She Confronted A Customer Who Tipped Her 9% And Is Known As A Serial Low-Tipper At Her Restaurant
If you’ve ever worked in a restaurant, then you know how much servers rely on tips. A 15% gratuity is typically considered the minimum for service that’s satisfactory, and many people opt to tip as much as 20% on their bill.
So, how would you feel if a customer tipped you less than 10%, and then you realized they were a repeat low-tipper for other servers at your same restaurant?
That’s the situation Shea Gomez, an actor and service industry worker from New York City, recently found herself in.
On her TikTok account (@heysheashea), which has over 20,000 followers, she shared the shocking tip she received last weekend.
“Last night, I got a 9% tip. Not in this economy, honey. Not in New York City, one of the most expensive cities to live in. Absolutely not,” Shea said.
And rather than moving on from the cheap customer, who was a female, Shea actually did what most servers have probably dreamed of doing at one point or another. More specifically, she confronted the woman.
Shea claimed that she spoke with her coworkers, who revealed they’d had the same experience with that specific customer. The woman was basically a serial low-tipper, leaving gratuities in the 7% to 9% range.
“So what did I do? I confronted her. I confronted this person who tipped me 9%. And not only did I confront her for me, but I guess this is a pattern with her,” Shea explained.
“I talked to my other servers, and they had a similar experience.”
SASITHORN – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person – pictured above a woman pays her bill in a restaurant
Once she saw the customer waiting in line for the bathroom, Shea walked up to her and asked how her service was that evening. The woman supposedly stated everything was “great” as well.
“I was like, ‘Awesome, you left me a 9% tip, so I just wanted to see, like, if there’s any way I can improve,” Shea recalled.
Apparently, the customer paused, raised an eyebrow, and replied, “No.” According to Shea, the customer didn’t even blink.
Shea wound up responding, “Okay, thank you so much,” before walking away, and she’s not sure if her confrontation will change how the customer tips service workers moving forward.
“But let me just say, she sat at a different part of the restaurant after this. It wasn’t even my section, but I said to the server, ‘I got this,'” Shea detailed.
“I came and put the cocktails down and said, ‘Long time no see! What can I get for you?'”
Later that same evening, Shea and her coworkers decided to Google the customer. They learned she owned her own company.
“Hopefully, she learned something from our little exchange, and if not, I did what I could,” Shea concluded.
Although many servers can likely relate to Shea’s frustration, her TikTok video sparked some controversy, as many commenters disagreed with how she handled the situation.
“I would have spoken with the manager and changed my tip to ZERO after that ‘confrontation,'” wrote one user.
“I wish someone would confront me about optional money that I’m leaving!” sarcastically said another.
Do you think customers who leave low tips deserve to be called out, or should servers rise above?
https://www.tiktok.com/@heysheashea/video/7435408990265298207
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