Comments on: Last Friday, I Offered A Waitress $100 To Quit Her Job…

By: Barbara Saunders

Barbara Saunders — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 22:41:45 +0000

I’ve learned in my old age (ha! ha!) that what you presented here is a false dichotomy. I decided that I could not tolerate my last job. Not the pay, not the way I was treated, and not the ethics of the place. But, I did not walk out the door and put myself in a position that might require entering another bad situation to pay the rent the next month.

For all you know, that waitress was already at work on the action plan to get her out of there the following month or week with more than one night’s tips and drinks with “supportive friends” who probably would not remember her face the following day.

By: good intentions

good intentions — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:54:01 +0000

I love the fact that you were compelled to shake to woman out of her situation. Your intentions are wonderful! I do wonder though, if you’ve ever been in a situation where you lived paycheck to paycheck. I wonder if you’ve ever had to budget slices of bread to make the loaf stretch for two weeks, to feed more than one mouth. Obviously this waitress has considered changing jobs. What waitress hasn’t? But getting out of the service industry takes a bit more than $100. It takes having a solid plan and a good support system. I know first-hand. Once a hiring manager looks at a resume and sees nothing but service and/or food service positions, the judgment shifts immediately. It’s almost like being in a pit. I agree with the responses calling for mentor-ship. The money is a good start, but actually making a personal-time investment means more.

By: Sean

Sean — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:34:01 +0000

Also what the manager did is highly illegal. I would like to know what restaurant that is and where?? If you could e-mail and tell me that would be great.

By: Sean

Sean — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:29:20 +0000

$100 is nothing to a server. Very bad decision on her part if she did take it. People are servers becasue they need quick cash and lots of it. They cant afford to only make $15 an hour. So we bust our ass and do what it takes to make it through this months bills. $100?? for what? to be unemployed and lose thousands? She probably made about $100 or more that night and has probably gotten $100 tips before with no stipulations about changing/ruining her life for a quick meaningless $100. The point is, I dont understand why you thought $100 would give some girl the self-confidence and be empowered as a woman to not work as a “server”. Whats so bad about being a server anyways. Oh wait thats right, I remember, having to deal with egotistic, self-righteous people that look down on us becasue we are trying to make it through school or support our family or 1000 different other reasons. Or did you think that we were just peasants and had no drive in life at all and thats why we are servers. Get off your high horse.

By: Liz

Liz — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:07:35 +0000

I agree with the above two posts. To offer only $100 for a service worker to quit a job during a time when those jobs are increasingly harder to get is tacky and very akin to the “giving the man a fish vs. teaching him how” story. I imagine your intentions were good, but there was also a total lack of sensitivity to her financial condition too. Even if you said, “hey, you deserve better” that probably would have been enough to plant a seed in her head (which I believe was your intent).

I also agree with the idea of giving her your business card and offering to be a mentor, even if it was just an email or phone call or two. That would have been a lot more valuable for both of you.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:06:53 +0000

amen

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:31:36 +0000

Let’s look at it from a different perspective. I’ll pay Erica $1,000 to give all her money to charity and take a job with the Peace Corp today (August 4). Just show me the funds transferred and completed paperwork and I’ll send it via Paypal.

Is she going to do it? Nope. Like the waitress, what she’d give up for what I believe would be a more meaningful, better life plus some petty cash doesn’t add up. No water or waitress in their right mind would accept less than one shift’s pay to quit a job, even a bad one. Now, if she had offered $1,000, or $10,000!

I bet the waitress thought “these people are stupid! Why would I take that and lose so much more money?”

And she’d be right. If you actually wanted to help that person, and not make a point for your blog and your new self-help business, you’d give her your card, start working with her and help her out. Or offer more money, enough she actually could quit. But you didn’t, you wanted to see her “do a trick” and the treat was $100. It served no higher purpose than you make you feel good about yourself.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:13:27 +0000

I love your blog, but this is unacceptable.

Does the waitress have kids whom $100 would feed for a week, but who need momma to be in employment continuously?

I mean, it’s hard to be working class … I have been there most of my life, and you can’t go around offering $100 to waitresses to quit their jobs! What are you? Insane? Just imagine, you are a single mother, with a kid at home, and rent to meet, you have a job in a restaraunt and are making ends meet …

then one night … you get an offer from some 26 yr old millionaire who offers you a measly $100 to quit! What would you do???

I mean, really, if you offered her $400 per week until she found a better job … and help to get that better job, or if you offered her a JOB then that would be OK, but as it stands ,,, erica, you were SHOWING OFF! be humble

tom

By: Juliemarg

Juliemarg — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:33:27 +0000

I love this story.

Last week I told it to a work friend who was quitting to take a new job. He had stated that he wasn’t sure it would work out – I said at least you’re taking action. We’re all miserable but it takes a lot of courage to take action – whether it’s quitting a waitressing job or a 100k corporate job.

You provided a reality check and some encouragement.

By: http://iowahippiechick.blogspot.com/

http://iowahippiechick.blogspot.com/ — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:06:31 +0000

Even though she didn\’t take the money … you still planted a seed.
She wasn\’t yet quite ready to walk a new path – but she is now more than likely pointed in the right direction!