How much do Canadians make?

[Kybosh]

If servers really make as much money as is being claimed here, I think that the kitchen staff should demand a bigger cut. I used to work as a line cook in HS and undergrad at several places, and we always got the shaft for gratuity cuts.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by fotze

I think its totally crap that servers and consultants make so much money as I type this while jacking off at work in the oilpatch.

You're pretty dedicated to posting on CP at work to still be there past 8 pm...

[Sylvanfan]

Oddly enough 2009 was the year where I was laid off work for 3 months, and the first time since 1997 that I made less than the $50,000 figure. Granted in 1997 I could still live okay on that income. In 2009 I was lucky to have no debt and a fair bit of savings to keep my family from starving and not living on the street. That year pretty much ruined my life, and changed my retirement age from 60 to like 85. What a crap year 2009 was.

[SeeBass]

Originally Posted by blankall

Do the math. Obviously if you work at a dead hole in the wall restaurant your tips won't be much. Lets say you work at Earls though, on a typical friday night.

5 tables an hour of 4 people each for 4 hours, at 25 dollars a head on average.

At 15% that's $300. You would tip out about $80 of that, leaving you with $220.

During that 4 hour shift, you've earned $9.40/hr (current minimum wage in Alberta), so $37.60 in wages.

If you do as some people are suggesting, which is declare 10% of your salary in tips, you've declared: $41.36 on your taxes.

Your actual earnings are $256.60. You've declared 16% of your actual earnings and not declared $215.24.

Let's say you do this twice a week. Now you've got someone who has worked 8 hours/week and not declared over $22,000.00 in earnings. That's pretty substantial. It is the norm in a restaurant. Actual shifts might be slightly longer, with prep/cleanup time on either end of the 4 hour shift, but I don't think the example I've given is extreme by any means.

Like others have mentioned, bartenders/servers at busy clubs make much much more.

The situation you have painted would be a rare event. Not all tables will be full, not all tables have four people sometimes two, some tables take more than an hour, some people are well under $25 especially if there is kids, some tables tip lousy, sometimes you get a table of 8 teens and they drink free refill pops and have a wing special and they sit for two hours. You are describing a perfect scenario and that never happens. A busy night ring out is a grand to $1500 getting an average of 20% never happens.

As a person who put in 15 years in that world including clubs, bars, diners, fine dine. I know that when you hear somebody say they made $200 that night they always tell you when they do but not when they make $60. Trust me we all pumped up our numbers a little bit

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

CP is going to be above the national average, because most of the users are Calgary based, and computer literate.

But CP users are mostly red neck hockey fans and loud mouth beer drinkers as well which brings the average back to the national level.

[TSXCman]

Originally Posted by darklord700

But CP users are mostly red neck hockey fans and loud mouth beer drinkers as well which brings the average back to the national level.

Umm what?

How does that take you backwards?

[FlameOn]

As a comparison, apparently 50% of US citizens made < $26k a year in 2010. That really doesn't seem right. Another case of under reporting?
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/66547.html

[Sylvanfan]

If you had to submit an accurate photo of yourself with your tax return...I'm sure Revenue Canada would be auditing a lot of girls in the service industry.

[Champion]

It depends what restaurant you are working for. Some waiters ate my friends restaurant were clearing $5000/month because they would also get a large party every week as well and the restaurant is always busy.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by SeeBass

The situation you have painted would be a rare event. Not all tables will be full, not all tables have four people sometimes two, some tables take more than an hour, some people are well under $25 especially if there is kids, some tables tip lousy, sometimes you get a table of 8 teens and they drink free refill pops and have a wing special and they sit for two hours. You are describing a perfect scenario and that never happens. A busy night ring out is a grand to $1500 getting an average of 20% never happens.

As a person who put in 15 years in that world including clubs, bars, diners, fine dine. I know that when you hear somebody say they made $200 that night they always tell you when they do but not when they make $60. Trust me we all pumped up our numbers a little bit

Well most servers also probably work more than 8 hours a week. For every table of kids drinking pop, there's also another table of people drinking beers and coctails. My average of $25 a head at a restaurant like Earls is pretty low.

I really don't think it's extreme for a server at a restaurant like Earls to end up with $400 a week in tips. That puts you at $20k in unclaimed income by the end of the year. It's not a small amount of money.

I also know several good looking women, who work at bars, and earn more like $60k a year in tips.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by blankall

I also know several good looking women, who work at bars, and earn more like $60k a year in tips.

And when they invest in enhancements, the circle is complete.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by blankall

I also know several good looking women, who work at bars, and earn more like $60k a year in tips.

Are they married?

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

That is the point of the article. The system needs to be reformed. Under 50k and most people are scrapping by, paycheque to paycheque with very left over.

As said above, I think you can definately live ok and having savings at 40k-50k. Its not a salary problem, its a spending problem. Granted I have no kids, but my expenses are under 28k (excluding vacations).

[Shin Pad]

I think the figures are skewed. A lot of people have many write-offs, so they can bring their net incomes down to the levels mentioned in the report. As one other poster mentioned, some of us self employed people keep our money in our company, where corporate taxes are much less. If you are smart, you will only draw out only what you need to live on, so personal income in no way reflects what you actually make.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Shin Pad

I think the figures are skewed. A lot of people have many write-offs, so they can bring their net incomes down to the levels mentioned in the report. As one other poster mentioned, some of us self employed people keep our money in our company, where corporate taxes are much less. If you are smart, you will only draw out only what you need to live on, so personal income in no way reflects what you actually make.

Or use ways to split the income as much as possible.

[flamefan74]

Originally Posted by blankall

I really don't think it's extreme for a server at a restaurant like Earls to end up with $400 a week in tips. That puts you at $20k in unclaimed income by the end of the year. It's not a small amount of money.

I would say not extreme at all. The ex-wife worked at a restaurant chain such as Humpty's/Ricky's and would take home anywhere from $700-$800/week. Over a year she ended up around $40,000. I would think it would be higher at a place like Earls or Joey's, especially with any type of a business crowd.

[SeeBass]

Originally Posted by blankall

Well most servers also probably work more than 8 hours a week. For every table of kids drinking pop, there's also another table of people drinking beers and coctails. My average of $25 a head at a restaurant like Earls is pretty low.

I really don't think it's extreme for a server at a restaurant like Earls to end up with $400 a week in tips. That puts you at $20k in unclaimed income by the end of the year. It's not a small amount of money.

I also know several good looking women, who work at bars, and earn more like $60k a year in tips.

You know what they are pumping up their numbers they are not making that much. For every good shift there is a bad shift. They do not make that high number consistantly.
Yes $400 a week in tips is not that high I made that. But that is a big leap to $60K a year. That would mean that server would have to sell over $1.2 million in a year and that is not happening.
Those girls who say they make over $60K a year in a bar will make a few hundred in a good night but they only get 2 of those nights a week, the rest are way less. If they work in a club that is busy for 4-5 shifts a week what club in town is that? Is there a club in town busy 4-5 nights a week?

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by SeeBass

You know what they are pumping up their numbers they are not making that much. For every good shift there is a bad shift. They do not make that high number consistantly.
Yes $400 a week in tips is not that high I made that. But that is a big leap to $60K a year. That would mean that server would have to sell over $1.2 million in a year and that is not happening.
Those girls who say they make over $60K a year in a bar will make a few hundred in a good night but they only get 2 of those nights a week, the rest are way less. If they work in a club that is busy for 4-5 shifts a week what club in town is that? Is there a club in town busy 4-5 nights a week?

Totally. Plus I don't trust these girls to accurately track their income anyway. You would basically need to keep a spreadsheet, updated daily, for a year. They say $60k because they think it sounds good but you guys are out to lunch if you believe it.

[albertGQ]

$60k is not unreasonable. Especially if you factor in their wage, which would make up $15k-$20k a year

[onetwo_threefour]

Originally Posted by blankall

Well most servers also probably work more than 8 hours a week. For every table of kids drinking pop, there's also another table of people drinking beers and coctails. My average of $25 a head at a restaurant like Earls is pretty low.

I really don't think it's extreme for a server at a restaurant like Earls to end up with $400 a week in tips. That puts you at $20k in unclaimed income by the end of the year. It's not a small amount of money.

I also know several good looking women, who work at bars, and earn more like $60k a year in tips.

Speaking from experience, your numbers are pretty way off. Now, it's been over ten years since I stopped serving, and the money was decent for an unskilled job, but nowhere near what you are saying. Working in an average restaurant (large chain seafood restaurant, but not real high class, see if you can guess where...) $100-120 was a good 5-6 hour take on a Friday or Saturday night. $70-90 on a 4.5-5.5 Thursday or Sunday and 60-80 on any other day for roughly the same length of shifts. These would generally be 'good night' numbers and the only people who worked eight hours were day shifters who made nowhere near the Friday/Saturday night numbers 99% of the time, or split shifts on super busy days.

Sure there was the very rare nigh I would pull in 200+, but that was maybe 3-4 times a year. For the most part, the numbers would be slightly lower than the ones I quoted above. At the time I was a server, the chain I worked for would have been considered mid-level casual dining, and these were the numbers we saw. On average our menu prices were probably slightly higher than something like an earls.

I could be wrong, but I highly doubt that the last ten years has seen tips doubling or tripling for the average server. There may be some servers that make the kind of money you are talking about, but I would guarantee you there nowhere near the average. Those are the 1%ers of servers...


If that's the average now, I'm going to quit lawyering and go back to serving, if I can make that kind of dough stress-free with a serving job and avoid declaring most of it without mush risk of ever getting audited...

(Of course I would have to live through server nightmares again... I had those bad dreams where you've got fifteen tables and can't remember what everybody ordered for years afters I quit the biz...)