Bartender Shares Paycheck Showing She Only Made $9.28 For 71 Hours Of Work
Anyone who has worked in the bar and restaurant scene knows that the pay isn't exactly spectacular and it can be hard for people working as bartenders and servers to make ends meet. When that paycheck comes in, you have to really hope that it's enough to cover your rent, food, etc.
One woman's abysmal paycheck went viral when she shared it online.
Hospitality Is Not Easy Work, Despite What Some Think
Working as a server or bartender is a lot of hard work: you're on your feet for hours on end, you're constantly running between tables, the bar, and the kitchen, and you don't really get a break.
Most exhaustingly, you constantly have to deal with frustrating customers while keeping a smile on your face
You Need A Particular Personality To Make It In The Industry
In order to survive in the hospitality industry, you have to be resilient to keep up with all of the demands—some of which are completely absurd—of customers.
It's not something that a lot of people are cut out for.
The Pay Is Pretty Abysmal
Waiters, waitresses, and bartenders definitely aren't dragging in the dough all that easily.
The hourly wage at some places in America is as low as $2 an hour for these workers.
Aaliyah Cortez Knows This All Too Well
Aaliyah is a 20-year-old mom and lives in Austin, Texas, where she works as a server and bartender in a sports bar.
She's been in this particular job for over a year now.
She Took To TikTok To Share Her Grievances
She was getting really fed up with working long hours every week only to end up with paychecks—close to 70 hours on average—that ranged from $4–12 dollars.
She went on TikTok to share a breakdown of her paycheck.
The Law Doesn't Protect Servers And Bartenders
The minimum wage across the country is $7.25 (which is already considerably lower than most other developed countries).
However, the law allows for restaurants to give "tipped employees" a significantly lower hourly rate.
Therefore, Tips Are Her Lifeline
Like most other employees in the service industry, Aaliyah relies pretty much only on tips in order to support herself and her son.
Tipping is crucially important for many servers and bartenders who are trying to make ends meet.
Others In The Industry Also Called For A Fair Wage
Other servers and bartenders on TikToks could really relate to Aaliyah.
Some talked about how, when they had good weeks of tips, their restaurants would pay them even less on their paychecks for their hours worked.
Many Other Countries Have Eradicated Tipping Altogether
In many parts of Europe, East Asia, and Oceania, tipping is not customary at all (and can even be perceived as rude in some areas).
Instead, service fees are factored into the bill so that restaurants can pay their workers a fair wage.
Aaliyah Looked On The Bright Side
"I cannot afford to live off of $2.13 an hour, so I solely rely on the generosity of my customers," she said.
She's still grateful for customers' generosity through tips, but she believes that restaurants and bars should start paying their workers a fairer wage for their work.
There Are Many Waiters That Go Above And Beyond
When dining out at a restaurant, there is a certain level of service we expect from the waitstaff, but this server went the mile above to make sure the customers at his table had a great dining experience.
What he thought of as a simple gesture ended up having a huge impact on one man and his mother. The story of the waiter's act of kindness ended up going viral in a post the mother wrote.
Meet Lee
Lee Bondurant is a 51-year-old man who lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, and has cerebral palsy.
Cerebral palsy is a group of permanent movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Symptoms vary amongst people and they often change over time. Despite his disability, Lee is very independent, but he occasionally needs help to eat when his hands are experiencing tremors.
Lee Went Out For Dinner With His Mother One Night
For dinner, they decided to try the 42nd Street Oyster Bar. Their waiter, a young man named Five, noticed that Lee's mom, Linda, was having trouble feeding him in the restaurant.
In an interview with ABC, he said: "Seafood is best eaten hot, so I didn't want her food to get cold. I didn't want his food to get cold. I just wanted to help a fellow man out."
Five Respectfully Offered His Assistance
"He casually came over and asked Lee if he had ever had oysters," Linda explained in an interview with ABC. "Lee told him he had not. So, Five asked if he could he could serve him his first. It was smooth not to embarrass Lee. Just offering to share in the experience."
Lee Doesn't Normally Let People He Doesn't Know Well Feed Him
Despite the fact that he normally doesn't like being fed by people who he isn't familiar with, he agreed to let Five help him.
Linda took a photo of it as it happened and ended up sharing their experience at the restaurant in a Facebook post that has since been shared over 1,400 times and quickly went viral.
Five Doesn't Have Facebook And Had No Idea About The Post
Five, who works two jobs to help pay for college, started to get recognized when he was out in public. Someone even wanted to buy him gas when they saw him at the gas station, and he had no idea why people were acting this way toward him.
His boss filled him in on the fact that his act of kindness had gained a lot of attention online.
The Restaurant Has Become A Favorite of Lee And Linda's
Lee decided to celebrate his birthday at the 42nd St. Oyster Bar. Dining can be a difficult experience for people with disabilities, so naturally, they love going to a place where people are caring and helpful.
In her ABC interview, Linda explained that Lee hopes that more people can learn the importance of treating people with special needs with respect and kindness instead of pity.
Lee Is Really Glad He Got To Meet Five
Since that first encounter, Five and Lee have grown closer and Lee considers him a friend. Lee said their encounter proves there are still good people in the world.
With all the attention the story gained, people from all over the world started sending letters to Five, some of them containing money. Five put the money he received into a fund created in Lee's name for a cerebral palsy foundation.
