Zima Blue: Hospitality Work in Australia

Zima Blue: Hospitality Work in Australia

By Muriel Palanca

I’ve had the pleasure and joy of working as a Bussie and Bartender at several locations while here in Melbourne. Most notably Slate in the CBD. (Honorable mentions at The Ascot Lot, Rice Queen and Promise Bar, New Guernica- all wonderful venues)

This is important to emphasize: I would not enjoy this type of job if it didn’t pay well. If I had to rely on tips the way the hospitality industry does in America, I’d hate it. When I worked in an Indian buffet back in the USA, I’d have thoughts in my head like “You cheap assholes. I hate you.” “Of course you fucking tip, my manager isn’t paying me shit.” “Why do I have to roll silverware? Is that what I’m being paid $3 an hour for?”

It was akin to the buzzing in the back of my head when I used to wear contact lenses- A little voice saying, “My contacts are dry.” “When can I wash my hands to take my contacts out?” “Dammit this pollen is really making my eyes itchier.” And this buzzing was a relentless nuisance in the background.

When I got Lasik eye surgery, that voice in my head instantly vanished. That’s how I felt working hospitality here in Australia. Like I was seeing everything clearly for the first time. I felt free and capable.

When I’m getting paid a livable wage, serving and bussing becomes just another regular job. I get paid to do my job.

How much? About $25 and hour, guaranteed. Weekends can pay about $27-31 per hour depending on where you work. Holidays are double your hourly rate. Oh yeah, your employers also put money into your retirement fund- that’s standard here.

You heard me right. I get paid $25 an hour to show up and do my job.

I’m not dependent on the customer’s whims, feelings and judgements. I don’t make more money than my coworker because I’m a pretty girl. Everyone still works just as hard if not harder. If there is work to be done, you bet your ass we’re doing it… because we’re getting paid to work. Plus, people in hospitality are generally the type who get bored just standing there.

There’s about a 2-hour window where it’s go go go. Collect the glasses, wash, polish, sweep a mess, run and get more wine bottles, sling a few drinks. Help the team as much as I can so we can grind through the rush. A calm and steady hustle, no frantic desperation to be extra polite or flirt to get a paycheck.

You still get a smile and good banter when possible, and it’s because we’re happy, having fun, because giving you a good experience is our job- not because we’re trying to squeeze out a tip.

Bitching from my coworkers is small, if any, and usually not work related or only at the end of the night when we’re all tired and itching to go home. If there is a mess, we clean it up. If a customer needs something, we give it to them.

As long as I do my job and do it well, my boss will keep paying me and letting me work. It’s not a hard concept to understand.

In the USA, they say restaurants can’t afford to pay their workers more than a minimum wage of $3 an hour. Here, it’s all integrated into the cost of the food and drinks. So the typical entrée can be about $15-30 vs $10-20 at home.

And guess what, people still go out, buy drinks, have fun. Places are still packed on the weekends and happy hour. There are PLENTY of successful restaurants everywhere in Australia. On average we get paid $25 and hour, minimum is about $18 legally.

^^Please read that bit again. And one more time. Let it blow your mind.

If you’re looking for a concrete example of people thriving on a livable wage, look at the hospitality industry in Australia. Not only is it doable, it’s being done. And in other countries as well.

Back in the USA, the argument is: Restaurants can’t afford to stay open if they paid their employees $15 an hour. People won’t go out to eat if restaurants raised their prices.

BULLSHIT.  B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T

Let me break it down another way: Why would you want to give your money to an establishment that does not care enough about its’s employees to pay them a livable wage? Oh, because that’s just how it is?

In regard to the tipping culture in the USA: I’m sure you’ve heard, “If you can’t afford to tip, then you can’t afford to go out.” And the other side of the argument. “Why do I HAVE to tip my server? Why is their paycheck dependent on ME?”

I’m saying this: If you can’t afford a $15 meal and the work that goes into it…If you can’t afford to take care of the people who work for you…If you can’t afford a $6 pint of beer (yes that’s how much happy hour is in Melbourne, reasonable right?) THEN YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO GO OUT. YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO AND SHOULD NOT BE IN BUSINESS.

And here’s the funny thing, that’s about how much you would be paying for food and drinks back in the USA anyway when you factor in the tip.

A profitable business should not come at the cost of someone’s livelihood. And it does not have to.

And for my USA hospitality people who thrive on the tipping system, I get it- SOME of you make BANK in your venues. A couple hundred a night. GOOD FOR YOU, I mean that. But please understand you are the exception, not the rule and everyone else is hustling HOPING to make $25 an hour with their tips if they’re lucky.

By doing away with the tipping culture, paying people a livable wage, treating hospitality (serving, bartending, bussing, cooking) as a JOB instead of servitude, transferring those costs onto the customer, everyone is still happy. The industry is still thriving. Everyone still goes out. People enjoy their jobs.

People have time and can AFFORD to LIVE.

During a busy happy hour on a Friday night at my regular gig at Slate, I meandered around the restaurant looking for empties and realized: I haven’t felt this happy in a while.

Travelling for two years gave me a lot of free time. I was used to working 14 hours a day by choice and the abrupt change to having a blank canvas instead of a full schedule made me anxious and melancholy.

But boy oh boy am I having a blast being in the weeds, multitasking with pouring beers, interacting with people as needed, running food at the ding of the bell, passing out canapés to guests, feeling the steam from the dishwasher, shoving fried chicken or arancini balls into my mouth in the 10 seconds between tasks, joking with my coworkers and customers, and polishing the glasses. I’m in the zone, baby! None of that is sarcasm, I truly mean that.

I love that I love my job. I appreciate finding some meaning or at least joy in my work. Doing something with my skills and my time. I’m respected and valued. It shows in my paycheck and how I’m treated at work.  

As I leisurely mopped the floor at the end of the night, I found myself thinking: There is peace of mind in getting fair pay for honest work. There is such a profound JOY in doing a simple task and doing it well.

And I’m getting paid $25 an hour to do it 😊

End of the day, isn’t that all we really want?

**********

Cheers to all my fellow hospo warriors! Thank you to my managers for giving me work, my colleagues who hustle hard and to our paying customers who keep us all in business.

Whether you are a worker, customer, business owner, please share your thoughts with me!

Agree or disagree and why? Do you like working in the industry? How much do you get paid? Where are you from? How much do you pay to go out? What do you think of the tipping system and tipping culture in general? What changes can be made in the industry for the betterment of everyone and how? Businesses, what goes into your financial decisions?

*For added context and 10-mins well spent, I highly recommend you watch the Zima Blue short film on “Love, Death & Robots” on Netflix. Absolute Perfection.