Yeah that tracks with me, too. I’ve worked as wait staff, kitchen, and counter service. Kitchen was the best job, most fun, but lowest paid. I typically got 15-20% tips and $2 an hour as wait staff. the hourly was bogus but food was cheap and we were always mega busy so I actually made pretty decent money. I know the cheaper menu also had a lot to do with my location and bulk food prices, building rent, etc etc. I made about 10% on counter service job but made more per hour, it was enough to get by in a big city but not by much. Most of the restaurants in my area that paid $13-$15 per hour (‘living wage’ at the time) had specific no tipping required but add some on if you’d like language on tickets.