First of all, it’s usually not in their control how fast the food comes out, that’s up to the kitchen staff. Second, it’s not your business whether they make a living wage. I’ve been friends with many people working in the industry, and I even dated one for a while, and I came to the conclusion that there’s a certain type of personality who is cut out for the job, and they tend to do quite well for themselves (often raking in several hundreds of dollars in tips PER DAY).

As for those who aren’t, it’s better for them to fail fast so they can move on to something else that they’re better at, instead of continuing to work a job they hate just because it pays the bills. It’s the same with salespeople, who also usually make a meager salary (sometimes none at all) and only get paid on commission when they make a sale. Some people thrive on this sort of challenge, others don’t. Sure, my girlfriend would still complain when she went above and beyond for a table and still ended up without a tip for reasons entirely out of her control, but it didn’t happen all that often.