Averages can be misleading. I will venture a guess that the majority of people in Toronto earn in the $45,000 to $55,000 range. While there are many high paid professional jobs, there are many more lower paid service jobs such as cabdriver, hotel worker, waitress/waiter, workers in small shops, Wal-Mart, etc.
What's the average income for a male working in Toronto?
- Thread starter Adrenaline
- Start date
I don't think waitress/waiters make that little, if you work full time at a decent restaurant you can easily make 70-80k a year as a waitress/waiter. I know this because I've had a few friends who were waiters in university, their income is way underestimated probably because they don't report their tips, which is the bulk of their income.
Actually, as it turns out-- Despite the massively higher costs of living in Toronto, I remember a recent report that said the incomes in Toronto currently lag much of the province. I suspect if you separated out the second generation+ Canadians that would be true, but Toronto is a service sector Mecca running on the back of largely new Canadian labour.
I couldn't find the specific article, but:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/05/01/tto-census.html
http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/05/01/censusfeature.html
No shit....now I'm not talking about people who work in greasy spoons but I dated a waitress for 5 yrs and I'd go see her at the end of her shift. If she took home less than $300.00 in tips, she called that a shitty night. That's on TOP of her union wage of $10.25 per hour so for the night, her income was up around $400.00. That's $50.00 per hour. I said to her: I'm in charge of $1,000,000.00 contracts, managing over $10,000,000.00 in sales per year, working 80 - 100 hrs a week and only earning $25.00 per hour and YOU'RE complaining? Your training for this job took 5 hrs, I took years to learn mine......(she stopped complaining after that lol).
Now I'm not saying her job was easy per se, but it was pretty simple....people tell you what they want you to bring them, and you bring it. Then a computer tells you how much to collect, and you collect it........PFD lol.
Assuming an average of 15% tips and 200 working days a year that implies the waiter or waitress is selling $2500 per day in food and drinks. Unless it's a high end restaurant, not bloodly likely. The average restaurant is what, $25/meal, so you're talking about serving 100 people a day per waitress and that is every day of the week, not just Friday and Saturday.
You guys talking about the $400 in tips are talking about Friday/Saturday night at a busy bar or popular restaurant, not something that is repeated through the week and also not what happens in a TYPICAL wait jobs--those are the best wait jobs as opposed to the average that make that much on a busy night.
Actually fuji, you're wrong (as usual). This was a tuesday night in a sports bar in a small hotel.
The flaw in your calculations are: 15% on DRINKS. Most bars/restaurants price their beer at something like $4.25. Why? Because it will be automatic to say "keep the change" from a fiver. That's 75 cents on $4.25 that's immediately almost 18%.
Another example: I don't drink so I buy cokes. They are typically around $2.50 - $2.75 at the places I go more often than not I'll put down 2 twoonies and leave. That's $1.25 on a $2.75 sale. I also get an $8.00 charge and give a 10 and leave the twoonie.
Seeing as how I dated a waitress, I tend to tip well. (also because I'm not a cheap bastard like some). So I normally tip 20 - 30%.
Here's another bit of data for you. A waitress can handle 10 tables in her section. The average is about 3 - 4 people per table. That's 40 people in her section. In this bar the typical (non event night) turnover was about an hour per table. So in a good night, she can seat 320 people, each spending about $25.00. That's $8,000.00 in sales per night x 15% = $1200.00. Now it is rare that they'd seat all their tables at once so halve that, that's still $600.00 in tips. 1/4 it? That's $300.00. So that means she's only seating 2.5 tables per hour which is extremely rare!!!
Stick to other subjects because you obviously don't know the hospitality business.
Oh and another trick? Many restaurants don't charge for coffee refills, but wait staff does and takes the money in cash and it never makes it to the till......
The flaw in your calculations are: 15% on DRINKS. Most bars/restaurants price their beer at something like $4.25. Why? Because it will be automatic to say "keep the change" from a fiver. That's 75 cents on $4.25 that's immediately almost 18%.
Another example: I don't drink so I buy cokes. They are typically around $2.50 - $2.75 at the places I go more often than not I'll put down 2 twoonies and leave. That's $1.25 on a $2.75 sale. I also get an $8.00 charge and give a 10 and leave the twoonie.
Seeing as how I dated a waitress, I tend to tip well. (also because I'm not a cheap bastard like some). So I normally tip 20 - 30%.
Here's another bit of data for you. A waitress can handle 10 tables in her section. The average is about 3 - 4 people per table. That's 40 people in her section. In this bar the typical (non event night) turnover was about an hour per table. So in a good night, she can seat 320 people, each spending about $25.00. That's $8,000.00 in sales per night x 15% = $1200.00. Now it is rare that they'd seat all their tables at once so halve that, that's still $600.00 in tips. 1/4 it? That's $300.00. So that means she's only seating 2.5 tables per hour which is extremely rare!!!
Stick to other subjects because you obviously don't know the hospitality business.
Oh and another trick? Many restaurants don't charge for coffee refills, but wait staff does and takes the money in cash and it never makes it to the till......
As a bartender as a local neighbourhood bar & Grill (think Cheers that also sells food) Mrs. CG works Sunday to Thursday... and usually clears around $700 a week.
Situationally, you might make that kind of money as a bartender/bar server. As others have mentioned it's based a lot on the night and time of year. Remember people disappear in the summer, winter is slow etc. To say that being an employee at a restaurant such as Nota Bene or Colbourne Lane is easy or unskilled simply indicates a poor understanding of the business. It's a hard job for everyone involved, from prep cooks to the sommelier. The other reality is that situations changes, what was hot last week is no longer the case next week. Even with all that said, $300 a night, day in day out, season in season out is on the high side. So $1500-$1800 per week is also on the high side which puts you in the $75-$85K range (remember you don't get tipped when you are on vacation). It's cummulative. You have to keep grinding it out week after week if you are going to make that kind of money.
This means that the high end of professional restaurant staff are making and legitimately earning south of $90K top end. There might be exceptions but I doubt if you aren't a part owner, there is a cap. There are reasons why Avalon closed, not because it wasn't busy.
As an account manager, which it sounds like you are, most plans would put you north of $100K or you are in the wrong job with the high end (think boom tech sale guys) easily over $1,000K.
So for the professional servers out there yes, the money is ok, it's just not the norm and certainly shouldn't be considered a trained monkey job.
That is consistent with what an ex of mine was making. She worked about 35 hours a week at Red Lobster and averaged about $25p/h inclusive of her wage and tips. On 52 weeks as year, that's around $50K per annum.
Last edited:
That's about what I would expect. Works out to ~35k or $40k per year in tips, add (low) base waitress salary and you're 45-50k. Tboy is on drugs.
I take the point that much of it may go undeclared but tax on $35k isn't that much--call it $40k in tips after tax with some moderate cheating on the return.
That's pretty good 36 400.00 clear as a bartender. BTW, which Pub is it again!
I think that may be the case for the "chains" like The Keg, Kelsey's and such... my Mrs. CG works for a privately owned neighbourhood bar. It is low stress for her, and she enjoys it... The owners are good people and we often socialize with them away from the bar. We actually had a BBQ yesterday with them LOL! We don't NEED the money, but the extra $$ funds "date night" as well as many other things, and I never have to give her money to go shopping! LOL!
I wouldn't know anything about that...
LOL! I'll bet you're not the only one wondering that! Hee hee... There are 3 TERB's that I know of that DO know... One has all but quit, but used to work at the same place... another is sworn to secrecy, the other is scared shitless I will out him! LOL!
Sources please! or STFU! It's obvious that you didn't pass the civil service exam or finished last in a government competiton, so suck it up
buttercup! Envy and Pride are not good qualities!
When you take into account all of the Government workers at various levels of government. There is not a large % making 37.50 per hour based on 2080 hours fulltime work. Keep in mind that wages are paid by different levels of government as well. Furthermore, casual, seasonal and contract government employees most often do not have benefits; they receive 4% in lieu of benefits. In some instances, those classifications do buy into the B & PP, but that's income taken from their cheques. Gee, sounds no different than the autoworkers, air canada pilots, steelworkers or miners. Also no different than the redpath, cibc, scotiabank, etc workers too. Christ, most civil service middle management earn 60 000.00 give or take a couple 1000.00
There will be another census coming soon, so let's wait for that information.
LOL, one worked with Mrs. CG, one retired and the other is the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXhaBHGhUOI
C'mon Buddy give me the 411 just think instead of hobbying, I'll head to pub and Mrs. GC's tips (not tits) will increase substantially! Just messin' wit ya! I asked first too!
Yeah, I'm on drugs and you're on crack. Those are the WORST nights to work and depending on what city and what restaurant will determine what she makes. If she worked friday and saturday nights she'd probably make that in a night.....Hell, I've known wait staff at downtown clubs who told me they pull a grand on a busy saturday night.
You can bitch and moan and say all you want fuji, I have FIRST hand experience and helped the ex count her tips on a SLOW night (and a slow night was $300.00 + her hourly wage) so blow me...... you have NO experience in this so STFU and listen to someone who does.
The bottom line is that it's a misconception that the waiter/waitress that's serving you is in dire need of your tip to survive because they make less than mimimum wage. Yes, if nobody tipped they'd be poor, but with an average 15% tip most waiters/waitresses are pulling in more than the customers they serve. I'm not even going to mention a hot bartender at a club, just from working 4 nights Thursday-Sunday they probably pull in $2000/week, which would be over 100k in a year. They probably make more than strippers, and they get to keep their clothes on, well most of their clothes anyways.
Another piece of survey..
David Borsellino, however, is a career waiter at The Rousseau House restaurant in Ancaster, Ont. "It's not what I aspired to be as I was growing up, to be honest," says the 31-year-old, who's been at it for 12 years. He estimates that a good waiter, in a good year, earns around $40,000, tips and the minimum-wage hourly rate combined.
"It's the kind of job you can find anywhere on the map, so there is job security in that sense," says Borsellino. "And I appreciate working at an upscale place-it's nice not to have to run so much for my money.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/how-much-a-survey-of-salaries/article446718/
David Borsellino, however, is a career waiter at The Rousseau House restaurant in Ancaster, Ont. "It's not what I aspired to be as I was growing up, to be honest," says the 31-year-old, who's been at it for 12 years. He estimates that a good waiter, in a good year, earns around $40,000, tips and the minimum-wage hourly rate combined.
"It's the kind of job you can find anywhere on the map, so there is job security in that sense," says Borsellino. "And I appreciate working at an upscale place-it's nice not to have to run so much for my money.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/how-much-a-survey-of-salaries/article446718/
im hearing the shifts vary a lot, based on their sales, slow nights you could get sent home, not much job security....?
many are cash jobs, etc
many are cash jobs, etc
I'm sure everyone here me included knows more than a couple of waitresses or did once, one guy here is currently married to one. You're alone in your view every body else with experience is coming back with a number similar to one another. Remember we're talking about AVERAGE income--sure a waitress in a strip club or at the harbour 60 or a popular night club is going to make more than average.
As for this comment from Adrenaline: "The bottom line is that it's a misconception that the waiter/waitress that's serving you is in dire need of your tip to survive "
Well nobody in Canada is in dire need to survive and if you're living on $35k or $40k per year it's not a problem to "survive" but I think the waitress does need your tip to have a halfway decent life.
Last edited:
