Would a server/busser make more money in fine dining/ lounge or regular restaurant?

C

Ceelos

New member
I have been offered 2 full time positions as a busser between jack astor's at dundas square toronto, heart of downtown, or in a fine dining lounge establishment, near the clubbing lounge district

Jack astor's i know will be busy and there will be good money to be made, but fine dining definitely looks better on a resume, im just wondering if the tip outs would be as good or better than jack astor's. it seems so small and quiet and no where near as busy, but the benefit of that is there is a smaller staff and less people to split a tip with.

anyone with experience both in fine dining and regular restaurants want to chime in?
 
Hi Ceelos
I looked up Jack Astor's and while it looks like a fine place,( I live in USA so none down here that I'm aware of) I would go and observe the busser's in both places. The pace at Astor's would probably be much faster as the money there is in the number of times a table "turns over". Meaning more diner's.
Meaning more tables to bus & set up, more dishes, glasses etc. to "run". Fine dining on the other hand is a slower pace, tho at times it can be quite strenuous, as fine diner's paying big bucks for a meal can be quite demanding. I once had a regular who required his butter pats be unwrapped table-side...which in the end was fine as he tipped nicely. As a busser in fine dining you need to be alert to a patron's needs, almost before they realize they have a need, without being intrusive.
In both establishments a rule of thumb for tipping busser's, chef's, bartender's, dishwasher's and hostess's is pretty much the same...10% of a server's tips for the first 3 I mentioned and 5% for the latter 2, with the exception being a maitre d' and that would be 10 to 15%. On a steady, but not frantic nite in fine dining I could make $400. to $600. in 4 hrs. as a server, but take home tips after tipping out would net me about $45.00 per hour. Your share as a busser would have been $40 to $60.. and with another server or two...u do the math. Mind you your shift would probably be longer than the 4 hours as you would remain to help dishwasher clean up etc....Wish I had easy ans. 4 you but both places aren't going to be a piece of cake but if you like the industry you could move up to server and then the real fun begins. TC and Good Luck.
P.S. I have done lunch counters, burger joints, coffe shops, and finally fine dining. Loved em all, gets in ones blood.
stormy
 
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