Restaurant workers are quitting in the middle of their shifts, reports say.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The sector is facing an uphill battle to retain workers amid the labor shortage.

An employee at a chain restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona, told CNN Business that fellow staffers were sometimes "just walking out in the middle of their shifts" amid the US labor shortage.

"[Hostesses who] seat the tables, the dishwashers, the bussers ... they'll walk out," a server at Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen told the news network.

The story amounted to the latest in a series of dispatches from the frontlines of American restaurants, which have been struggling to attract employees as the world slowly returns to normalcy.

Workers have been leaving their jobs at high rates, giving job seekers all the power this summer. About 75% of independent restaurants said they were struggling to attract staff. Some have had to temporarily close because of staff shortages.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/restaurant-workers-are-quitting-in-the-middle-of-their-shifts-reports-say-the-sector-is-facing-an-uphill-battle-to-retain-workers-amid-the-labor-shortage/ar-AAMvwOF

I did restaurant work. You work hard for very little money.

[brush]

1. That industry has to change its whole wage structure.

People are tired of having to depend on tips for the bulk of their compensation.

[pandr32]

2. +1

[jalan48]

3. I'm waiting for Republicans to introduce bills making this illegal.

[Takket]

15. with some cute little name like the "Protect the American family's right to food" act

or some such bullshit

[jalan48]

16. Yes, how dare workers adversely affect the rights of consumers!

[DBoon]

22. That's how the ruling classes dealt with labor shortages after the Black Death

Made it illegal to pay more - effectively froze wages

Within a year of the onset of plague, during 1349, an Ordinance of Labourers was issued and this became the Statute of Labourers in 1351. This law sought to prevent labourers from obtaining higher wages. Despite the shortage in the workforce caused by the plague, workers were ordered to take wages at the levels achieved pre-plague.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/black_impact_01.shtml

[jalan48]

24. Interesting bit of history. The ruling class makes the rules and all we are left with is outrage.

[hatrack]

25. And it didn't work . . especially when the Plague returned, as it did, again and again . . .

.

[RainCaster]

4. The family restaurant has no problems with employees

The wait staff are pulling down more than $45 an hour right now. People are more generous with their tips these days. They did bump the pay for the kitchen help, because they have been so loyal.

[Arazi]

8. What family restaurant has servers making "more than $45/hr"?

[Igel]

18. Sounds like RC is including tips.

When I was a dishwasher even though tipping was at a lower recommended level than now, the waitresses made substantially more than I did even though their minimum wage was substantially less. Don't know if they made more than I earned as line cook.

It's not guaranteed, and there are IRS reporting weirdnesses with it that I never bothered to look at (and which probably have changed significantly numerous times since then).

Where you wait and when you wait often has a big role in determining your take-home pay.

[Arazi]

21. A family restaurant where the servers make $85k plus per year?

So now I ask you and RC what family restaurants you worked at where servers made that kind of bank?

[RainCaster]

31. Not a family restaurant, but a restaurant in my family

It's actually an Irish pub. Nobody works 40 hours in the wait staff, and they like it that way. They have families, other jobs, etc. Most work 3 or 4 shifts a week.

[Arazi]

33. And they make $45/hour? I too have restaurant owners and servers in my family

And I've never heard of any server making that kind of money which is why I'm curious where this is exactly.

[RainCaster]

35. Eastern Washington state

You will not get any more details than that. They have no desire to hire more help. Certainly not anyone who is drawn in by the tips.

[NCjack]

5. Let's try to retain restaurant workers by

a. Over-paying the workers.
b. Encouraging them to TIP courteous diners, e.g., with 5, 10, 15 or 20% discounts. Even greater percentages for those who wear sexy clothes, etc.

[DFW]

6. This has happened in Germany as well, and not just in restaurants

Streetcar drivers, harassed by noisy, unruly crowds, racial epithets, and long hours for little pay, have been known to quit in the middle of a route, their nerves stressed beyond the breaking point. They yell to their passengers to calm down or stay put in a driver-less streetcar. When they tell the driver to fuck off (as often happens) some have actually opened the door and walked away, leaving their gaping passengers stranded.

[AllaN01Bear]

11. i remember reading on du where people on a bus wouldnt give a seat to a man in

a wheelchair and the bus driver screamed terminus fini or end of the line . the people on the bus got of except the one in the wheel chair and the bus drove off.

[DFW]

13. I remember that, too. I think it was indeed in France.

Heartless people abound, and no borders restrict their distribution.

[obamanut2012]

7. They deserve a FT SALARY, with OT and benefits

Real benefits.

I did this job while in college. All of my paychecks were for a few cents,a nd I was taxed for tips I didn't make. Half the time they would send me home in the middle of a shift to save money. People are also rude AF.

[Phoenix61]

9. So apparently treating your employees like shit

allowing your customers to do likewise, paying crappy wages, and having awful schedules that change at the drop of a hat wasn’t a good long term plan, who’d a thunk? I did almost 15 years in food and beverage. You better really like people and have a hide like a rhino.

[GPV]

10. Younger son is working as a dishwasher. They are shorthanded in

all areas plus struggling with maintenance issues. Some of the hires are sketchy, don't show up on time or leave super early. People keep quitting or threatening to. I've considered going down to help out, but hubby think it's best if kiddo doesn't have family on the job.

[AllaN01Bear]

12. tipping in this country came after the civil war when the blacks were set free.

the national restraunt association didnt want to pay them their wages but rather us .apperently there was a huge backlash on tipping but didnt last . we are stuck with it.

[milestogo]

14. Got a haircut yesterday.

Beautician told me that she works 10 hrs a day, 7 days a week. There were only 2 beauticians in the shop on a Saturday. Apparently its an industry-wide shortage. I was surprised, I thought there were lots of beauticians around.

And the prices went way up.

[Takket]

30. just got me haircut... my wife and i both went to the same spa...

her stylist told her the same thing. they are struggling to keep up with demand because they are low on stylists.

[flying_wahini]

17. Remember Herman Cain had a lot to do with it. Asshat.

[link:https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/07/herman-cains-enduring-lobbying-triumph/|

America’s first minimum-wage law, passed by Congress in 1938, allowed states to set a lower wage for tipped workers, but it wasn’t until the ’60s that labor advocates persuaded Congress to adopt a federal tipped minimum wage that increased in tandem with the regular minimum wage. In 1996, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain, who was then head of the National Restaurant Association, helped convince a Republican-led Congress to decouple the two wages. The tipped minimum has been stuck at $2.13 ever since.

[KentuckyWoman]

27. With no joy in my heart, I have to say

I hope that son of a bitch is rotting ...

There are very few people I genuinely despise. He's one. I'd spit on his grave and not feel bad.

[Midnight Writer]

19. As a customer, I resent being saddled with the responsibility of deciding how much to pay people.

That should be the responsibility of the business, not the customer.

I know a guy, when we go to a restaurant, he stacks 20 one dollar bills on the table. When the waiter comes, he tells him that the twenty bucks is his, but every time the waiter does something wrong, he will remove a dollar from the table. Then, if the waiter sets something down in the "wrong" place, or doesn't refill his drink promptly enough, or finds a spot on his silverware, or whatever, he starts taking away bills.

I will no longer go out anywhere with this prick. He is well to do and gets a kick out of screwing with and lecturing hard working people.

[Bucky]

23. My grandfather told me about doing the same trick, but with quarters instead of dollars.

Even as a kid I thought that was a dick move. But yes, an industry that makes it staff work for tips encourages this sort of dickishness.

One of the biggest downsides in service industry is dealing with customers who get off on control and manipulation issues. And drunks. And angry managers.

I suppose the risk of catching covid-19 from inconsiderate diner who thinks they're fighting fascism by not wearing a mask is another downside.

[meadowlander]

28. Exactly. US restaurants are set up like strip clubs for sadists and the terminally petty.

What reasonably successful and secure person actually wants their meal interrupted sixteen times by a waitperson being forced to perform their subjection?

What actually matters in a restaurant experience? Being seated promptly (not in the waitresses control), having your order taken promptly (sometimes in the waitresses control, sometimes not when there are staffing shortages), getting your food in a timely manner (mostly not in the waitresses control), tasty food that is the right temperature (not in the waitresses control), the restaurant being clean and sanitary (not in waitresses control), get your check in a timely manner (same as order taking).

So at the end of the meal, you're being asked to assign a cash value to the waitress' performance when only two of the factors are even marginally in their control.

Does your restaurant experience hinge on a stranger making less than the minimum wage sucking up to you and pretending to be interested in your banter? Then you really need to reexamine your life and priorities.

Please can we make 2021/2022 the year that we get over tipping in the US and just pay waitpeople a living wage in the first place? If there's one genuinely good thing that can come out of the pandemic, let's make it that.

[Treefrog]

29. I'm astounded you went out to a restaurant more than once with this idiot.

I must live a charmed life that I’ve never known anyone even remotely like that. U

[Midnight Writer]

32. Family. What are you gonna do?

[Skittles]

37. the same you would do if they weren't family

no one should put up with such garbage - from ANYONE

[Polybius]

34. That's from Third Rock From the Sun

[Skittles]

36. WTF

I would not even be SEEN with that guy, let alone DINE with him....can you even imagine how many "extra ingredients" ended up in his food?

[Tink41]

20. Considering going back

To take advantage of the employee shortage. I'm old for a waitress, but due to my real career I can withstand less than optimal conditions, and I loved the money! Few years ago I couldn't buy my way in to a server job, now I think theyd pay me!!!

[KentuckyWoman]

26. Kill off tipping. Pay $15 minimum - appreciate workers - problem solved.

Crappy pay
Crappy management
Crappy Customers.

People go out to eat so much because kitchen work is by nature hot, sweaty, dirty and mostly no fun. Add it mean bosses, weird co-workers - rude customers - and the risk of dying from the plague....

eh ... NO.