I completely agree that the employer should pay their employees. BUT THEY DON'T and that's the world we live in.

And when I said it was hard work waitressing, I meant hard enough to deserve compensation. When I was a server I made $2.10 an hour because in Florida tipped employees had a lower minimum wage.

But of course they aren't your employees and you aren't responsible for making sure they can afford to eat. Not your problem. Look the other way. It's the American way isn't it?