She Called Out A Customer Who Didn’t Leave Her A Tip But Did Leave Her His Phone Number And It’s Sparking A TikTok Debate About Tipping Servers

This waitress took to Tik Tok to expose poor tipping practices in American restaurants. She shared a story of a time that diners had run up an expensive tab, hit on her, and then failed to tip.

In her video, she explained, “the bill was over $200 and they did not leave a tip. But they did have the audacity to leave one of their numbers and tell me they thought I was cute.”

So, she decided to confront them with a clever text. She wrote, “Next time you leave your number make sure you leave a tip ;).”

The video received mixed reviews, and the comments sparked a heated debate on tipping practices.

A few commenters who live in European countries expressed confusion about why a waitress would even expect to be tipped for every meal.

In Europe, servers earn a living wage from their paid hours alone rather than depend on tips to supplement their income.

For example, a user from the Netherlands says that since tipping isn’t common practice in his country, he wouldn’t tip on a trip to the US either, despite knowing how underpaid its servers are.

But in the US, some restaurants only pay servers $3-$4 an hour because tipping is customary. 

TikTok; pictured above is this woman in her TikTok video

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One commenter pointed this out when folks expressed confusion about Americans’ compulsory tipping. “Y’all do realize tipping is expected in North America [because] we literally get paid LESS than minimum wage BECAUSE tipping is a thing?”

Though the original poster had several defenders, some folks were also making value judgments on her response to the rude customers. 

Commenters critiqued her “attitude,” even suggesting that her service was likely subpar and she didn’t deserve a tip. When the comments section got particularly nasty, she reminded folks that the restaurant industry often fails to prioritize its workers’ best interests.

But some folks suggested solutions for the pervading issue. “By the looks of these comments the US just needs to put a mandatory service fee of 20% on bills and pay servers more. Y’all are broke and stingy.”

And one person said what many might have been thinking; “if you don’t have the money to tip, don’t eat out.”

It also doesn’t make much sense for a diner to hit on his server if he doesn’t care to support her work. Hopefully, he’s learned his lesson from this interaction!

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