An employee working at Golden Corral recently went viral on TikTok after venting about her tips. Brittany, @itsbrittanybitch225, who works as a buffet server, shared how little she made from tips after waiting on 50 tables.
In the video, the woman urged customers to tip buffet workers in cash, and started a discussion about tipping culture in the United States. While many internet users were on the TikToker’s side, some others disagreed that the same rules ought to apply to buffet staff as other servers. Bored Panda got in touch with Brittany who shed some more light on the gritty aspects of her job. You'll find our full interview with her below.
Buffet server Brittany went viral after revealing just how small her tips are
Image credits: itsbrittanyb****225
Tonight we're gonna talk about how s**tty it is to be a server at my job. I'm not gonna say the name of my job because I don't want to get fired because I absolutely have no other option right now because I'm carless, but let's just take a look around these tables that left me $0.
Image credits: itsbrittanyb****225
Image credits: itsbrittanyb****225
Image credits: itsbrittanyb****225
I've been at work since 3 o'clock this afternoon and let me show you the section that I've had all to myself. Considering how busy we are, you would have thought that I made buku money, but let's have the count.
Image credits: itsbrittanyb****225
Image credits: itsbrittanyb****225
$69. And some of you may say that's a lot of money, right? I have probably, from three o'clock to now, I've probably had about 50 tables, give or take.So I should have hundreds of dollars right now but I don't, I mean, there are worse nights and this is actually a pretty straight night considering over half the people didn't tip me.
Image credits: itsbrittanyb****225
Usually I leave with nothing. And some people are gonna say "Well, why don't you get another job?" I'm not getting another job because I don't have a car to get to another job and the bus route does not go on my road. So I'm stuck here until I get transportation. So don't say "don't do..." because I can't.
Image credits: itsbrittanyb****225
You can watch the TikToker's full video right over here
"If it were up to me, there would be a tip education class for kids in high school or college"
Brittany lost her job at Golden Corral after her TikTok went viral. She was fired. However, since then, she's found work elsewhere. She shared some more context about her old job with us. "The Golden Corral that I was employed at is in Baton Rouge, off Millerville," she shared that most of the people who come to that particular buffet aren't used to tipping.
"They come to Golden Corral where it’s literally a half-a-star restaurant expecting Ruth's Chris Steak House treatment. There are those who eat until they throw up. Or they will come for breakfast and stay all the way until dinner, just sitting at your table, getting their money's worth, which takes away the tables you could have flipped," the former Golden Corral worker revealed to Bored Panda.
According to Brittany, the entire purpose of her video was to vent because it had been a bad day, and to educate people about tipping. "Most people probably aren’t aware servers at a lot of buffets only make $2.13 hourly plus tips." Brittany was told that she'd be compensated up to minimum wage if her tips were low. However, she said that this never happened to her: "My weekly check with tips included every week was never over $200."
Before working at Golden Corral, the server was always at nice restaurants. She opened up that she's currently in recovery and living sober. Her rent is $150 per week, leaving her $50 to live on.
"If it were up to me, there would be a tip education class for kids in high school or college because if you don’t grow up seeing your parents tip like I did, you don’t know you're supposed to leave tips."
Brittany said that the advice she'd give other servers who are just now starting to work would be to "find anything besides a buffet." She urged servers to engage with their table and don't let people's drinks get empty. "There is a lot of money to be made serving in restaurants, but you have to be patient and a people person."
The server advised anyone living in Baton Rouge to avoid eating at that particular Golden Corral that she worked at. "I've found roaches crawling in the buffet, and watched the general manager steal cash out of a wallet left at a table. They sprayed termite killer all around the food in the back that was being cooked, then picked the dead termites out of the food and put it on the buffet like it was legal," the former employee claims.
The woman's video put buffet staff in the spotlight
At the time of writing, Brittany’s video had 35.4k views on TikTok, as well as over 1.8k likes and more than 180 comments. The discussion that the woman’s video started centered on two main things. First of all, she raised awareness that buffet servers can be severely underpaid because they’re not tipped enough. And secondly that it’s not always feasible to switch jobs at the drop of a hat when money is tight.
“I'm not getting another job because I don’t have a car to get to another job and the bus route does not go on my road. So I’m stuck here until I get transportation,” @itsbrittanybitch225 told the internet that her options are limited.
Brittany said that you’d expect servers with so many tables to make ‘buku’ money (‘buku’ deriving from the French word ‘beaucoup,’ aka ‘a lot’, and brought back by Vietnam War vets to the US), however, she got just $69 from serving 50 tables.
Many Golden Corral current and former employees don't feel like they're paid enough
According to Indeed, Golden Corral pays hourly wages, ranging from $10.01 if you’re a server or a cashier to $17.65 if you happen to be a head server. Hosts and servers make roughly $20k per year while district managers get 4.5 times that—their annual salary stands at $90k.
Indeed’s Work Happiness survey showed that out of 2.5k respondents, comprising current and former Golden Corral employees, barely 36% thought that they’re paid fairly. Meanwhile, 2.6k respondents noted that they don’t receive paid vacation days, and merely 17% said that it was easy to request paid time off.
Meanwhile, out of 628 respondents, most said that they never got a raise. And 55% of 797 employees said that they did not get overtime pay. Now, make of these stats what you will. However, it seems fairly likely that Golden Corral doesn’t have the best working conditions, at least in terms of pay, overtime, and time off, unless you rise to management.
Golden Corral, a US restaurant chain, primarily focuses on an all-you-can-eat buffet and grill. Incorporated in 1972, the restaurant opened its first location in early 1973 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, as Golden Corral Family Steak House. Currently, the company has around 500 locations around the States. Around 100 are company-owned while the rest are franchised stores. Most locations had to close down temporarily in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and some had to shut down permanently.
Tipping laws need to be changed to make things fairer for minimum-wage employees
Tipping culture is a sore topic in the US and is bound to elicit some strong reactions. Some folks believe that servers ought to be paid a fair wage without having to rely so much on tips, however, the law concerning minimum wage tipped employees differs from state to state. A more standardized approach across the country could provide workers with more stability. As would a massive shift toward a tipless culture.
Tips can also lead to feelings of resentment among coworkers, some of whom might feel angry that others earn more. A server Bored Panda spoke to a while back noted that, “Your livelihood depends on tips as a server.”
She said: “You don’t make much in the form of a paycheck, so if someone works the same job as you but makes more money, it will breed jealousy.” According to the anonymous server, “The only way to get rid of it is to get rid of the tipping culture and pay a living wage to servers.”
In the meantime, until the system is overhauled, it’s best to write to your local lawmakers with suggestions, talk to your boss about a fairer wage, and treat your customers in such a way that they’ll want to leave a bigger tip. Customers tend to appreciate attentive servers who can anticipate their needs, who are friendly, and who make them feel like they’ve had a memorable experience.
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