At fancy restaurants, diners sit for longer and have more if an experience, and we're not going to rush them at all. So, 20% on four (because each table needs more attention) $100 tables, two or three times a night.

Except $100 is low for even two people, and tables will often be four or even six. Figure $2K a night in sales and you're closer to reality, $3K on the weekends or for a brunch shift. So at 22% (because anyone who can serve at that level pulls more than the 20% baseline) you're looking at $450-650 in gross tips.

But because no one works alone at that level, expect that a third to half of that will go to tipping out the bar staff, bussers, food runners, and backwaiters, so more like $250-400 in a six-hour shift, or about $50/hr... plus wages. At a fancy place. Based on my experience.

If you're slinging eggs at a diner you're much more subject to walk-in traffic but less subject to high rollers. You're also much more subject to the local cost of living, so here in Chicago you're probably still making $20-40/hr in tips after tipout, but in South Dakota a lot less... and your wage will be lower, too.

I have to quibble with the idea that a fine dining server works no harder than an egg-slinger, though, as someone who's done both. Fine dining takes a lot more attention, patience, and training; a lot of the work is preparation and goes unseen by the patrons — as it should be.