Red Lobster...Trasferring from NYC to Pittsburgh, PA. A few questions for the locals and employees (Washington: apartment, insurance)

[ivyleaguelindsay]

Hello. I'm considering moving from NYC to Pittsburgh...mother is trying to convince me. I am a server at Red Lobster and am wondering about the RL in Robinson over there in Pittsburgh. I went to the Olive Garden (owned by same company, in case you didn't know) next door to RL and it was very busy. Is the RL busy as well? WHat's the experience you've had as a guest? Any employees want to contribute anything? Do you make decent tips..at least $100+ a night? Any info anyone has is much appreciated. Thanks.

[Jrn14]

Originally Posted by ivyleaguelindsay

Hello. I'm considering moving from NYC to Pittsburgh...mother is trying to convince me. I am a server at Red Lobster and am wondering about the RL in Robinson over there in Pittsburgh. I went to the Olive Garden (owned by same company, in case you didn't know) next door to RL and it was very busy. Is the RL busy as well? WHat's the experience you've had as a guest? Any employees want to contribute anything? Do you make decent tips..at least $100+ a night? Any info anyone has is much appreciated. Thanks.

I don't know about Red Lobster.. but when I worked at Outback Steakhouse I would say pretty confidently that the majority of the the servers there were making no where close to $100 a night.

[Bong477]

The red lobster on McKnight is always packed. Not sure about Robinson though.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Jrn14

I don't know about Red Lobster.. but when I worked at Outback Steakhouse I would say pretty confidently that the majority of the the servers there were making no where close to $100 a night.

Wow, really? I used to make about $100 when I worked at a restaurant a few years back as a bartender and the servers would make just a little less. Some restaurants the servers make more than the bartenders. I know the Olive Garden servers have to make close to that.

It is interesting. I was making well over $100 a shift at a sports bar in Orlando, FL and that was many years ago. Seems people want that wage today. Also, I used to charge $10 an hour for mowing lawn and yard work when I was a teen and that is what kids are hoping to get today. Is the cost of living the same today compared to 20+ years ago? Wow, it isn't looking good for those careers.

If I was to get back into being a server/bartender, I would look at hotels. I think they have a better hourly and the possibility of heath care.

[Velvet Jones]

Originally Posted by Jrn14

I don't know about Red Lobster.. but when I worked at Outback Steakhouse I would say pretty confidently that the majority of the the servers there were making no where close to $100 a night.

Unfortunately I'm very familiar with that Red Lobster, it was my wife's favorite when we lived near there. It is usually extremely busy, especially whenever they have any type of specials running. On a rare case you might see the place only 3/4 full, but usually there is a line out the door. If you were at the Outback next to K-Mart then I can understand your frustration. That place always seems dead.

[greg42]

Plenty of Darden shops around here if you're looking to transfer and/or move up. Most are fairly popular, Olive Garden and Red Lobster. Also a few Longhorn and the one Bahama Breeze still next to the RL you're speaking of. (That was always my favorite.) Not so sure about weeknights. I'm guessing Monday/Tuesday is pretty slow even in some of these perpetually busy places. OG is more likely to be busy all week than RL, I would think, but maybe only marginally.

I can say, there seemed to be a management issue at that particular RL in Robinson several years ago, but that's not current info so may not be valid today, likely is not given typical turnover at such places. We've stopped going to RL/OG and similar national chains (especially locally but pretty much in general) more as a matter of our changing preferences than anything that happened in our experiences there.

Would think tips here not as generous as NYC overall but cost of living also should be less too, depending upon your scenario. (For example, going from roommate situation in NYC to your own apartment here may not really cost less, but you may be able to afford that here.)

If you're thinking about sticking around this area long-term you might look at getting on at Big Burrito instead. Good story about them today: Big Burrito Restaurant group's impact on the local dining scene goes beyond Mad Mex and its spinoffs We do frequent Mad Mex and find the experience good. And they treat their employees well it seems.

Pittsburgh is obviously not NYC in terms of sheer things to do/places to be.

[Jrn14]

What I witnessed at Outback it was the one on McKnight way out close to the 2nd Target in Wexford.. It actually was always busy, but the way it was run was not beneficial to the servers. Often they would have SOOOOO many servers working in rotating shifts that each server would only have like 4-5 tables for their whole dinner shift.... So say you end up with 2 couples 1 family of 4 and 2 seniors.... You could get 12$ from each couple... 15 from the family with kids and stiffed by the seniors... $4 bucks... You end up with a take home of $43 bucks... The patrons got awesome personal speedy service, but I dont' know how anyone made money there . Despite the area from my judgement overall people were not very generous. I once witnessed a 4 adults with a $95 bill give a 5 dollar tip.

[ivyleaguelindsay]

Well...$100 is not ideal, obvously. I make that on like a Tuesday with 4 hours work. I guess I average about between $20-$30 an hour in just tips..then the salary (which just covers insurance and tax). On a good night, I'd say close to $300. Just wondering the least I could make I guess..lol

[SteelCityRising]

I've noticed people in Metropolitan Pittsburgh are generally not generous tippers, and that probably arises from their thrifty roots. In my second job I deliver food for a variety of restaurants in the rather affluent East End of the city proper as well as the outlying parts of Regent Square, Downtown, and Mt. Washington. I'm quick---very quick, as a matter of fact. We tell people to expect their food "in about an hour" when they order, but more often than not I can go to a restaurant, pick up the order, check out the order, and deliver it safely in 25-30 minutes. I earn $3 per delivery from my employer and rely upon tips for the rest of my income. If I can do 2 deliveries per hour, on average, that's $6/hr. from my employer, which means I would want to earn at least $4 as a tip from each delivery to make this second job worthwhile at the rate of $14/hr. The amount of people who have tipped me an insulting $1.50 or $2.00 is just mind-boggling. I provide exemplary service, offering foam plates, plastic utensils, and I even offer to go into kitchens if the homeowner would like and sort out various meals, sides, accompaniements, etc. at various table settings for their families. $1.50 is just rude.

As others have stated, though, while people in Pittsburgh don't tip well the cost-of-living here is also phenomenally low. Since picking up my second job I now live here somewhat comfortably whereas I was always living paycheck to paycheck and struggling in Northern Virginia.

[ML North]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I've noticed people in Metropolitan Pittsburgh are generally not generous tippers, and that probably arises from their thrifty roots. In my second job I deliver food for a variety of restaurants in the rather affluent East End of the city proper as well as the outlying parts of Regent Square, Downtown, and Mt. Washington. I'm quick---very quick, as a matter of fact. We tell people to expect their food "in about an hour" when they order, but more often than not I can go to a restaurant, pick up the order, check out the order, and deliver it safely in 25-30 minutes. I earn $3 per delivery from my employer and rely upon tips for the rest of my income. If I can do 2 deliveries per hour, on average, that's $6/hr. from my employer, which means I would want to earn at least $4 as a tip from each delivery to make this second job worthwhile at the rate of $14/hr. The amount of people who have tipped me an insulting $1.50 or $2.00 is just mind-boggling. I provide exemplary service, offering foam plates, plastic utensils, and I even offer to go into kitchens if the homeowner would like and sort out various meals, sides, accompaniements, etc. at various table settings for their families. $1.50 is just rude.

$1.50 for delivery is a lousy tip, however there doesn't seem to be a common understanding about what a delivery driver should be tipped. One of my roommates during college delivered for a local deli and always complained about receiving poor tips. I don't order delivery, but if I did I wouldn't know what the standard is for tipping the driver (Would probably just peel him off a Lincoln). Anyway, I don't think the lousy tipping for delivery drivers is entirely geographically dependent.

I do find it somewhat bewildering that delivery drivers get tipped worse than waiters. Especially when waiters only bring you a meal from across the dining room and a driver will bring it from across the City!