I don't mind the work. Been doing it forever. Work three eleven hour days a week and make as much as my wife who's doing fourty hours in five days. I get to spend more time with my kid. My kid wasn't forced into daycare.
If I remember right you're a bartender? It's difficult to lump that in with waiting tables, because in my somewhat kneejerk opinion one is skilled labor and one isn't. Under a non-tipping system, I think most places would pay bartenders more than minimum wage. A good, fast, competent bartender keeps people coming back to the same bar or restaurant over a long period of time. Add that to the fact that even if we somehow adopted a non-tipping culture overnight, there are some jobs that I bet would still get "tipped" a bit as a thank you/plea for preferential treatment. (Witness the fact that some people "tip" bartenders in advance at crowded high-end bars ... before they've received any service. To me that kinda undercuts the argument that tipping's vital function is to serve as a carrot on a stick.) I've worked food service but not as a waiter. Seems like all my friends are waiters or bartenders or combination, though. They make good $/hr but don't like their jobs much and have to fight hard to keep their hrs/week at a fiscally stable level. shrug
A good waiter is a highly skilled professional, they are an essential part of any outstanding dining experience. I put a wonderful meal way above a fancy cocktail. I don't really give a damn about adding a complex cocktail to a dining experience, I might have a Side Car or a bourbon at the outset of a big feasts and maybe a nice port to finish but I prefer a crisp clean lager with my food. I size up my waiter first thing, tell them what I've got my eye on and ask them what they suggest. If I like the cut of their jib I pretty much just sort out the few things the suggest that I try. I find that most the great meals I've had were when I've put myself at the wait staff and kitchens mercy. This shit doesn't happen at a TGI Fridays, but the roll of a waiter is different at that kind of joint. A top waiter isn't fighting for shifts, they've generally worked the same schedual with a few changes for years if not decades. This is somewhat outside the scope of your comment but holy hell i love a great professional waiter. Lots of in between in the profession but I've known some waiters who make me come back to the same mom and poo diner week after week. As bartenders go, the quality I admire most in one is efficiency. I mostly drink burbon and a back, I want a bartender who remembers what I order has it in front of me at the top speed. I expect that a bartender should be proficient in all the traditional cocktails and not much more. There are a few places I'll go for exotic drinks but in general most bars would benefit from getting the basics done fast and strong. Every bartender should have a selection of stupid shots cause when I'm on a tear I like it stupid.
I love my bartenders that give me my drink before I even ask - but sometimes I mix it up a bit (usually at brunch) - however they've mostly caught on. If I'm there in the evening I want a double-rum-and-diet (if they are especially attentive they'll remember I sometimes ask for two limes) - maybe I mix it up with a shot - and keep 'em comin. Brunch is different it can be hard to swallow soda that early in the morning. Good waiters do constitute skilled "professionals" or whatever you want to call it. It won't be your waiters at Friendly's though.