A bartender working in the US has spoken out about the shockingly low amount she was paid after working a whopping 70 hours.
It takes lived experience working in the hospitality industry to truly realise just how hard every waiter, bartender, chef and other member of staff works. And to know the saying, 'the customer is always right,' is absolute bulls**t.
One bartender has since spoken out about why customers should 'always tip bartenders, servers, anyone who waits on you or who provides a service for you'.
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Be prepared for your mouth to drop open in shock when you see how much Aaliyah is paid:
Sharing her story back in 2020, Aaliyah Cortez - a mother from Austin - showed her TikTok followers her payslip and explained how she worked 'nearly 71 hours' and only paid $2.13 per hour, working as both a bartender and a server.
For her 70.80 hours of work, Aaliyah should have made a total of $150.81 - which is barely anything anyway.
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However, the bartender went on to note how two factors have to also be taken into consideration when working out how much money she eventually receives.
These are social security medicare and fed income tax.
They subsequently reduced Aaliyah's wages by $141.53 and meant she ended up working not for $2.13 an hour, but around 13 cent per hour, with a grand total of $9.28.
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"This is why you tip," Aaliyah resolved.
Aaliyah's TikTok has since been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, with many followers flocking to the video in absolute outrage over her wages.
One said: "No mam, your bar/restaurant is getting free labor and that's not OK."
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"It’s bc we get tips, our tips are supposed to amount to minimum wage or more, if not then they must pay us minimum wage," Aaliyah responded.
A third wrote: "It’s not like that in California where I live. We get minimum wage and plus tips. We get taxed but we still get a decent paycheck. How sad."
Others suggested that Aaliyah find work elsewhere and that the responsibility of servers getting paid properly should be taken up with employers opposed to relying on customers for tips.
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"It's almost as if you could get another job with a respectable pay," one user said.
"Would you rather regular min wage and not tipped? Or wait staff min wage and tips? I also don’t know a single server that reports all their cash tips," another questioned.
A final said: "Maybe take the issue to the employer rather than expect tips. For an employer to pay that is shocking….. anywhere."
Aaliyah told Buzzfeed she hopes the video raises awareness of how even despite her having a 'good two weeks from tips' her check would 'still be on the lower side'.
"At my last restaurant, my checks would come out to be $0," she explained.
The bartender resolved: "I just wish we were all being paid adequately and consistently.
"As you can see - by my check - I cannot afford to live off of $2.13 an hour, so I solely rely on the generosity of my customers."
Poppy Bilderbeck