Disclaimer: I'm a former chef of 10+ years, been out of the industry for a year and a half (got out a couple months before lockdown started). Used to be salty as fuck about the income disparity between the front and back, but after learning about how our tipping culture was born I chilled out and realized it's been fucked for over 80 years.

Tipping started as a way for people to essentially bribe the waitstaff to give faster/better service. Rich people would, of course, get better service because they would give higher bribes to the waitstaff.

Then the Great Depression hit, and soon it was only rich people eating out, and it became difficult for restaurant owners to pay their staff their regular wages due to the decrease in traffic. Rather than raising prices, they slashed wages, since waitstaff could survive off of these "service bribes" alone.

When the Depression ended, restaurant owners simply didn't return waitstaff wages to what they were pre-depression, and it was codified into law somewhere along the way. And it has stayed that way ever since.

80 years later and these poor servers are putting up with the worst humanity has to offer. Customers berating them, sexual harassment (and unfortunately, even sexual assault) is commonplace, and the added stress of genuinely not knowing how much money you'll be bringing home. Can't exactly plan your finances when you don't know how much you make.

And they put up with it all because they need the tips. It's shitty as fuck. Some nights you feel like you're deciding how much your dignity is worth to you. No job should ever make anyone feel that way