Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Restaurant workers quit at record rate

npr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

291–300 of 961 posts

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#291

Post by minikites »

Ajay-p wrote: post #33

I worked a long, long time in the food service industry and it was the tipping that drove me away. I just could not smile and bear it anymore. I never got angry at a customer, never lost my cool in front of them, and did my best to be polite and humble, but it just wore me out. I felt like every day I was begging, hoping for them to like me so I could pay rent. If I didn't have to worry about that I could do the job…

Tipping is filled with issues of discrimination. Tipping also allows for the owner to steal from workers more easily (wage theft).

https://www.eater.com/a/case-against-tipping

There's no good argument in favor of tipping. It's a bad practice that we should stop immediately.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#292

Post by yawaworht1978 »

Avoid this kind of mostly seasonal work, it's a chain of pressure all the way down. High rent pushes the restaurants to increase prices and reduce the good content of the menúes. The food in the vast majority of restaurants these days is more unhealthy than a mc Donald's menu, they use a lot of oil, the meat is minimal, you get the fatty parts instead of the lean parts and they add the most economical sides like fries to fill the gaps. It contributes a great deal to obesity, people's lazyness, I simply do not support any of this. And all the jobs are unthankful, be it in the kitchen, waiter or door staff. If the quality of the food would be amazing, i would change my opinion. By amazing quality, my standard is the evening buffet , all you can eat events in a Hilton, and in most places it's a good price. You can include Marriott as well, but the vast majority of random restaurants serve worse food than mc Donald's(which at least is fairly priced, fast, clean premises and tasty enough). Tip or no tip is not the issue, it's a dead end job with zero perspective and requires shift work or worse , seasonal availability. You learn nothing that could advance your career in a meaningful way. Treat the job as such.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#293

Post by minikites »

partiallypro wrote: post #271

I've gone to multiple restaurants of late that have had to close early (even very early, like 3pm) because they are so short staffed. Other restaurants have people waiting but have empty tables because there is no one to work them.

There are plenty of people to work them, the owners are just not willing to pay a market wage.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#294

Post by imtringued »

ashtonkem wrote: post #20
namdnay wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, as necessary as that is, it’s not a magic solution. People are quitting the restaurant industry in France too, despite having none of the tip silliness. It’s just that people are realizing that there are easier minimum wage jobs than working in a kitchen

Perhaps the industry is not sustainable then.

The modern service job isn't meant to be sustainable in the first place. It's entirely based around the idea of having surplus labor using it inefficiently.

Any sane economist that has to solve for the constraint "everyone has to provide for themselves" aka the mythical republican "responsibility" would first start by creating enough jobs to reach full employment. When you leave everything up to responsibility you also have the duty to provide everyone with the ability to live up to their responsibility.

Society as a whole doesn't benefit from exploitation or unsustainable businesses.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#295

Post by ocschwar »

jokoon wrote: post #263

I live in france, and I recently went to some presentation by some "restauration job industry" school director, who tried to encourage us to apply. I was open to other jobs and I discovered that it was mostly about working in a restaurant after arriving at the presentation. It's summer, france is a destination for tourism and there is a big shortage of workers. Post covid, people want to go out and have a good time.…

It's not really slavery, but it's true that too many people rely on restaurants to reassure them about their place in society, which means the waiters have to make a show of being, um, in a different place in our society.

It got really obvious when people objected to having to put on a mask for the safety of the waiter serving them, and I can't blame anyone for noping out of that noise.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#296

Post by rollcat »

Gortal278 wrote: post #268
jokoon wrote: post #263

I live in france, and I recently went to some presentation by some "restauration job industry" school director, who tried to encourage us to apply. I was open to other jobs and I discovered that it was mostly about working in a restaurant after arriving at the presentation. It's summer, france is a destination for tourism and there is a big shortage of workers. Post covid, people want to go out and have a good time.…

It's not slavery, that's a ridiculously naive and dumb statement. It's a shitty job, but it's not slavery.

Where's the line, if a "shitty" job is about the only one you could get, and you can't even afford to stay without one for say, one month?

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#297

Post by randycupertino »

jokoon wrote: post #263

I live in france, and I recently went to some presentation by some "restauration job industry" school director, who tried to encourage us to apply. I was open to other jobs and I discovered that it was mostly about working in a restaurant after arriving at the presentation. It's summer, france is a destination for tourism and there is a big shortage of workers. Post covid, people want to go out and have a good time.…

> apparently it's hell on earth. That industry has the most drug users

I spent 3 years as a waitress, prep cook and dishwasher at a mid-range chain. Our regional manager would literally hand out speed pills to the staff if we were working a double or otherwise tired. Oh, having a rough shift? Here, have some trucker Yellowjackets I picked up just for this scenario at the sketchy truck stop just over the border.

Also, employees would steal literally everything that wasn't racheted down. Steaks, frozen fish, margarita glasses, people stocked their houses with the dishware and cutlery.

It is a tough industry to survive in. Forget thrive.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#298

Post by amiga-workbench »

dsr_ wrote: post #277
Gortal278 wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not slavery, that's a ridiculously naive and dumb statement. It's a shitty job, but it's not slavery.

There's no inherent reason why it has to be a terrible job, either.

They're dealing with the general public, they're nowhere near well compensated enough to put up with that.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#299

Post by bitwize »

jokoon wrote: post #263

I live in france, and I recently went to some presentation by some "restauration job industry" school director, who tried to encourage us to apply. I was open to other jobs and I discovered that it was mostly about working in a restaurant after arriving at the presentation. It's summer, france is a destination for tourism and there is a big shortage of workers. Post covid, people want to go out and have a good time.…

In English we have a saying: He who pays the piper calls the tune. People who pay for a service expect, within reason, to decide how that service is to be rendered.

The opposite is what was depicted in the show Seinfeld as the "Soup Nazi": a person who renders the service only a particular way (and may even throw you out of their shop if you object). But even on Seinfeld the Soup Nazi only got away with how he acted because his soup was particularly good and it was worth conforming to his idiosyncratic etiquette on how to order, etc. So having such autonomy is uncommon and reserved only for the greatest -- even, say, in software: John Carmack can expect to have working conditions as he desires. You or I will have to settle for open plan offices and constant meetings.

That said, food service is indeed grueling and physically taxing work. My sister and her boyfriend both work in the industry. The boyfriend is a chef and smokes a lot of dope -- conforming to your observation about drug use. So I do what I can to make life easier at the restaurants I patronize, mainly being polite to the staff and, as America is a tipping culture, tipping them generously.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#300

Post by oscardssmith »

throwawayboise wrote: post #261
dragonwriter wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Which raises the question of why anyone would work, if doing whatever you want and still living a comfortable life was an option. People with literally billions of dollars of wealth still devote time and energy to earning more. I don't think its a stretch to think that people who merely have enough for tolerable food, clothing, shelter will continue to do so.

But there are very few people with that kind of wealth, because very few people have the innate drive to do what it takes to attain it. Most people don't have that drive. Most people just want a paycheck and a low-risk life.

Ah yes. The innate drive to inherit a couple million dollars.
Post reply on HN