" My point is the employer has an extremely low wage bill and at my expense. Imagine the the profitability of running a business where staff are paid only $2.08 p/h. "
Sally_Will, you need to understand Americans have a different view about service than we do, and nominal wages in the restaurant trade from part of that view.
Waiters keep the system honest, they live off tips alone, and therefore would not work in a place where the food is rubbish or the chef is too slow, or the value in eating there leans heavily towards the owners.
Unlike here, where slack service is routinely tolerated, no waiter in the US would hang around an establishent that does not perform for the customer. Waiters derive their living from customary tips that each and every patron expects to pay, and this will not happen if the chef is too slow or the establishment does not perform.
Think on it - their system leaves our for dead when it comes to performance, it is driven from the floor up, unlike here where management decide the rules.
And by the way, a good waiter in an efficient place can earn a lot of money, whereas a surly slack type will just get by.
