Arkansas Blog

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

It may turn out to be a good thing for Rep. Pam and her ilk if those really do turn out to be His bones.

Someone who has an ethical lapse and moral myopia like this outlived term limits the day they were sworn in. What a whore!

Some stuff makes it really hard to love/understand all my neighbors. And, greedy bastards like the enablers behind this bill are at the top of that hard-to-stomach list.

Sometime back restaurant owners figured out how to scam waitresses/waiters out of their tips. Rather than leave them as the extra 'tip' it was meant to be, they use them in place of paying a fair wage. Two something an hour to stand on your feet all day serving slop at places like Waffle House is not right (it is hard work). No matter how loud some owners whine about 'tip' money being the difference between staying open or closing, it's nothing more than unchecked greed. (I'd argue that you either have the business to sustain the costs of your business, or you don't...period.) And, now some of our bought and/or ignorant legislators want to take back those few newly gained pennies. I wish everyone who is involved in pushing this crap would be forced to work for two something an hour, rely on the fairness of strangers to make minimum wage and then live on those wages.

Don't worry...Adcock will never be able to explain this to the committees at the legislature. She can't even understand her own namebadge. Now, I'm not saying she's dumb... but have you ever heard her testify or speak?

I'm tellin ya from experience! You increase the chances of your daughter becoming a whore if you let her take a job that only pays $2.62 an hour.

Does Ms Adcock have a daughter? Is she a waitress? Is she good looking?

Wow...all I can say is that not many here who read really know what is going on here. While it ceretainly looks as though on the outside that this reduction in tip credit is really hurting the server, nothing more could be from the truth. There is alot of drama and sensationalism over something that just isn't the case.

As a Restaurant Owner, I can tell you from first hand experience that the one it is hurting is me in the area of matching Social Securtiy payments.

Our servers make much more than minimum wage, and when they first start work in the training mode, they are paid the standard minimum wage that the cooks and other folks make.

Despite all the negative comments regarding how the independent restaurant industry is so greedy, in fact it is one of the toughest there is to make a living at.

A wise man once said 'walk a mile in my shoes'...that advice is appropriate here.

Sorry wellwood...I've been on both sides of the restaurant owner/worker fence. And, yes it's a tough business (most small businesses are difficult to make a go of and restaurants especially so). But that doesn't negate the reality that restaurant owners (especially those at the top who're lobbying for all this crap) make a large portion of their profits off the backs of underpaid workers. It's not like restaurant owners ever say 'Hey, we're doing so well we're going to quit including tips as part of our payroll.' Quite the opposite...they never make enough nor quit trying to find ways to squeeze a few cents out of their employees' paychecks. Of course there are a few owners who honestly struggle with balancing fair wages and staying in the black. But those are not the majority of restaurateurs who're behind this legislation.

Overall it's the poor worker who should be championed/protected by legislators. It's not the business owners who need protection from their minimum-wage-demanding employees. ha.

Wellwood and other restaurant owners, it's a simple as this: if you're not making enough money to meet your required social security payments, etc., then you're not making enough money to stay open. You complain about having to pay social security but do the servers in your restaurant have the option to purchase health insurance? Do the servers in your restaurant have a 401k or IRA or anything they can invest in?

No benefits + poor wages = who wants that job?

But it's cyclical. There are too many restaurants out there for the owners to make enough money to pay a fair wage, plus benefits, plus support themselves and their business. So they cut costs to increase demand, leading to an increased number of competitors which leads you back to where you started: not enough business. That's how the restaurant game works today.

And we, the well-fed consumers are as culpable as anyone in this game. Our demand for ready-made meals has led not only to our expanding wastelines and poor culinary skills, but we feed the machine that robs the lowly server/cook, even though they have masterd skills we can't seem to conjure at home, which is why we are at the restaurant in the first place.

Everybody's the bad guy, especially me. I go out way too often and only dream of being Alton Brown.

Adcock's bill passed out of committee today on voice vote. no committee member raised any questions about the bill.

Assuming that a server provides decent service, they will be making far more than minimum wage. Lousy servers are paid what they're worth - if not more so. Even lousy servers seem to think they are entitled to 15-20% of the total bill just for showing up.

I'm amazed by my liberal friends who don't tip regardless of how good the service. If you cheapskate liberals would pay a reasonable tip, then the servers would make far more than minimum wage. You liberals are too cheap to pay decent tips, and you expect the restaurant owner to pay for you. If you want your server to make more money, open your wallets and reward them for good service.

The other thing that bothers liberals about tips is that servers are some of the worst for underreporting their incomes and avoiding paying their fair share of income taxes.

Restaurant owners provide a large number of jobs to relatively low skilled labors. You don't need a formal education to be a server. You merely need a positive attitude, time management skills, the ability to carry food and beverages to tables in a timely manner, and the desire to do a good job - it's not rocket science.

Somethings got to give...guess that means that Restaurants will have no choice but to raise the prices in order to maintain the same percentage margins.

Excellent point Severus.

I've seen people come in a stiff our servers for great service. Parties of 10 that leave nothing. It's really a shame. Servers who provide good service yet that patrons refuse to do their part. Pitiful at best.

Oh, and by the way - in all of the States surrounding Arkansas, none of tghem have a higher Server Minimum Wage than the $2.12/hour. Go figure.

Serverus and Wellwood, I take personal exception to your "liberals don't tip" categorizing. I am most definitely a LIBERAL and I always leave at least 20%, regardless of the service. If I receive poor service, I generally refer to the "do unto others" rule and know that I don't have any clue as to what is going on personally with my server. ON THE OTHER HAND, my ultra-conservative husband tips servers according to the service he receives. If he receives poor service, you can bet that 10% is what that server is getting. I don't like it, but that's how he does it. So, don't categorize this as a RED OR BLUE issue, please.

>>>If you cheapskate liberals would pay a reasonable tip, then the servers would make far more than minimum wage. <<<<<

hahahahahahahah
~sigh~

You have obviously NEVER waited tables on Sunday after chuch lets out and all the good fundis are out for the weekly holy brunch.
Church folks, espically in large groups, are the rudest and worst bunch of tippers out there.
I always assumed they figured we must have been a bunch of heathens since we were working on Sunday and did not deserve respect or a nice tip not wrapped in a tract.
.....and yes I was a very good sever and yes I always treated all of my guests the same so that was not it.....
Ask any server what is the worst day of the week to work....they all know it is Sunday.

Oh, yeah, it's all the liberals' fault. Typical reaction from the right side of spectrum.

Considering the voting patterns in Arkansas outside of the Free State of Hillcrest, the Heights, and Fayetteville, liberals could be tipping 200% of the bill and it wouldn't be a drop in the bucket of tip income.

I tip generously even when the total service is bringing a bag of food to my table at Sonic. Most "real" liberals do the same, I suspect, since most wait staff are student age and might be trying to go to school. Must be "faux" liberals out there hanging with the conservative types, not the real deal.

Wellwood, you are a piece of work. If you are so concerned about your "servers" getting stiffed by a party of 10, you would do what reputable establishments do - include a mandatory 20% for all parties over 6. Maybe you should get a better class of customers.

And your attitude about surrounding states not having as high a rate of server minimum wage is a reason why Arkansas is poor - poor of income and poor of spirit. You like to cheap down everything -- and it shows. No vision, no success.

>>>no vision...<<<

roflmao.

No really, I am a realist. With the current state of the Arkansas economy, face it - there are a number of poor coommunities and members. Don't blame it on me, or the fact that the minimum wage is what it is, or even blame it on the fact that no other state around us has a higher wage - bottom line is that it isn't that simple. There are a lot of other factors working here and you know it.

And FWIW - I'm a deep blue Liberal - but again, I'm also a dammed realist...who has lived on both sides of the coin. Perhaps it is the pious here that should look farther & deeper to the real economic picture of how business in this State operates. Just how much do you think a Waitress at your typiucal restuarant makes anyway? I can tell by your obvious educated comments that not many of you truly have a dammed clue.

"...Just how much do you think a Waitress at your typiucal restuarant makes anyway? I can tell by your obvious educated comments that not many of you truly have a dammed clue."

Well, wellwood, the 'typical' waitress in Arkansas does not make the comparatively higher incomes that many in the larger LR market make. So tell us...how much do your waitresses make?

Severus...typical, greedy Republican nonsense. But you know that.

OK, wellwood, here's the deal:
We restaurant owners know that many servers/tipped employees in small restaurants don't make much in tips. That is why the current bill (SB361) exempts only restaurants with gross sales over $500,000 per year, rolling us back 50 cents to former levels ONLY on tipped employees. If you have been in the business, you know that the average profit for independent restaurants in the US is 3-4% (less than $2 mil gross sales). With the min wage already up $1, soon to be up another to $7.25, the money has to come from somewhere. Our contention is that servers in the larger restaurants already make MUCH more than minimum (unscientific poll in CenArk--$12-$20 per hour from 10 INDEPENDENT restaurants). In my case, cost will be approx. $15,000/yr. Without the exemption I'm firing busboys (all part-time, mostly college kids) and the waiters do double duty. Remember that next time you need your water refilled and table cleared.