MEDIUM SUGGESTIONS
Medium Needs a Tipping Feature for Writers
A new way to increase revenue for writers, and engagement for readers.
I first started bartending when I was 18. Where I live, you cannot drink until you are 21, and yet, you may serve when you are 18 — granted you’ve passed a three-hour liquor serving and safety course.
I started out at a dive bar called Shooters. The bar’s logo was six solo cups with two ping-pong balls laying idly by their side. We were open seven days a week, from noon till six in the morning.
I was paid $5.54/hr and relied on tips to pay for gas.
I had one coworker — my girlfriend at the time — and an alcoholic supervisor who drank as much of our stock as did our patrons. He did not leave a tip.
Our bar survived off of the loyal payments of our regular customers, all of whom were past the middle of their lives, but not quite at retirement age.
Eventually, I ended up moving out to attend college in a nearby major city, where I got my next gig at an upper-midrange seafood joint on the water. I tended an outside bar, rain or sunshine, guests or not. This time, I was paid $6.00/hr. I was on my way to the high life.
Again, I survived off of tips to pay for life’s many necessities. However, because I was no longer living in my hometown, I could no longer rely on my parents’ generosity. I had to pay my own rent and buy my own food.
I was working 30 hours a week and was bringing home about $300 every Friday, after taxes. I’d spend about $50 a week on gas and about $100 a week on food (I’m a very tall man). This left me with $150/week, adding up to $600/month.
I lived in a desperately small, moldy, and noisy apartment. My rent? $600.
After paying rent, I had zero dollars left to pay for my schooling. I needed another job.
I took up a job delivering food for an app similar to Uber Eats. The payment was divided out into $4 per delivery, with the majority of my income once again coming from tips. This averaged out to about $10/hour.
I would do this delivery job for about twenty hours a week, bartend for thirty hours a week, and attend class/study for thirty hours a week.
I was reading an incredible story the other day. It filled me with emotion. I was in a rough place, mentally, and the article lifted my spirits. My dark thoughts left and I felt rejuvenated and inspired.
The best I could do? Clap.
Like, thanks for saving my life, dude. *clap x5*
Perhaps this is an unpopular opinion, but if there’s a particularly wonderful article, I should be able to easily show my appreciation beyond a clap and a response.
If you wish to support me, please follow the below link to join Medium. In turn, Medium will provide me with a (small) tip for my writing.
