#BlackHistoryMonthChallenge: Tipping in Restaurants

When I began waiting tables at the restaurant I described yesterday, with the all-white waitstaff and all-Black back of house, one day a fellow waiter complained to me about having an all-Black party seated in her section.

“Black people don’t tip,” she said bluntly, “and they just want to eat the free bread.” She sighed heavily as she grabbed the basket of bread and butter and walked out the kitchen.

I was shocked, and turned to another coworker, who shrugged at me and said, “I don’t know, it’s unfortunate but it’s true.”

I got pretty bent out of shape about that attitude, so I started making a point to be extra friendly and attentive to my tables seated with Black people. And by and large, I received healthy tips from them. I even had one gentleman pull me to the side and thank me emphatically for treating him and his friends so well — which is to say, just doing my job and not treating them like garbage.

You may be tempted to attribute my testimony to the location in the Deep South, but I will tell you otherwise. I have since sat at tables with a majority of Black folks and witnessed them get terrible service in New York, DC, Chicago, and pretty much everywhere but Harlem.

As a waiter, I did occasionally get stiffed by people of all races, and the only uniting factor I ever identified was the individual’s lack of respect for service jobs. I remember one white person telling me they never tipped, because “if you don’t want to be a waitress, you should get a different job.”

The federal minimum wage for tipped employees is still the same as it was when I began waiting tables 20 years ago. That’s $2.13 per hour.

#BlackHistoryMonth challenge, Day 12.