20% please...

So, my friend's Mom found this article and I have to say - it's about time!! I don't think people realize (especially people in Utah!) that server's don't get to keep the full tip you left. Yes, it may seem like a lot, but its our entire wage. The restaurant pays us nothing. And what we make from our tables we split with our bussers and the expediters. So please - be kind, tip the full 20% :) If you can't do that, please eat at Cafe Rio or somewhere where you don't need to tip. Times are hard for servers too.

As America - and Utah - cinches the proverbial belt tighter this year and looks for ways to cut back, I have one helpful suggestion: If you can't afford to tip well, don't go out to eat in a restaurant with a server.
I fear that many labor under the illusion that food servers lead a singular life of luxuriously high wages because of the short-sighted arithmetic employed.
"What? Twenty percent of $70 is $14? I've only been here an hour and she has four tables! Plus, she's getting paid hourly! That's more than I make at a real job!"
WRONG!
Servers in Utah make $2.13 an hour. Not a typo. Two dollars and change. That sort of covers taxes. As a server, my paychecks were somewhere between $5 and $20.
Servers come in to an empty restaurant and stay behind in an empty restaurant long past the time you are there. They earn virtually nothing for most of the night while waiting for the dinner crowd to arrive, then work like crazy for a couple of hours, when hopefully, but not usually, their section will be full. After the rush is over, they clean and wait for patrons to leave and make very little money for the rest of the evening.
Servers share their tips with the bussers and bartenders [and sometimes expediters or hostesses] . This is usually a set percentage of their gross sales. You could safely assume that if you leave a 20 percent tip, your server actually is netting about a 15 percent tip. If you leave a 15 percent tip, your server is getting around 10 percent.
And finally, let's not forget the campers - hanging around and chatting for hours. If a server has four tables in his section, and you decide to hang out all night, you personally monopolized 25 percent of his earning potential. Did you leave extra? Didn't think so.
Times are tough. People need to conserve. I agree. Go ahead and conserve at upscale fast food or at home.
And finally, if you harbor under the ridiculous notion that being cheap is a virtue, shame on you."
By: Greg Rockwell