happy.
16
This is simply not true, Dan. The biggest growth sector of the American economy is the service sector, and much of that is restaurants. That means that more and more folks will be forced to seek work at restaurants. So given that the genie is out of the bottle, its important to look at ways to make work in the service sector better for everyone...workers and guests.
1
I do agree with your position. Ultimately, we choose and despite the writer's description of waitressing as akin to life on a battlefield where the physical and emotional stress finds its way to alcoholism.
I don't argue the fact of high stress levels as part of restaurant service life. But to deny accountability or the choices made is nonsense.It's a job and if the demands of that job can't be met, get out. America is not out of employment opportunities.
The restaurant business is precarious at best in terms of margins of profit. Adding insurance for mental health care is akin to declaring the service staff as victimized by management. The wait staff, kitchen staff and all who fall under the radar of ownership get to play "J'accuse. Does the notion of individual accountability come into play? Of course not, We are a nation stockpiling our grievances.
What I wonder would a Serbian refugee living in the filth and squalor of a camp give for the chance to live in America and work as a member of the waitstaff.
I don't argue the fact of high stress levels as part of restaurant service life. But to deny accountability or the choices made is nonsense.It's a job and if the demands of that job can't be met, get out. America is not out of employment opportunities.
The restaurant business is precarious at best in terms of margins of profit. Adding insurance for mental health care is akin to declaring the service staff as victimized by management. The wait staff, kitchen staff and all who fall under the radar of ownership get to play "J'accuse. Does the notion of individual accountability come into play? Of course not, We are a nation stockpiling our grievances.
What I wonder would a Serbian refugee living in the filth and squalor of a camp give for the chance to live in America and work as a member of the waitstaff.
1
"Everyone who steps foot into one, whether as an owner, worker or customer, could choose to go elsewhere to be happy."
With almost 12 million Americans employed in "food services and drinking places," your contention that everyone could choose to work elsewhere is clearly unworkable.
Source for employment number: https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES7072200001
Your advice is just snark. Not helpful at all and uncompassionate to boot.
With almost 12 million Americans employed in "food services and drinking places," your contention that everyone could choose to work elsewhere is clearly unworkable.
Source for employment number: https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES7072200001
Your advice is just snark. Not helpful at all and uncompassionate to boot.
6
Everyone drinks. Marketing and availability make matters worse.
I worked as a stockbroker (account rep), and lobbyist both awash in alcohol.
I remember my interview with 7 lawyers in a large firm in Tampa and after 7 hours of smiling, was called back to the first lawyer's office. I didn't think there was more question I could be asked, but he found one. He asked me if I drank. Unsure how I should answer (or even if it was a legal question) I chose a non-comital "Well, I have had a drink or two." At which time he responded ""Well then you're not going to fit in here!", took a bottle of vodka out of his desk and two glasses and poured us each one, followed by a trip to the conference room where all my interviewers were there with a full bar - and I was hired.
I was never in the office of a senior partner who didn't have wet bar installed in his (always his back then) office, and vied to have the fanciest and best stocked.
If we won we celebrated, if we lost we commiserated. We wined and dined clients, other lawyers, prosecutors and judges and politicians regularly and were still in the "power lunch" days when I was there.
Waiters drink for the same reason as stockbrokers and lawyers. High stress equals high alcohol or drug reliance - there are whole rehab centers just for doctors.
We as a society are just demanding too much of each other, have lost the value of down time, thinking time, family time, playing, relaxing, and their contribution to our higher functioning and longevity.
People are not robots. We have robots for that.
I remember my interview with 7 lawyers in a large firm in Tampa and after 7 hours of smiling, was called back to the first lawyer's office. I didn't think there was more question I could be asked, but he found one. He asked me if I drank. Unsure how I should answer (or even if it was a legal question) I chose a non-comital "Well, I have had a drink or two." At which time he responded ""Well then you're not going to fit in here!", took a bottle of vodka out of his desk and two glasses and poured us each one, followed by a trip to the conference room where all my interviewers were there with a full bar - and I was hired.
I was never in the office of a senior partner who didn't have wet bar installed in his (always his back then) office, and vied to have the fanciest and best stocked.
If we won we celebrated, if we lost we commiserated. We wined and dined clients, other lawyers, prosecutors and judges and politicians regularly and were still in the "power lunch" days when I was there.
Waiters drink for the same reason as stockbrokers and lawyers. High stress equals high alcohol or drug reliance - there are whole rehab centers just for doctors.
We as a society are just demanding too much of each other, have lost the value of down time, thinking time, family time, playing, relaxing, and their contribution to our higher functioning and longevity.
People are not robots. We have robots for that.
563
As a human being, and as an ex-drunk, I agree. But we've an over-valuation of many jobs and professions and under-valuation of many, many jobs and professions. That all translates into a class system that translates into the old have's and have-nots, which makes for more stress, less time for the really important things. Too much focus on money, and having more than one's neighbor. Too much focus on status, position, power.
It all is enough to make a person drink...or just succumb to the prescribed norm of Big Pharma.
What a world.
It all is enough to make a person drink...or just succumb to the prescribed norm of Big Pharma.
What a world.
4
When I practiced law, every day everyone was drinking throughout most of the day. It wasn't because of stress. It was because people liked to drink and they could. In the food service industry, and in retail sales, the bottom line becomes all consuming. The physical demands and the psychological stress from a demanding and ungrateful cusomer base wears people down mentally. As you said in your comment, we need to take down time, thinking time, and time to relax and interact with family and friends.
8
Yes, sad and true.
Another facet: If you don't love what you do, or feel lucky to have a source of income, or if you aren't working in the service of something you love or believe in, your job will be an end in itself and you'll be under profound stress because you'll your soul will not belong to you.
Another facet: If you don't love what you do, or feel lucky to have a source of income, or if you aren't working in the service of something you love or believe in, your job will be an end in itself and you'll be under profound stress because you'll your soul will not belong to you.
2
Yes the writer is correct. Part of the issue is the hours. They are long and late. Part of the issue is the job is physical and drinking and drugs make it less stressful. Part of the issue is they are supposed to know the drinks. The cooks I knew in college in New Orleans partied on a variety of drinking and drugs. They said Emeril was a coke head. Back then this was the same issue down, it wasn't a healthy scene. The upside was it was fun. If you worked in the industry you could often get hooked up with some free drinks or food or given special treatment and it always felt like you were an insider in a city where food matters.
6
I have noticed this phenomenon of retaurant worker substance abuse for a long time, not just waitstaff, but also the cooks and owners. The late hours of the job and the substance abuse also contributes to other problems including car accidents and family breakdown. I really doubt that unionization is possible. Retaurants often barely make a profit for the owners and open and close all the time. High turnover will also make unionization unlkely.
3
It seems there all lots of reasons people drink in this world. No wonder the first thing they always ask is if they can get us anything to drink. Conviviality . . . and tips. The more my friend has to drink, the more he tips. Simple math.
5
More than 60,000 workers in Las Vegas belong to the culinary union. They are the best paid in that industry in the country. Negotiated wages and benefits exceed $25/hour. That includes free health insurance. (no deductibles)
17
This means nothing. Did you even read the article, or just need to attack unions?
3
I didn't see an attack on the unions. Seemed like Donna was stating where the jobs are good.
1
How do you read a statement of facts as an attack?
1
Wise up. Gambling is a losing proposition. EVERY game is weighted from its inception in favor of the house.
The one game you might be able to win at is blackjack if you learn how to properly play and bet the game. That would involve card-counting which is not cheating. It gets you to bet the game right depending on the number of 10's left in a deck and whether you need or do not need 10's. However if the casinos think you're card-counting, thereby having an advantage over them, they kick you out. Casinos are run by low-lifes who thrive on fostering addictions to gambling and alcohol.
The one game you might be able to win at is blackjack if you learn how to properly play and bet the game. That would involve card-counting which is not cheating. It gets you to bet the game right depending on the number of 10's left in a deck and whether you need or do not need 10's. However if the casinos think you're card-counting, thereby having an advantage over them, they kick you out. Casinos are run by low-lifes who thrive on fostering addictions to gambling and alcohol.
7
I think the restaurant industry model needs to change. Why do we allow owners to under pay their workers and expect the customer to pay their salary? For example I go to Home Depot and buy $1000 for a bath renovation. A store staff helps me to my car with a sink, tub and toilet. I thank him and tip him $5 I don't tip him 20% of the total bill or $200. So why do we do the same in restaurants to bring us food? Restaurant owners needs to pay their workers a living wage , raise their prices and not expect the customer to pay their staffs salary.
24
"But without union representation, these jobs are usually accompanied by poor pay, inconsistent schedules and no medical insurance."
And WITH union representation we'd all be paying $42.50 for a burger and fries.
No thanks!
And WITH union representation we'd all be paying $42.50 for a burger and fries.
No thanks!
1
I am assuming that you also do not expect to make more than $2.15 an hour without benefits of any kind for your work. I mean, why would anyone want to pay for YOUR labor?
17
42.50? I doubt it. Probably a buck or two more than we're paying now.
5
Places that pass on a higher wage to their customers add on 3%. Consider that one third to one half of the cost of the meal is the cost of the food cooked. The biggest expense is rent/building. Then staffing the back of the house, laundry, etc. Then waitstaff. There's no reason to think a burger and fries would be incredibly high. You have about seven to ten waitstaff in a restaurant per day.
I'm sure that if any other expense of buying items gave people a choice they would pronounce it too high and unreasonable as well.
I'm sure that if any other expense of buying items gave people a choice they would pronounce it too high and unreasonable as well.
3
I once worked in an all-night restaurant/bar in LA. When the owner found out I didn't drink alcohol he was going to send me to bar tending school. I'm very short and he was going to modify/build a ramp behind the bar so I could work there. He was desperate. All the profits were being drunk up. Drinking on the job must be a real problem.
136
Drinking on the job is very easily controlled through nightly inventory of the bar. Unopened bottles are locked up and can be retrieved only by the manager as well as being inventoried weekly. This is a standard industry practice and is very easy and cheap to implement.
1
Just more vicious greed by one more segment of the corporatist thieves. Pay wait staff a minimum wage, at least. Legislators, do your job regardless of the legalized bribery from lobbyists for the service industry. People who earn a living wage (NOT the current minimum wage) are far less likely to turn to drug and alcohol abuse.
9
Being a wait person is terrible work. In the 1960s I watched as my Aunt who was part owner of the restaurant drink more and more until I couldn't stand to work with her. It was the same with bar tenders too. She eventually drank herself into cirrhosis of the liver and died but not after a terrible traffic accident that destroyed the business and the livelihoods of a dozen people.
My sister waitress-ed at a diner off of Queens Blvd.for nearly 20 years. More and more she was treated badly in favor of illegals who worked cheaper and took more abuse because they had no choice. The foreign born managers had bad attitudes about women especially. It was not unusual to have a table with 10 people spend $300-$400 on food and drinks and toss a 20 on the table after they'd monopolized her her shift for 2 hours or more and throw $20 on the table. if she complained the manager would let them skate because he didn't want to argue. On some nights she lost money because taxes were collected on the billed amount.
She finally had to go on New York State disability because of the pain from her back, legs and feet. She was cheated there by the owner because he paid part of the employees earnings under the table. A lot of her medical care was paid by the taxpayers because of the unreported earnings. She went on federal Social Security Disability. She gets a minimum because of the unreported income and works two day a week doing bookkeeping. She does a lot less drugs due to the reduced strain.
My sister waitress-ed at a diner off of Queens Blvd.for nearly 20 years. More and more she was treated badly in favor of illegals who worked cheaper and took more abuse because they had no choice. The foreign born managers had bad attitudes about women especially. It was not unusual to have a table with 10 people spend $300-$400 on food and drinks and toss a 20 on the table after they'd monopolized her her shift for 2 hours or more and throw $20 on the table. if she complained the manager would let them skate because he didn't want to argue. On some nights she lost money because taxes were collected on the billed amount.
She finally had to go on New York State disability because of the pain from her back, legs and feet. She was cheated there by the owner because he paid part of the employees earnings under the table. A lot of her medical care was paid by the taxpayers because of the unreported earnings. She went on federal Social Security Disability. She gets a minimum because of the unreported income and works two day a week doing bookkeeping. She does a lot less drugs due to the reduced strain.
10
As Yogi Berra taught us, it's deja vu all over again.
These drinking cycles go up and down over time.
When I was working for a major corporation from 1960-1980, the booze was largely free and flowing until incidents, car fatalities etc. started to happen and the spigot was cut off.
Now, at least in some industries, the drinking cycle is starting again.
Bottom line is you must have some degree of regulation of it if you do not want trouble or worse.
These drinking cycles go up and down over time.
When I was working for a major corporation from 1960-1980, the booze was largely free and flowing until incidents, car fatalities etc. started to happen and the spigot was cut off.
Now, at least in some industries, the drinking cycle is starting again.
Bottom line is you must have some degree of regulation of it if you do not want trouble or worse.
6
I was employed as a waiter at a resort in the Pocono mountains one summer during college. I not only had to serve three meals a day, sweep and buff the dining room's hardwood floors after each meal and then set up each able's plates and silverware for the next meal,
The boss appeared to be an ex-prison guard.
I escaped in less than a week.
It was the right thing to do.
The boss appeared to be an ex-prison guard.
I escaped in less than a week.
It was the right thing to do.
7
Why exactly can't we pay servers normal wages and eliminate tips? I know other places do this.
15
Addiction is not a disease. Cancer is a disease. A person who drinks does so by choice. A person with cancer can't "just say no".
Way back in the 20th Century the Supreme Court of the United States decided that addiction is a habit. This goes for all drugs, and all types of voluntary behavior. I do the Times xword puzzle every day except Friday and Saturday (those days are tough). I play golf, and am moody all through the winter, golf-less months.
Way back in the 20th Century the Supreme Court of the United States decided that addiction is a habit. This goes for all drugs, and all types of voluntary behavior. I do the Times xword puzzle every day except Friday and Saturday (those days are tough). I play golf, and am moody all through the winter, golf-less months.
3
I think your model of the human brain could use some updating. The part of your brain that thinks in words and uses reason is only a very small part of the stuff that's inside your head. Most of what your brain does everyday happens without your knowledge, consent or approval. Part of your brain makes you want things that taste or feel good, and part of your brain enforces habitual behavior.
Those two parts of the brain can become formidable enemies of that tiny thinking and reasoning center. The struggle can become very intense.
I hope you never have to find that out the hard way.
Those two parts of the brain can become formidable enemies of that tiny thinking and reasoning center. The struggle can become very intense.
I hope you never have to find that out the hard way.
2
If alcohol, or heroin, or any activity was irresistible at all times, no one could ever abstain for any period of time. BTW, the largest area of the cerebral cortex covers incoming sensations and outgoing neural impulses which cause movement in our hands.
But that makes no difference. ALL of our motor activities are capable of cessation. Some things are controlled by both the autonomic and voluntary systems, so we can breathe without thinking of it, and we can hold our breath, but only for so long.
On the other hand, we can stop eating until we die.
Drinking, eating, smoking and taking drugs via hypodermic needle are controlled by volition ONLY. And another word for volition is WILL.
But that makes no difference. ALL of our motor activities are capable of cessation. Some things are controlled by both the autonomic and voluntary systems, so we can breathe without thinking of it, and we can hold our breath, but only for so long.
On the other hand, we can stop eating until we die.
Drinking, eating, smoking and taking drugs via hypodermic needle are controlled by volition ONLY. And another word for volition is WILL.
1
Left out of Ms. Bronsons's perspective is the evidence that this industry attracts workers with substance issues too. Indeed, the industry is a screaming beacon to the revelry and comradery that come with boozing and its illicit cousins.
82
Not so.
Ownership and management sets the tone for each establishment. I have worked in major hotels, corporate dining, catering and now healthcare. If an employer has zero tolerance for drugs and alcohol, the problems are minimized especially where there is health insurance and employee assistance programs available.
As a restaurant and then banquet chef for a major hotel in the early 90's, we went from an onsite General Manager who had no issues with alcohol in the kitchen and restaurant. I saw more drug use than during college in the 70's and then culinary school in the 80's. New onsite GM came in and cut it all out within the first month.
You have to make and live with your choices from the options on hand. But to stand on the outside looking in and come to an easy response, it just ain't so.
Ownership and management sets the tone for each establishment. I have worked in major hotels, corporate dining, catering and now healthcare. If an employer has zero tolerance for drugs and alcohol, the problems are minimized especially where there is health insurance and employee assistance programs available.
As a restaurant and then banquet chef for a major hotel in the early 90's, we went from an onsite General Manager who had no issues with alcohol in the kitchen and restaurant. I saw more drug use than during college in the 70's and then culinary school in the 80's. New onsite GM came in and cut it all out within the first month.
You have to make and live with your choices from the options on hand. But to stand on the outside looking in and come to an easy response, it just ain't so.
4
And lawyers, physicians, priests, and politicians have no substance issues?
Fine line between naivety and plain old prejudice, friend.
Fine line between naivety and plain old prejudice, friend.
2
In the 70s I was a cocktail waitress while in college. I could not believe that many of the servers would spend their days off drinking where they worked the rest of the week.
1
Boh. Not fully convinced on arguments for restaurant unions but very much on board with getting Usa food establishments paying their staff at least full minimum wage with tips on top. On the drugs issue in restaurants, this was picked up somewhat in, Bone in the Throat by A. Bourdain. A short, interesting read for those who have the time.
4
I worked in the restaurant business in Manhattan in the early '80s into the '90s. It was quite usual for managers to pull staff into the office in the middle of a busy dinner service to give them a quick "bump" of cocaine and send them out on the floor again. There they would move more quickly, talk faster and project a sexier vibe. It was great for sales and tips but not so good on employee health. It is obvious of course that the restaurant and bar business is quite attractive to someone who would enjoy free and unfettered access to alcohol. And of course, many bar tenders and restaurant staff are sober alcoholics, having burned out on the perks. As the old joke says, if you're looking for an AA meeting just ask your bar tender.
6
"Incorporating substance abuse prevention information into training materials, and providing insurance with access to mental health care, could help."
A different angle: I once knew the owner of a bar in a working class neighborhood. "Al" had a very large heart and a conscience to go with it. His kindness and generosity towards customers and employees alike was legendary.
He once said he had to fire an employee who was consuming more alcohol than the business could support. Al had to down a few drinks before he went through with the firing.
A different angle: I once knew the owner of a bar in a working class neighborhood. "Al" had a very large heart and a conscience to go with it. His kindness and generosity towards customers and employees alike was legendary.
He once said he had to fire an employee who was consuming more alcohol than the business could support. Al had to down a few drinks before he went through with the firing.
7
Another liberal paean to socialist solutions for individual problems. I could care less about waitstaff who can't control themselves. I want decent meals at reasonable prices. The answer to every question should not involve people paying "just a little bit more", whether it be taxes or restaurant bills.
6
I am sure you are not alone, Larry. I confess I prefer to pay less for a meal whenever I can. There are also the cheap clothes at the GAP and other major stores manufactured in 2nd & 3rd world countries who pay their employees a pittance. We, as a society, pay little as possible for goods and merchandise without a second thought about the wages paid to workers who make them.
Getting it cheap. That is our addiction.
Getting it cheap. That is our addiction.
15
so many people 'couldn't care less' about their fellow citizens.
2
Larry, I'd have to see what you consider a reasonable meal before I listen to you berate other people for their lack of self-control.
I spent my youth as a struggling artist and years waiting tables. One aspect of the job not mentioned here is the submissive nature of waiting tables where your pay is completely based on the whim of your actual employers-your customers.
Being dominated by other humans is a source of great stress, no matter how it occurs- just not to the dominant. Experiments have shown that even monkeys are much more prone to cocaine addiction when forced into a submissive social environment. Remove the dominant monkeys and the submissive ones become less stressed, healthier and not as prone to addiction.
For humans, the level of required submission is reduced by unions and, for waiters, would be reduced by basic tips being included in the bill as is done in most European countries.
The loss of union power in this country has generally contributed to higher stress to workers now unprotected. This is a little understood aspect of the nature of unions- the positive and stress reducing affect of reducing the power of the dominant monkeys.
Being dominated by other humans is a source of great stress, no matter how it occurs- just not to the dominant. Experiments have shown that even monkeys are much more prone to cocaine addiction when forced into a submissive social environment. Remove the dominant monkeys and the submissive ones become less stressed, healthier and not as prone to addiction.
For humans, the level of required submission is reduced by unions and, for waiters, would be reduced by basic tips being included in the bill as is done in most European countries.
The loss of union power in this country has generally contributed to higher stress to workers now unprotected. This is a little understood aspect of the nature of unions- the positive and stress reducing affect of reducing the power of the dominant monkeys.
24
Sorry but this is nonsense. Whether you are dominated by other people or not depends upon your character. If you are submissive in a restaurant, you will be submissive anywhere else. I actually enjoyed being a waiter and made good money although it was physically tiring. I'm pretty sure I would have got the sack very quickly if I was known to be drinking on the job. Which is of course as it should be.
Curious George, stop trying to establish dominance by being rude- disagree but don't call my comments nonsense. I didn't say that being a waiter stresses everyone, only that it stresses some.
There were times when I'd get stiffed by a customer and be furious, but I couldn't even tell them off. Believe me, I always gave the best service I could but some would punish you just because they had to wait too long for a table- and I turned tables as fast as anyone.
Now I have my own business and can tell customers to get lost if they are disrespectful. For me, a little bit of actual power goes a long ways to reducing stress and I am certain that most people are the same as me.
Having a job where a boss can fire you on a whim or because you didn't respond to their flirtation is a terrible position to be in and shouldn't be allowed in this country- no nonsense.
There were times when I'd get stiffed by a customer and be furious, but I couldn't even tell them off. Believe me, I always gave the best service I could but some would punish you just because they had to wait too long for a table- and I turned tables as fast as anyone.
Now I have my own business and can tell customers to get lost if they are disrespectful. For me, a little bit of actual power goes a long ways to reducing stress and I am certain that most people are the same as me.
Having a job where a boss can fire you on a whim or because you didn't respond to their flirtation is a terrible position to be in and shouldn't be allowed in this country- no nonsense.
1
Recently a family member who is a chef was hired at a restaurant where coming to work after drinking or drinking on the job is grounds for immediate dismissal. This is a good operation with chances for advancement and benefits. And forty hour weeks! The restaurant industry can change the traditional workplace atmosphere.
145
I have been in high end restaurants, in many cities, where when we order an especially good bottle of wine, we offer a sip to the sommelier or the waiter.
We have had several tell us they are not allowed to drink during working hours. So we have asked: If we leave a small amount in the bottle, can you cork it and have it when you finish your shift? If they say " yes", we do that.
We have had several tell us they are not allowed to drink during working hours. So we have asked: If we leave a small amount in the bottle, can you cork it and have it when you finish your shift? If they say " yes", we do that.
2
I worked in restaurants for 9 years (6 of those as a waiter) in everything from diner dives to to Pizza Hut to super fancy restaurants and large institutions including the Westin Hotel, and never knew of a waiter or waitress to drink on the job, and after work never knew of one to drink more than the average person. Bartenders, yes sure; some of them were alcoholics. That's why they became bartenders. Chefs, at least one became pass-out drunk on the job and all chefs I knew were ego-maniacal madmen. But waiters and waitresses? They were the most sober, well adjusted people in the whole place, in every single restaurant I worked in. And that experience is fairly broad including 6 restaurants (sometimes I would work 4 a week).
10
The exception by far, not the rule.
1
There can be a certain amount of depression that comes from repetitive skills, especially when no chance of advancement appears. Also, the lifestyle of collegial after-hours drinking just reenforces the "fun" and, truthfully, it just spend there hard-earned money that once earned. will only rise slowly. And don't count on inflation to help!
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
1
Substance abuse - addiction to drink - is the curse of the grossly underpaid, underbenefited, food service industry's lowest people on the totem pole. Poorly-paid service jobs will only improve if salaries are raised and tips are equally shared between greedy owners and workers who have worked hard for those tips. Long-term waitstaff in restaurants and fastfood emporia is an oxymoron, given rate of turnover in these jobs, No one is immune from addiction which hurts Americans in dead-end service jobs, those who are unable to find pride in their work in America today. Addiction matters and withdrawal matters more.
3
I disagree. Substance abuse transcends social class, race and ethnicity. However, those with financial resources and strong family support have access to help and necessary services to overcome the addiction.
3
"...tips are equally shared between greedy owners and workers who have worked hard for those tips."
Owners are not entitled, legally or otherwise, to any percentage of tips whatsoever. Neither is management. Many restaurants have been sued who thought otherwise.
Owners are not entitled, legally or otherwise, to any percentage of tips whatsoever. Neither is management. Many restaurants have been sued who thought otherwise.
6
Waiters and Waitresses in most states are still paid $2.13 per hour. Aside from brain surgeon, it is one of the most stressful jobs.
10
All these writers lamenting no guaranteed income for wait staff...
So, do you really want to be served by people with the same enthusiasm as DMV employees?
So, do you really want to be served by people with the same enthusiasm as DMV employees?
3
I don't understand why anyone would expect a restaurant/bar atmosphere at the DMV. They don't come to work every day to entertain and feed people. They come to work to sort out your vehicle paperwork issues and license new drivers. They can put on any face they need to do that work correctly.
3
Guaranteed money means we'd get the usual surly help with the usual bad attitude. No thanks.
When I was a waitress, thing one thing that could make me surly would be to bust my behind trying to serve with a smile some surly, superior and demanding man. Then he'd have to prove to me that he was superior to me, a mere low class waitress, by stiffing me on the tip. After asking for my phone number. of course.
I was in college then. My tip money was very important. Every night felt horrible because you can never predict when these surly, demanding, superior type of customers are going to come in.
I think my smiles would have been a lot more honest and my temptation to spit in the soup a lot lower if I'd just had a real wage and didn't have to scramble around trying to put my rent together every night from my tip jar.
I was in college then. My tip money was very important. Every night felt horrible because you can never predict when these surly, demanding, superior type of customers are going to come in.
I think my smiles would have been a lot more honest and my temptation to spit in the soup a lot lower if I'd just had a real wage and didn't have to scramble around trying to put my rent together every night from my tip jar.
1
Ms Bronson: Not only waiters drink. So do cooks, managers and owners. The effect can be harder on cooks, sweating in a hot kitchen so the booze hits harder, and working many more hours than waiters for a lot less money.
6
This is an accurate description of what is going on in restaurants that serve alcohol. I had a 20 years old girl friend who got into drinking and taking drugs and could not give up the job for the quick and "easy" money. At some point she was dating men three times her age. I have long admired young Americans working to pay for College education and I believe that some of their work ethic and respect for money and business come from taking jobs young. In Europe youngsters don't work in a free education system. They read a lot more than their American counterparts. They are less grounded but more cultures as a result.
@ Grosse Fatigue, Wilmette, IL
Your lady friend was in her 20s, dating men "three times her age"?
Got a phone number still, by any chance?
Asking for a friend.
Your lady friend was in her 20s, dating men "three times her age"?
Got a phone number still, by any chance?
Asking for a friend.
3
"Addiction is a disease, and in some ways it is contagious." Not so. Addiction to alcohol )or any substance) is based on how your body's chemistry reacts to it. Put it in your body and your own chemistry will respond. You can't "catch it" from another person.
1
I think you are taking the author's words too literally. I believe she means that being consistently in a heavy drinking environment with lots of easy access to booze and lots of people drinking can lead a person to also consume more booze than they otherwise might, which can in time develop into a serious drinking problem.
3
The author did not mean "contagious" in the literal sense. She meant that when you work in an environment where co-workers and customers alike are drinking heavily, you may be more likely to start drinking as well. I've experienced this first-hand, and she is exactly right! Alcoholism isn't literally contagious, but the restaurant culture that unintentionally promotes alcoholism and addiction IS contagious.
1
No matter what environment you are in, if you are not wired biologically and chemically to drink alcoholically, you cannot drink so much that you then become an alcoholic. You may drink a lot, but you do not compulsively drink, build up tolerance, suffer withdrawal symptoms, and are driven back to drinking again due to your biology.
I don't you can overstate the stress employees undergo in the food service industry.
The "customer is king" mentality, chasing down every customer dollar no matter how odious the customer, creates a toxic environment for employees. Too few restaurant owners are willing to empower their managers and employees to reject horrible, rude customers.
We don't value the difficulty of the job. To borrow from Sen. Flake, working hard is a skill.
The "customer is king" mentality, chasing down every customer dollar no matter how odious the customer, creates a toxic environment for employees. Too few restaurant owners are willing to empower their managers and employees to reject horrible, rude customers.
We don't value the difficulty of the job. To borrow from Sen. Flake, working hard is a skill.
211
It's definitely the customers. Most are fine. But the percentage that are obnoxious make alcohol a tempting solution.
Seen on a French restaurant poster:
le client est roi,
le chef est dieu
le client est roi,
le chef est dieu
3
I agree that more training and information to these workers can and should be done. But it would be nice for people to admit that the main factor is societal and not the fault of the employer(who always seems to shoulder the blame).
This is primarily a result of personal choice and weakness in a society that encourages people always being victims.
This is primarily a result of personal choice and weakness in a society that encourages people always being victims.
1
As a waiter for many years in New Orleans, I observed this phenomenon first hand and up close. I don't question what appears to be the premise here -- that the conditions of restaurant work may contribute to incidences of addiction. I firmly believe, however, that the opposite is equally true -- many waiters and other restaurant workers seek out or end up in this industry because they already have substance-abuse issues, and they can manage in that environment better than in other lines of work. Thoughts?
16
How many of us have heard over the years that profession X has one of the highest substance abuse rates. After decades of this chatter, I now think that some people just drink more than others and would do so in any context.
4
Yes exactly. :People who are already addicted seek jobs where other are like them. Alcoholics and addicts are drawn to jobs with few background checks, good cover, and odd late hours.
2
"We share with manual labor industries like construction and mining the physical toll of our work..." In my opinion, you share very little with people who work in these industries. Despite all your complaining about "physical exhaustion and emotional stress" it is clear that you have never done a truly difficulty job. You are in the job you have because 1) you want cash- that is unreported income 2) you may not be able to pass a drug screen or 3) you aren't reliable enough to keep a job with regular hours. That's the way it is.
6
Newsflash for you - we paid taxes on the cash and then some. When i worked in NYC, we got taxed as a percentage of sales, whether we actually made that percentage or not. (If it was a day heavy on European customers, chances are we didn't.) That included the taxes we paid on the money that we tipped out to the busboys, runners, and bartender, who were more often than not off the books.
35
You have obviously never had to carry heavy trays and be on your feet for eight hours straight. If restaurant staff were living the high life their tips, and if it were truly that "easy," everyone would do it.
Restaurant workers get wages that are below minimum wage. Fix that, and you gripe about unreported income evaporates. I have family members who worked in the restaurant industry for years. They would have been HAPPY to trade the insecurity of tips for a solid wage, medical insurance coverage, and sick days.
Restaurant workers get wages that are below minimum wage. Fix that, and you gripe about unreported income evaporates. I have family members who worked in the restaurant industry for years. They would have been HAPPY to trade the insecurity of tips for a solid wage, medical insurance coverage, and sick days.
32
I would venture to say you have worked neither in the front nor the back of the house if you say that food service is not a "difficulty" job.
7
I am amazed that an article about substance abuse in the workplace garners so many observations about one line regarding the fact that most restaurants are non-union. This article is not a treatise about unionization, or tipping for that matter, it's about a serious substance abuse and how it is ignored or passed off as "a part of the job".
Once again I question whether anyone reads entire articles anymore or simply get to the part that they wish to support or complain about and then start commenting
Once again I question whether anyone reads entire articles anymore or simply get to the part that they wish to support or complain about and then start commenting
28
Yes, instead of arguing for or against the whole, nitpicking one small detail is the current method of disagreeing with the entirety of what someone has to say.
"Look, they got this small detail, that they could have left out completely and still made their argument, wrong, therefore everything they say is suspect."
US schools do not teach critical thinking skills. One state even tried to outlaw schools from teaching them.
And that is why a clear, logical argument like this article can be reduced to the equivalent of a sound bite--because that's what Americans have been taught to look for.
"Look, they got this small detail, that they could have left out completely and still made their argument, wrong, therefore everything they say is suspect."
US schools do not teach critical thinking skills. One state even tried to outlaw schools from teaching them.
And that is why a clear, logical argument like this article can be reduced to the equivalent of a sound bite--because that's what Americans have been taught to look for.
7
@camllan,
Union membership is explicitly mentioned and for reasons that are adequately motivated in the article : health benefits that go with them which non union shops very largely do not provide. So if you have simply understood what has been written, without even thinking about the entire issue, there is no question it is a legitimate component topic to bring up in a comment (for or against, regardless).
Because reading comprehension is an even more fundamental skill than critical thinking, the problem is even more dramatic than you describe.
Layered on top of that are doctrinaire positions on any given subject which tend to drive individuals to issue knee jerk responses, as if triggered ie unions.
So the heart of the problem is (willful) blinkered ignorance, though I'd call it rather Pavlov's bell than a sound bite trigger, and it really isn't a new phenomenon.
Union membership is explicitly mentioned and for reasons that are adequately motivated in the article : health benefits that go with them which non union shops very largely do not provide. So if you have simply understood what has been written, without even thinking about the entire issue, there is no question it is a legitimate component topic to bring up in a comment (for or against, regardless).
Because reading comprehension is an even more fundamental skill than critical thinking, the problem is even more dramatic than you describe.
Layered on top of that are doctrinaire positions on any given subject which tend to drive individuals to issue knee jerk responses, as if triggered ie unions.
So the heart of the problem is (willful) blinkered ignorance, though I'd call it rather Pavlov's bell than a sound bite trigger, and it really isn't a new phenomenon.
2
Well, I do think the article strives to impart an understanding of the stressful working conditions which can create substance abuse. I think that "non-union" is very much a part of that stressful environment.
2
A big thank you to all restaurant service workers, who work for below minimum wage and still provide excellent service to their customers.
40
I had a tip thrown back at me by a waitress in China. Tips are seen as demeaning. In Switzerland, you might round upward when you pay, but you don't tip. I know that some servers in the US make very good tips, but I'd much prefer servers to be paid a living wage and have the bill reflect this. (I do know that some places in the US have tried this and customers haven't liked it; I don't know the answer). Alcoholism is a major problem in the US. There should be adequate government funding of treatment and research.
42
My ex and I lived in NYC in the late 90s. He worked at the Waldorf Astoria. We were both astonished to learn of an old rule that was required by the union: the waitstaff was entitled to a complimentary alcoholic "shift drink" after each shift. I am not pro nor anti union, but this clause troubled us both at the time.
11
I worked there in the late 80's. In the kitchens, we were allowed a 6-pack each for a shift. I didn't drink during working hours, so another guy drank mine in addition to his own. Union perk.
1
I worked for two years as a wine steward. The sommelier, who had doubled the restaurants wine sales in one year, would invite us to his house to drink wine before the dining room opened. In these sessions, he combined teaching us about wine with giving us a little buzz to make us better salesmen.
5
The root cause of the problem is unrestrained capitalism. That's why we have spotty labor protections and have been brainwashed against unions.
The desire for even more astronomical profits drives the alcohol industry's successful advertising and has created a culture where heavy drinking is normalized and even admired. The alcohol lobby and our pay-to-play system prevents alcoholism being treated as the public health problem that it is. This also results in attitudes towards alcoholism and addiction (that it's an individual moral failure) that prevent many people from seeking help.
When people do seek help for addiction, the treatment industry is ready to take tens of thousands of dollars. There are almost no treatment options for someone without good insurance or a lot of money.
It's incredible that we live this way.
The desire for even more astronomical profits drives the alcohol industry's successful advertising and has created a culture where heavy drinking is normalized and even admired. The alcohol lobby and our pay-to-play system prevents alcoholism being treated as the public health problem that it is. This also results in attitudes towards alcoholism and addiction (that it's an individual moral failure) that prevent many people from seeking help.
When people do seek help for addiction, the treatment industry is ready to take tens of thousands of dollars. There are almost no treatment options for someone without good insurance or a lot of money.
It's incredible that we live this way.
78
Really? Capitalism? Friend, people have been getting drunk or high since the dawn of humanity. Capitalism? Acquaintances from Soviet Russian would tell me that everyone drank (even kids), all the time. Cheap vodka. I swear they must have brought it to Leningrad by the tanker full.
Psychological? Probably. I suspect despair from the belief that one couldn't live/love as they wish is at the root. That despair can be cultural, personal, existential. Or maybe they just want to party and forget.
Psychological? Probably. I suspect despair from the belief that one couldn't live/love as they wish is at the root. That despair can be cultural, personal, existential. Or maybe they just want to party and forget.
2
During our trip to Scandinavia in May, my wife and I were amazed at how often our tips were reluctantly accepted. The answer was the same everywhere: our salaries are high enough that we don't have to rely on tips to make a decent living.
95
The article highlights the importance of providing universal healthcare to all inhabitants of our country. Those in the food service industry tend to be younger so if we end the mandate to buy health insurance, no doubt many will go without it relying upon emergency rooms if they get really ill (many probably already prefer risking the penalty). However, they may carry communicable diseases (and substance abusers are at increased risk for this) that they can transmit to customers through food handling or direct contact. And when we exclude illegal immigrants from participating in the ACA and going without insurance we are essentially cutting off our own noses as many work behind the scenes in restaurants where, if they become ill, also put the customers and their co-workers at risk.
54
recently one of the oldest successful restaurants in nyc closed because of pressures from the union to increase pay and benefits, which would have added $12,000/ week to its payroll. it will soon re-open after a 6 month hiatus with the same menu, a different name, and non union workers.
I previously lived in Chicago, San Antonio, Miami, and Minneapolis. I am already paying much more for the same restaurant meals here in NYC than ever before.
If the unionization increases this by another 10-20% (add tips and sales taxes to this) I will simply cut back on meals out.
I am probably not alone.
I previously lived in Chicago, San Antonio, Miami, and Minneapolis. I am already paying much more for the same restaurant meals here in NYC than ever before.
If the unionization increases this by another 10-20% (add tips and sales taxes to this) I will simply cut back on meals out.
I am probably not alone.
7
Restaurants in NYC and other cities close for many reasons. If you can't pay the rent, when it's hiked off the charts, you have to close. (Rents are much higher in NYC than in the other cities that you mentioned.) If you can't pay your purveyors, you have to close. So why should the staff be the ones who are obligated to not be paid properly. If you can't pay the staff, you can't afford to be in business either. No one is entitled to cheap labor.
As i said earlier, it's the model that's not going to hold up for much longer.
As i said earlier, it's the model that's not going to hold up for much longer.
39
It is sad to see people who go to restaurants who feel that the employees of the restaurants don't deserve a living wage. I strongly support good pay, higher menu prices and no tips. Anything else shows contempt for working people.
39
The chief cost that makes NYC restaurants more expensive than elsewhere are rents, not staff.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/dining/restaurant-economics-new-york....
Retail space in Minneapolis rents at $100/sq ft or less annually. Manhattan rents are ten times this.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/dining/restaurant-economics-new-york....
Retail space in Minneapolis rents at $100/sq ft or less annually. Manhattan rents are ten times this.
9
We visit a local restaurant several times a month. We've been going there for about a decade because the food is fresh, everything is prepared on site, and the service is terrific. The same servers and bus boys are the same as ten years ago. "We work as a team.", "The owners treat us right.", "We have fun together.", every employee has remarked. The restaurant is very profitable. You can feel a happy vibe.
This bastion of humanity and stability exists because the owners are not interested in squeezing out every last penny of profit. They are content with mutual success. They don't need to make a killing.
That's the way it used to be.
This bastion of humanity and stability exists because the owners are not interested in squeezing out every last penny of profit. They are content with mutual success. They don't need to make a killing.
That's the way it used to be.
222
Investors want quick ROI.
I had a place like that for a bunch of years -- they are hard to find. Where's yours?
And still can be, with the right owners.
"But without union representation ...."
I could cite hundreds of working violations in the years I spent bartending and waitressing putting myself through school in non-union restaurants. Hotel and restaurant workers need unions to protect the safety of their workplace and ensure a basic living wage. Unions protect employers as well, having an agreed upon baseline that everyone, including their customers, benefit from.
Why this country and even workers themselves have been so brainwashed against unions is beyond me. Like your weekends, eight-hour day, and child protection laws? Thank a union.
https://thinkprogress.org/report-five-things-unions-have-done-for-all-am...
I could cite hundreds of working violations in the years I spent bartending and waitressing putting myself through school in non-union restaurants. Hotel and restaurant workers need unions to protect the safety of their workplace and ensure a basic living wage. Unions protect employers as well, having an agreed upon baseline that everyone, including their customers, benefit from.
Why this country and even workers themselves have been so brainwashed against unions is beyond me. Like your weekends, eight-hour day, and child protection laws? Thank a union.
https://thinkprogress.org/report-five-things-unions-have-done-for-all-am...
130
This article, and your comment, both rest on the assumption that unions are working in their members' best interests. In both NYC and Las Vegas there is much evidence to the contrary with a long history of restaurant and hotel unions being mobbed up.
If the unions DO work in their members' interest, I might be more inclined to agree, and I am as liberal as anybody.
If the unions DO work in their members' interest, I might be more inclined to agree, and I am as liberal as anybody.
9
Yes. And sometimes companies do not work in the interest of their shareholders. When this is discovered, it is sometimes business as usual and sometimes change happens via new leadership or new management. But nobody except radicals advocate for "getting rid of companies". Likewise, most social democracies treat the idea of eliminating unions because of the few bad apples as absolutely absurd. It is only radical rightwing (American) politics that uses corrupt unions as justification for getting rid of unions.
2
The real story here is society's careless love affair with ethanol consumption. Half again as many people die from alcohol related causes than that from opiates yet nobody calls it a crisis.
From a young age we are inundated with the message that drinking is one of life's reliable delights. Even the NYT regularly splashes their front-page with wines and cocktails one simply must consume. Listen to the top songs on Spotify and at least a quarter of them include reference to drinking or getting drunk.
We need to grow up as a society and start treating alcohol with the respect it deserves.
From a young age we are inundated with the message that drinking is one of life's reliable delights. Even the NYT regularly splashes their front-page with wines and cocktails one simply must consume. Listen to the top songs on Spotify and at least a quarter of them include reference to drinking or getting drunk.
We need to grow up as a society and start treating alcohol with the respect it deserves.
50
An obsession with alcohol even dominates the Travel section. Beer is apparently the main reason to visit Cincinnati, while who would go to California except to visit wineries? Times are hard but solutions are not to be found at the bottom of a glass of alcohol, my friends.
5
Drinking problem?
Yes, the bottle is empty
Yes, the bottle is empty
1
People are notoriously bad at estimating risk. In the US since Jan 1, 2001 guns have killed over 100 times as many people (in accidents, suicides and homicides) as has terrorism. Yet the hysterical fear is of terrorism, not guns. The difference between alcohol (88,000 deaths per year) and opiates (22,000 deaths per year) is much more modest. Alcohol deaths are very roughly three times those caused by guns.
https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/analysis.html
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/analysis.html
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm
2
Decades ago, back when I worked as a waiter, after a shift we often gathered at another establishment that offered half-price drinks for restaurant employees. And since we all had pockets filled with cash from tips, it was easy to buy a few rounds. And our experience pales by comparison to the "fiction" reported in Stefanie Danler's roman a clef of the Union Square Cafe "Sweetbitter." Of course they had a lot more money in their pockets!
5
When I graduated from University I used to work a few shifts behind the bar in my local pub. The landlady paid me £40 CIH and let me drink what I wanted during my shift. I used my brain and only really got tanked towards the end of the night when most people were sozzled anyway. It also helped it was a local so we all knew each other anyway.
1
Another reason for single payer universal healthcare. Another case of an industry incapable of covering the costs of such.
18
Dear restaurant owners: I will pay more for my meal if you pay your employees decent wages.
34
That may be true, but unless you are wealthy (or receive a significant pay increase), you will pay this higher amount less often than you pay now.
2
Recently in the NYT there was a piece on a Silicon Valley lawyer who died due to a drug overdose and the piece exposed how prevalent this is in law firms. There are also several other professions that have high rates of addiction. It seems that more and more the expectations that companies have on employees is overwhelming whether you're in the service industry or in any other industry, ultimately it's difficult for most people to cope. Keep increasing sales, keep increasing productivity while wages and benefits are cut. It's a race to nowhere. As a country I think we need to reevaluate what kind of life it is we want Americans to lead. Is our only purpose to work for a corporation? Is there no value for the well-being of all Americans?
96
Life in the US is indeed hypercompetitive. But other countries which are the opposite have worse rates of alcoholism: Sweden, Russia (and the old USSR), even France. The explanation for addiction in the low-wage service population may be its demographic, not its work activities, except for the proximity to bars.
3
Excellent comment. I think the real issue is overall quality of life in America: expensive or non-existent healthcare; education costs through the roof; wage stagnation; single parent households and other family breakdown; climate crisis; and, perhaps most importantly, severe job insecurity among other factors.
In light of these and other factors, it's unsurprising to me that we have a drug crisis; an obesity crisis; an alcohol crisis; and other crises. These are SYMPTOMS, not causes.
In light of these and other factors, it's unsurprising to me that we have a drug crisis; an obesity crisis; an alcohol crisis; and other crises. These are SYMPTOMS, not causes.
4
If we are out to win, we are out to do something that by definition everyone cannot do. If we are out to survive and live well (but not better than), we are out to do something that in theory at least everyone can do.
Goals that are such that everybody could achieve them at the same time, are peaceful ones. But goals whose achievement depends on others not achieving them are inherently warlike, and should exist within a context of peaceful goals. Only one team can win the World Series, but members of all teams get paid well because baseball, like most professional sports, is ferocious competition within a socialistic framework designed to keep all teams competitive enough that the games are interesting and the sport survives.
Goals that are such that everybody could achieve them at the same time, are peaceful ones. But goals whose achievement depends on others not achieving them are inherently warlike, and should exist within a context of peaceful goals. Only one team can win the World Series, but members of all teams get paid well because baseball, like most professional sports, is ferocious competition within a socialistic framework designed to keep all teams competitive enough that the games are interesting and the sport survives.
2
Unions are not ncessarily the answer. There is a long history of corruption in not only New York's Hotel and Restaurant unions, but in Las Vegas', as well.
The union leaders regularly do not represent the workers' best interests.
The issues are many. Restaurant people work nights, holidays, and weekends, when most folks in the "civilian world" are off. It can be hard to maintain a stable family structure. The hours are long, and are WAY longer for kitchen workers than for wait staff. When I worked lunch shift in the kitchen of Union Square Cafe, we kitchen workers arrived between 7-7:30AM for service that ran from 12 noon to 3 PM. The wait staff arrived at 11 AM, set up the DR, and ate family meal that we prepared at 11:30. Most of the time, I cooked the family meal and rarely, if ever, sat down to eat it.
One of USC's dinner perks was if we served 300 dinners, everybody in the kitchen got a free drink. I worked Saturday doubles for two years, working 16 hours Saturday in exchange for a third day off per week. After that long day, going to drive home to my family, I would give away my drink.
But the problem is not the availability of alcohol and drugs, but people's inability to consume responsibly. This varies widely with the culture of an individual restaurant.
But I take exception with some claims. Many of my Hotel/Restaurant school teachers were unquestionably long term alcoholics whose work years were from the 50s-70s. I think it less prevalent now.
The union leaders regularly do not represent the workers' best interests.
The issues are many. Restaurant people work nights, holidays, and weekends, when most folks in the "civilian world" are off. It can be hard to maintain a stable family structure. The hours are long, and are WAY longer for kitchen workers than for wait staff. When I worked lunch shift in the kitchen of Union Square Cafe, we kitchen workers arrived between 7-7:30AM for service that ran from 12 noon to 3 PM. The wait staff arrived at 11 AM, set up the DR, and ate family meal that we prepared at 11:30. Most of the time, I cooked the family meal and rarely, if ever, sat down to eat it.
One of USC's dinner perks was if we served 300 dinners, everybody in the kitchen got a free drink. I worked Saturday doubles for two years, working 16 hours Saturday in exchange for a third day off per week. After that long day, going to drive home to my family, I would give away my drink.
But the problem is not the availability of alcohol and drugs, but people's inability to consume responsibly. This varies widely with the culture of an individual restaurant.
But I take exception with some claims. Many of my Hotel/Restaurant school teachers were unquestionably long term alcoholics whose work years were from the 50s-70s. I think it less prevalent now.
7
I am very familiar with corruption in unions. But at this point. they are the only
thing we have to guard against management abuses.We have been fed a Republican lie for years that workers are much better off without unions. Don't believe this, folks. The facts tell the truth.
thing we have to guard against management abuses.We have been fed a Republican lie for years that workers are much better off without unions. Don't believe this, folks. The facts tell the truth.
8
KT, given extraordinary instances of wage theft in the restaurant industry, I agree that unions should be part of the solution. But we must insist that they be run clean. A dirty union is no help to its members, as my experience showed.
I am not saying that workers are better off without unions. But the unions should, nay must, do what they say, to represent members' interests.
I am not saying that workers are better off without unions. But the unions should, nay must, do what they say, to represent members' interests.
3
"addiction is a disease" is an excuse of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, obesity etc. at some point the brain chemistry changes and yes, it becomes a disease.
however, it all begins with the first curious bite of the apple, which, in my opinion, still invokes personal responsibility congrats for your hard work and discipline
perhaps one day you'll be the second coming of Danny Meyer
however, it all begins with the first curious bite of the apple, which, in my opinion, still invokes personal responsibility congrats for your hard work and discipline
perhaps one day you'll be the second coming of Danny Meyer
Bronson: "According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in food service will soon outnumber those in manufacturing."
Bronson: "... food service jobs are increasingly a foundational part of our economy ..."
High employment in a sector does not make the jobs in that sector "a foundational part of our economy". What counts is the contribution to the GDP, so you need to report personal income for the food service sector.
2017-08-21 13:04:07 UTC
Bronson: "... food service jobs are increasingly a foundational part of our economy ..."
High employment in a sector does not make the jobs in that sector "a foundational part of our economy". What counts is the contribution to the GDP, so you need to report personal income for the food service sector.
2017-08-21 13:04:07 UTC
8
There are two economies: the fictional national economy and the real, everyday, life or death economy of individual Americans, all 323 million of us.
As our politicians remind us daily, we are not all in this together.
As our politicians remind us daily, we are not all in this together.
28
If you think you’re invalidating her point you aren’t. With the decline of manufacturing and other traditional modes of labor our “service economy” will become increasingly important employment. But if you’d told me , back in the 80’s when I was a waiter, that the service sector would occupy such a large portion of our economy, I would’ve thought we must be on the wrong path.
15
moses: 'With the decline of manufacturing and other traditional modes of labor our “service economy” will become increasingly important employment.'
You appear to be conflating employment numbers with income.
moses: "... the service sector would occupy such a large portion of our economy, ..."
Your use of the word "portion" suggests that you understand my point but don't realize it. Here is a contrived example:
If one million workers were getting $1/hour, their sector would be "occupying" a smaller "portion of our economy" than if they were getting $10/hour.
Economists don't use the term "occupying" in that way, but I am indulging you in your loose usage.
David S: "... the fictional national economy ..."
Obviously, you are as uninformed about economics as Bronson, with her fictitious concept of a "foundational part of our economy".
You appear to be conflating employment numbers with income.
moses: "... the service sector would occupy such a large portion of our economy, ..."
Your use of the word "portion" suggests that you understand my point but don't realize it. Here is a contrived example:
If one million workers were getting $1/hour, their sector would be "occupying" a smaller "portion of our economy" than if they were getting $10/hour.
Economists don't use the term "occupying" in that way, but I am indulging you in your loose usage.
David S: "... the fictional national economy ..."
Obviously, you are as uninformed about economics as Bronson, with her fictitious concept of a "foundational part of our economy".
Good reporting of a common problem, the need for relief of persistent chronic stress at work. As a retire physician, I do know from experience that long hours in a stressful environment, when others (patient's lives, in my case) depend on our being awake enough to make sound decisions and be of service, as it is supposed to be. Holding off from finding easy relief in drugs (and alcohol is a drug) may be difficult but it can be avoided..if we are able to avoid the first step, starting the slippery slope. There must be an avenue to lay things in the open, a person knowledgeable enough to dissuade us from falling too deep and unable to get up. A tough issue, but requiring a humane approach for resolution.
20
The Waitstaff, Bartenders and etc.... in restaurants drink because of poor management. It starts at the top. If your restaurant is poorly managed and the staff has access to your supplies some will abuse their access. Most restaurant management are also abusing and stealing from the restaurant owners. I've owned restaurants and will never again. It is impossible to hire management and staff , that will never steal and drink away your profits. This is the nature of the business. Either you deal with it or get out.
5
I could not agree more. I worked in fine dining to pay my bills during grad schools and management and failure to manage was always the problem. One manager who seemed professional and ran a tight ship was suddenly fired for stealing; the assistant mgr who assumed her role was an unhappy alcoholic who sat in her office all day doing nothing while her most belligerent wait staff (also alcoholics) argued and name-called if they didn't get their way. At another restaurant, the manager (another alcoholic) suddenly fired me without warning - I was later told it was to hire a woman he had a crush on. Every place I've worked managers who engage in bad behavior tolerate bad behavior from wait and kitchen staff not because of talent but because it is mutually beneficial. And forget about taking a sick day for being genuinely sick because you just might get written off the schedule for two weeks or simply fired. But if one of the manager's after hours drinking buddies is hung over? No problem, go home and sleep it off until the next shift.
80
The major problem here is that given the money waiters make, they would have to take a major pay cut to become a salaried manager.
I was chef of a busy Italian restaurant on Long Island. The "head waiter" was clearing over $2000 in tips just on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and working two or three other days a week. The general manager was making less than a quarter of that, and was fired for both stealing and taking kickbacks.
The manager was trying to create his own "living wage."
Ownership cluelessness or venality contributes mightily to this problem.
I was chef of a busy Italian restaurant on Long Island. The "head waiter" was clearing over $2000 in tips just on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and working two or three other days a week. The general manager was making less than a quarter of that, and was fired for both stealing and taking kickbacks.
The manager was trying to create his own "living wage."
Ownership cluelessness or venality contributes mightily to this problem.
7
Sorry, every job has its share of stress. Lack of self-control is hardly an argument for unionization.
7
Agree with Greg. If someone goes into waitering and does not like the pay or lack of benefits, they should seek a job elsewhere! I worked several less than ideal jobs in my 20s-30s and took actions to get a better job. Yes, I am sympathetic with being paid a livable wage. One must also question the decision to regularly meet after work to drink. Would it be possible to save/invest this money or put it toward health care rather than wasting money drinking to one's misery? It is your life, do what is best for you and your family.
2
It is not the stress of the job per se, it is the stress of the life whereby one works hard but doesn't make ends meet and sees no reasonable hope of a better alternative. No benefits. When one such as you sees a human failure there is your response to "shoot the messenger" or blame the individual(s) but when it occurs in a large group there is obviously an underlying cause. Failure to acknowledge that is shortsighted.
However, inhumane policies such as low pay, long shifts, lack of respectful treatment. and tolerance of irresponsible management behavior tend to provoke loss of self-control. Workers can hang together, or hang separately.
This is so true. I ran a cooking establishment for 14 years, using guest chefs. On eof my favorites was a talented chef who was an alcoholic. Off the wagon (or when not completely drunk) he was brilliant. He has opened many top restaurants, but his career and life have been destroyed by alcohol. Another was my assistant, he too is an alcoholic, who at times keeps his drinking "under control" enough to work, but only thru his shift. Neither man has a family or significant other. They cycle thru "girlfriends" who never last very long. I don't know what the answer is, but it is a serious problem. I have a friend whose significant other is opening a restaurant in about a week. Doing shots towards the end of the evening is a standard practice. It is a problem which this industry doesn't want to deal with.
23
Nowhere in this sad piece did I read anything about offering anyone help. It's fine for coworkers to commiserate over drinks (or is it?), but it might be better to display some human compassion beyond placing the blame on the industry. Alcohol, and poor working conditions, are universal problems.
7
While I cannot, having worked in restaurants for most of my twenties, deny the physical toll of what is described by the author, the substance abuse portion surprises me. Yes, I did work in places where the chef snorted more during a single shift more than I made in a week, but the staff? Not so much. We did have a few drinks after work. We did sometimes drink too much. But there was an unvoiced pity for the alcoholic bartender or manager. We watched them to make sure we got our money or our drinks. We knew exactly the tipping point over the course of the night when they could no longer be relied upon. I worked with many "professional" waiters in NYC. Most of them were upstanding and hardworking. Yes, there was an occasional person with issues, but that comes in any workforce.
So my question is, what has changed?
So my question is, what has changed?
5
The bartender is a "priest" in the culture. Without his/her leadership the roof falls in.
Just try selling drinks through an automated bartender
Just try selling drinks through an automated bartender
1
I question the claim that waiting tables and mining place similar physical demands and risks on workers.
6
Agreed the physical factor is not such a big deal. Minors are probably more likely to have benefits and a living wage, or something closer to it.
3
Food service is much like working in a salt mine...
only more repetitive
only more repetitive
1
It's important not to conflate the massive fast food and quick service restaurant category with the largely small business owned casual and fine dining category that serves alcohol. These small businesses are often poorly run hence the high failure rate. The throw away line that "without unions ...", these problems wouldnt exist is unsubstantiated so say the very least. Having been an owner in multiple successful restaurants (6 opened, 6 still open with an average life of 12 years), there is a question of selection bias as to who wants these jobs.
2
In fact, in New York, that line about unions is manifestly false. When I started in kitchens in NYC, in 1984, part of the Local 6 contract included two beers per day per shift for workers. Though I never worked in a Local 6 shop, I knew dozens who did. There was reported to me a lively barter system in which the grill cook might "accidentally" cook an extra steak in exchange for drinks from the bartender.
The dessert cook might trade a slce or two of cake or pie for somebody else's beers.
And in most restaurants, the wait staff works shorter hours for far more money than the kitchen staff. I regularly worked 80 hour weeks in five days as a head chef.
The dessert cook might trade a slce or two of cake or pie for somebody else's beers.
And in most restaurants, the wait staff works shorter hours for far more money than the kitchen staff. I regularly worked 80 hour weeks in five days as a head chef.
4
A meal is a social event meant to relax. Table turnover is anathema to that scenario. I suspect this article's writer and the country about which she writes, is the United States. beyond that country, restaurant meals in the rest of the world are seen and treated as celebrations of life. The waiters and their employers jealously guard the sacred rite of community. Lone diners are treated as invited family members, receiving warm encouragement to stay a little longer, relax, nurse the beer or tea . . . read.
Customers return, tend to leave bigger gratuities, and tell their friends. Owners, kitchen staff and waiters tend to feel they are in a profession, part of the community, and stay in positions. Drinking or any other kind of substance abuse is, as far as I know, non-existent.
Customers return, tend to leave bigger gratuities, and tell their friends. Owners, kitchen staff and waiters tend to feel they are in a profession, part of the community, and stay in positions. Drinking or any other kind of substance abuse is, as far as I know, non-existent.
20
Thank you for adding this perspective.
3
Roundly agree!
1
I'm half Swedish and have travelled there and to Europe many times. There is no tipping, no 'second economy' like here in the US. Then again, things don't cost the same. I remember having a wonderful lunch by the water with my cousin and his wife and putting out some money for a tip. No, no he said, that is included in the price. Finally, I left a little and realized that they were happy, well adjusted servers who liked their life.
I have worked in this industry also, I went to college for it but quit after one year. The industry runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with a strong emphasis on holidays and weekends. That is the hotel and restaurant business. Some people can do quite well, a good waiter/waitress or bartender in a busy establishment can have a decent cash take home income but make no mistake, it is a high pressure position and most don't make enough. Then they typically don't get benefits.
At some point America will have to come to grips with income inequality and the relegation of huge portions of the populous to a seemingly hopeless struggle to survive. Trump's election showed laid this frustration bare as a desperate electorate shed reason. Truckers, servers, construction laborers have all been relegated to a lower caste as so graphically illustrated by income distribution between the top and the bottom. Numbers don't lie.
I have worked in this industry also, I went to college for it but quit after one year. The industry runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with a strong emphasis on holidays and weekends. That is the hotel and restaurant business. Some people can do quite well, a good waiter/waitress or bartender in a busy establishment can have a decent cash take home income but make no mistake, it is a high pressure position and most don't make enough. Then they typically don't get benefits.
At some point America will have to come to grips with income inequality and the relegation of huge portions of the populous to a seemingly hopeless struggle to survive. Trump's election showed laid this frustration bare as a desperate electorate shed reason. Truckers, servers, construction laborers have all been relegated to a lower caste as so graphically illustrated by income distribution between the top and the bottom. Numbers don't lie.
61
It is my understanding that in Sweden, all but the most costly high end restaurants are what we would call "cafeterias" -- where you get your own food and bus your own table. This is because Swedish waiters are paid very highly and therefore, represent a HUGE cost to the restaurant owner.
You may like this system, but I don't think it would ever catch on in the US. The system that we have developed works well for restaurant owners, because essentially the customers are paying 90% of the salaries of the waiters -- in tips. The restaurant only pays half of the minimum wage or about $3.75 an hour in my area (Midwest).
My stepdaughter worked for 17 years as a waitress, and she made very little in salary, but her total take was about $30,000 a year -- most of it in cash -- therefore, untaxed. That was a pretty sweet system and she LOVED it, which is why she did for so long. And she didn't have to put in any stinkin' 40 hours a week in an office -- like most of us suckers -- she only worked about 20 hours a week to earn $30K, and that was enough for her to have a reasonable lifestyle in this region.
You may like this system, but I don't think it would ever catch on in the US. The system that we have developed works well for restaurant owners, because essentially the customers are paying 90% of the salaries of the waiters -- in tips. The restaurant only pays half of the minimum wage or about $3.75 an hour in my area (Midwest).
My stepdaughter worked for 17 years as a waitress, and she made very little in salary, but her total take was about $30,000 a year -- most of it in cash -- therefore, untaxed. That was a pretty sweet system and she LOVED it, which is why she did for so long. And she didn't have to put in any stinkin' 40 hours a week in an office -- like most of us suckers -- she only worked about 20 hours a week to earn $30K, and that was enough for her to have a reasonable lifestyle in this region.
1
In USA we may have "hopeless struggle to survive," but it is worser yet in most of the World.
Given a worldwide perspective, a professional truck driver in USA, is a holder of high privilege. "Lower caste." my foot.
Given a worldwide perspective, a professional truck driver in USA, is a holder of high privilege. "Lower caste." my foot.
I totally get your point, but it is not entirely true that there is no secondary economy in Europe. It varies country by country. In Sweden, tipping is alive and well, depending on the customer's politics. Hardcore Social Democrats typically do not tip (in protest of shadow economies) whereas Moderates and Libertarians typically will. But now skatteverket is just starting to tax tips; as late as 2015, they was not being taxed.
And like I said, it varies vastly country by country. Cross the water to Denmark, and nobody tips. Ever. Danes don't even round up.
And like I said, it varies vastly country by country. Cross the water to Denmark, and nobody tips. Ever. Danes don't even round up.
Many of the people who posted earlier recommended unions as the answer to the stress leading to substance abuse among people working in the restaurant industry. Hmm. Brittany works in Las Vegas where unions represent most restaurant workers. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/opinion/how-unions-help-cocktail-serv...
I'm not arguing here against unions, but simply pointing out that substance abuse exists whether the workers are represented or not. I'm not smart enough to suggest a solution to the substance abuse problem, but It doesn't seem likely that unions are the answer to that problem.
I'm not arguing here against unions, but simply pointing out that substance abuse exists whether the workers are represented or not. I'm not smart enough to suggest a solution to the substance abuse problem, but It doesn't seem likely that unions are the answer to that problem.
5
I disagree. The unions have leverage to fight for some kind of minimal health care coverage for the problems described here. Better to have than not to.
13
Robert,
Thanks for your post. If the restaurant workers in Las Vegas have medical coverage, especially if that coverage includes substance abuse or gambling abuse help, that's great. But the fact remains that according to this article, substance abuse is widespread there. So union membership did not fix this problem. It might help some members get treatment, but it does not explain why so many restaurant workers who are union members continue to have substance abuse problems.
Thanks for your post. If the restaurant workers in Las Vegas have medical coverage, especially if that coverage includes substance abuse or gambling abuse help, that's great. But the fact remains that according to this article, substance abuse is widespread there. So union membership did not fix this problem. It might help some members get treatment, but it does not explain why so many restaurant workers who are union members continue to have substance abuse problems.
Certain personality types, some of them deviant personalities, are attracted to certain occupations. An addictive personality will be attracted to a work environment where the addiction can be fulfilled. A bartender with an alcohol problem is in the wrong line of work. The fix is not a union, the fix is not the responsibility of the employer, the fix is not higher cost restaurants for everyone, the fix is a different job.
4
I can only say that my stepdaughter was a waitress -- at a high end restaurant -- for many years, and she LOVED it, because she could earn a living without working full time. 20 hours a week brought her $30K, most of it in untaxed tips -- meaning it was the equivalent of $40K or more in takehome pay.
Even more so -- she was honest enough to tell us that a big part of the motivation was she could stay up late and party with her fellow waiters -- they were a hard partying crew, who went to bars after the restaurant closed at 10PM -- and then sleep until 1PM the next day.
It's a LIFESTYLE and some people really love it. They WANT to sleep late. They WANT to work 20 hours a week or less. They want to be able to go into work at 5PM and be off duty by 10PM -- a five hour workday. They LOVE leaving work each evening with a fat roll of dollars in their pocket -- cash, untaxed.
No union will fix that.
Even more so -- she was honest enough to tell us that a big part of the motivation was she could stay up late and party with her fellow waiters -- they were a hard partying crew, who went to bars after the restaurant closed at 10PM -- and then sleep until 1PM the next day.
It's a LIFESTYLE and some people really love it. They WANT to sleep late. They WANT to work 20 hours a week or less. They want to be able to go into work at 5PM and be off duty by 10PM -- a five hour workday. They LOVE leaving work each evening with a fat roll of dollars in their pocket -- cash, untaxed.
No union will fix that.
9
The tips are indeed taxed, your stepdaughter was simply committing tax fraud.
8
Sounds like fun if you're young and/or don't have to support a family.
These statistics and information about high levels of substance abuse in the restaurant/food service industry are very concerning. The writer has good hypotheses about causes of this phenomenon. I would hope that epidemiologists and researchers reading this will begin formulating and doing studies with this particular population. Info gleaned could help us better understand substance abuse not only in the industry but also in the wider population.
I worked in the restaurant industry for a number of years. It was really hard work. One thing i learned was that hungry people show their true selves when waiting for food. I always tip high. If a wait staff person is rude or unpleasant I assume they're having a bad day and tip higher! And never blame your server when the food doesnt come right away....it is often and usually a problem in the kitchen.
We all love going out to eat. Wait staff and restaurant workers deserve better work conditions and our respect. Health insurance and guaranteed living wage before tips should be a given.
I worked in the restaurant industry for a number of years. It was really hard work. One thing i learned was that hungry people show their true selves when waiting for food. I always tip high. If a wait staff person is rude or unpleasant I assume they're having a bad day and tip higher! And never blame your server when the food doesnt come right away....it is often and usually a problem in the kitchen.
We all love going out to eat. Wait staff and restaurant workers deserve better work conditions and our respect. Health insurance and guaranteed living wage before tips should be a given.
17
"We all love going out to eat."
Most ppl I know hate restaurants. We cook
Most ppl I know hate restaurants. We cook
1
Said best by Mora on "Transparent"
"15% is for when they spit in your food"
hahahaha
"15% is for when they spit in your food"
hahahaha
1
Sadly, sales jobs seem another category beset by addiction, as well.
6
Similar to healthcare, American exceptionalism doesn't work too great in the restaurant business. Not only does the system of making staff grovel for their income cause employee unhappiness (e.g. leading to substance and alcohol abuse), compared to dining in Europe generally dining in the US feels rushed and intrusive, making a nice conversation over dinner difficult:
Too much pressure on rotating tables (e.g. snagging plates away as soon as they're empty and/or pressure by asking if dessert/coffee), too many interruptions of conversations to refill half full glasses or for asking if everything's okay etc.
Too much pressure on rotating tables (e.g. snagging plates away as soon as they're empty and/or pressure by asking if dessert/coffee), too many interruptions of conversations to refill half full glasses or for asking if everything's okay etc.
28
Addiction is less a disease and more a very destructive coping mechanism for a situation over which you feel you have little or no control. Whatever you become addicted to feels much better than your reality so it makes sense. As long you continue to do what you're doing in the way you're doing it it will be very difficult to avoid the temptation of drink, drugs, gambling or whatever it is that makes your life feel livable. Usually it takes outside influence and help to change things, but it can be done.
12
Paying actual salaries to employees who do "service jobs" is the primary way to make these jobs comparable to others, with defined rules and protections. WiTH medical benefits. None of the seasonal work I ever did had any benefits, and we were often cheated out of what little pay was earned. The pretense was that this didn't matter because it was all temporary.
Some waitstaff would prefer relying on tips. But many face a constant unknown, plus the need, not to treat customers respectfully, but to have to please them, which creates its own stress. For some jobs, the time on your feet is brutal.
I can remember the expectation that you would hang out and have drinks with coworkers. When you work in a culture where you are also encouraging your customers to drink, or to "have fun," which may translate to getting high, and this is the milieu you are comfortable in, even a couple of years - or seasons - of a pattern can tip the body into addiction, especially for those who are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol or other drugs). I do remember working with some professionals who had done this for years; they fell into 2 categories - those who never drank vs. those who were scarily out of control.
Effective intervention services to can only be provided when this form of employment becomes more structured, when standard minimum wage requirements apply, and when everyone has access to medical care. The cost of a meal has to include the cost of labor.
Some waitstaff would prefer relying on tips. But many face a constant unknown, plus the need, not to treat customers respectfully, but to have to please them, which creates its own stress. For some jobs, the time on your feet is brutal.
I can remember the expectation that you would hang out and have drinks with coworkers. When you work in a culture where you are also encouraging your customers to drink, or to "have fun," which may translate to getting high, and this is the milieu you are comfortable in, even a couple of years - or seasons - of a pattern can tip the body into addiction, especially for those who are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol or other drugs). I do remember working with some professionals who had done this for years; they fell into 2 categories - those who never drank vs. those who were scarily out of control.
Effective intervention services to can only be provided when this form of employment becomes more structured, when standard minimum wage requirements apply, and when everyone has access to medical care. The cost of a meal has to include the cost of labor.
28
several decades ago I was waitering to pay for colleges, the middle aged guys, especially those who were single, routinely gambled their day's tips away. Drinking? Sure. Are they a "disease?" Sure. But are they new? Afraid not.
4
Everything I read in the NYTs these days--and I mean everything--reminds me what a sick society America has become over the last 37 years (I'm looking at you, St. Ronnie, Republicans and good Corporate/Centrist Democrats). Given the squalid state of affairs in the wider US economy--except for those lucky duckies in the top 10% (i.e., the 1%, their corporate hirelings and the media that fawn over their glowing achievements)--I'm surprised the US mortality rate is not higher than it is. Do you think the opioid and obesity epidemics are "accidents"; no, they're a half-way logical response to the sickness of our times, the levels of inequality that are its chief hallmark, and the larger population's well-founded perception that nothing is going to change, regardless which “party” is ostensibly in charge. (Hint: In the US, there is only one party.) On the plus side, Wall Street is absolutely booming. Healthcare stocks seem like a good bet. Ditto McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Seagrams. Think of these stock picks as a way of “shorting” your fellow Americans. As the capitalists say, “Doing good by doing good."
242
Could not agree with you more. I have always taken pride in reading three newspapers and several magazines. It has become a soul crushing exercise. Consider the following from the article:
"The restaurant industry is the second-largest private-sector employer. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in food service will soon outnumber those in manufacturing."
"Because food service jobs are increasingly a foundational part of our economy..."
It has come to this. Our sick consumption based society is producing little more than service jobs, many with obscenely low pay. How many of these workers could afford a meal in the places they work? Not only does this "society" lead to drug, alcohol, and food abuse, it leads to an election of Donald Trump, a caste system of serfs and masters, and the inevitable bloody uprising.
How much longer do we have until the Generals are in charge?
"The restaurant industry is the second-largest private-sector employer. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in food service will soon outnumber those in manufacturing."
"Because food service jobs are increasingly a foundational part of our economy..."
It has come to this. Our sick consumption based society is producing little more than service jobs, many with obscenely low pay. How many of these workers could afford a meal in the places they work? Not only does this "society" lead to drug, alcohol, and food abuse, it leads to an election of Donald Trump, a caste system of serfs and masters, and the inevitable bloody uprising.
How much longer do we have until the Generals are in charge?
5
"Doing WELL by doing good," is what the capitalists (and many others) say.
Huh, your comment is mistake-riddled: McDonald's and Seagram's are missing their well-deserved apostrophes.
Aside from that, though, your comment is incontestable.
But watch those missing apostrophes.
(Maybe my priorities are askew, but you can't do anything about the serious problems mentioned here. For man is wolf to man. So I stick with practical changes. Onward to misspelled words.)
Aside from that, though, your comment is incontestable.
But watch those missing apostrophes.
(Maybe my priorities are askew, but you can't do anything about the serious problems mentioned here. For man is wolf to man. So I stick with practical changes. Onward to misspelled words.)
1
Prof Bronson, this phenomenon is not tied soley to waiters.
Sure there's alcohol-proximity, but so is a flask or a bottle. Marijuana is increasing legal and sanctioned in a world that wants to be perpetually high. A joint can be smoked in the back on their break. You can hardly blame them, living in a world that's perpetually low, these days.
Substance abuse is at an all time high in ever sector. We feel the pain and want a way out, even when it's not pain as we used to know it. It's escape from the realities of our lives. Years ago we believed we were in charge of our lives and our betterment. no more.
Values matter. Beliefs matter. Righteousness matters. Morality matters. Others matter and so do we. This new domain reaches far beyond the serving floor. And the solution lies with each of us.
Sure there's alcohol-proximity, but so is a flask or a bottle. Marijuana is increasing legal and sanctioned in a world that wants to be perpetually high. A joint can be smoked in the back on their break. You can hardly blame them, living in a world that's perpetually low, these days.
Substance abuse is at an all time high in ever sector. We feel the pain and want a way out, even when it's not pain as we used to know it. It's escape from the realities of our lives. Years ago we believed we were in charge of our lives and our betterment. no more.
Values matter. Beliefs matter. Righteousness matters. Morality matters. Others matter and so do we. This new domain reaches far beyond the serving floor. And the solution lies with each of us.
8
Everyone who complains about the poor wages of waiters and waitresses have the power to give them a raise when they tip. I always tip in cash and usually 20 per cent ..more at lunch because the staff does the same work but the check is much less.
34
Yes, but not everyone will do that. And by tipping in cash you are trying to participate in tax avoidance. Wouldn't it be better if wait staff (and kitchen staff) were paid a just wage?
1
Tipping at more at lower cost lunches is a good idea.
6
Unless I receive terrible service -- a rarity, I never tip LESS than 20%, and I frequently tip more. Having said that, that won't buy the server medical insurance.
5
Anyone with a pulse can get a job serving others and there are reasons for that. The main reason is it costs very little to employ someone in a job specifically designed to offer low pay and few if any benefits; hence bars to entry are lower than the even less appealing retail sector, or prison guard ("correction officer" - HA!) other areas ripe for roboticizing. Further it is well known that at least in high-end establishments located in famous places, such as NYC, southern California and various elite vacation spots, wait staff is killing time as they await their "big break". Poor souls. Like so many third-tier athletes, an infinitesimal number reach this prize; at least the lower-ranked athlete has a shot at Canadian football, or Euro-basketball or Japanese baseball. The 31-year-old waitress? The 40-year-old bartender? Best squirrel away those unclaimed gratuities, as you are going to need them.
3
Sorry Julie, "anyone with a pulse" cannot get a job serving others, and the notion that being a restaurant server is always a "low pay" job is also untrue. Just like in most fields, there is a skill and pay heirarchy in the restaurant business, and working at a Denny's is a completely different thing than working at "high-end establishments" in NYC and LA. I worked in a handful of casual and fine-dining places as a server over the course of 7 years in Boston and NYC, and I made a good enough wage, at the age of 29, that I could afford to live alone in an expensive city, save money, and go to the equivalent of grad school in the middle of this 7 years. If you work in fine dining, you are required to take food and beverage classes regularly, and be able to speak authoritatively about how meals are prepared, with what ingredients, and to be able to navigate wine lists containing more than 50 bottles of wine. You also need top-shelf social skills and general life-knowledge to be able to chit chat with a worldly, diverse, professional - sometimes famous - clientele. In NYC "famous" can mean actress or musician, but more likely politicians, CEO's, editors, etc. All the high-end restaurants I worked in hired waiters with college degrees. Many of us were not "waiting for a big break" but making things happen - taking our server jobs seriously, while also using our flexible schedules to make art, get more education, enjoy travel, raise families, etc.
15
Are you a victim of circumstances, or are you happily making your own way?
That is the great dichotomy in our society. It is not 1% v 99%, or 10% v 90%
That is the great dichotomy in our society. It is not 1% v 99%, or 10% v 90%
1
Why not simplify tipping. It's too much pressure on customers too. 20% across-the-board, upto 5% refunded (max $5) if customers fill dissatisfaction survey with specifics. 25% when sign outside says "We certify our employees are drug and alcohol free inside premises". 30% if sign adds "We once kicked Gordon Ramsay out for foul language".
Yes, everything's great, but if you ask me again smiling huge, I'm gonna spill my drink and throw a loud fit. Thank you.
Yes, everything's great, but if you ask me again smiling huge, I'm gonna spill my drink and throw a loud fit. Thank you.
5
"According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in food service will soon outnumber those in manufacturing."
Any low-paid sector like food service should be able to join a national union. Without it, exploitation is just too tempting for restaurant owners fixed on the bottom line.
At the very least, unions would be able to possibly achieve a statewide national minimum wage higher than the one that currently stands and has been inflated out of its purchasing power.
As for the addiction side, I don't know: statistics show 10% or more of the population suffers some form of substance abuse. Cuts in national health programs mean less substance abuse treatment. But gone missing in all this is the stress of the job.
Toiling all day on a minimum wage with owners barking orders and customers who can be nasty and cheap, has to take its toll, tempting more wait staff to self-medicate their problems away.
The problems Ms. Bronson describes are endemic of our country as a whole: the social fabric is being torn by policies in Washington that favor wealth over workers.
Any low-paid sector like food service should be able to join a national union. Without it, exploitation is just too tempting for restaurant owners fixed on the bottom line.
At the very least, unions would be able to possibly achieve a statewide national minimum wage higher than the one that currently stands and has been inflated out of its purchasing power.
As for the addiction side, I don't know: statistics show 10% or more of the population suffers some form of substance abuse. Cuts in national health programs mean less substance abuse treatment. But gone missing in all this is the stress of the job.
Toiling all day on a minimum wage with owners barking orders and customers who can be nasty and cheap, has to take its toll, tempting more wait staff to self-medicate their problems away.
The problems Ms. Bronson describes are endemic of our country as a whole: the social fabric is being torn by policies in Washington that favor wealth over workers.
34
Having worked in food service for some 10 yrs on and off. Part Time while wending my way to work I was better suited. The food biz can suck the life put of you but when it is good there is nothing better that a happy restaurant with loyal and happy customers. All too often however conditions don't offer much and working in some places, customers are all too often Joe Pesci portrayal of a wise guy at his neighborhood club. Where you could get you foot shoot off for delivering the wrong drink. Or a reasonable facsimile there of. I have worked in Las Vegas at the large hotels, Ski areas, Pizza Parlors, Faculty clubs, You name food business can suck the life out of you and know one will care.. They just want their food with a smile. NOt all places are the same but you talk of a national effort .. Switzerland has a great Union for waiters etc. They get health care ( Nationalized sort of) good pay and a opportunity to build a pension.. Oh yeah one other thing.. They get respect for what they do the same as an doctor, banker, anybody. Respect.. thatg's the key.
2
Interesting as an epidemiological issue, but two data are missing. First, are there statistics about what the rate of substance use/abuse was among these workers before they started in the food service industry? Perhaps part of this population of substance abusers ended up in their food service jobs because their abuse made it hard to keep their previous jobs? And second, and it may be relevant to the first question, what is the turn-over in this sector compared with others?
JR
JR
9
Turnover? High, very very high.
1
I worked in the restaurant business in the early 1980s. Lots of nights after work partying until 4 AM and then sleeping until lunchtime the next day. And remember when Reagan started taxing waiters on their tips. That together with the way tipping is done nowadays means that making decent money as a waiter is very tough.
16
Here is where I am judgmental and prejudiced. I admit it. I feel if one turns to drink or pills due to external stress it is because one lacks internal coping abilities and feel the need to drown out or wash away what others have the fortitude to deal with. But it all comes back, with a vengeance, when you wake up. From my observation of family drinking and drugs certainly don't solve any problems and make any that you have worse .
Yes, people may claim to be addicted after whatever period of time and thus can't stop and we and they are left to deal with it, but there was a time they weren't addicted. From my vantage point they participated in the transition from not addicted to being addicted they now feel. How may drinks did it take to know that they shouldn't drink, but did so?
And yes, I enjoy a glass of wine or a drink with a meal. But after opening a bottle I have to remind myself it is there.
Yes, people may claim to be addicted after whatever period of time and thus can't stop and we and they are left to deal with it, but there was a time they weren't addicted. From my vantage point they participated in the transition from not addicted to being addicted they now feel. How may drinks did it take to know that they shouldn't drink, but did so?
And yes, I enjoy a glass of wine or a drink with a meal. But after opening a bottle I have to remind myself it is there.
1
Glad to see your opening words, it spares me from writing them.
6
" I feel if one turns to drink or pills due to external stress it is because one lacks internal coping abilities and feel the need to drown out or wash away what others have the fortitude to deal with."
There are limits to fortitude. When your legs have swollen to 50 to 100% with edema and fluids no longer drain out when you lie down with your feet raised it takes more than fortitude to get up and start another shift. When every tray causes twinges in your back. When you see all the varicose and spider veins increasing and restricting blood flow to you feet. There are few things that relieve that kind of pain and quitting the job isn't always and option there are medications that will help you get through that next shift. That isn't lack of fortitude, it is an admission of the frailty of the human body. Everyone has their breaking point. Perhaps you haven't reached it ...yet.
There are limits to fortitude. When your legs have swollen to 50 to 100% with edema and fluids no longer drain out when you lie down with your feet raised it takes more than fortitude to get up and start another shift. When every tray causes twinges in your back. When you see all the varicose and spider veins increasing and restricting blood flow to you feet. There are few things that relieve that kind of pain and quitting the job isn't always and option there are medications that will help you get through that next shift. That isn't lack of fortitude, it is an admission of the frailty of the human body. Everyone has their breaking point. Perhaps you haven't reached it ...yet.
4
Wait staff need unions. I waited on tables AFTER I got from degree from a good college, in my twenties. The men I knew who graduated from the same college got appropriate jobs. The women were asked if they could type. The typing-involved jobs paid far less that the wait staff job. I made my rent in one night's work..the boss liked his staff and was protective. It was a place with repeat clients. If they didn't leave the proper tip they did not receive service the next time they came in..so we did well. Waiting on hungry people is itself a good education. You can tell a lot about a person by the way she/he treats wait staff.
71
Bev: "If they [clients] didn't leave the proper tip they did not receive service the next time they came in ..."
How did "the boss" know if a "client" "didn't leave the proper tip"? And how did "the boss" actually withhold "service"?
How did "the boss" know if a "client" "didn't leave the proper tip"? And how did "the boss" actually withhold "service"?
1
This is the problem. "proper tip" why should you make your rent in one night for just bringing food to a table? Oh, yes, you were also busy keeping tabs on who tips. What baloney.
I think these pickup jobs with little responsibility are very attractive to alcoholics. Many years ago I worked in a staff cafeteria linked to an executive dining room. There were almost no inventory controls on the alcohol, and both the manager and many of the staff tucked into it on a daily basis. There was no tipping at all, so I doubt the abuse was related to that. I think the easy availability of the jobs and the self-selection by alcoholics are the important factors.
Employers can help by imposing strict inventory controls on alcohol; limiting employees access to alcohol and gambling on premises; and providing addiction recovery information prominently. Actually paying for recovery services would be nice too, but most food operations probably can't afford that.
Employers can help by imposing strict inventory controls on alcohol; limiting employees access to alcohol and gambling on premises; and providing addiction recovery information prominently. Actually paying for recovery services would be nice too, but most food operations probably can't afford that.
5
Just as a comparison (and, of course, there are exceptions)...
In the UK wait and bar staff tend to receive minimum wage rates, and tips (if they receive them) tend to be change (coins), barely worth mentioning. In the US, our wait and bar staff tend to work for significant tips with a token hourly employer payment. Great long-term, professional wait or bar staff here, with the right gig, can make great money.
The service received in the US is far superior to that in the UK. not just slightly better, it must be a factor of ten-times as good. Why? Because the motivated employee here thinks as though they are running their own business within a business, indeed many are.
Staff drink just as much there, as here. Reason? Proximity, it's available!
Some drink, some do drugs, some don't. It's a personal choice.
Unions wouldn't work in the industry, employers would just change their systems and types of employment, staff (shifts and hours) would suffer and our levels of customer service would collapse.
The American way is better. If you have drink problem, try working in a different industry. It's your problem, not ours. Harsh, but true. Or, make a rule for yourself, drink all you want, but not in the place you work.
In the UK wait and bar staff tend to receive minimum wage rates, and tips (if they receive them) tend to be change (coins), barely worth mentioning. In the US, our wait and bar staff tend to work for significant tips with a token hourly employer payment. Great long-term, professional wait or bar staff here, with the right gig, can make great money.
The service received in the US is far superior to that in the UK. not just slightly better, it must be a factor of ten-times as good. Why? Because the motivated employee here thinks as though they are running their own business within a business, indeed many are.
Staff drink just as much there, as here. Reason? Proximity, it's available!
Some drink, some do drugs, some don't. It's a personal choice.
Unions wouldn't work in the industry, employers would just change their systems and types of employment, staff (shifts and hours) would suffer and our levels of customer service would collapse.
The American way is better. If you have drink problem, try working in a different industry. It's your problem, not ours. Harsh, but true. Or, make a rule for yourself, drink all you want, but not in the place you work.
9
I always enjoy Ms. Bronson's essays that give all of us an "insider" look at an industry that many of us never really "see." Thanks NYT for publishing her work. When do those short stories come out that she is writing!
8
30 years ago a prison warden brought this up. She pointed out that released prisoners have a very difficult time finding any job at all but could often be hired in food service. The majority of people who go to prison have substance abuse issues. Even when they serve their sentence and are determined to stay clean and sober temptations abound. When the temptation is right there at work on a daily/nightly basis it is very, very hard for many to resist.
46
If food service becomes the foundation of our economy, we are doomed as a nation. Ms. Bronson states that it is already the second largest private employment sector. This helps corroborate the still growing wealth gap in the US. I travel extensively, and am currently in Russia, where tip culture is next to non-existent. This puts me at odd with my friends at times when I leave fifteen to twenty percent and they look at me like I'm crazy. I know also that waiters make little in terms of wages. And I have not seen or heard of wait staff becoming addicted to drugs or alcohol (at least no more that what is normal in Russian culture). Not saying it is perfect in Russia, but when a society provides low cost to free education to its citizens, very low personal taxes, free health care and so forth, there is less reason for someone waiting tables to want to get drunk. Other European societies are also like this.
Perhaps as another commenter suggested, it's time start paying living wages, get everyone single payer healthcare, and get rid of tipping. Perhaps we'll pay a bit more for our meals, but our servers will have a better life, and will not have the stress that often drives addiction.
Perhaps as another commenter suggested, it's time start paying living wages, get everyone single payer healthcare, and get rid of tipping. Perhaps we'll pay a bit more for our meals, but our servers will have a better life, and will not have the stress that often drives addiction.
98
foundation of the economy? Yeah, right. its mainly because people don't cook anymore.
4
It's not just the waitstaff who drinks, it's the whole restaurant staff - kitchen, management, and all. And snorts blow to get through the shift, and sometimes shoots up even (read Anthony Bourdain). It's a hard and abusive business, and with cash in your pocket after getting beat up all night, it's too easy to sit down for one drink too wind down and too hard to get up and go home. I was lucky that i didn't really have the gene.
1
Drinking by wait-staff is as old as their profession. The first attempt at epidemiological study suggested that alcohol causes lung cancer: because that cancer was high among wait-staff--and so too was drinking. Of course, they worked in spaces rank with tobacco smoke.
9
"The first attempt at epidemiological study ..."
What "study" was that? We are not mind readers.
What "study" was that? We are not mind readers.
1
The restaurant model as it stands, predicated on cheap labor, is probably going to be unsustainable in the future. Back of house was based on the European model - apprenticeships, start on the bottom working 80 hour weeks with no o/t for minimum wage and no union benefits and work your way up. Front of house is based on below minimum wage and made up for with tips. And it worked, too, for a long time.
But then things started to happen. Rents skyrocketed, (both comercial and residential), recessions happened, Americans went to culinary school and couldn't afford to work for the wages offered when they had tens of thousands in student dept. For front of house, dependent on tips, it's nervewracking to never know if you'll be able to make your rent or not, and it tends to be seasonal. And restaurant workers found other options. Hotels, corporate and institutional dining that paid union wages and benefits, and in other fields.
Restaurants have still been scraping by with illegal labor, but even so they're still finding it hard to get help. Restaurants in the Boston area have been having a very difficult time and many have had to close. Prohibitive rents and inadequate public transportation means workers can't afford to live near the areas that the restaurants are in, and the nimbys who have refused to build low income housing in their neighborhoods can't get help now.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/20/dallas-texas-labor-short...
But then things started to happen. Rents skyrocketed, (both comercial and residential), recessions happened, Americans went to culinary school and couldn't afford to work for the wages offered when they had tens of thousands in student dept. For front of house, dependent on tips, it's nervewracking to never know if you'll be able to make your rent or not, and it tends to be seasonal. And restaurant workers found other options. Hotels, corporate and institutional dining that paid union wages and benefits, and in other fields.
Restaurants have still been scraping by with illegal labor, but even so they're still finding it hard to get help. Restaurants in the Boston area have been having a very difficult time and many have had to close. Prohibitive rents and inadequate public transportation means workers can't afford to live near the areas that the restaurants are in, and the nimbys who have refused to build low income housing in their neighborhoods can't get help now.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/20/dallas-texas-labor-short...
37
The European model changed long ago. And the US could learn something by following them.
3
They probably won't though. Not as long as they have illegal labor to abuse, and the fact that many culinary workers and hopefuls are shanghai'd by actual passion for the work, which makes it very competetive, and ripe for abuse. Probably unhelped by the various culinary shows on TV. I'd guess for most front of house workers it's just a job to pay the bills, their passions tend to lie elsewhere. It certainly was for me.
1
That is why Danny Meyer of Union Square hospitality group is trying to change an unsustainable system. And did you read the outraged comments on his two articles about doing that?
I worked for him for over three years. He is the restaurateur with the most integrity I have ever met over here, though the chef-patron I worked for in Paris was a paragon of integrity, too.
I worked for him for over three years. He is the restaurateur with the most integrity I have ever met over here, though the chef-patron I worked for in Paris was a paragon of integrity, too.
3
I began waiting tables at 14 and continued throughout my college years into my late 20s. I had no substance abuse problems, but then I luckily don't seem to have the genetic predisposition. I was also waiting tables as a means to an end; that is, to fund my schooling. I did not expect to be a waiter my entire life, although at the time I felt I could if I had to. That is a very different thing than waiting tables as a profession.
I worked alongside a young French man who DID feel it was his profession, who came from that tradition where to be a waiter was somewhat honorable and did not depend on tips.
I do think tipping has something to do with this description of drug/alcohol use in American food service. The entire system is set up to see waiters as children, as temporary and not important enough to pay properly. As kind of "extra".
I worked alongside a young French man who DID feel it was his profession, who came from that tradition where to be a waiter was somewhat honorable and did not depend on tips.
I do think tipping has something to do with this description of drug/alcohol use in American food service. The entire system is set up to see waiters as children, as temporary and not important enough to pay properly. As kind of "extra".
92
Having lived through similar circumstances and had my brushes with subsistence abuse I can sympathize the Ms. Bronson's point. Service employee's are generally treated like dogs through out the industry. The business model is predicated on exploiting employees for as little as possible.
Many states now have 'Tipped' minimum wages that are far below even the low Federal minimum wage of $7.25. And remember that all service employees are required to pay tax on at least 15% of their reported income thanks to the Reagan administration that wanted to balance the budget on the backs of service employees while the millionaires and Billionaires get tax breaks.
No healthcare. Constantly changing schedules. Obviously odd hours. No employment security. Work on holidays. On and on.
We need to change the way we think about all service jobs. If your business model depends on exploitation then we need to change the model.
Many states now have 'Tipped' minimum wages that are far below even the low Federal minimum wage of $7.25. And remember that all service employees are required to pay tax on at least 15% of their reported income thanks to the Reagan administration that wanted to balance the budget on the backs of service employees while the millionaires and Billionaires get tax breaks.
No healthcare. Constantly changing schedules. Obviously odd hours. No employment security. Work on holidays. On and on.
We need to change the way we think about all service jobs. If your business model depends on exploitation then we need to change the model.
354
I would further add that if your business model depends on exploitation, you don't need to be in business period.
1
For this and many many other reasons I now always tip 20% regardless the service.
253
I tip 20% or a minimum of three dollars a person regardless of the total of the check. If I am having breakfast, the total is usually less than ten dollars often just six or seven. I still tip at least three depending on how many trips by with coffee refills, I get.
15
Sorry, but I'm not made of money and I don't eat out that often but when I do, I tip according to the service I receive. When I sit for 10 minutes without even receiving an acknowledgement of my presence, when it's another 20 before my drink order is taken, and on and on. Then no, don't expect any tip from me. When the service is timely and professional, 20% is given; mediocre, 15%; and when service is appalling or completely lacking, zero!
2
Also tip in cash. Put a small amount on the check. But tip in cash. And even if it is a cup of coffee. Nothing less than a dollar. It should be at least 5 for almost everything else. Depends somewhat on the restaurant.
I am not in food service. I enjoy the time that I have in bars and restaurants because I know I am going to tip well. Stinginess shows.
I am not in food service. I enjoy the time that I have in bars and restaurants because I know I am going to tip well. Stinginess shows.
1
As a completely broke graduate student in NYC in the '90s, my friends would often recommend working in a restaurant as a waiter or as a bartender. I was already partying hard and had the opportunity to hang out and hook up with various employees in this sector of the service economy. Smart, charming, often beautiful, funny and in need of a serious release after the pressure of serving In the NYC dining environment, NYC servers/bartenders are an intoxicating and not just intoxicated crew. I never partied harder than I did after a waiter/waitresses or bartender's shift.
However, I immediately understood that if I got a post in a New York bar or restaurant it might absolutely ruin me in terms of substance abuse. I feel the same about never joining a rock and roll band.
And FWIW,
It' s just a hunch, but I think not depending on tips would change the emotional energy that permeates the job. It would be much less emotionally exhausting to face diners if you knew rent didn't depend on their reaction to you.
However, I immediately understood that if I got a post in a New York bar or restaurant it might absolutely ruin me in terms of substance abuse. I feel the same about never joining a rock and roll band.
And FWIW,
It' s just a hunch, but I think not depending on tips would change the emotional energy that permeates the job. It would be much less emotionally exhausting to face diners if you knew rent didn't depend on their reaction to you.
154
Sad, but true, Brendon! I don't work in the "service" industry, specifically, but in a sense all "jobs" are service related. But that's a far cry from depending on your rent being paid or table turn-over and client reaction to U!
1
great idea; do as they do in New Zealand, regard the waiting-tables jobs as valuable and respected members of the work force; there the prices of the food are slightly higher initially, but then you realize you don't have to tip; the bill is less in the end, and there is no wonky math to trip you up and make the meal you just ate seem a big of a gyp. It is normal there that wait staff are respected members of the team, not just working for the tips; the relationship between the diners and the waiters is more respectful. Bring it on.
1
But it's set up like that for a reason, maybe several: You're motivated to give your best; the owners pay you very little; the stress of the job means that you'll probably be moving on soon, which justifies employers paying low wages because "you're just starting out."
At a fancy restaurant in a casino where I worked, the waiters were teased with "$30/hour" in tips. Balderdash! If you made $10/hour, you had a good night. Employee turnover there was dizzying; you hardly ever saw the same person twice.
At a fancy restaurant in a casino where I worked, the waiters were teased with "$30/hour" in tips. Balderdash! If you made $10/hour, you had a good night. Employee turnover there was dizzying; you hardly ever saw the same person twice.
1
I found the Op-Ed interesting, but far too personal and anecdotal:
How does such alcohol addiction in the U.S. food industry compare with levels in other OECD countries?
How does obesity among employees in the U.S. food industry compare with levels in other OECD nations?
Are the addictions because of easier availability and less management control compared with other nations? Or are the increased levels stress related and/or due to the low access to healthcare in the U.S. minimum wage service industry?
The Op-Ed should have delved more deeply into the causes and comparisons with other developed nations.
How does such alcohol addiction in the U.S. food industry compare with levels in other OECD countries?
How does obesity among employees in the U.S. food industry compare with levels in other OECD nations?
Are the addictions because of easier availability and less management control compared with other nations? Or are the increased levels stress related and/or due to the low access to healthcare in the U.S. minimum wage service industry?
The Op-Ed should have delved more deeply into the causes and comparisons with other developed nations.
14
In Europe strong labor laws, high minimum wages, and no tipping keep these jobs from being the lowest common denominator. Also, service in Europe is generally much better than in the US, especially in nice restaurants as the staff is well trained.
14
Agnostique: "... especially in nice restaurants as the staff is well trained."
If "nice" is a euphemism for *expensive*, then, of course, "the staff is well trained". The "nice" restaurant management can afford to either train its workers or hire already trained workers.
If "nice" is a euphemism for *expensive*, then, of course, "the staff is well trained". The "nice" restaurant management can afford to either train its workers or hire already trained workers.
2
"I found the Op-Ed interesting, but far too personal and anecdotal"
Respectfully, that's what makes it an Op-Ed piece.
The article you wish for in your last sentence would be investigative journalism. And an interesting series, without a doubt.
Respectfully, that's what makes it an Op-Ed piece.
The article you wish for in your last sentence would be investigative journalism. And an interesting series, without a doubt.
4
I have worked in the industry for 30 years. Server, bartender, manager, owner, the whole gamut. The predilection to substance abuse is not just in the service industry. Look around, easy access permeates the culture at large. How many people drink at lunch.......lots! Many upscale offices have employee bars and use it to develop cohesion among staff. Very common in law firms. People with underdeveloped; social skills, self awareness, and personal direction goals will more readily fall into the path of substance abuse. If you view your work as work and not play it is a bit easier to see the demarcation, but the desire to fit in is strong and for most people, alcohol makes that easier? Addiction may or may not be a disease, the science is debatable but choosing not to drink/use while one is working should not be acceptable in any line of work.
Just as an aside, unions would put most restaurants out of business. And I am a person that supports unions.
Just as an aside, unions would put most restaurants out of business. And I am a person that supports unions.
7
Checking the checkered history of Hotel and Restaurant unions in both NYC and in Las Vegas will reveal a mobbed up history where the workers are further exploited by their conflicted "representation."
Clean that up before recommending it as a panacea.
Clean that up before recommending it as a panacea.
4
One problem is tips, making people grovel for money. Raising wages and barring tips is an idea whose time has come. A huge tip doesn't make up for a worker's lost dignity.
Another is benefits, such as health care. Larger restaurants should be required to employ a minimum percentage of full-time employees, who would be eligible for benefits.
A happy worker is a productive worker.
Another is benefits, such as health care. Larger restaurants should be required to employ a minimum percentage of full-time employees, who would be eligible for benefits.
A happy worker is a productive worker.
299
I don't equate providing good service with "groveling", and don't see how working for tips costs a person dignity. I did it for a while and can assure you that my dignity is intact.
5
I think you'll find most servers and bartenders would rather have tips. As noble as your comment is, the business remains tip based because the people working in it want it that way.
That said they may be wrong. In our society, the idea of a big payoff lingers in the mind when in reality people might rather be getting a steady income day in and day out.
That said they may be wrong. In our society, the idea of a big payoff lingers in the mind when in reality people might rather be getting a steady income day in and day out.
1
"a huge tip doesn't make up for lost dignity"-- well said
I find the week-to-week scheduling in these jobs to be deeply troubling
I find the week-to-week scheduling in these jobs to be deeply troubling
1
Las Vegas and casino cities in general have horrific rates of substance abuse. As many state below unionisation is crucial. Service industry jobs must be valued and compensated. The history of Atlantic City´s casino years is instructive in this regard - many blamed Local 54 the activist union for the demise of the Taj Majal casino. Well that casino was milked by its owners for cash as workers, thousands of them, were left unemployed. Casino gambling is sold to communities as a source of employment and then employees are mistreated and abandoned - another post below rails about "self-discipline" as a cure or prevention plan for addiction. I propose another - fairness in the US economy and humane treatment, decent treatment of the workers who are all of us. End exploitation and provide health care and we will all be better people, a saner society.
156
Thank you!
1
Great, so all we need is for human nature to do a complete about-face? To begin loving our neighbors as ourselves? Sure, let's all get right on that. Why didn't someone think of that before?
3
In the corporatization of restaurants, and the undervaluation of servers, I can see why some drink or take drugs to counter a feeling of helplessness and powerlessness.
This was brought home to me the one and only time I dined at an Olive Garden restaurant in Florida with my late father and my husband. Our server, a man who was (1) obviously ill (he had just been released from hospital for what he claimed was pancreatitis, (2) obviously LGBTQ, and (3) obviously despised for whatever reason by fellow servers, had been given the bulk of the tables in our section of the restaurant to handle, while his colleagues stood back and gossiped. All we had gotten in 40 minutes was water and bread.
My husband asked to see the manager, and berated him about the lack of cream effort in service, threatening to leave. The colleagues started doing their job. The food was a parody of Italian cuisine.
A good restaurant--and its management--realize that professional operations hinge on teamwork, not exploitation or demonization of the weakest among the staff. The management of this Olive Garden did not, and I believe the entire chain of franchises put teamwork and professionalism as last priority. I felt somehow dirty for eating there, and will never go back.
The formerly fair balance of management and labor in this nation has been replaced by the rapacity of the Occupation.
This was brought home to me the one and only time I dined at an Olive Garden restaurant in Florida with my late father and my husband. Our server, a man who was (1) obviously ill (he had just been released from hospital for what he claimed was pancreatitis, (2) obviously LGBTQ, and (3) obviously despised for whatever reason by fellow servers, had been given the bulk of the tables in our section of the restaurant to handle, while his colleagues stood back and gossiped. All we had gotten in 40 minutes was water and bread.
My husband asked to see the manager, and berated him about the lack of cream effort in service, threatening to leave. The colleagues started doing their job. The food was a parody of Italian cuisine.
A good restaurant--and its management--realize that professional operations hinge on teamwork, not exploitation or demonization of the weakest among the staff. The management of this Olive Garden did not, and I believe the entire chain of franchises put teamwork and professionalism as last priority. I felt somehow dirty for eating there, and will never go back.
The formerly fair balance of management and labor in this nation has been replaced by the rapacity of the Occupation.
112
It sounds like unions are the solution to the stresses of the food service business. The substance abuse and gambling addiction are the symptoms, not the cause, of the main problem.
78
Good luck Unionizing food service when it is awash in undocumented labor.
It's why Cesar Chavez himself was against illegal immigration - it works directly against unionization to have cheaper labor to replace you if you organize.
Not a single word in this article about how that factor keeps this industry at "tips for wages" and line cooks constantly at or below minimum wage.
It's why Cesar Chavez himself was against illegal immigration - it works directly against unionization to have cheaper labor to replace you if you organize.
Not a single word in this article about how that factor keeps this industry at "tips for wages" and line cooks constantly at or below minimum wage.
1
"Because food service jobs are increasingly a foundational part of our economy, it is even more crucial to think about what happens to the people who work them."
I agree with this aspect of the article. However, I worked as a waiter for four years while in college, and, although some (not all) of the other service were addicted to drugs and alcohol, I chose to not drink at all, and, not even think about drugs.
I stayed clean by choice, and, using a forgotten set of skills: self discipline.
I observe: anyone can stay clean.
of course, anyone can be an alcoholic.
the choice is, of course, ours.
I agree with this aspect of the article. However, I worked as a waiter for four years while in college, and, although some (not all) of the other service were addicted to drugs and alcohol, I chose to not drink at all, and, not even think about drugs.
I stayed clean by choice, and, using a forgotten set of skills: self discipline.
I observe: anyone can stay clean.
of course, anyone can be an alcoholic.
the choice is, of course, ours.
21
Michael Ms. Bronson made the point quite clearly that serving while in college in process of reaching another goal is an entirely distinct psychological zone than a life of restaurant work. If you can´t see the distinction you did not learn much in your humanities classes.
105
Michael: "I stayed clean by choice, ..."
You didn't say WHY you "chose" to "stay clean".
Michael: "... and, using a forgotten set of skills: self discipline."
But you did tout your "self discipline" with admirable condescension.
You didn't say WHY you "chose" to "stay clean".
Michael: "... and, using a forgotten set of skills: self discipline."
But you did tout your "self discipline" with admirable condescension.
27
Please be thankful for the nature and nurture that make self-discipline possible. Not everyone can be an alcoholic or drug addict. Heredity and environment may account for more of the variation between individuals than personal choice. Please explore the reputable publications available a no cost on the Internet.
11
As restaurant jobs become a bigger part of the economy, which they already are, there is an opportunity for unionization. Making a living wage and knowing you are safe because you have health care may make it less likely to become addicted to gambling or substances. The way the workplace generally is run now, the owners hold all the cards. It's no wonder people are drinking more, it's one way to cope.
171
Higher minimum wage, universal healthcare, professionalization of the workforce. Sounds like Europe
6
Please don't blame the owners! Most people have no idea how hard it is to make a profit in the restaurant industry. That's a big reason for the proliferation of chain restaurants. They can spread a good percentage of the costs among many units: printing, training, menu development, food and ware purchasing. It's very difficult for an independent operator to compete. And they often end up drinking, too.
5
Cathleen, making a living wage and having health insurance does not change the reality that most restaurant people work nights, weekends and holidays, which makes it hard to have a stable mature relationship and family life, especially if one is married to a "civilian."
And be very careful about seeing unions as a panacea. Both here in NYC and in Ms. Bronson's Las Vegas, the history of Hotel and Restaurant unions is pretty shady, with a lot of mob connections and a reputation of not always representing members' best interests.
I don't know if it is still true, but when I started in kitchens in NYC in the 80s, Local 6 of the Hotel workers union provided a "benefit" of two beers per worker per shift. It was Old Milwaukee, not offered for sale, so managers could see if what workers were drinking on the job was "work beer." But free beer engendered a lively barter system. The grill cook had a particular ability to cook an "accidental" steak in return for hard liquor from the bartender.
Have you worked in hotels and/or restaurants?
And be very careful about seeing unions as a panacea. Both here in NYC and in Ms. Bronson's Las Vegas, the history of Hotel and Restaurant unions is pretty shady, with a lot of mob connections and a reputation of not always representing members' best interests.
I don't know if it is still true, but when I started in kitchens in NYC in the 80s, Local 6 of the Hotel workers union provided a "benefit" of two beers per worker per shift. It was Old Milwaukee, not offered for sale, so managers could see if what workers were drinking on the job was "work beer." But free beer engendered a lively barter system. The grill cook had a particular ability to cook an "accidental" steak in return for hard liquor from the bartender.
Have you worked in hotels and/or restaurants?
2
Whenever and wherever there are unions, then not only does the pay go up ( and productivity ) but also the working conditions\benefits\safety.
It's the exact same thing for health care. When all of us are paying into the system and spreading out the costs, then we all benefit. We are healthier, more productive and have a higher level of living and safety for us all.
That is because there is mental health as well. The prison cannot continue to be the dumping ground. Addiction of all types is treatable. People can get help if the programs are funded.
Speaking of funding. The minimum wage needs to be a living wage.
https://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm
It's the exact same thing for health care. When all of us are paying into the system and spreading out the costs, then we all benefit. We are healthier, more productive and have a higher level of living and safety for us all.
That is because there is mental health as well. The prison cannot continue to be the dumping ground. Addiction of all types is treatable. People can get help if the programs are funded.
Speaking of funding. The minimum wage needs to be a living wage.
https://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm
425
"Whenever and wherever there are unions, then not only does the pay go up ( and productivity )"
You obviously never visited a former communist country in Europe in the 1990s. The poor service and arrogance of the workers in service industries were "legendary".
I'm all for unions and I think every occupation, including white collar, should have strong unions. I also believe that existing unions haven't done enough internationally to counteract the reach of big corporations. The op-ed piece today about NAFTA, which stated that there are no unionized Mexican workers at Walmart, comes to mind.
But unions are expensive and can have a negative effect on corporate earnings, which leads to economic problems that ultimately can undermine workers (see the 1970s). There needs to be balance between strong, innovative management and organized workers; they should be pushing each other to the betterment of everyone.
You obviously never visited a former communist country in Europe in the 1990s. The poor service and arrogance of the workers in service industries were "legendary".
I'm all for unions and I think every occupation, including white collar, should have strong unions. I also believe that existing unions haven't done enough internationally to counteract the reach of big corporations. The op-ed piece today about NAFTA, which stated that there are no unionized Mexican workers at Walmart, comes to mind.
But unions are expensive and can have a negative effect on corporate earnings, which leads to economic problems that ultimately can undermine workers (see the 1970s). There needs to be balance between strong, innovative management and organized workers; they should be pushing each other to the betterment of everyone.
2
Raising the minimum wage won't help you if you have a substance abuse problem, amazingly enough. People need to be held accountable for their actions like the writer's friend who was terminated from her job for drinking. Managers need to enforce no drinking on the job, and beyond that it is up to the employee to adhere to the guidelines and ensure their own safety.
4
@Jerome
I think it is simplistic to think that not having more money in your pocket will not help you in the long run. ( especially affording health care, let alone feeling good overall and not having to drown your sorrows )
You do realize that addiction is a medical affliction that requires attention and help ? Correct ?
I think it is simplistic to think that not having more money in your pocket will not help you in the long run. ( especially affording health care, let alone feeling good overall and not having to drown your sorrows )
You do realize that addiction is a medical affliction that requires attention and help ? Correct ?
3
Someone who thinks getting compensated for efforted expended is the type of person who is slacker and would never take a job that pays commission which essentially is what a server's job is. Good servers make out very well. Over 30 years ago I worked as a waiter in a medium priced restaruant and made about $20 per hour with my tips. Think minimum wage was about $5 an hour then. But I had to work hard. Something a lot people try to avoid.