"My name is David, and I’ll be your host for this hour. Let me tell you about our specials…"

Are Meghna and I the only people who’ve never been waiters? It seems like everyone I talk to has been a waiter or still is. I can see some of the advantages: You don’t have to wait until you get your paycheck to put money in your pocket. You can wait tables just about anywhere. And it might be good for getting dates.

But I wonder if people over-value the advantages of working for tips. I’ve been hearing a lot about the disadvantages this week, like managers and owners skimming the tips, or companies banning tips outright as American Airlines did for its skycaps this month.

This week we met an unlikely and unassuming class action attorney who the restaurant industry views as more dangerous than food poisoning. She’s suing on behalf of workers whose tips have been pooled, cut, or taken away. Is this the new battle ground over workers’ rights?

Call us. Write to us. Comment here. I’d love to hear stories from the back of the house, behind the bar, and the waiters’ stations. Forget the food reviews, we want inside reviews of the restaurant industry, or any industry that’s having trouble with tips.

Have you ever worked in a restaurant — or had to earn your livelihood through tips?  Let us know your story so we can include it in ours. The restaurant industry employs more than 300,000 people in Massachusetts, that’s more than 9% of the state workforce.  The bulk of many restaurant workers’ income is tips, but there’s been a wave of legal action over how the gratuities are shared. How should restaurant workers be paid ? Does the system need to change?