In 2006, the minimum wage in Alabama was $5.15. I got a job at Movie Gallery (mostly southern video rental chain) and made $5.15 for one week, then was given a $.10 raise and keys to the store and was told I could open/close and count the money now.

This job ended with me quitting mid shift, after my barely literate manager screamed at me and hung up on me. Less than three months. Then I got a job at Red Lobster, owned by Darden at the time. I *started* at $7.25/hour. I worked in the "alley" putting sauces on plates.

One of my jobs was making salads. I was told by multiple servers that they got better tips when I made the salads. I always tried to make then pretty? Idk, I usually smoked weed before this job. We didn't tip share, so this really did nothing for me.

They were probably coming out at $15/hour on a mediocre night, more on a night the family that owns Books a Million stopped by. I am still glad I helped tip-based employees make better tips. Because they deserved it. That's it, that's where I was going with this.

Pay everyone more money. Pay the person in the back enough to buy weed off the dishwasher and make you a nice salad. Pay servers enough to live. Pay more for your endless fuckin' shrimp. Endless shrimp have hidden costs, I guess is the moral.

Oh, and Movie Gallery deserved its ignoble death by bankruptcy. It was the worst job I ever had. She screamed at me for checking in new Xbox games that arrived (as was company policy) because she had to do inventory that night.

But she wouldn't pay any of us to do inventory with her. She brought in people from another store and paid them overtime to do it. Also her kids would take the magnetic keys for the dumb theft proof cases and steal video games. Fuuuuuck that job.