Jeremy Bauman is working just as hard as he did a year ago. He’s quick to say hello, take margarita orders and serve up hot and tasty dishes. But lately, his wallet — and those of many other tipped employees just like him — is much lighter than it used to be.
Bauman, who bartends and waits tables at Mezcal on East Colfax Avenue, is one of thousands of workers who depend on tips to pay rent, buy groceries, pay student loans and go out to eat.
Lately, the economy has cramped the ability to meet those obligations in the shape of consumers tipping less, either by lowering the percentage or by ordering and spending less overall.
“We’re sometimes making one-third less a night, and that makes it hard,” said Bauman, who has deferred paying his student loans. “Why am I the one being forgotten about? … People don’t think about how this is our lives.”
According to the 2008 PayScale Tipping Report, wait staff, gambling dealers and bartenders earn the highest percentage of pay from tips.
For part-time waiters and waitresses, nearly 70 percent of their income is from tips. In Colorado, where tipped employees are paid half the hourly minimum wage, the percentage is even higher, experts say.
The PayScale report found that six of the 10 professions relying most heavily on tips are in the restaurant and hospitality industries, said Al Lee, director of Quantitative Analysis for Seattle-based .
“These are areas that get hit hard in an economic downturn,” Lee said. “If you’re thinking that the way to cut the bill is not to leave a tip, that is not the answer. If you are not tipping the person, they are not getting paid.”
Instead of restaurant service, Rich ard Oppenheim of Highlands Ranch is choosing counter pick-up at such places as Fatburger or Tokyo Joe’s. And Ronald Lewis of Denver has reduced his tipping from 20 to 25 percent to 15 to 18 percent because of the slowdown in technology-consulting work.
“I sometimes feel guilty for the reduction,” he said. “But I know it’s a necessary action during these challenging economic times.”
For tipped employees, it means making cutbacks.
“It’s a chain reaction; it hits everybody,” said Michael Kudla, a bartender at Elway’s in Cherry Creek. “I don’t go out as much as I used to. I try to budget and plan ahead.”
Kudla’s customers are not tipping less, and he feels fortunate that the seats in the bar are always warm. But he has noticed customers are ordering lighter fare and therefore spending less.
“We’ve been pretty fortunate. It’s a recession, but people still want to drink,” he said.
At India’s Pearl on South Pearl Street, servers are taking fewer tables and increasing face time with guests to ensure steady tipping. So far, that seems to be working, said server Beryl Shereshewsky, who says she’s averaging around 18 percent tips.
“People are sharing more and ordering less food so the total bill is less,” she said.
For some, though, tips seem to be holding steady.
Mary Beth Struve credits the regular customer base and neighborhood atmosphere at Bonnie Brae Tavern on South University Boulevard for keeping her tips constant.
“This is more of a family, neighborhood place where we have a lot of regulars,” she said. “Maybe that’s happening at more high-end places.”
Elizabeth Aguilera: 303-954-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com
By the numbers
15%
Typical gratuity to a waiter or waitress for adequate service, excluding tax, according to the Emily Post Institute
20%
Tip for very good service; figure a similar range for a bartender, with a $1 minimum per drink
70%
Portion of income part-time waiters and waitresses nationwide derive from tips
