Bad tippers. Unreasonable requests. A complete lack of respect or courtesy. These are just a few of the realities that a food server faces daily—and a documentary exploring the darker side of the industry, called Where’s My Food!?, will have its premiere in Long Beach on July 8.

Director Lee Godden’s inspiration behind looking into the powerful restaurant industry and its often-marginalized workers stemmed from his two 20-something daughters who worked as servers to earn extra cash during college.

“They’d often come home in tears, recounting stories of male shift managers touching them inappropriately or making lewd suggestions,” Godden said. “I would see their minimum wage paychecks that were reduced to nearly zero dollars after tax deductions that (often over-) estimated their tipped income. I’d see small cuts and burn marks on their hands from kitchen knives and hot plates.”

The filmmaker is not new to telling stories: his background in business writing and video production had him working for everyone from the Long Beach Business Journal to the Los Angeles Times. With his research chops well-oiled, he began gathering lifetime servers while examining a major question—Who benefits from the tipping process?—that he found to be important but widely ignored.

After all, we are talking about an industry—food—that employs one in every ten Americans, but an industry that Godden believes vastly abuses its workforce. He does not mince his words, referring to the restaurant industry as the “other NRA” which mainly consists of wealthy lobbyist-backers.

“We eat out—a lot,” Godden said. “Half of our food dollars are spent in restaurants. Meanwhile, these workers have a small voice, and many of them earn the federally-mandated $2.13/hour wage. Respect for fellow humans is often forgotten when a customer takes a seat in a restaurant.”

Cornell Professor Michael Lynn, offering insight in the film, explores the psychological and socio-economic reasons as to why we leave tips in varying amounts, despite the quality of food or service. Our need to avoid disapproval and our sexual attraction to servers are just a few of the many reasons for cognitive dissonance between honoring a worthy tip and offering money for factors outside the dining experience.

“Ultimately, my goal is to raise awareness among restaurant customers,” Godden said. “In other words, amongst all of us essentially. To show us what’s happening internally, in our own minds, and externally when we choose to give some of our hard-earned money to a stranger in exchange for good service and a plate of tasty, hunger-satisfying food.”

Where’s My Food!? will premiere on Tuesday, July 8, at 5:30PM at the Main Branch of the Long Beach Public Library, located at 101 Pacific Ave. Though the screening is free, a $10 donation is suggested for those who can afford it. Tickets are available here.

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