Aaliyah Cortez, a 20-year-old mother who works at a busy bar in Austin, TX, stirred up an interesting debate on the internet with her recent Tik-Tok video in which she showed viewers that her paycheck totals only $9.82 after working nearly 71 hours.
The video, uploaded in early 2020, has gathered hundreds of thousands of views, and has sparked conservations online about the importance of tipping and the need for a higher minumum wage.
The young mother said in her video, “This is why you should always tip your waiters, bartenders or whoever serves you.” She shared that this was not to shame her employer, but to make a point to consumers that tipping is an important part of income for these workers.
In this particular video, the breakdown of her paycheck shows her hourly wage at $2.13 per hour, with social security and taxes eating the better part of what would have been a $150 paycheck.
This is the U.S. government’s standard “minimum cash wage,” Daily Mail reports, which explains why tipp ing is such a huge part of service workers’ livelihood.
In some states (like Texas), service industry employers can pay employees a $2.13 minimum wage just as long as the combined cash tips add up to the federal minumum wage of $7.25, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s website.
While there is no “law” to tip services in America, it is generally standard to tip 15-20 percent of the bill. For higher-end establishments, you’d want to tip 25 percent or more and maybe an additional tip for the host/hostess.
These costs should be considered when budgeting for dining or drinking out, to keep people in business. Many people may grumble regarding tipping for bad/poor/slow service, but 10 percent is known as the code tip for “poor service”.
Perhaps Cortez’s TikTok can change the trend of low tips and low wages. Cortez shared that this check is not a rarity for her, and that most of her checks are laughable after years in this business.
What do you think about the story? Would you have done the same or do you know someone who can relate? Tell us in the comments and pass this story on to your friends and loved ones.