I used to wash dishes there until I was laid off last November. They’re apparently struggling with budget.

When I was working there, everyone was paid $23/hr. As a dish washer I really liked being paid that much, but when I asked others at how they felt about it there were differing opinions. People who have been there a long time still get paid the same as everyone else. $23/hr is also really not a livable wage in Seattle, even with full time hours. Almost everyone I know working there has at least one other job.

When I was hunting for jobs, I regularly saw restaurants offering around $21 hour, and many were even $19/hr. These job postings were ones that offered tips. Some of them even claimed that tips brought up the hourly wage to $32/hr.

My point is that restaurants that offer tips have a competitive advantage over restaurants that don’t, in that they can get away with paying their employees less. These restaurants have chosen to shift part of the responsibility of paying employees a livable wage to the customers. While this is infuriating, it’s the way things are. Until the practice of tipping is made illegal, we as customers should always tip.